If you’re age 50 or older, you can probably make extra “catch-up” contributions to your tax-favored retirement account(s). It is worth the trouble? Yes! Here are the rules of the road.
Continue Reading: Retirement account catch-up contributions can add up
If you’re planning your estate, or you’ve recently inherited assets, you may be unsure of the “cost” (or “basis”) for tax purposes.
Continue Reading: Inheriting stock or other assets? You’ll receive a favorable “stepped-up basis”
“Thousands of people have lost millions of dollars and their personal information to tax scams,” according to the IRS. The scams may come in through email, text messages, telephone calls or regular mail. Criminals regularly target both individuals and businesses and often prey on the elderly.
Continue Reading: That email or text from the IRS: It’s a scam!
The IRS recently released its audit statistics for the 2022 fiscal year and fewer taxpayers had their returns examined as compared with prior years. But even though a small percentage of returns are being chosen for audits these days, that will be little consolation if yours is one of them.
Continue Reading: The best way to survive an IRS audit is to prepare
When one spouse in a married couple is not earning compensation, the couple may not be able to save as much as they need for a comfortable retirement. In general, an IRA contribution is allowed only if a taxpayer earns compensation. However, there’s an exception involving a “spousal” IRA. It allows contributions to be made for a spouse who is out of work or who stays home to care for children, elderly parents or for other reasons, as long as the couple files a joint tax return.
If you’re age 65 and older and have basic Medicare insurance, you may need to pay additional premiums to get the level of coverage you want. The premiums can be costly, especially for married couples with both spouses paying them. But there may be an advantage: You may qualify for a tax break for paying the premiums.
Continue Reading: When can seniors deduct Medicare premiums on their tax returns?
High-income taxpayers face a regular income tax rate of 35% or 37%. And they may also have to pay a 3.8% net investment income tax (NIIT) that’s imposed in addition to regular income tax. Fortunately, there are some ways you may be able to reduce its impact.
Continue Reading: Reduce the impact of the 3.8% net investment income tax
You may think you don’t need to make any estate planning moves because of the generous federal estate tax exemption of $12.92 million for 2023 (effectively $25.84 million if you’re married).
Continue Reading: Benefits of a living trust for your estate
In recent years, many workers have become engaged in the “gig” economy. You may think of gig workers as those who deliver take-out restaurant meals, walk dogs and drive for ride-hailing services. But so-called gig work seems to be expanding. Today, some nurses have become gig workers and writers in Hollywood who recently went on strike have expressed concerns that screenwriting is becoming part of the gig economy.
Continue Reading: Being a gig worker comes with tax consequences
Are you getting ready to retire? If so, you’ll soon experience changes in your lifestyle and income sources that may have numerous tax implications.
Continue Reading: 4 tax challenges you may encounter if you’re retiring soon