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File Now. Suspend Later.

Jun 11th, 2014
by jblankenship.
1 comment
Photo courtesy of Lacey Raper on unsplash.com.

Photo courtesy of Lacey Raper on unsplash.com.

Suspending benefits is a facet of Social Security filing that usually only gets written about in connection with filing – File and Suspend is often referred to as a single act, but it’s actually two things.  First you file for your benefits, which is a definite action with the Social Security Administration, establishing a filed application on your record.  Then, you voluntarily suspend receiving benefits.  If this happens all at once, the end result is that you have an application filed with SSA, but you’re not receiving benefits.  Since you have an application filed (in SSA parlance, you’re entitled to benefits), your spouse and/or dependents may be eligible for a benefit based on your record.

Since you are not receiving benefits, your record earns delayed retirement credits (DRCs) of 2/3% per month that you delay receipt of benefits past your Full Retirement Age (FRA).  (Note: you can only suspend receipt of benefits when you are at or older than FRA, age 66 for folks born before 1955.)

It doesn’t have to happen all at once though.  You could file for benefits and receive them for a few months or a long period of time, and then suspend benefits later in order to receive delayed retirement credits to increase your benefit later.

For example, Tim started receiving his Social Security benefit at age 62, because he figured he couldn’t count on the government to make the funds available for him in the future, and by gum he was going to get what was coming to him.  By starting early, Tim has reduced his benefit from a possible $2,000 (had he waited until FRA to file) to $1,500 per month.  The crazy thing is that Tim has a pension that covers his and his wife Janice’s monthly expenses completely, so he doesn’t really need the SS benefit for living expenses.

A couple years later, Janice explained (tactfully of course) to Tim how he had unnecessarily thrown money away by filing so early.  Since more than 12 months had passed, he couldn’t do anything about it, right?

Wrong – once Tim reaches FRA, he has the option of suspending his benefits, which will provide the ability for his benefit record to begin accruing the Delayed Retirement Credits at the rate of 2/3% per month, or 8% per year.  After four years, Tim’s benefit could be increased by 32%, up to a new monthly benefit of $1,980 per month – almost as much as what his original benefit would have been. (Cost of Living Adjustments have not been factored into the equation.)

Roth 401(k) Rules

Jun 9th, 2014
by jblankenship.
2 comments
Photo courtesy of Mario Calvo on unsplash.com.

Photo courtesy of Mario Calvo on unsplash.com.

If your employer has a 401(k) plan available for you to participate in, you may also have a Roth 401(k) option available as a part of the plan. (We’re referring to 401(k) plans by name here, but unless noted the rules we’re discussing also apply to other Qualified Retirement Plans (QRPs) such as 403(b) or 457 plans.)  Roth 401(k) plans are not required when a 401(k) plan is offered, but many employers offer this option these days.

The Roth 401(k) option, also known as a Designated Roth Account or DRAC, first became available with the passage of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (EGTRRA) of 2001, with the first accounts available effective January 1, 2006.  The Roth 401(k) was designed to provide similar features present in a Roth IRA to the employer-provided 401(k)-type plans.

Similar to traditional 401(k)

Certain features of the Roth 401(k) are similar to the traditional 401(k) plan – since the Roth 401(k) is just an extension of the traditional 401(k), in practice.  For example, the employee-participant has the option to elect to defer a portion of her income into the account, and the employer may provide matching contributions based upon the elected deferrals.

The deferred funds are held in a separate account, and the funds invested in selected investment options.  While the funds are in the plan (before distribution) the growth of the funds occurs without taxation.  Upon reaching retirement age (59½ years of age, usually), the funds can be distributed without penalty to the employee-participant.

Funds can also be rolled over into another employer’s plan or a like-ruled IRA (Roth IRA) without tax or penalty.  If the funds remain in the Roth 401(k) plan and the employee-participant has reached age 70½ years of age, and is no longer employed by the plan sponsor (or is still employed and is a 5% or greater owner), the employee-participant must begin taking Required Minimum Distributions from the plan.

Different from traditional 401(k)

Some very important features about the Roth 401(k) are different from the traditional 401(k), but very similar to features of the Roth IRA.  If not, what’s the point of the separate account, right?

First of all, unlike the traditional 401(k), funds deferred into the Roth 401(k) plan are subject to ordinary income tax.Once contributed, growth in the account is tax-deferred – and if taken out after age 59½, the distributions are not subject to income tax.  This is the same treatment that funds contributed to a Roth IRA receive.

When the employer provides matching funds, those funds are contributed to a traditional 401(k) account rather than the Roth 401(k) account.  Vesting rules apply just like with the traditional 401(k) plan, and these only apply to the matching funds.

In addition, when money has been contributed to the Roth 401(k) plan, in order for the distributions to be fully tax-free, the account must have been established at least five years prior to the distribution, and the account owner must be at least 59½ years of age.

Combined Rules

In total, the employee-participant’s contributions for any tax year to ALL 401(k) plans, traditional or Roth, for all employers, cannot exceed the annual deferral limit – which is $17,500 for 2014, plus a $5,500 catch-up for folks who are over age 50.

Rollovers from the plan to an outside plan (Roth IRA or another employer’s Roth 401(k) plan) are generally not allowed until the employee has ceased employment with the plan sponsor.

Although the traditional and Roth 401(k) plans are likely reported on the same statement to the employee-participant, they are always kept in separate accounts, totally segregated from one another.  This simplifies the application of future tax treatment of the funds in the two types of accounts.  When you have deferred funds into the Roth 401(k) account this action is irreversible – in other words, you cannot move the funds into your traditional account or take them in cash after you’ve deferred into the Roth 401(k) without consequences.

It is possible for the employer to allow in-service rollovers (conversions) from the traditional 401(k) to the Roth 401(k) account – paying ordinary income tax on the converted funds in the tax year of the conversion.  These conversions are an allowed, non-penalized distribution from the 401(k) plan.

Investment Allocation in Your 401(k) Plan

Jun 2nd, 2014
by jblankenship.
2 comments
Photo courtesy of Jacob Aguilar-Friend on unsplash.com.

Photo courtesy of Jacob Aguilar-Friend on unsplash.com.

When you participate in your employer-sponsored 401(k) plan (or any type of Qualified Retirement Plan, including 403(b), 457, etc.), the first step is to determine how much money you will defer into the plan.  We discussed this previously in an article about contributions to your 401(k) plan.

Once you’ve determined the amount you’ll contribute, the next step is to allocate your funds within the account.  This starts with an overall plan for your investment allocation – which you should take time to plan in advance.  For the purposes of our illustration here, we’ll say that you have a plan to split your account 75% to stocks and 25% to bonds.  Within the stock allocation, you want to split this as 1/3 each to large cap stock, small cap stock, and international stock.  In the bond category you want to split this to 80% domestic bonds and 20% international bonds.

