Category: Taxes and Retirement

As a result of the recession, social security retirement and disability benefit claims have risen 50% more than expected. Bloomberg reports that the 150,000 extra retirees claiming benefits may add to the financial pressure on the entitlement program and that expenses would exceed revenue beginning in 2016, with the social…

See this article for the latest IRS tax brackets. Federal Income Tax Rate and Brackets and various tax benefits will remain unchanged or change only slightly over 2009 levels as shown in the table below. Consumer Price Index (CPI) data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), used by…

When closing on my home a while back, I had to request a copy of my tax return. I assumed this would be a hassle since the requesting party wanted an official transcript, not just a copy from my tax software. It turned out to be a simple, free process…

To answer the first part of the question. The answer is yes you have to pay taxes. In fact despite all the conspiracy theories and constant political threats to shut down the IRS because, taxes are the law of the land. It is known as the Internal Revenue Tax Code, which…

Sometimes its just plain hard for people meet ones tax obligations. This could be because they have a tax liability and due to a drastic change in their financial or personal circumstances over the year, they cannot afford to file their taxes. You can get a good idea of your…

I just finished doing my taxes! A great feeling, especially now that I am expecting to get a refund. Having completed my taxes, here are my top tips to make sure you get the most from your return: Set aside 3-4 hours one afternoon to do your taxes online and…

Here are some useful facts & figures to be aware of when it comes to capital gains and losses that result for a stock sale. Given the recent volatility and growth in trading understanding how your stock sales will impact your taxes will be critical to keep the gains you…

With tax season around the corner it is time for taxpayers to start taking some year-end actions with their finances to get the best outcome on their taxes. Thanks to the folks over at Turbo Tax, the leading online tax preparation and submission software, and my own experience here are…

I am going to take a contrary view of retirement savings and say that in current market conditions you should think about reducing your 401(k) contributions to only invest the amount that is needed to get your company match. I am normally a strong proponent of company sponsored 401(k)and traditional…

Now I am not talking about the tax deductions that you may have forgotten about or read in the main stream media during tax time, I mean the deductions you really may not have ever known about. Here are just some examples of legal tax deductions that I am talking…

A colleague recently sent me a WSJ article covering a new calculator on the Social Security's administration's web site that gives a much-improved picture of what social security benefits could look like in retirement. This calculator is all part of a major upgrade of the Social Security Administration's systems and…

From a company press release I saw on a financial news site: Reserve Management Corp (RMC) is offering a service to employees that allows debit cards to be linked to 401(k) plans, for easy withdrawal of funds. Their Chairman, Bruce R. Bent, justified this offering by saying that they encourage…

With the government hoping people will spend a majority of the $350 billion dollars allocated towards stimulus checks, they may be concerned with the way a number of folks are just going to save the stimulus payment.  What I found interesting was how the various folks responded in line with…