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Education Tax Benefits

Mar 3rd, 2014
by jblankenship.
2 comments
Locke's Some Thoughts on Education

Going to college can be a stressful time for students and parents. Some of the costs of your education can be offset by tax credits and reductions to income.  These credits and reductions can be complicated, so it takes a bit of coordination to keep things straight. 

More than one education tax benefit may be taken in one year, but generally the expenses must be segregated from one another in your reporting.  In other words, you couldn’t take two tax benefits based upon the exact same education expenses, with some exceptions.  For example, you can use most qualified expenses for the tax credits and apply the expense toward eliminating the 10% penalty on IRA distributions at the same time.

Generally though, most tax benefits for education can only be applied once to each expense.  Only one of the following credits may be used per student in any given year: American Opportunity Tax Credit, Lifetime Learning Credit, or Tuition and Fees Deduction.  If you have enough students with the appropriate circumstances, it is feasible that you could use all three types of benefit in a single tax year.

Listed below are the three primary tax benefits and the specifics around them:

  • American Opportunity Tax Credit.  This credit can be up to $2,500 per eligible student. The AOTC is available for the first four years of post secondary education. Forty percent of the credit is refundable. That means that you may be able to receive up to $1,000 of the credit as a refund, even if you don’t owe any taxes. Qualified expenses include tuition and fees, course related books, supplies and equipment.

    There are income limitations on this credit. Generally, your Modified Adjusted Gross Income must be less than $80,000 (if single) or $160,000 (if married) to claim the full credit. The credit is phased out above those levels and eliminated at $90,000 and $180,000 respectively.

    The AOTC is not allowed if you file Married Filing Separately, or if you are claimed as a dependent on another taxpayer’s return. In addition, the credit is not refundable if you are under age 24 and are essentially dependent upon your parents (that is, they are alive) and you are unmarried. If you are under age 18 none of the credit is refundable.

  • Lifetime Learning Credit.  With the LLC, you may be able to claim up to $2,000 for qualified education expenses on your federal tax return. There is no limit on the number of years you can claim this credit for an eligible student. The credit is 20% of the first $10,000 of education expenses for the student.

    This credit has income limitations as well. If your Modified AGI is less than $53,000 (single) or $107,000 (married filing jointly) the credit is fully available. The phaseout occurs at $63,000 and $127,000 respectively. Again, you are not allowed to use this credit if you file Married Filing Separately, or are the dependent of another taxpayer.

  • Tuition and Fees deduction. This benefit provides a reduction in your Adjusted Gross Income of up to $4,000 for modified AGI less than $65,000 (single) or $130,000 (married filing jointly), or $2,000 if your modified AGI is above those limits but less than $80,000 or $160,000 respectively. Above those limits the deduction is not available. Like the other benefits, the Tuition and Fees deduction is not available if filing MFS or you are the dependent of another taxpayer.

    One difference with this deduction is that you can include course materials in the deduction only if purchased directly from the educational institution (other benefits allow any source of purchase of course materials).

  • Student loan interest deduction. Other than home mortgage interest, you generally can’t deduct the interest you pay. However, you may be able to deduct interest you pay on a qualified student loan. The deduction can reduce your taxable income by up to $2,500. You don’t need to itemize deductions to claim it.
Posted on Mar 3rd, 2014
by author: jblankenship.

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Posted in: education expenses, income tax credit, tax credits.
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The Unmarried Penalty With Social Security (and the Divorce Advantage)

Feb 26th, 2014
by jblankenship.
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Okay, penalty probably is the wrong term for it – maybe the better term would be short-change.

You’ve undoubtedly heard of the marriage penalty for income taxes – this is where it can be beneficial tax-wise for two people to remain single than to be married and be forced to file either jointly or separately.  The tax code contains several ways that this is true.  But did you know that there is a way that married folks might level the field versus singles in the Social Security law-scape?  Plus, divorced folks may also have an advantage over singles AND married folks who were never divorced (or who divorced after marriage of less than ten years)?

