FINANCIaL
FIELd NOTES
End-of-Year Tax Prep Checklist
With the year coming to a close, below are 23 year-end planning tax items that I review for my clients.
Reviewed maxing out 401(k) or employer-sponsored plan.
Reviewed next year's 401(k) contribution limits and adjust withholdings in January.
Contributed to IRA or…
Tax Planning to Maximize Your Legacy
Most individuals have planned through their estate documents to leave all their assets to their spouse and then split them amongst their children or other family members.
And while this is certainly common practice, it does not always align with their personal values for charitable giving. In fact, it’s not uncommon to see someone give 5-10% of their income every year to charity and then give 0% of their estate after they die…
The Hidden Taxes In Tax-Free States
Moving to an income tax-free state in retirement may not lead to the tremendous savings retirees expect. The question to ask yourself when considering a new location is “How is this government funding itself?”
Oftentimes, the answer in states like Texas is property taxes. For example, in several counties in Texas, the property tax rate is over 2%, whereas it might be .5% to 1% in states with income taxes…
Using Direct Indexing to Maximize Charitable Giving
Direct Indexing is an investment strategy where the investor purchases the individual stocks of an index instead of the underlying index fund itself. You may be wondering why someone would go through the hassle of owning so many stocks when the cost of index funds is so low, and they can be purchased very easily. I tend to agree that in most situations, direct indexing is not the solution.
However, there are some situations where they can provide a tremendous benefit. One of those is for investors with non-retirement investments who donate to charity…
RMD Age Changing Again? SECURE ACT 2
Legislation that was approved in The House toward the end of March has the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) age set to change again if fully approved.
The proposed legislation would not change the RMD age for anyone who has begun required distributions, only for those who haven’t yet…
Getting A 91% Charitable Tax Deduction In Virginia – Neighborhood Assistance Program
If you live in Virginia and are searching for charitable organizations to give to, you may want to consider the Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP).
According to their website, “In return for [your] contributions...individuals may receive tax credits equal to 65 percent of the donation that may be applied against their state income tax liability.” That’s right - a 65% dollar-for-dollar credit on your Virginia taxes!