Now you need to review your 401(k)’s investment options.   Generally you will have anywhere from five to 15 or more investment choices, and sometimes you have an open brokerage option (we’ll talk about this more later).  Within the investment options you’ll likely have at least one (if not more) of the following: large cap stock, small cap stock, international stock, fixed interest (like a money market), and domestic bonds.

Sometimes there will be more than one choice in each asset classification, and it often doesn’t make a lot of sense to invest in more than one mutual fund within the same asset class.  This is due to the fact that, unless one of the fund choices is limited in its investment choices (versus the other funds in the group), they are likely to be very closely correlated in their performance and returns.  By “limited in its investment choices” I mean that the fund is sector-specific (such as a healthcare fund) or valuation-specific (such as a growth or value fund).

When you have two or more funds within the same asset class that are indistinguishable from one another other than by name, it’s time to dig a bit deeper.  Your plan administrator should provide you with access to data about the investment choices to help with the selection process.  One of the first things you should look at and compare between the two (or more) choices is the expense ratio of the funds.  This factor is one of the simple factors that you can control, and which can have a significant impact on your life-long results.  Other factors to compare include the recent and long-term investment results (which should be similar for similar funds), turnover ratio, manager tenure, and the like.

If the expense ratios you’re seeing are all above 1% – don’t feel like you’re alone.  A 1% mutual fund expense ratio is ridiculously high these days when you can get exchange-traded funds or indexed mutual funds with expense ratios in ranges at 1/3 of that rate or less.

This is when you need to review all of your portfolio allocations and consider how you’re splitting things up across the board.  Perhaps you have a 401(k) plan at an old employer, an IRA, a taxable brokerage account and/or possibly a Roth IRA.  When you have other investment accounts to choose from, it can help you to limit exposure to some of the higher-expense funds like your employer’s 401(k) plan.

Let’s say for example that your 401(k) has six funds available for allocation: Large Cap Fund A (expense ratio 1.15%), Large Cap Fund B (expense ratio 0.95%), Small Cap Fund C (expense ratio 0.54%), International Stock Fund D (expense ratio 1.05%), Domestic Bond Fund E (expense ratio 0.75%) and a Money Market Fund F (0.10% expense ratio).  Earlier we indicated that we wanted to break out our allocation as 25% Large Cap, 25% Small Cap, 25% International, 15% Domestic Bonds and 10% International Bonds.  Your allocation choices make the first four allocations simple: choose Fund B for 25% (because it’s the lowest cost), Fund C – 25%, Fund D – 25% and Fund E – 15%.  The remainder of your allocation could be handled via outside accounts (IRAs, taxable accounts, and the like).

In your IRA you have access to a large-cap stock fund with an expense ratio of 0.19%.  Instead of choosing to allocate your Large Cap 25% to your 401(k) high-expense Fund A or Fund B, it makes a lot more sense to allocate this portion to the very low cost option in your IRA.

In addition, your 401(k) doesn’t have an International Bond option at all – so you will need to pick that allocation up within your non-401(k) account(s) as well.

The point is that you don’t have to set your allocation separately within each type of account – look at all of them in aggregate and choose the lowest-cost options across all accounts.  (You could allocate each account separately but your simplification would come at an unnecessarily-high expense.)

Another point to understand is that the expense ratio is not the only factor to use in your investment choices – but it is (I believe) the most important factor that you have control over which can improve your investment results significantly in the long run.  You should review all of your fund choices in context with your available accounts, and make intelligent decisions about which funds to use based on your review.

The last thing to understand is that – especially when you’re just starting out – your allocation percentages won’t be exactly what you planned for until you’ve been contributing for a while.  Say for example that you have an IRA with $50,000 invested in it and you’re just starting to contribute to the company 401(k) plan.  You’ll be investing $2,000 per year in deferred income, and the company matches an extra $1,000 per year.  Your allocation is as we described above in your IRA, and you wonder what makes the most sense for your new $3 grand a year.

In this case, you might choose to put that extra $3,000 all in your Small Cap Fund C, since it has a relatively low expense ratio.  As this money builds up over time, look at all of your investment allocations in the aggregate and choose your future investments based on the new present balances.  Gradually your funds will build up (at least you hope they will!) and you’ll want to split the money among other funds in the plan, again, in context with your overall investment plan.

Mechanics of 401(k) Plans – Loans

May 30th, 2014
by jblankenship.
5 comments
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Continuing our series of articles on the mechanics of 401(k) plans, today we’ll talk about loans from the account.  As with all of these articles, we’ll refer generically to the plans as 401(k) plans, although they could be just about any Qualified Retirement Plans (QRPs), including 403(b), 457, and other plans.

Unlike IRAs, 401(k) plans allow for the employee-participant to take a loan from the plan.  There are restrictions on these loans, but they can be useful if you need funds for a short-term period and have no other sources.

401(k) Loans

If you have a balance in your 401(k) account, often your plan administrator will have a provision allowing you to take a loan of some of the funds in the account. (Not all plans allow loans – this is an optional provision, not a requirement.)  Sometimes the plan administrator will place restrictions on the use of the loan – such as for education expenses, medical expenses, or certain housing costs.

These loans are limited to the lesser of 50% of your vested balance or $50,000.  If your vested account balance is less than $20,000, you are allowed to take a loan up to $10,000 or 100% of your vested balance.  It is allowed to have more than one loan from your 401(k) plan at a time, but the limits mentioned above apply to the aggregation of all loans at any time.

Loans from your 401(k) plan must be paid back over a specific period of time, not to exceed 5 years from the loan origination.  If the loan is for purchase of the participant’s primary residence, the plan administrator may extend the repayment period of the loan.  In addition, loan payments must be on a set schedule of substantially equal payments, including both interest and principal – and payments must at least be quarterly.  Loan payments are not considered to be plan contributions (when considering annual contribution limits).

If the loan is not repaid according to the schedule, any unpaid balance is considered to be a taxable distribution from the plan – but not a usurpment of rules regarding in-plan distributions.  In other words, if a plan only allows in-plan distributions to employee-participants who are over age 59½ and an employee under that age defaults on a loan, the deemed distribution is not outside the rules of an in-plan distribution.

Loan payments can be suspended for up to one year for a period of absence by the employee-participant, but the original loan repayment period still applies.  In other words, if an employee with a 401(k) loan in repayment status takes a leave of absence and payments are suspended, upon the shorter of his return to work or 1 year, the suspended payments have to be made up.  This is done via either increased payments for the remainder of the loan period, or a lump-sum payment at the end of the period.