The Marriage Advantage

When a worker remains single over his or her working life, there is an inequality in benefits paid out based on his or her record when you compare it to that of a married person.  Here’s what happens:

Let’s say Dave and Eddie are the same age, with the same earnings record over their lifetimes (in fact they worked side-by-side for most of their careers).  Dave has been single his whole life, but Eddie married Valerie 30 years ago and they remain married.  Both Dave and Eddie are 66 this year, and they both file for their Social Security benefits, at a rate of $2,000 per month.

At the same time, Valerie didn’t work very much outside the home (not enough to be eligible for Social Security benefits on her own record – she only worked one day at a time). However, since she’s also 66 this year, she can file for a spousal benefit based on Eddie’s Social Security record, in the amount of 50% of Eddie’s age 66 benefit, or $1,000.

So, for the exact same amount paid into the Social Security system over the years, Eddie’s earnings have generated benefits 50% greater than Dave’s.

And it doesn’t stop there – if Dave and Eddie both live to age 80, but then Valerie lives another five years after Eddie’s death, she will receive a survivor benefit equal to Eddie’s benefit for those additional five years.  There is no survivor benefit paid on Dave’s record since he was never married.

The Un-Divorced Penalty

When a worker is married for more than 10 years, gets divorced and then remarries, each spouse that he is either currently married to or was married to for more than ten years is eligible for spousal benefits based upon the worker’s record.  In this way, the Social Security record of someone who has been married more than once (if the marriage(s) lasted at least 10 years before divorce) will bear even more fruit than the record of Eddie above and definitely more than Dave.  For example:

Tom was married to Jane for 22 years and then they divorced.  Not long after, he married Dana and remains married to her to this day.  Jane never remarried, and she never worked outside the home – and neither did Dana.  All three, Tom, Jane and Dana are 66 this year.  Tom decides to file for his own Social Security retirement benefits at $2,000 per month, and Dana files for the spousal benefit based on Tom’s record, for $1,000 per month.  Jane also decides to file for Spousal Benefits based on Tom’s record as well (Jane didn’t remarry after her divorce from Tom), and her benefit is $1,000 per month as well (50% of Tom’s age 66 benefit).

So, with the exact same earnings record as Dave and Eddie (from our first example), benefits paid on Tom’s record amount to $4,000 per month – double the benefits paid on Dave’s record, and 33% more than the benefits paid on Eddie’s record.

Posted on Feb 26th, 2014
by author: jblankenship.

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Posted in: Social Security, Social Security spousal benefit, Spousal Benefit.
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The Alternative Minimum Tax

Feb 24th, 2014
by jblankenship.
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Image courtesy of pakorn at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of pakorn at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

You may not be aware of this, since income taxes are so complicated that not a lot of folks do much digging into the nuances, but there is another income tax rate that could affect you in certain circumstances.

This other income tax is called the Alternative Minimum Tax, or AMT.  This “alternative” tax applies when you have income above certain thresholds. Essentially it ensures that you pay a certain minimum amount of income tax if your deductions reduce your income so much that your ordinary income tax falls below the minimum applied by the AMT.  It gets pretty complicated, but I’ll go over the high points below.

Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)

AMT has a separate set of rules for definitions of income and expenses, rules for accounting and timing, and exemptions and tax rates.  AMT limits the tax benefit of certain types of income and deductions, otherwise available to some taxpayers under the “normal” rules.

If you have a high income for the year but your taxable income is relatively low due to a large number of dependents, a high amount of your income is long-term capital gains, large Schedule A deductions, or a large amount of tax-free income from private activity bonds, you may be subject to AMT taxation.  Form 6251 is the appropriate form to use when determining if your income is subject to AMT.

Using Form 6251 you add to your taxable income those items that are used to determine the Alternative Minimum Taxable Income (AMTI), as explained below.

