Retirement Watch Weekly
Tax Moves Now Can Avoid Higher Medicare Premiums in Two Years
Paying close attention to your tax situation today can help avoid paying much higher Medicare premiums in two years. This Stealth Tax catches more and more Americans age 65 and over by surprise every year. The Medicare premium surtax was created to add means-testing to Medicare, charging higher-income beneficiaries larger premiums for Parts B and […]
Congress Isn’t Finished Coming After Your Retirement Money
The Biden administration and Congress are planning major spending increases in 2021 and beyond. They are going to raise taxes to pay for some of that spending. A lot of the revenue to pay for the new spending is likely to come from retirement plans, according to several speakers at a recent American Bar Association […]
There’s Still Tax Magic from Making Charitable Contributions from Your IRA
The qualified charitable distribution (QCD) from an IRA is the best way for most people age 70½ and older to make charitable contributions. The QCD was a temporary innovation in 2006 but was made a regular part of the tax law in 2015. You should include the QCD in your tax planning if you’re charitably […]
What You and Your Heirs Should Know About Powers of Attorney
Your estate plan needs an up-to-date power of attorney (POA), but it also needs more.You and your heirs need to know some things about the POA, both its uses and limits. You’ll also find that you need more than a POA for you and the estate to be protected.Bills must be paid and assets managed, […]
The Most Important New Tax & Retirement Changes [Pandemic Update]
Some special tax and retirement plan rules were created in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Congress recently extended one of them with some modifications but let another expire. One provision gave taxpayers more than 60 days to roll over IRA distributions to the original IRA or to another qualified retirement plan. The provision […]
Bob’s Journal for 2/18/21
Some Notable Events That Grabbed My Attention This Week We had a very successful conference call last week with thousands of subscribers. (A replay is available here.) As I mentioned in last week’s Bob’s Journal, many questions were submitted in advance by email and a number of listeners wanted to ask questions on the call. […]
The Tax Law Changes Retirees Likely Haven’t Heard About
In late December, Congress passed – and former President Trump signed into law — the longest legislation they ever have. The Consolidated Appropriations Act was more than 5,000 pages. Most of the media attention was on the fiscal stimulus provisions, but there was a lot more in the law. Some tax law changes were overlooked […]
