Like it or not, the Affordable Care Act will again rule the health insurance marketplace in 2018 regardless of what happens in Congress with tax legislation or whether the individual mandate holds up over the coming weeks. Also like it or not, there has been a dramatic increase in insurance premiums from the onset of [...]
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. The current bill is being marked up by the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate is due to release its own [...]
Earlier this month, we published an article explaining why investors would be well served to organize their portfolios like their kitchens. This process, one that the finance industry calls ‘asset location’, is simply intended to make the most of the existing tax code. The IRS sets the rules with different tax treatment for different account types [...]
Note that an updated explanation of the tax impact under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act exists here. We wrote this article in 2015 about a simple tax credit (the QEE Tax Credit) that provided an opportunity for taxpayers in Georgia who face alternative minimum tax (AMT) to reduce their tax liability by $700. The [...]
The history of the qualified charitable distribution (QCD) feels a lot like the 'Friends' relationship of Rachel and Ross. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. There has been enough disruption in the availability of this tax-saving opportunity that it has been hard to remember if it is on or off. Good news...it's on. The brief history goes [...]
This time of year means open enrollment season and that means battling a consistent bevy of confusing acronyms: FSA, HSA, HRA, PPO, HMO, POS, and on. Reorienting every year to the different meanings, rules, and benefits of these acronyms is akin to relearning the scoring rules of curling every four years. Most Americans are interested [...]
In a prior article about saving for college, we outlined some of the many ways to handle overfunded 529 college savings plans and why these underpublicized options justify aggressive funding of 529 plans. In the opening paragraphs of that article, we explained how the rules treat 529 account funds used for non-qualified expenses: The first [...]
High income families faced with high annual taxes are often looking for ways to reduce their taxes or save additional dollars in tax-efficient ways. Unfortunately, these well-intentioned pursuits often result in irrational behaviors (such as permitting the government to shortchange your retirement savings) or unfavorable outcomes (such as paying more taxes than you would have [...]
“It might be the simplest play in all of sports, and the most effective. Give the ball to Michael Jordan, and everyone else get out of the way.” These two sentences began an Associated Press article on May 28, 1989. The day prior, the Chicago Bulls had the ball in the closing seconds of a [...]
One of the most challenging roles of parenting is finding the proper balance between protecting children too much and not enough. In the early years, we cover electrical outlets, protect household edges with soft bumpers, and spend hours analyzing all the safety features of car seats. Parental protection then evolves to monitoring what our children [...]
