My family’s kitchen will not be profiled on HGTV as a model of organization. We face the practical limitations of 25-year old builder-grade cabinets and constrained space. We also face the reality confronted by many parents of young children. That is, the focus of children emptying a clean dishwasher is on getting it done quickly [...]
A number of years ago, we authored this article explaining why higher income parents may be well served to gift appreciated investments to their children and then have the children use the proceeds to pay for college. The article further explained how taxpayers who faced alternative minimum tax (AMT) received no tax benefit from [...]
In a country founded on the idea of individual freedom, Americans value the idea of choice. We inherently believe that maximizing individual freedom increases our individual welfare or happiness and that the best way to maximize individual freedom is to maximize choice. A bar with 120 beers on tap is perceived better than a bar [...]
Related Posts: Part II: High Income Earners and the Math of 529 Contributions Is Overfunding 529s Really so Terrible? More than 50,000 visitors in 2021… click here to sign up for our newsletter and never miss a post! (Don’t worry, we will not take up too much space in your inbox. After four fun introductory [...]
We made the case in this earlier post that Section 529 College Savings Plans present a huge tax saving opportunity for high income parents but that most fail to exploit the opportunity. Based on experience and observation, we cited five reasons that parents and grandparents fail to maximize the potential benefits. Two of those reasons [...]
The SECURE Act is by far the biggest retirement-oriented legislation to be enacted in over a decade. Many Americans are left wondering, “What does this mean for me?” Here’s what you need to know. 1. Required minimum distribution age increased to 72 One of the biggest changes in the SECURE Act is the increase of [...]
All three of time, interest or passion, and knowledge are required to be successful at anything. I might have the knowledge of how to mow my grass properly and I might enjoy mowing my grass but if I don’t have the time to mow my grass, then my lawn eventually becomes a mess. Alternatively, I [...]
Prior to 2018, the financial benefit for Georgia taxpayers to utilize the Rural Hospital Tax Credit and the Qualified Education Expense Tax Credit accrued only to those who faced alternative minimum tax (AMT). Georgia taxpayers who were not subject to AMT had the opportunity to direct the application of their state taxes to a specific [...]
The first sentence of our early November 2017 Astute Angle post read "It is November 8th, 2017 as this is written and there is no doubt that a lot will happen with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act before the end of the year." As expected, a lot did happen to the initial Tax Cuts [...]
Parents generally believe that the longer they can claim their children as dependents, the more tax savings they will accrue. This is a misleading fallacy for most high-income families. The reality is that most parents with more than $200,000 of annual income get zero tax benefit from their children and may continue to get limited [...]