Starting with your taxable income (before exemptions) on line 41 of your Form 1040, you must make the several adjustments, adding back in many deductions from Schedule A (some medical expenses, mortgage interest, taxes, and miscellaneous deductions).  In addition to those additions, there are differences in the way that AMT rules define investment interest expense, depletion, stock option exercises, and quite a few specialized items that will only be of interest to business owners.

After these adjustments are made to your income, the AMT tax rates are applied. If the tax calculated is greater than the ordinary income tax, you’ll have to file with the AMT rates applied.

The IRS recently published their Tax Tip 2014-10 which lists out a few facts that may help you to understand the AMT.  Especially helpful is the AMT Assistant Tool, for which a link is provided below.  The complete text of the Tip is listed below:

What You Should Know about AMT

Have you ever wondered if the Alternative Minimum Tax applies to you? You may have to pay this tax if your income is above a certain amount. The AMT attempts to ensure that some individuals who claim certain tax benefits pay a minimum amount of tax.

Here are some things from the IRS that you should know about AMT:

  1. You may have to pay the tax if your taxable income, plus certain adjustments, is more than the AMT exemption amount for your filing status. If your income is below this amount, you usually will not owe AMT.
  2. The 2013 AMT exemption amounts for each filing status are:
    • Single and Head of Household = $51,900
    • Married Filing Joint and Qualifying Widow(er) = $80,800
    • Married Filing Separate = $40,400
  3. The rules for AMT are more complex than the rules for regular income tax. The best way to make it easy on yourself is to use IRS e-file to prepare and file your tax return. E-file tax software will figure AMT for you if you owe it.
  4. If you file a paper return, use the AMT Assistant tool on IRS.gov to find out if you may need to pay the tax.
  5. If you owe AMT, you usually must file Form 6251, Alternative Minimum Tax – Individuals. Some taxpayers who owe AMT can file Form 1040A and use the AMT Worksheet in the instructions.

Visit IRS.gov to find out more about AMT. Also, see the Form 6251 instructions. You can get it at IRS.gov too or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

Posted on Feb 24th, 2014
by author: jblankenship.

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Posted in: alternative minimum tax, amt, income tax.
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Market Returns Aren’t Savings

Feb 21st, 2014
by sraskie.
3 comments

Golden Egg

In 2013 the market and those invested in it experienced a nice return on their investments. The S&P 500 rose an amazing 29.6% while the Dow rose 26.5%. Needless to say 2013 was an amazing year for investors – but try not to make the following mistake:

Don’t confuse investment returns with savings.

While it is true that the more of a return an investor receives on his or her investments the less they have to save it still does not mean that your returns should take the place of systematic saving for retirement, college or the proverbial rainy day. And by no means should you reduce the amount you’re saving thinking that the returns from 2013 and other bull years will repeat and continue their upward bounty.

Investment returns are the returns that an investor receives in a particular time frame. For 2013, if an investor was invested in the S&P 500 or an S&P 500 index fund they received almost 30% returns for the year. Not bad. But this is deceiving. Not to burst anyone’s bubble, but we are only looking at one year. If an investor was saving for retirement for over 30 years, to expect 30% returns each year for 30 years is  like expecting my chickens to lay golden eggs – it ain’t gonna happen!

But what if an investor stops systematically saving, thinking that a 30% increase in their portfolio for 2013 can offset any additional money they intended to put in? The result would be disastrous to their retirement plan. Perhaps some numbers can help explain.

Let’s assume that we have two investors, Alex and Neil. Both are age 30, both will retire at age 65 and both start with $10,000 in their IRAs at the beginning of 2013 and both are invested 100% in the S&P 500. At the end of 2013, both investors have $13,000 in their IRAs. Up until the end of 2013, both Alex and Neil had systematically contributed the maximum to their IRAs annually – about $5,000 annually. Now they can contribute $5,500 annually.

