Retirement

spousal IRA Worth Tax

Don’t Miss the Opportunity for a Spousal IRA

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One frequently overlooked tax benefit is the spousal IRA. Generally, IRA contributions are only allowed for taxpayers who have compensation (the term “compensation” includes wages, tips, bonuses, professional fees, commissions, taxable alimony received, and net income from self-employment). Spousal IRAs are the exception to that rule and allow a non-working or low-earning spouse to contribute to his or her own IRA, otherwise known as a spousal IRA, as long as the spouse has adequate compensation.

What if Tax Reform Passes? Convert Your IRA to Soon?

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Did you convert your Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA? Do you worry you may have done it too soon if Tax Reform Passes?

A lot of people are asking the question, “What if tax reform passes? What will happen since I When you convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, you have to pay the tax on the conversion. However, individuals frequently do that so they can take advantage of future tax-free accumulations. Distributions from Roth IRAs are generally tax free, including any earnings (accumulations) while the account is a Roth account.

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What You Should Know About IRA Basis

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What is IRA Basis?

IRA basis is the sum of after tax contributions made to your Individual Retirement Account. This can include traditional IRAs, rollover IRAs, inherited IRAs, and Roth IRAs. Many taxpayers fail to keep track of after tax contributions to these retirement accounts. This is not a good idea because you end up paying tax twice on the money you contribute to your IRA; once on the way in and once on the way out.

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Ignoring Retirement Needs? Part 2

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Retirement, Retirement needsRetirement needs are often ignored. Some people ignore the issue until late in life. They scramble at the last minute to fund their retirement. In our last blog we talked about government poverty level and predicting your retirement needs. In this blog we will tell you about the different retirement plans available to you.

As we mentioned in our last blog, since the government wants you to save and prepare for your own retirement, tax laws offer a variety of tax incentives for retirement savings plans. This is true for wage earners and self-employed individuals and their employees. These plans include:

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Ignoring Retirement Needs? Part 1

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retirement needsAre you ignoring retirement needs for your future? That tends to happen when you are younger, retirement needs are far from your mind. You believe you have plenty of time to save for it. Some people ignore the issue until late in life. Then they have to scramble at the last minute to fund their retirement. Others ignore the issue altogether. They think their Social Security income

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Wrong Tax Forms Issued – Massachusetts Retirees

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Wrong Tax Forms were issued on January 21, 2016 to over 50,000 Commonwealth of Massachusetts Retirees. What happens if I file with the wrong tax forms? About 50,000 Commonwealth of Masachusetts retirees received the wrong tax … Read More

Turning 70 1/2 this year? You may face a number of special tax issues.

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If you are turning 70 1/2 this year, you may face a number of special tax issues. Not addressing these issues properly could result in significant penalties and filing hassles. Traditional IRA Contributions You cannot make … Read More