Loan payments can also be suspended for employees performing military service – such as called-up reserves.  The time limit of 1 year (as above) doesn’t apply to these suspensions.

Interest on the loan can vary by the 401(k) plan, but most common is to use a rate such as “Prime plus 2%”.

Unless you default on the loan, the proceeds are not taxable, since you’ve only borrowed them and are paying back the funds, usually via payroll deduction.  The payments back into the plan are taxable income, since they are not considered to be “regular” contributions to the account.

Mechanics of 401(k) Plans – Distribution

May 28th, 2014
by jblankenship.
No comments yet
Photo courtesy of Sonja Langford on unsplash.com.

Photo courtesy of Sonja Langford on unsplash.com.

For the next in our series of articles regarding the mechanics of 401(k) plans, we’ll review distributions from the plan.  As with our other articles in this series, we’re referring to all sorts of qualified retirement plans (QRPs) – including 401(k), 403(b), 457, and others – generically as 401(k) plans throughout.

There are several types of distributions from 401(k) plans to consider.  Distributions before retirement age and after retirement age are the two primary categories which we’ll review below.  Another type of distribution is a loan – which will be covered in a subsequent article.

But first, we need to define retirement age.  Generally speaking, retirement age for your 401(k) plan is 59½, just the same as with an IRA.  However, if you leave employment at or after age 55, the operative age is 55.  If you have left employment before age 55, retirement age is 59½. This means that when you have reached retirement age you have access to the funds in your account without the early distribution penalty. (For government jobs with a 457 plan, retirement age is whenever you leave employment – no set age is defined. If you move your funds from the 457 plan to any other type of plan, such as an IRA or 401(k) you lose this provision and must abide by the retirement age for your new plan.)

Distributions before retirement age

When you take a distribution from your 401(k) account before you have reached retirement age (as defined above) – you will possibly owe ordinary income tax and a penalty for early distribution from the account.  This is if you take the distribution without rolling it over into some other sort of tax-deferral vehicle, such as an IRA or 401(k) plan.

If you withdraw funds or securities from your 401(k) plan and put the money into a non-deferred account (or just spend it), it is considered taxable income to you.  Ordinary income tax will apply to the pre-tax amounts distributed from your account.

The one exception: If you happen to have post-tax funds in your account – that is, if you have contributed funds that were taxable prior to your contribution to the account – when these funds are distributed there will be no tax on the distribution.  Any growth of the funds (interest received, capital gains, dividends, etc.) would be taxable, but the post-tax contributions are free from additional tax.  All other funds in your 401(k) account are taxable upon distribution.

The other exception: If the funds are rolled over into another tax-deferred account such as an IRA, another 401(k), or any other QRP, there should be no tax on this distribution.

The 10% penalty will apply to funds withdrawn prior to retirement age if one of the 72(t) exceptions does not apply. Some of these exceptions include (with limits): first-time home purchase, medical expenses, and education expenses, among other things.  See the article at this link for a complete list of 72(t) exceptions.

Distributions after retirement age

Withdrawals after retirement age are the same as withdrawals before retirement age, except for the 10% penalty.  If you are older than retirement age (defined above) you will not be subject to the 10% penalty on funds withdrawn from the account – because this is one of the 72(t) exceptions, the most common one used.

So pre-tax contributions and growth in the account will be taxed as ordinary income unless rolled over into another tax-deferred account.  Post-tax contributions to the account will be tax-free upon distribution.

Distributions including partly pre-tax and partly post-tax

If your account includes some after-tax money in addition to pre-tax money, the general rule is that any distribution from the account includes pro-rata amounts of some pre-tax and some post-tax money.  For example, if a 401(k) account contains $100,000 in total, of which $10,000 is post-tax contributions, for every dollar withdrawn from the account, 10¢ is tax-free, and 90¢ is taxable.  This is known in the industry as the “cream in the coffee” rule – as in, once you have cream (post-tax money) in your coffee (your 401(k) plan), every sip (distribution) contains some cream along with the coffee.

There are ways to separate the cream from the coffee, all controversial and subject to significant restrictions.  We’ll cover that in a later article.

Types of Rollovers Not Subject to the Once-Per-Year Rule

May 21st, 2014
by jblankenship.
3 comments
Photo courtesy of Paula Borowska on unsplash.com.

Photo courtesy of Paula Borowska on unsplash.com.

In a previous article we discussed the changes to the IRA One-Rollover-Per-Year rule.  There are certain types of rollovers that are not included in that restriction, detailed below.

As mentioned in the earlier article, trustee-to-trustee transfers are not considered “rollovers” by the IRS regarding this rule.  So you are allowed to make as many trustee-to-trustee transfers in a year as you like – no restrictions on these kinds of transfers at all.  This includes trustee-to-trustee transfers from or to IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, or any eligible plan.

In addition, a rollover from an IRA into a 401(k) or other Qualified Retirement Plan (QRP) is not impacted by this rule.  This means that you can roll funds out of your IRA and into your employer’s 401(k) plan with no restriction – regardless of whether or not you have already made an IRA-to-IRA rollover in the previous 12 months.

Similarly, a rollover from a 401(k) or other QRP into an IRA is also not covered by the once-per-year rule.  Just like going the other direction, you could rollover funds from your 401(k) plan into an IRA (via a non-direct transfer) and it will not count against the one-rollover-per year restriction.

Roth IRA conversions do not count toward the one-rollover-per-year rule either.  This could be a method for moving funds around if you’ve been otherwise restricted by a prior indirect or 60-day rollover.  Even though moving money from a traditional IRA (or QRP) to a Roth IRA via a conversion is technically termed a rollover, these conversions are not counted toward the once-per-year rollover restriction.

Mechanics of 401(k) Plans – Vesting

May 19th, 2014
by jblankenship.
1 comment
Image courtesy of vectorolie at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of vectorolie at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In this article in our series on the mechanics of 401(k) plans, we’ll be covering the concept of vesting.  As with the other articles in the series, we’ll refer specifically to 401(k) plans throughout, but most of the provisions apply to all types of Qualified Retirement Plans (QRPs), which go by many names: 401(k), 403(b), 457, etc..

Vesting refers to the process by which the employer-contributed amounts in the 401(k) plan become the unencumbered property of the employee-participant in the plan.  Vesting is based upon the tenure of the participant as an employee of the employer-sponsor of the plan.

Generally, when an employee first begins employment there is a period of time when the employer wishes to protect itself from the circumstance of the new employee’s leaving employment within a relatively short period of time.  Vesting is one way that the employer can protect itself from handing over employer-matching funds from the 401(k) plan if the employee leaves the job very soon.  Vesting can also apply to other employer-provided benefits such as a pension, profit-sharing plan, or stock purchase plan.