Alex decides that since 2013 rocked, he will not contribute to his IRA for 2014 thinking that 2013’s numbers will last forever. Neil decides to keep drumming away and putting in his annual amount ($5,500 for 2014) at a steady rhythm.

Neil is handsomely rewarded for his commitment and over the next 35 years, at a 6% average annual return he amasses close to $690,000 ($698,752 for those of you with your financial calculators).

Alex is sporadic. After up years in the market he doesn’t invest and after down years he thinks he needs to contribute. It turns out that there were 20 years of downs and 15 years of ups – so Alex invested his annual IRA maximum 20 times, instead of Neil’s 35.

Keeping the math simple, let’s say that the market was down for the next 20 years causing Alex to save and then up the last 15 years causing him to relax his savings commitment. In 20 years, since there were no gains Alex has $123,000 (we assume no losses in this down market).

In the next 15 years, Alex averages 6% return and contributes nothing since they are up years. At the end of 35 years Alex has roughly $295,000 ($294,777 for those of you still calculating) – or about $400,000 less than Neil.

Admittedly my examples are very simplistic and a bit unrealistic. But the point is to not confuse your investment returns with savings. They are not the same. An investor still needs to stick to their savings plan regardless of what the market does.

In up years and I would argue more importantly in down years you need to stick to your plan of saving regularly – along with the ups and downs to take advantage of compounding returns and  buying less when the market is overpriced and more when it’s under-priced.

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Posted on Feb 21st, 2014
by author: sraskie.

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Posted in: fiduciary, financial planning, investing, investment, iras, saving.
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Get Your Kids to Help You With Your Taxes

Feb 17th, 2014
by jblankenship.
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wharvey galsSometimes as parents we get overwhelmed with the costs of raising kids.  What with the high cost of soccer camp, video games, and lessons on the clarinet, it can be woefully expensive raising kids.

Sometimes though, there are surprising ways that kids can help out with costs – and your income taxes is one of those places where having kids does help.  The IRS recently published their Tax Tip 2014-11 which lists eight ways that having children can help to lower your taxes.

The actual text of Tax Tip 2014-11 follows:

Eight Tax Savers for Parents

Your children may help you qualify for valuable tax benefits.  Here are eight tax benefits parents should look out for when filing their federal tax returns this year.

  1. Dependents. In most cases, you can claim your child as a dependent.  This applies even if your child was born any time in 2013.  for more details, see Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction and Filing Information.
  2. Child Tax Credit. You may be able to claim the Child Tax Credit for each of your qualifying children under the age of 17 at the end of 2013.  The maximum credit is $1,000 per child.  If you get less than the full amount of the credit, you may be eligible for the Additional Child Tax Credit.  For more about both credits, see the instructions for Schedule 8812, Child Tax Credit, and Publication 972, Child Tax Credit.
  3. Child and Dependent Care Credit. You may be able to claim this credit if you paid someone to care for one or more qualifying persons.  Your dependent child or children under age 13 are among those who are qualified. You must have paid for care so you could work or look for work.  For more, see Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses.
  4. Earned Income Tax Credit.  If you worked but earned less than $51,567 last year, you may qualify for EITC.  If you have three qualifying children, you may get up to $6,044 as EITC when you file and claim it on your tax return.  Use the EITC Assistant tool at www.IRS.gov to find out if you qualify or see Publication 596, Earned Income Tax Credit.
  5. Adoption Credit. You may be able to claim a tax credit for certain expenses you paid to adopt a child.  For details, see the instructions for Form 8839, Qualified Adoption Expenses.
  6. Higher education credits. If you paid for higher education for yourself or an immediate family member, you may qualify for either of two education tax credits.  Both the American Opportunity Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit may reduce the amount of tax you owe.  If the American Opportunity Credit is more than the tax you owe, you could be eligible for a refund up to $1,000.  See Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education.
  7. Student loan interest. You may be able to deduct interest you paid on a qualified student loan, even if you don’t itemize deductions on your tax return. For more information, see Publication 970.
  8. Self-employed health insurance deduction. If you were self-employed and paid for health insurance, you may be able to deduct premiums you paid to cover your child under the Affordable Care Act. It appies to children under age 27 at the end of the year, even if not your dependent.  See Notice 2010-38 for information.
Posted on Feb 17th, 2014
by author: jblankenship.

