We are now less than 2 weeks away from the big April 15th tax filing deadline. Regrettably, but not surprisingly, many people are just now getting around to gathering up their tax information or filing their returns. With crunch time upon us, the questions have been pouring in, so with that in mind, here are the answers to 5 of the most common questions we have been hearing over the past few weeks.
It might sound hard to believe, but amazingly enough, we are just a few days away from the start of April. Its first day, Monday, April 1st, is known as April Fool’s Day to many, but to those in the retirement world, it’s better known as the required beginning date. Unfortunately, this date often causes a great deal of confusion for pre- and post-retirees, so with that in mind, below we explore 5 key facts you need to know about the April 1st deadline. Make sure you know these rules well, or come April Fool’s Day, the joke might be on you.
Ed Slott and Company is spending two full days talking about the new tax laws, IRAs, retirement distribution planning and more during our 2-Day IRA Workshop starting tomorrow in Orlando. We took some time in the video below to talk about the new tax laws (American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012) and key planning strategies and dates clients and their tax team should be aware of when filing their 2012 tax returns.
So far this year, we've received a lot of questions on the new 3.8% health care surtax, so we decided to take a few of the most frequently asked questions and answer them here, so that everyone can benefit from them.
There isn't much you can do now, in 2013, to lower your tax liability for 2012. One possible way, however, can not only help you save money on your 2012 taxes, but can also help you plan for retirement. I'm talking, of course, about a deductible IRA contribution. 2012 IRA contributions can be made up until April 15, 2013 and, if you meet certain criteria, you can take a deduction for that contribution, thus reducing your 2012 tax liability. If you haven't made an IRA contribution for 2012 and are wondering if you can make a deductible IRA contribution now to help reduce your 2012 tax bill, follow the questions below to find your answer.
Social Security has been a popular topic of conversation among current and soon-to-be retirees as well as Washington lawmakers as Congress tries to deal with a major deficit issue. Below we talk about some of the ties between IRAs and Social Security as well as some of the misconceptions.
President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address to the American people last night. With that in mind, we want to take a look at some of the questions that arise when the State of your Union changes. What changes are there to your IRA when you get married? What would happen to your IRA if you got divorced? We explore these questions and more in a short Q-and-A below.
Whether you won or lost on Super Bowl Sunday, your gambling wager has tax and IRA planning consequences. Super Bowl XLVII was held in New Orleans this past Sunday. After San Francisco played a “lights out” second half after the lights went out, the Baltimore Ravens held on to win the game 34–31. Although Baltimore won the game and got to raise the coveted Vince Lombardi trophy, it wasn't the only winner this past weekend. In fact, millions of Americans became winners themselves as a result of legal and illegal gambling.
A Washington, D.C. district court handed down a ruling that affects all of us as the 2012 tax season gets underway. The court ruled in Loving et al vs. IRS that the Internal Revenue Service did NOT have the authority to regulate persons who prepare or help prepare tax returns for a fee. They couldn't order these individuals to pass a test or maintain a minimum required level of competency.
On January 2, 2013 President Barack Obama signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) into law. Chances are this was pretty good news for you. Although the ATRA does create a new 39.6% tax bracket, this bracket is only expected to impact about 2% of all taxpayers. But just because your ordinary tax rate doesn’t increase in 2013 doesn’t mean you won’t pay more tax this year. In fact, most estimates show that anywhere between 75% and 80% of all taxpayers will pay more tax in 2013 than they did in 2012. Here’s a few reasons why that could be the case for you.