It is important to note that you are ALWAYS vested in the funds that you have deferred into the 401(k) plan.  Vesting refers to employer-provided benefits.

Vesting can be done in three ways: immediate, cliff, or graded.  Immediate vesting is just as the name implies – the employee is 100% vested in employer-provided amounts immediately, with no limitations.  In this case, if the employee left the company immediately after his or her first paycheck where 401(k) amounts were contributed on his or her behalf, those amounts would be available to rollover into an IRA or other QRP right away.

Cliff vesting refers to a process where a specific period of time must pass, and after that time has passed the employee is 100% vested in the employer-provided amounts.  Until that time period has passed, the employee has a zero percent claim to the employer-provided amounts in the plan.  Federal law prescribes a 3-year limit on cliff vesting schedules for QRPs – any length of time less than or equal to 3 years can be an applicable cliff vesting schedule.

Graded vesting refers to a process where a series of time periods pass, and after each of these periods of time a portion of the employer-provided amounts in the 401(k) plan becomes the property of the employee.  Gradually the employee gains 100% vesting (access) to the employer-provided amounts.  An example of a 4-year vesting schedule would provide vesting of 25% per year at the end of each of the four years.  After the end of the first year of employment, 25% of the employer-matching funds are vested.  After two years, 50%; after three years, 75%; and after the fourth year the funds are 100% vested with the employee.  Federal law puts a limit of 6 years as the maximum number of years a vesting schedule can run.

Social Security Spousal Benefits After a Divorce

May 14th, 2014
by jblankenship.
2 comments
Photo courtesy of danka peter on unsplash.com.

Photo courtesy of danka peter on unsplash.com.

We’ve discussed many different factors about Social Security Spousal Benefits, but what happens to Spousal Benefits after the couple has divorced?

We know that a divorcee can file for Spousal Benefits if the marriage lasted for at least 10 years – but only after a 2-year period has passed if the ex-spouse has not already filed for benefits.  The only other factors that must be in place are for the ex-spouse to be at least 62 years of age, and of course the ex must have a benefit record to calculate Spousal Benefits from.

On the other hand, if a couple is divorcing and one of the spouses (soon to be ex-spouses) has already filed for his or her own Social Security benefits, the other spouse can file for Spousal Benefits either before or after the divorce is finalized with no waiting period, as long as they were married for one year or longer.

This differs from the usual explanation of divorcee Spousal Benefits in a couple of ways: first off, if the other spouse has not already filed, there is a two year waiting period after the divorce to allow the person to file for Spousal Benefits.  Secondly, if the benefits have not already started, the marriage must have been in existence for 10 years (before the divorce) for the ex-spouse to be eligible for Spousal Benefits.

A planning point can be illustrated by the following example:  A couple, Jan and Dean, who were married for 30 years and are going through a divorce.  Dean is 66 years old, and Jan is 62.  Dean has not filed for his Social Security benefits, preferring to delay until age 70.  Jan has also not filed for benefits, however, after the divorce she feels that she may need the benefits to augment her income.

Jan could file for her own benefit either before or after the divorce, that event won’t have an impact on her own retirement benefit.  However, if she needs the Spousal Benefit in addition to her own benefit, she would have to wait until two years have passed after the divorce in order to be eligible.  The limiting factor is that Dean has not filed for his own benefit.

Now, if Dean was to file and suspend his benefit, there is no negative for him – file and suspend has no downside for him.  On the other hand, by Dean’s filing and suspending his own benefit, he has enabled Jan to file for Spousal Benefits, either before or after the divorce is finalized.  Otherwise Jan would have to wait until two years after the divorce is final to be eligible for Spousal Benefits.

It’s important to note that deemed filing would apply to Jan if Dean has filed for his benefits – meaning that if Dean files or files and suspends before Jan files for her own benefit, she is required to filed for both her own benefit and the Spousal Benefit at the same time.  This is because she is under full retirement age, and is eligible for a Spousal Benefit in addition to her own benefit, so she is deemed to have filed for both in these circumstances.

Mechanics of 401(k) Plans – Employer Contributions

May 12th, 2014
by jblankenship.
No comments yet
Photo courtesy of Lumen Bigott on unsplash.com.

Photo courtesy of Lumen Bigott on unsplash.com.

This is the second post in a series of posts that explain the mechanics of a 401(k) plan.  As mentioned previously, there are many types of Qualified Retirement Plans (collectively called QRPs) that share common characteristics.  Some of these plans are called 401(k), 403(b), and 457.  In these articles we’ll simply refer to 401(k) plans to address common characteristics of all of these QRPs.

Employer Contributions

Many companies provide a matching contribution to the 401(k) plan – and sometimes there is a contribution made to a QRP on your behalf no matter if you have contributed your own deferred salary or not.

Most of the time these matching contributions are stated as x% of the first y% of contributions to the account.  An example would be “50% of the first 6%”, meaning if you contribute 6% of your salary to the plan, the company will match that contribution with 3% (50% of your contribution).  This matching rate is up to the company, but it must be applied without discrimination for all employee-participants in the plan.

Sometimes the company designates that your contribution must be invested solely in company stock – this is less common these days, but it still occurs.  Otherwise, once you’re vested in the plan, this matching contribution is your money. (We’ll cover vesting later.)

Matching

As mentioned previously, most often employer contributions are in the form of matching contributions – dependent upon employee-participants’ making deferrals into the program in order for the company to make a contribution to your account.

In a 50% of the first 6% match plan (as an example), if your salary is $30,000 and you defer 5% or $1,500 into the plan, your employer would match that with a $750 contribution.  As mentioned in the earlier post on saving/contributing to your 401(k) plan, this deferral could result in a tax savings of approximately $225 in these circumstances.

When you balance it out, you wind up with $2,250 in your 401(k) account and a tax bill that’s $225 lower.

Spontaneous Contributions

In some cases, the employer makes contributions to your 401(k) plan regardless of whether you defer salary into the plan.  In these cases, called Safe Harbor plans, the employer wants to ensure that there are contributions made on behalf of all employees (to encourage saving and participation) and to ensure that there is no discrimination toward higher-salaried employees.  If there were discrimination in favor of higher salaried employees the plan itself could become disqualified by the IRS and all tax benefits would be eliminated.

Mechanics of 401(k) Plans – Saving/Contributing

May 5th, 2014
by jblankenship.
1 comment
Image courtesy of Ppiboon at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Ppiboon at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Many folks have a 401(k) plan or other similar Qualified Retirement Plan (QRP) available from their employer.  These plans have many names, including 403(b), 457, and other plans, but for clarity’s sake we’ll refer to them all as 401(k) plans in this article.  This sort of retirement savings plan can be very confusing if you’re unfamiliar, but it’s a relatively straightforward savings vehicle.

