Category: Taxes
63 posts categorized as "Taxes"
Sep 11, 2019
By Joanne M. Welker, CFA, Senior Vice President and Manager, Advisory Services
It is understood that the phrase “Happy Tax” is a bit of an oxymoron, but as an investor that truly is what the capital gains tax is. Did you make the investment hoping the value would go down? No. Are you happy that the value of the investment went up? Yes. And are you happy that you were able to exit the investment while the price was still elevated?
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Apr 16, 2019
By Jeffrey R. Wolfe, Senior Vice President, Manager of Wealth Planning Strategies
So, another tax season has come to an end. This one, though, was a little unique as it was the first tax season under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“Tax Act”). Were you surprised this year? Did you have to pay in more than you thought, or maybe you got an oversized refund?
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Apr 16, 2019
By Theresa Fry, Senior Vice President and Manager, IRA’s and Retirement Planning
You may still be recovering from paying your income taxes, but did you know that you can now celebrate “Tax Freedom Day®” according to the nonpartisan Tax Foundation. Today, American taxpayers will have earned enough as a whole to pay off their federal, state, and local income tax bill. Together we will pay a total of $5.29 trillion and we will spend more on taxes this year than we will on food,
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Apr 9, 2019
By Jeffrey R. Wolfe, Senior Vice President, Manager of Wealth Planning Strategies
As we have discussed throughout this year’s blog series, the new tax laws have lowered income tax rates generally. However, Uncle Sam still plans to take a little extra from higher income earners. While many tax thresholds are indexed for inflation, like the AMT tax exemption, other tax thresholds like the .9% Medicare Health Insurance Surtax and the 3.8% Net Investment Income taxes are not indexed for inflation.
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Apr 2, 2019
By Theresa Fry, Senior Vice President and Manager, IRA’s and Retirement Planning
At one time, all Social Security benefits were tax free. Today, if your only source of retirement income is Social Security, then it may still be tax free. Most people must pay income taxes on a portion of their Social Security income. The higher your income, the more taxes you’ll pay on your benefits.
Taxes on Social Security are determined based on your combined or “provisional income”.
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Mar 26, 2019
By Edward “Ed” V. O’Neal, Vice President and Manager, Retirement Plans
If you are a parent of young children, teenagers or other dependents, tax season can often be a frustrating exercise of trying to understand and effectively utilize key tax credits and deductions. Additionally, the recent enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which became effective on January 1, 2018, could have an impact on the tax planning strategies for many parents and families.
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Mar 19, 2019
By Theresa Fry, Senior Vice President and Manager, IRA’s and Retirement Planning
If you haven’t yet filed your tax return and are expecting a refund this year, there is an easy way to turn that refund into retirement savings without being tempted to spend it. Did you know you can direct deposit your tax refund into your traditional or Roth IRA? If you file IRS Form 8888, you can split your refund into as many as three different accounts,
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Mar 12, 2019
By Edward “Ed” V. O’Neal, Vice President and Manager, Retirement Plans
It’s that time of year where the attention of many business owners quickly turns to tax season and ways to reduce taxes—while increasing savings.
For small business owners looking for 2018 tax deductions, along with a way to jump start your retirement savings, the SEP IRA is the only employer retirement plan that can be both established and funded after the 2018 calendar year.
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Mar 5, 2019
By Theresa Fry, Senior Vice President and Manager, IRA’s and Retirement Planning
It’s not too late! You can still make a contribution to your traditional or Roth IRA. Regardless of when you file your income tax return, April 15, 2019 is the deadline for the 2018 tax year for most people (see below for details). For example, if you apply for an extension of time and file your tax return later in the year,
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Feb 26, 2019
By Jeffrey R. Wolfe, Senior Vice President, Manager of Wealth Planning Strategies
Each year the IRS announces its “Dirty Dozen” of tax scams. These are the most common and most dangerous scams that affect taxpayers. The top three, for the second year in a row, are:
- Phishing: Phishing is when scammers send fake emails or website links to try and trick a taxpayer into sharing private information.
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