To understand what a Roth conversion is, you must first understand some of the basics about the different types of retirement accounts, called “qualified accounts.” Pensions Also called defined-benefit plans, pensions are paid for by employers. They have largely gone away for Americans in the private sector starting with the passage of three laws during the Reagan administration, the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act passed in 1982, The Retirement Equity Act of 1984, and The Tax Reform Act and Single Employer Pension Plan enacted in 1986. The lack of pensions is one reason why it’s important for people to
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Archives for Tax Planning
Clearing Up Confusion About RMDs
The SECURE Act has increased the age for required minimum distributions (RMDs) from 70-1/2 to 72 starting this year, 2020. If you turned age 70-1/2 in 2019, your RMDs were required for the 2019 tax year, and WILL BE required for 2020, 2021 and every year from now on. For everyone turning 70-1/2 in 2020, your RMDs will not be required until the year you turn 72, even if you have received notification from your custodian to the contrary. Because the law was passed and became effective within two weeks of passage, automated computer notifications and settings have not been
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Retirement and Tax Planning.
Congress Looks to Provide More Options for Retirement Savers
While changes to traditional IRAs, RMDs offer some benefits, there are tradeoffs. Broad proposals are in the works in the retirement savings arena to ease rules on tax-deferred savings vehicles, make it easier for employers to offer 401(k)-type savings plans and also convert balances into annuities for lifetime income. In late May, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE). Key provisions within the SECURE Act offer more flexibility for when distributions would have to be taken out of tax-deferred accounts. On the flip side, the Act takes direct aim
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Retirement and Tax Planning.
Are your Social Security benefits taxable?
The answer is: Yes, sometimes. If you don’t have significant income in retirement besides Social Security benefits, then you probably won’t owe taxes on your benefits. But if you have large amounts saved up in tax-deferred vehicles like 401(k)s, you could be in for a surprise later. AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) versus Combined Income. You are probably familiar with what AGI, or adjusted gross income, means. To find it, you take your gross income from wages, self-employed earnings, interest, dividends, required minimum distributions from qualified retirement accounts and other taxable income, like unearned income, that must be reported on tax returns. (Unearned, taxable income can
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It’s Tax Season for Your 2018 Returns – Will You Owe More?
This year, the deadline to file your income tax returns is April 15, 2019. As of early February of 2019, Time Magazine1 reported that many Americans who had already filed their 2018 taxes were shocked by their lower refunds this year likely stemming from the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” law that passed in December 2017, which significantly overhauled the tax code in the U.S. “The initial batch of tax refunds in the first two weeks of the season declined an average of 8.7% from last year as of Feb. 8, according to a report from the Internal Revenue Service.
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