This is the first in a series of articles about the mechanics of your 401(k) plan – Saving/Contributing.

Saving/Contributing

You are allowed to make contributions to the 401(k) plan, primarily in the form of pre-tax salary deferrals.  You fill out a form (online most of the time these days) to designate a particular portion of your salary to be deferred into the 401(k) plan.  Then, each payday you’ll see a deduction from your paycheck showing the 401(k) plan contribution.  The deduction is before income tax withholding is applied to the paycheck, since these contributions are “pre-tax”.  However, Social Security and Medicare taxes are applied to these deferrals.

Because of this pre-tax nature of your deferrals into the 401(k) plan, putting money in the plan will reduce your income taxes in the year of the deferral.  For example, if your income is $30,000 per year and you defer 5% of your income into the plan, your reported taxable wages would be 5% less, or $28,500.  As a result, your possible tax bill could reduce from $2,553.75 to $2,328.75, a reduction of $225. (This is an example only, using 2013 tax tables.)

Once your money is deferred into the plan you will be eligible to invest those funds as you see fit (we’ll get to the investments in a later post).

The deferred funds are your money.  You earned it, just the same as your take-home pay. The only way you lose this money is by investing in a security that loses money, such as a stock that goes bankrupt.  Otherwise, no one can take this money away from you.  When money is deferred to the plan you have an increase to the balance in your 401(k) plan just the same as your checking account increases with the direct-deposit of your take-home pay.

Roth 401(k)

Depending on your company’s plan, you may have a Roth 401(k) component available to you.  The mechanics are similar to the garden-variety traditional 401(k) plan – except that your contributions are post-tax, rather than pre-tax.  So the changes to your tax mentioned above do not apply to contribution made to a Roth 401(k) plan.  Then, when you take the money out of the Roth 401(k) account at retirement (as long as you’re at least age 59 1/2 years of age) there is no tax on those withdrawals.  We’ll provide more detail on withdrawals in a later post.

If you have a Roth 401(k) plan available to you, it is simply another component of the overall 401(k) plan.  You have a choice as to whether or not your deferrals to the plan are made to the traditional 401(k) plan or the Roth 401(k) plan, and you can contribute any amount (up to the maximum) to the combination of these two plans in the tax year.

Annual Maximum Contributions

Each year the IRS provides guidance about the maximum annual contribution that can be made to a 401(k) plan.  For 2014, this maximum contribution is $17,500, and if the employee-participant is over age 50, an additional $5,500 “catch-up” contribution can be made for the tax year.  This could be as much as 100% of your annual contribution, if you wish.

If you are employed by more than one employer, this annual limit applies across the board to all plans that you might contribute to collectively (with one exception, below).  So if you have a second job where you can contribute to a 401(k) plan in addition to your primary job, you can only contribute up to $17,500 in total to all plans for 2014 (plus the $5,500 catch-up if over age 50).

Exception

Earlier, I mentioned that we were referring to all QRPs as 401(k) plans because they are much the same.  One difference comes about with annual contributions: 457 plans have the same limit as 401(k) plans, but are not subject to the “collective” limit mentioned above.  So if your employer provides both a 457 plan and a 403(b) plan, for instance, you could defer up to double the annual maximum contribution to these two plans – $35,000 (plus $11,000 if over age 50) for 2014.

Book Review: Facing the Finish–A Roadmap for Aging Parents and Adult Children

Apr 28th, 2014
by jblankenship.
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facingthefinishOne of life’s only sureties, we all will eventually come face-to-face with the end of our life.  Sometimes it comes quickly with no warning, and sometimes end of life comes more slowly, over the course of many months or years.  In either case, after life there are many things to deal with (for those that remain) – and in the cases where the final chapter of our life is a lengthy one, there are many more decisions to make and situations to deal with. Regardless of how swiftly or drawn out the event is, we can all benefit from planning out many of the inevitable decisions in advance.

This book is an excellent guide for folks who are either nearing that final transition in life (referred to by the author as Older Adults), or who are helping our parents or grandparents with this transition (referred to as Adult Children).  Most everything that you need to consider about this transition is covered here, from decisions about your personal and financial affairs, involving your family in decision-making (where appropriate), decisions about care and housing, as well as how to finance your final chapter of life.

The book was written by Sheri L. Samotin, who is a life transitions coach, National Certified Guardian, and certified Professional Daily Money Manager and the founder of LifeBridge Solutions LLC.  Ms. Samotin brings her wealth of knowledge and experience in helping Older Adults and their Adult Children deal with the challenges of aging.  With these insights Samotin provides many real life examples to illustrate her points, which help to personalize the lessons.

I believe that all persons, whether Older Adults or Adult Children, can get a great deal of benefit from this book. The author brings to the fore many salient points that you might not otherwise have considered as you face this transition, from either point of view (Older Adult or Adult Child).  It’s a relatively short read (roughly 200 pages) and is written in an easy, conversational style (not full of technical jargon!).  I will recommend this book for clients in either situation who are looking for just such a roadmap (and even if they don’t know they’re looking for such a roadmap!).

Obamacare and Your 2013 Tax Return

Apr 14th, 2014
by jblankenship.
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Taxation - Highlighted in the dictionary

Taxation – Highlighted in the dictionary (Photo credit: efile989)

So – you’re considering your income tax return (or maybe you’ve already filed) and you’re wondering if there are things you need to know with regard to Obamacare.  Fortunately, it’s not much (for most folks), for your 2013 return anyhow.  Next year will be a different story.

The IRS recently produced their Health Care Tax Tip HCTT-2014-10 which lists some tips about how the health care law impacts your 2013 tax return.  The actual text of the Tip is below:

What do I need to know about the Health Care Law for my 2013 Tax Return?

For most people, the Affordable Care Act has no effect on their 2013 federal income tax return.  For example, you will not report health care coverage under the individual shared responsibility provision or claim the premium tax credit until you file your 2014 return in 2015.

However, for some people, a few provisions may affect your 2013 tax return, such as increases in the itemized medical deduction threshold, the additional Medicare tax and the net investment income tax.

Here are some additional tips:

Filing Requirement: If you do not have a tax filing requirement, you do not need to file a 2013 federal tax return to establish eligibility or qualify for financial assistance, including advance payments of the premium tax credit to purchase health insurance coverage through a Health Insurance Marketplace. Learn more at www.Healthcare.gov.

W-2 Reporting of Employer Coverage:  The value of health care coverage reported by your employer in box 12 and identified by Code DD on your Form W-2 is not taxable.

Information available about other tax provisions in the health care law:  More information is available on www.IRS.gov regarding the following tax provisions: Premium Rebate for Medical Loss Ratio, Health Flexible Spending Arrangements, and Health Saving Accounts.