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Posted in: Affordable Care Act, earned income credit, EITC, irs, tax credits.
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Where to get IRS Forms and Publications

Feb 12th, 2014
by jblankenship.
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Image courtesy of Arvind Balaraman at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Arvind Balaraman at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When you are preparing your taxes, inevitably you run across a form or publication that you need in order to complete your filing.  But where can you find all these forms and publications?

The IRS recently published their Tax Tip 2014-06, which details information about where you can find these forms and publications.  The actual text of the Tip follows below.

Four Ways to Get IRS Forms and Publications

The IRS offers free tax forms and publications on many topics.  Here are four easy ways to get the tax products you need from the IRS:

  1. On the Internet.  Get everything you need 24 hours a day 7 days a week on www.IRS.gov. To view and download tax products, click on the ‘Forms and Pubs’ tab.  Many products appear online before they’re available on paper.
  2. Order by phone.  Call 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676) Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time.  Hours of service in Alaska and Hawaii follow Pacific Time.  You’ll typically receive your order by mail within 7 to 10 days.
  3. In IRS Offices.  Get the tax products you need at IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers across the country.  Visit www.IRS.gov to find the nearest IRS Center.  Select the ‘Help and Resources’ tab, and then click on ‘Contact Your Local IRS Office.’ Use the ‘Office Locator’ tool to search for the closest office by zip code.  You can also select your state for a list of offices and services available at each office.
  4. In Your Community.  Many libraries and post offices offer free tax forms during the tax filing season.  Some libraries also have copies of common IRS publications.
Posted on Feb 12th, 2014
by author: jblankenship.

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Posted in: irs.
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Updates to IRS Fees for Installment Agreements and OIC

Feb 10th, 2014
by jblankenship.
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Image courtesy of renjith krishnan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of renjith krishnan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Just like pretty much everything else in the world, the cost of doing business with the IRS has gone up.  The good news is that some fees did not increase for calendar year 2014, but some fees have gone up by significant rates.

Installment Agreement

This is where you have a balance due to the IRS for unpaid taxes, penalties and interest, and you’re unable to pay the amount at the present time in a lump sum.  So you set up an installment agreement with the IRS – where you agree to pay a set amount on a monthly basis until your balance is paid off.

If you set up a direct-debit payment plan – where the payment is pulled directly from you bank account – the fee to set this up remains unchanged from 2013 at $52.  This is the preferred method to set up such a plan, for the obvious reason that the IRS has direct access to debit your account for the payment, rather than relying on you to make the payment manually.

On the other hand, if you set up your installment agreement so that you control when the payment is sent (by paper check, for example), the fee for setting up this type of arrangement has increased in 2014 from $105 to $120, an increase of 14.2%.  Likewise, if you already have an agreement set up with the IRS and you need to restructure or reinstate a suspended installment agreement, the fee has increased from $45 to $50, an increase of 11.1%.

Offer in Compromise

An Offer in Compromise (OIC) is where you have a balance due to the IRS and you’re petitioning the IRS to settle the debt for less than the original balance due. (Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? It’s not as easy as it sounds.)

In cases where your debt to the IRS is so great and your assets and income are so little that it is unlikely you’d be able to pay off the debt within a reasonable period.  There is a pre-qualification process that can help you to understand if you may be eligible for an OIC – the Offer in Compromise Pre-Qualifier.  Keep in mind that this is only a pre-qualification, there are no guarantees that the IRS will accept your application and offer. *Be very wary of tax professionals who claim that they can get you an OIC to pay your debt for “pennies on the dollar”. As with most things, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

So if you pass the pre-qualification tests, you can then submit an application for an Offer in Compromise.  The fee for this application has increased in 2014, from $150 to $186, an increase of 24%.  If the application is approved, you have the option of either paying the compromise amount in one lump sum, or by periodic payments (much like the installment agreement above).  There is no additional fee for an installment agreement for OIC.

