A home is the most valuable asset many people own. So, it’s important to remain aware of the tax impact of home ownership and to carefully track the debt you incur to buy, build or improve your home – known as “acquisition indebtedness.” Among the biggest tax perks of buying a home is the ability [...]
Sponsors of defined benefit plans – commonly known as pensions – might be facing tighter scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Labor. Just last year, at an ERISA Advisory Council meeting, the agency’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) announced that it had ramped up pension audit operations in its Philadelphia office and later decided to [...]
If you’re currently taking care of your children and elderly parents, count yourself among those in the “Sandwich Generation.” Although it may be personally gratifying to help your parents, it can be a financial burden and affect your own estate plan. Here are some critical steps to take to better manage the situation. IDENTIFY KEY [...]
With kids back in school, it’s a good time for parents (and grandparents) to think about college funding. One option, which can be especially beneficial if the children in question still have many years until heading off to college, is a Section 529 plan. TAX-DEFERRED COMPOUNDING 529 plans are generally state-sponsored, and the savings-plan option [...]
When Congress was debating tax law reform last year, there was talk of repealing the federal estate and gift taxes. As it turned out, rumors of their demise were highly exaggerated. Both still exist and every taxpayer with a high degree of wealth shouldn’t let either take their heirs by surprise. Exclusions and Exemptions For [...]
The passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act late last year had a marked impact on Roth IRAs: to wit, taxpayers who wish to convert a pretax traditional IRA into a post-tax Roth IRA can no longer “re-characterize” (that is, reverse) the conversion for 2018 and later years. The IRS recently clarified in FAQs [...]