This year I will spend a lot of time with my clients analyzing their individual tax situation under the new law. New withholding tables go into effect in February 2018 and wage earners may have to adjust to make sure they don't have either a huge refund or a huge bill at tax time. No, you do not want a big refund! One of the big changes in this law is the doubling of the standard deduction. Each year you are allowed to subtract from income a deduction. You subtract whichever is larger for you, the standard deduction or itemized deductions. Many people who used to itemize will now take the standard deduction. But it's difficult to make blanket statements about who will and won't itemize …
Taxes
How Does Your Income and Tax Bill Stack Up?
Tax reform is the topic of the day especially for those of us in the biz. As of this writing, November 2017, we have seen the first draft of the House legislation. What the final bill will look like (assuming there is a final bill) is still a question mark. In the meantime you may be interested to learn where YOUR income and tax bill stacks up compared to everyone else in the United States. Kiplinger has created a tax burden calculator that will tell you just that based on IRS data from 2015, the most recently available year. Find it HERE. It's easy to use. Enter your AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) in the box. Your AGI is on Line 37 of the 1040 Form on your tax …
Supporting your adult child or elderly parent? You could save on taxes!
Hello! Has your adult child boomeranged back to the nest and having trouble finding work? Are you helping out your parents or other people financially? You may be able to claim them as dependents on your tax return and/or deduct the medical expenses you pay for them. Read on to learn more. Best, Michelle Morris, CFP®, EA BRIO Financial Planning Recently I helped two clients amend prior year taxes to claim two adult children as dependents in one case and an elderly father in another case. The combined savings was thousands. These scenarios are increasingly common and many people aren't aware of the dependent rules or that claiming someone other …
Where do YOU rank as a taxpayer?
Hello! Happy New Year! Unless you just got back from an extended stay on Pluto, you probably know that 2016 is a Presidential election year here in the US. In the coming months we will be hearing a lot about income inequality, the tax code, and whether the rich (however one defines that) are paying their "fair share". Have you ever wondered how your income stacks up against your fellow Americans? Do you have any idea what portion of the nation's tax burden you are bearing? Read on to find out how you can quickly answer these questions. And Happy Election Year. Best, Michelle Morris, CFP®, EA BRIO Financial Planning Kiplinger recently …
Uncle Horace Died and Left You His IRA. Now What?
Hello! Does your family have an Uncle Horace? I invented him for this article but a lot of families have a similar character: a hardworking, frugal soul who lives alone and says little but thinks a lot. This is the kind of person who accumulates a tidy sum. As the saying goes 'You can't take it with you', so when Horace reaches the end of his hopefully long life, it has to go somewhere. Like almost everything in the IRS code, the rules for Inherited IRAs are tricky. A misstep can result in unnecessary taxes/penalties and missed opportunity for tax deferred growth for the beneficiary(ies). Read on to learn more! Best, Michelle Morris, CFP®, EA BRIO Financial …