If you meet the low income requirements you will not need to send the application fee or make monthly payments while your offer is being reviewed.

Posted on Feb 10th, 2014
by author: jblankenship.

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Posted in: 2014 Tax Year, installment agreement, irs, offer in compromise.
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Codes of Ethics – A Reflection

Feb 7th, 2014
by sraskie.
4 comments

Ethics and Morals: Timeless and Universal?

Codes of ethics can be an effective means of guiding and directing personal behavior – I believe this is true as long as the person adhering to the codes actually adheres to and believes in them. Otherwise it’s just words memorized for an exam or used in vain in a feeble marketing attempt to gain clients. Perhaps I am being too harsh or too opinionated, but for me, codes of ethics or any type of code for that matter such as the Code of Law, the Internal Revenue Code are pretty uniform and significant words that are to be followed appropriately.

As mentioned above however, the Code of Law or the Internal Revenue Code are only going to be followed and upheld by those who believe in following them – there will of course be those that choose not to follow those codes and break the law. Granted, codes of ethics in financial services aren’t necessarily laws, but the same belief should apply to those codes as there is to the code of law. I believe codes of ethics work for those individuals who already have a moral compass and use the codes as guidance and to be better. Those that are already unethical will disregard any code.

There are seven principles in generally every code of ethics in financial services. They are integrity, competence, objectivity, confidentiality, fairness, professionalism and diligence. I do feel that these principles are good to have, but I feel, based on my own definitions that some could be removed simply because I feel there’s overlap. For example, competence could be removed and essentially placed under the principle of professionalism. If one is truly a professional and seen as a professional then they are going to have and maintain the competence to do the job. Competence doesn’t include anything on its own that isn’t included in professionalism. By definition, competence is doing something successfully or efficiently; also requiring skill, mastery and expertise. This is what a professional is.

Likewise, confidentiality, fairness and diligence could fall under the principle of integrity. By definition, integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. Synonyms of integrity include fairness, honesty, and trustworthiness. If a financial professional has integrity, then they will be diligent, fair and confidential. This does imply however, that integrity is very ambiguous and with so many words falling under it may be difficult to guide and direct any particular behavior.

If I had to remove a principle it would be fairness. From a pure redundancy standpoint fairness could be included in objectivity – with fairness being defined as making judgments free from discrimination. I believe objectivity would include this definition, but would not be exclusive to this definition – meaning that being objective not only includes fairness, but also other qualities such as free from bias, etc.

Finally, if I had to add a principle it would be loyalty – which is a feeling of strong support to someone or something. Perhaps we could take this further and make loyalty an action, rather than a feeling. This means being vested in a client’s success and welfare throughout the professional relationship. If financial professionals were loyal to their clients and not their company or paychecks, I feel the industry could move forward and progress more quickly towards being recognized as a true profession.

I know this can get pretty murky and heated when we talk about contracts and whether a professional is loyal to his or her company first based on an agency contract. But if professionals were loyal to their clients – truly loyal and devoted to them – then I feel there would be a shortening of the divide between clients and professionals and the general public would be in a better position to trust financial services professionals.

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Posted on Feb 7th, 2014
by author: sraskie.

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Posted in: fee-only, fiduciary, financial planning.
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myRA? What’s the point?

Feb 5th, 2014
by jblankenship.
4 comments
Image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

After the President’s state of the union announcement of the new myRA account, my first reaction was: Did we need this?  What’s so “out of reach” about a regular Roth IRA?  And if there was a great hue and cry for this, why hasn’t the marketplace provided it already?

