2023 IRMAA Brackets – How to Avoid Medicare IRMAA Brackets
The Medicare IRMAA surcharge is an additional fee many people discover as an unpleasant surprise. They think they will pay a certain amount for Medicare, but because of a higher income, they may be in a higher Medicare IRMAA bracket. The good news is that the IRMAA Medicare surcharge resets each year, so if you […]
Tax-Loss Harvesting – Rules and Examples of a Year-Round Strategy
The stock market going down is a natural part of investing. When an investment goes down in value, there are silver linings. One of the silver linings is that you may be able to use a strategy called tax-loss harvesting, where you sell an investment for a loss in a brokerage account. The benefit of […]
Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) – Tax-Efficient Charitable Giving
For people who donate to charity, qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) are powerful giving tools. QCDs can satisfy your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) and reduce your adjusted gross income, thereby potentially avoiding higher tax brackets and phaseouts of tax deductions. What does this mean for you? Making a qualified charitable distribution can potentially lower the amount […]
2022 Year-End Tax Planning Checklist
Don’t be the person who finds out in 2023 that they paid the IRS too much for 2022! If you haven’t done any tax planning for 2022 yet, now is the time. While many reactively plan for taxes, proper tax planning is not based on year-to-year numbers. Good tax planning looks at your lifetime tax […]
Widow Brain: What To Expect After Your Spouse Dies & 9 Ideas to Help
Losing a spouse and becoming a widow is a life changing and emotional experience. Emotions come and go: anger, fear, sadness, grief, loneliness, pain, shock, guilt, worry, and more. Brain fog, or “widow brain” can appear, causing even more frustration. Let me begin by saying everyone experiences grief differently. Widow brain affects people differently. There […]
Capital Gains vs. Ordinary Income – The Differences + 3 Tax Planning Strategies
Capital gains vs. ordinary income – do you know the difference in how they are taxed? If you are like many people, you may be wondering if recognizing capital gains can affect your ordinary income taxes or vice versa. Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase “long-term capital gains are stacked on top of ordinary income”, but […]
Gifting Money to Family Members: 5 Strategies to Understand
Most people spend a good portion of their lives working towards financial independence. They enjoy it for some time. Then, many people start wondering what to do after they feel they have enough. The next question becomes, “what next?” They start to think about family and how while inheritances can be helpful, gifting while alive […]
Roth Conversion: Is it Right for You?
Do you feel confident you are minimizing taxes over your lifetime? If you are like many people, the answer is no. Most people are focused on today. They want to reduce taxes today, but fail to consider how much in taxes they may pay in the future. Roth IRA conversions can be an excellent strategy […]
Donor-Advised Funds: How to Use to Reduce Taxes and Give to Charity
Have you ever wondered if there was a better way to give? Do you get tired of tracking receipts, writing checks, and inputting credit card information on charity websites? I know I did. $100 here, $50 there, and by the end of the year, I’m trying to remember and track down the charities to which […]
2021 Year-End Tax Planning Checklist – 7 Important Steps to Follow
It’s hard to believe 2021 is coming to a close. With the end of year quickly approaching, it is your last chance to do end of year tax planning. I recommend doing tax planning earlier in the year as much as possible, but I recognize there might be a few things that require you to […]