More Information

Find out more tax-related provisions of the health care law at www.IRS.gov/aca.

Find out more about the Health Insurance Marketplace at www.Healthcare.gov.

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Avoiding Mistakes on Your Tax Return

Apr 10th, 2014
by jblankenship.
1 comment

189px-YOU_ARE_ONE_-_NARA_-_516201When filing your tax return you want to make sure that you don’t make mistakes.  Mistakes can be costly in terms of additional tax and penalties, as well as the extra time and grief they can cause you.  Most of the time using e-filing software can help you to avoid these mistakes, but you should check over the return anyhow to make certain you haven’t fat-fingered something or if something didn’t go wrong with the software.

The IRS recently issued their Tax Tip 2014-46, which lists out 8 common mistakes that folks make on their tax return, and how to avoid them where possible.  The actual text of the Tip follows below:

Eight Common Tax Mistakes to Avoid

We all make mistakes.  But if you make a mistake on your tax return, the IRS may need to contact you to correct it.  That will delay your refund.

You can avoid most tax return errors by using IRS e-file.  People who do their taxes on paper are about 20 times more likely to make an error than e-filers.  IRS e-file is the most accurate way to file your tax return.

Here are eight common tax-filing errors to avoid:

  1. Wrong or missing Social Security numbers.  Be sure you enter all SSNs on your tax return exactly as they are on the Social Security cards.
  2. Wrong names.  Be sure that you spell the names of everyone on your tax return exactly as they are on the Social Security cards.
  3. Filing status errors.  Some people use the wrong filing status, such as Head of Household instead of Single.  The Interactive Tax Assistant on www.IRS.gov can help you choose the right one.  Tax software helps e-filers choose.
  4. Math mistakes.  Double-check your math.  For example, be careful when you add or subtract or figure items on a form or worksheet.  Tax preparation software does all the math for e-filers.
  5. Errors in figuring credits or deductions.  Many filers make mistakes figuring their Earned Income Credit, Child and Dependent Care Credit, and the standard deduction.  If you’re not e-filing, follow the instructions carefully when figuring credits and deductions.  For example, if you’re age 65 or older or blind, be sure you claim the correct, higher standard deduction.
  6. Wrong bank account numbers.  You should choose to get your refund by direct deposit.  But it’s important that you use the right bank and account numbers on your return.  The fastest and safest way to get a tax refund is to combine e-file with direct deposit.
  7. Forms not signed or dated.  An unsigned tax return is like an unsigned check – it’s not valid.  Remember that both spouses must sign a joint return.
  8. Electronic filing PIN errors.  When you e-file, you sign your return electronically with a Personal Identification Number.  If you know last year’s e-file PIN, you can use that.  If not, you’ll need to enter the Adjusted Gross Income from your originally-filed 2012 federal tax return.  Don’t use the AGI amount from an amended 2012 return or a 2012 return that the IRS corrected.
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Capital Gains and Losses and Your Tax Return

Apr 9th, 2014
by jblankenship.
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AlistairDarling

AlistairDarling (Photo credit: StCartmail)

When you own certain kinds of assets and you sell them, you may incur a capital gain or loss that is applicable to your income tax preparation.  If the original purchase price plus applicable expenses associated with the asset (known as the basis) is less than the proceeds that you receive from the sale of the asset, you have incurred a capital gain.  On the other hand, if the basis of your asset is greater than the proceeds from the sale, you have incurred a capital loss.

Capital gains are taxable to you, using a separate tax rate – and capital losses can be deducted from your capital gains for the year.  Excess capital losses (above your capital gains for the year) can be used to reduce your income by up to $3,000 per year, carried forward until used up (or for your lifetime).

The IRS recently produced their Tax Tip 2014-27 which lists ten facts about capital gains and losses that you may find useful as you prepare your tax return.  The text of the actual Tip is below:

Ten Facts about Capital Gains and Losses

When you sell a ‘capital asset,’ the sale usually results in a capital gain or loss.  A ‘capital asset’ includes most property you own and use for personal or investment purposes.  Here are 10 facts from the IRS on capital gains and losses:

  1. Capital assets include property such as your home or car.  They also include investment property such as stocks and bonds.
  2. A capital gain or loss is the difference between your basis and the amount you get when you sell an asset.  Your basis is usually what you paid for the asset.
  3. You must include all capital gains in your income.  Beginning in 2013, you may be subject to the Net Investment Income Tax.  The NIIT applies at a rate of 3.8% to certain net investment income of individuals, estates, and trusts that have income above statutory threshold amounts.  For details see www.IRS.gov/aca.
  4. You can deduct capital losses on the sale of investment property.  You can’t deduct losses on the sale of personal-use property.
  5. Capital gains and losses are either long-term or short-term, depending on how long you held the property.  If you held the property for more than one year, your gain or loss is long-term.  If you held it one year or less, the gain or loss is short-term.
  6. If your long-term gains are more than your long-term losses, the difference between the two is a net long-term capital gain.  If your net long-term capital gain is more than your short-term capital loss, you have a ‘net capital gain’.
  7. The tax rates that apply to net capital gains will usually depend on your income.  For lower-income individuals, the rate may be zero percent on some or all of their net capital gains.  In 2013, the maximum net capital gain tax rate increased from 15 to 20 percent.  A 25 or 28 percent tax rate can also apply to special types of net capital gains.
  8. If your capital losses are more than your capital gains, you can deduct the difference as a loss on your tax return.  This loss is limited to $3,000 per year, or $1,500 if you are married and file a separate tax return.
  9. If your total net capital loss is more than the limit you can deduct, you can carry over the losses you are not able to deduct to next year’s tax return.  You will treat those losses as if they happened that year.
  10. You must file Form 8949, Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets, with your federal tax return to report your gains and losses.  You also need to file Schedule D, Capital Gains and Losses with your return.

For more information about this topic, see the Schedule D instructions and Publication 550, Investment Income and Expenses.  They’re both available on www.IRS.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

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Simplified Home-Office Deduction Available

Apr 7th, 2014
by jblankenship.
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home office

home office (Photo credit: Sean MacEntee)

Beginning with your 2013 tax return you have a new option available for calculating the Home-Office deduction – based solely on the square footage of the dedicated space used for the home office.

Instead of having to maintain records that are directly and indirectly associated with your home office, you can use the simplified method, which applies a flat $5 rate per square foot to the home office space, up to a maximum of $1,500.

The record-keeping and tax preparation simplification is very beneficial: Form 8829 (the usual home-office deduction form) can cause a lot of headaches to prepare, especially if you have more than one home office and you itemize your home mortgage interest and real estate taxes.  For a single home office your tax preparation software will do much of the work for you, but complications like a second home office (not that uncommon in these days of officing-at-home) it can be complex.

