Taxes

1975 was a big year in financial annals when Americans were given a brand new way to save for retirement in something called an Individual Retirement Account—an IRA. You could put money into the account before taxes and the money got to grow tax-deferred. You didn’t have to pay...

If you have a Health Savings Account (HSA), there’s good news and there’s bad news for next year. The good news—in 2023 you’ll be able to contribute more than you have in the past. The bad news—the higher contribution limits are because of the highest inflation rate in more...

Your company offers a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) that allows money to come out of your check before taxes and then you use that money to pay for eligible out-of-pocket healthcare expenses. In 2022 you can contribute up to $2850. Great deal, right?   But there’s a downside to Flex Spending...

Every little bit helps, especially in the worst inflationary period in 40 years. But for people who have to take Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) from Traditional IRAs, Inherited IRAs, and Retirement Plans, there’s good news. Beginning in 2022, the amount you’re required to withdraw goes down meaning your tax...

Oh, the day you can hang up your career and ease into that status you’ve been working toward most of your adult life, the place that brings a smile to your face, your happy place where you no longer answer to an employer, where you set your own schedule—that...

It seems like you just finished filing your tax return and now it’s almost time to step into the ring with the IRS again. But as you contemplate gathering receipts and tax records for 2021, the IRS is at work adjusting tax brackets for 2022. The U.S. tax system uses...

Over the years, I’ve been given a couple of simple but profound pieces of financial advice. A man I looked up to told me that tax loopholes are illegal, but if something is in the IRS code it’s there to be used and if it applies to me… use...

When the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 became law, estate tax exemptions got a substantial boost. The amount each individual could pass on free of federal estate taxes jumped from $5,490,000 in 2017 to $11,180,000 in 2018.  That amount has increased each year since then based on...

The end of the year is a financial opportunity—an opportunity to take advantage of remaining tax breaks and keep Uncle Sam’s hand from going deeper into your pocket than it has to, and an opportunity to clean up your portfolio and make sure your financial house is in order....

It’s a fact of life. Americans are consistently living longer than ever before. It used to be that someone living to be 90 was a rarity. Today, it’s commonplace. And the longer we live, the higher the probability we’ll need care. Much of that care may be provided by...