Category Taxes
How are Social Security benefits computed, and what are WEP and GPO?
Social Security. Perhaps the most successful government program ever, Social Security was put in place as a form of “social insurance” in order to protect against people who’d worked their entire lives ending up in poverty in their old age. Before diving into various details about benefits, there are a few things to clear up […]
What You Need To Know About Property Taxes in California
What You Need To Know About Property Taxes in California Property taxes in the US are generally proportional to the value of one’s property. The more valuable the property, the higher the taxes… Except in California. This is because in 1978, California enacted Prop 13 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_13_(1978)> which limited increases in the taxes on […]
2015 IRA, 401(k) and other retirement plan contribution limits announced
By law certain retirement plan limits get adjusted every year, not exactly tracking inflation (i.e., not by the CPI) but rather in “chunks” which approximate it. For 2015, the following limits have been announced: IRA Contributions (combined limit across Roth and Traditional): $5,500IRA Catch-Up Contributions (for folks over 50): $1000[Both unchanged from 2014 and, actually, […]
FINRA warns about 401(k) Rollovers – Let’s talk again about conflicts of interest!
FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is the securities industry’s self-reglatory organization. They do the various test, deal with broker and advisor registration and monitoring, etc. And FINRA has recently started cracking down on advisors and brokers who are giving questionable advice to investors about how to deal with their 401(k)s and rollovers. In […]
Forbes/NAPFA iConference virtual conference – going on right now. (Michael Kitces is talking about fascinating research into a whole new way to think about asset allocation glide-paths in retirement – with *increasing* rather than decreasing equity allocations!) So far, though, it’s a great conference, just like last year. The session on tax planning for 2013 […]
A Powerful Tool for Charitable Gifts
A Powerful Tool for Charitable Gifts – the Donor-Advised Fund Year-end is a time that many of us think of charity. And while the tax code encourages giving gifts to charity, if you want to take advantage of the tax break on this year’s taxes, you need to make the gift before year-end. Many of […]
58.7% increase in tax rates at the beginning of 2013 for income above $11,950
Yes, you read that right. There was a 58.7% increase in tax rates on taxes paid by certain taxpayers as of the beginning of 2013. That’s the increase in capital gains taxes for folks in the highest ordinary tax brackets, due to the increase in the capital gains rate from 15% to 20%, and the […]
A whopping 52.6 percent tax rate on ordinary income
From an article about ranking the tax efficiency of certain income-oriented investments for six-figure earners: Begin by choosing marginal tax rates for both ordinary income and long-term capital gains. Litman Gregory assumed a whopping 52.6 percent rate on ordinary income, which includes 8 percent for state income tax. The federal portion consists of this year’s […]
A brief history of taxes in america (humor, kinda)
A brief history of taxes in america (humor, kinda) [gotta love the mustache-twirling robber barons]http://www.theawl.com/2013/04/a-brief-history-of-taxes-in-america If we cannot cry, we should at least laugh.
John Steele Gordon on the Carried Interest Loophole
The always-worth-reading John Steele Gordon, on the absurdity of the carried-interest tax loophole (which mainly benefits hedge-fund managers): <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323415304578370910199546982.html?mod=ITP_opinion_0> He also describes a bit of the way hedge fund managers are paid. What isn’t mentioned is that the investors themselves are often getting fleeced, too. Recently we’ve seen how some of these funds end up […]
Meyers Wealth Management 