Unfortunately, in my experience working with tax returns so far this season, it seems that the simplified method often results in a smaller home-office deduction than the old method.  With the simplified method you get the option to deduct your full real estate taxes and home mortgage interest above and beyond the home office deduction, whereas the old method required you to apportion these expenses between business and personal.  If the new method appeals to you, it is much simpler than gathering all the records and figuring out how to correctly fill out the forms.

The IRS recently issued their a news release, IR-2014-24, which details information about the simplified deduction.

Reminder To Home-Based Businesses: Simplified Option for Claiming Home Office Deduction Now Available; May Deduct up to $1,500; Saves 1.6 Million Hours A Year

Washington – The Internal Revenue Service today reminded people with home-based businesses that this year for the first time they can choose a new simplified option for claiming the deduction for business use of a home.

In tax year 2011, the most recent year for which figures are available, some 3.3 million taxpayers claimed deductions for business use of a home (commonly referred to as the home office deduction) totaling nearly $10 million.

The new optional deduction, capped at $1,500 per year based on $5 a square foot for up to 300 square feet, will reduce the paperwork and recordkeeping burden on small businesses by an estimated 1.6 million hours annually.

The new options is available starting with the 2013 return taxpayers are filing now.  Normally, home-based businesses are required to fill out a 43-line form (Form 8829) often with complex calculations of allocated expenses, depreciation and carryovers of unused deductions.  Instead, taxpayers claiming the optional deduction need only complete a short worksheet in the tax instructions and enter the result on their return.  Self-employed individuals claim eht home office deduction on Schedule C Line 30, farmers claim it on Schedule F Line 32, and eligible employees claim it on Schedule A Line 21.

Though some homeowners using the new option cannot depreciate the portion of their home used in a trade or business, they can claim allowable mortgage interest, real estate taxes and casualty losses on the home as itemized deductions on Schedule A.  These deductions need not be allocated between personal and business use, as is required under the regular method.

Business expenses unrelated to the home, such as advertising, supplies and wages paid to employees, are still fully deductible.

Long-standing restrictions on the home office deduction, such as the requirement that a home office be used regularly and exclusively for business and the limit tied to the income derived from the particular business, still apply under the new option.

Further details on the home office deduction and the new option can be found in Publication 587, posted on www.IRS.gov.

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Further Guidance on the One-Rollover-Per-Year Rule for IRAs

Apr 2nd, 2014
by jblankenship.
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As a follow-up to the recent post on this blog The One-Rollover-Per-Year Rule: Revised, the IRS has recently released some additional guidance on the subject, via Announcement 2014-15.

As previously mentioned, the IRS has determined to begin using the one-rollover-per-year rule applied to ALL IRAs that the taxpayer owns, rather than only the affected IRAs that have been involved in a rollover.

According to the Announcement, the IRS fully acknowledges that the previous understanding of the rule was that it applied on an IRA-by-IRA basis.  In fact, there was a Proposed Regulation § 1.408-4(b)(4)(ii) on the books that was to further define the rule as applied only to the involved IRAs.  Ever since the Tax Court decided otherwise in the case Bobrow v. Commissioner (TC Memo 2014-21), the rule has been changed.

According to the recent announcement though, this will not take affect across the board until January 1, 2015.  Prior to that date, presumably, the old interpretation will be used, except, apparently, for Mr. Bobrow’s case (and any further cases that might be tried by the Tax Court).

File and Suspend in the Crosshairs?

Mar 31st, 2014
by jblankenship.
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Image courtesy of chanpipat at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of chanpipat at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Note: with the passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 into law, File & Suspend and Restricted Application have been effectively eliminated for anyone born in 1954 or later. If born before 1954 there are some options still available, but these are limited as well. Please see the article The Death of File & Suspend and Restricted Application for more details.

Apparently in the President’s recent budget documentation there is a brief mention of a desire to curtail the availability of File and Suspend as an option for Social Security benefit filing.

The reason, it appears, is that the Obama administration views this option as one used only by high income folks to take advantage of the government with this valuable option.

The problem with that viewpoint is that it is used by folks of all income levels, and in fact if it is taken away this could cause some big problems for folks who can least afford to lose benefits. As if anyone can afford to lose benefits, right?

Here’s what happens with File and Suspend: a Social Security benefit recipient has a spouse and/or children that would be eligible for benefits based on his or her record when he or she files for benefits.  If he or she happens to be at or older than Full Retirement Age (FRA, age 66 for folks born before 1955, up to age 67 for folks born in 1960), he or she can file and immediately suspend his or her own benefits, allowing his or her spouse or young children to receive benefits immediately.  By suspending his or her own benefit, he or she will earn delayed retirement credits of 8% per year, which will later provide him or her with an enhanced retirement benefit.

This is exactly the same outcome for the spouse and dependents that would play out if the benefit recipient was to file and *not* suspend benefits – and actuarially the end result should be the same for the primary benefit recipient as well.  Where use of File and Suspend makes a big difference is much later.  In the event of the recipient’s untimely early death, the spouse will receive a much enhanced survivor benefit.  And if the recipient lives a long, healthy life, he or she will enjoy the enhanced benefit as well.

I can’t see where this is an issue of higher income versus lower income, as has been reported.  I believe that the File and Suspend option is being unfairly vilified without complete understanding. The fact that folks with higher incomes have been more likely to choose File and Suspend as an option shouldn’t be cause to eliminate the option for everyone.  As I mentioned, actuarially this should have little or no effect.

The likely reason that higher income folks have been more likely to choose this option is because higher income folks are more likely to seek guidance when filing for Social Security benefits – but again, the word is getting out about this option and more folks are choosing it (once they talk the SSA folks into understanding it!).

As well, often folks with lower incomes and future Social Security benefits may not be in a position to delay receipt of benefits, making File and Suspend a good idea but not viable.

I hope that this gets dropped.  Doing away with File and Suspend will have no beneficial impact on the future viability of the Social Security system, in my opinion.  All this is likely to do is make a lot of software developers rewrite their software to remove this option.  If looking for provisions to remove in order to make the system a bit more cost-effective, perhaps the restricted application should be considered.  This one may actually cost the system a bit extra, but so few people even know about it that it’s unlikely.

The real answer is to either re-do the overall calculations, put in place more effective means testing, and/or change the tax structure, perhaps to include all earned income instead of the capped income as the system works now.  Until we face these factors and make real changes, we’re likely to continue on the path to unsustainability within the Social Security system.

How Does an Early Withdrawal from a Retirement Plan Affect My Taxes?

Mar 26th, 2014
by jblankenship.
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Image courtesy of adamr at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of adamr at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Oftentimes we are faced with difficult situations in life – where we need extra money to pay for a major car repair, a new roof for the house, or just day-to-day living expenses – and our emergency funds are all tapped out.  Now your options become poor: should I go to a payday loan place, put more on my credit card?  My mortgage is upside-down so there’s no home equity loan in my future, and I can’t ask my folks for a loan, I’ve asked them for too much.  Hey, what about my retirement plan?  I’ve got some money socked away in an IRA that’s just sitting there, why don’t I take that money?

It’s really tough to be in a situation like this, but you need to understand the impacts that you’ll face if you decide to go the route of the IRA withdrawal, especially if you’re under age 59½.

Any money that you take out of a retirement plan as a withdrawal will be taxed as ordinary income – just like wages, salaries, and tips.  So if you’re in the 25% marginal tax bracket, every dollar that you withdraw from your IRA or 401(k) plan (if allowed) will cost you 25 cents right off the top.

In addition to the ordinary income tax, if you’re less than 59½ years of age you’ll also be hit with an additional 10% penalty for an early withdrawal (unless your withdrawal meets one of these 19 exceptions). So now every dollar that you withdraw costs an extra 10 cents on top of the ordinary income tax.  If you’re in the 25% bracket, that $10,000 withdrawal from your IRA can cost you as much as $3,500 in extra taxes and penalties.

Bear in mind that you may be able to take a temporary loan from your 401(k) or other qualified retirement plan (QRP) if you’re still employed by that employer.  Naturally you’ll need to repay the loan, but it might be a better option cost-wise than the other choices.  Plus, if you have an outstanding loan from your QRP and you leave the employer you’ll be required to either recognize the balance of the loan as a withdrawal or pay it back to the plan immediately.

Armed with this information makes your decision points much more clear: review all of the available options mentioned above (loans from family and friends, home equity loans, payday loans, and the like) against the cost of the taxes for taking an early withdrawal from your retirement plan.  The best option may be to see about a formal loan from family, paying them a reasonable rate of interest.  But of course, your circumstances are going to dictate the best option for you.  Just go into it with your eyes wide open.

Can You Itemize? Or, Should You Itemize?

Mar 24th, 2014
by jblankenship.
1 comment
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When you prepare your taxes each year, you’re faced with a decision – itemize deductions or take the standard deduction?  Most of the time it’s not a question of whether you can itemize, but rather should you itemize.

Most Anyone Can Itemize…

This is due to the fact that most anyone can itemize.  If you’ve paid state and/or local income or sales taxes, real estate taxes, or paid mortgage interest, you have deductions to itemize.  Same goes for charitable contributions.  All of these items that you’ve paid out are eligible to be deducted on Schedule A of your tax return, without a lower limit.

If you have medical expenses, these can be deductible if the total of your medical expenses are more than 10% of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI).  For 2013 tax returns, if you’re 65 years of age or older, your medical expenses that are more than 7.5% of your AGI will be deductible.

In addition, certain job expenses and other miscellaneous expenses, such as tax preparation expenses, safe deposit box rental, and the like, can be deductible to the extent that they exceed 2% of your AGI.

If you’ve paid out any of these expenses during the tax year, you can itemize.  That doesn’t mean that you should itemize, though.

… But Should You Itemize?

So you’ve determined that you have deductible expenses and you can itemize – let’s look at reasons why you should itemize.

The initial answer is really rather simple – if the total of all the deductible items that you’ve found to put on your Schedule A is greater than your applicable Standard Deduction, then you probably should itemize.  The Standard Deduction is based upon your Filing Status (2013 figures):

Filing Status Standard Deduction Over Age 65 or Blind, per Person
Single $6,100 + $1,500
Married Filing Jointly $12,200 + $1,200
Head of Household $8,950 + $1,500
Married Filing Separately* $6,100 + $1,200
Qualifying Widow(er) $12,200 + $1,200

If someone else claims you as a dependent on his or her tax return, your Standard Deduction is the lesser of $1,000 or earned income plus $350, up to the normal Standard Deduction for your filing status.

If your deductions amount to less than the Standard Deduction for your filing status, don’t despair.  It’s not as if being able to itemize your deductions is some sort of bonus – it’s actually the other way around.  You see, if you have more deductions when itemizing than the Standard Deduction, that means you had to pay out that money during the year.  On the other hand, if you had fewer itemized deductions (or no deductions to itemize), you’re getting to reduce your taxable income by the Standard Deduction without having to pay out that money!

Now there is at least one circumstance when you’re required to itemize your deductions, and we’ll cover that next.

Or, Do You Have to Itemize?

*If you and your spouse file separate returns with filing status of Married Filing Separately and your spouse itemizes deductions on Schedule A, you are also required to itemize your deductions on Schedule A, or take a Standard Deduction of $0.

Wrapping it up

You can always choose to itemize your deductions even if they are less than the Standard Deduction for your filing status. You only need to mark the box on Line 30 of Schedule A.  You might want to do this if it would somehow benefit your state income tax, for example.

Lastly – the only way to itemize deductions is by also filing your tax return on Form 1040.  If you choose to use either Form 1040A or Form 1040EZ, you are not eligible to itemize your deductions.  If you use tax return preparation software (or your qualified preparer does) the decision will be made for you, more than likely.

Use Direct Deposit for Your Tax Refund

Mar 17th, 2014
by jblankenship.
1 comment
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When filing your tax returns this year, consider using direct deposit for your refund.  By doing this, you don’t have to worry about the mail “making the trip”, and also you won’t have to make a visit to the bank to cash or deposit the refund.

On top of that, direct deposit refunds usually are deposited more quickly than a check is delivered by mail, getting you the money faster.  Among the many alternatives for the places you can have the money deposited to are virtually any bank account, as long as you have the routing and account information, as well as transferring your funds to your TreasuryDirect account to purchase US Treasury marketable securities and savings bonds.  You can also split your refund to be deposited in two or three different accounts – the account(s) need to be title in your name, your spouse’s name, or both, not someone else’s account.

Of course, if you owe money to the IRS from past tax returns, your refund will be used to pay your debt first and foremost.  You also have the option to apply any leftover refund toward your tax obligation for the current year as well.

If your refund is less than $1 (which is highly unlikely since tax figures these days are generally rounded to the nearest dollar), you have to specifically request a refund from the IRS in writing.

Setting up direct deposit is a relatively simple activity, whether you’re using tax software or paper filing your return.  You just need to fill out the form with the appropriate bank routing and account information, and the deed is done.  If requesting direct deposit to multiple accounts, you’ll need to use Form 8888.  Form 8888 is also used to purchase paper I-series US Savings Bonds with your refund (limited to $5,000).

So do yourself a favor this year, and set up direct deposit of your tax refund.  It’s flexible, convenient, simple, and secure.

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