After all, there are custodians who will provide a no-fee Roth IRA with no account minimum already (TD Ameritrade comes to mind). Plus, there are plenty of ways to get a bond-like return with no costs or account minimums as well.

All that I can find that is different about the myRA accounts is that the bond investment (same as the TSP “G” fund) has downside protection – meaning that the funds in the myRA account will never reduce in value, only grow or stay the same.

As with any gift (and downside protection is indeed a valuable gift), there is a cost associated with it.  Think about it: bonds fluctuate in value day in and day out, year in and year out.  If the value of the bonds decreases, somehow the investor’s dollar has to remain constant.  The only way to do that is to have other funds available to hedge the value fluctuations, and someone has to provide those funds.  Since these myRA accounts have no fees associated with them, the investor isn’t paying for the hedge. I KNOW! How about all taxpayers foot the bill?!

One other difference with the myRA is that the intent is to have this available via widespread employers – at no cost to the employer – via payroll deduction.  First of all, there is cost associated with making changes to payroll.  Adding in a new deposit destination doesn’t just happen automatically, someone has to take action to set it up – and that costs money.

Other than those two facts, all of the remaining features that I’ve been able to read about are exactly the same as a Roth IRA – contributions are not tax deductible, withdrawals at retirement age are tax free, withdrawal of contributions can be done without tax or penalty at any time, and the account can be rolled over into a Roth IRA at any time (myRAs must be rolled over when the balance grows to $15,000, or a maximum of 30 years from initial investment).

From my perspective the myRA is only going to complicate matters more than they already are.  Folks who had the desire to save money in a Roth IRA were already figuring out how to do it on their own.  Having this additional option is (I believe) destined to the same result as the Coverdell ESA – great idea, but there are too many alternatives already in place with 99 44/100ths percent of the same features.

Far be it for me to disparage attempts to help people save more.  I spend a lot of time encouraging folks to do just that, all the time.  I suspect that the myRA will likely do not much more than just confuse folks who know someone named Myra (I knew a Myra when I was a kid, she was our pastor’s wife and she taught my sister to play the piano).  She was a very nice lady and an excellent piano teacher, but if she did anything to promote retirement savings, it was lost on me.

Posted on Feb 5th, 2014
by author: jblankenship.

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Posted in: #noTOP, myRA, Roth IRA, roth ira contribution.
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Disclosure or Maximum Information?

Jan 31st, 2014
by sraskie.
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Speak No Evil, See No Evil, Hear No Evil

In the financial services industry there are many products, services, business owners and employees that one would think would have one common goal – the welfare of the people they serve through investments, financial planning, insurance and other financial areas. Unfortunately, in an industry rampant with conflicts of interest it has become the norm, not the exception that people in the industry push forward in spite of the conflicts, not once the conflicts have been disclosed and resolved.

Examples of conflicts of interest include salespeople that are paid only if they succeed in selling a client a product. This is what happens in most commission-only sales positions. Other conflicts arise when fee-only planners persuade a client to move their money to the planner in order to help them manage it, when in fact the planner is really not a planner at all, but simply an asset gatherer and the client may not receive any better advice once the assets are under watch of the planner.

Other examples include home office personnel that review applications, transfers, and contracts for completeness and compliance reasons. In these situations the home office employee must act in compliance to the law, but not necessarily ethically to the client. Finally, a major conflict occurs when employees and independent contractors for companies sign contracts that prohibit them from serving the interests of clients first, rather they must remain loyal to their company first, the client taking a back seat.

In my opinion, for anyone working in a position within the financial services industry there must be no subordination to the rule of maximum information – created by David Holley of the University of Southern Missippi. In order for the financial services industry to move from and industry to as profession, there must be rules in place (the maximum information rule) that require as much information as possible be disclosed to the client. This would require the salesperson, advisor, employee and company take steps to make sure the client understood the disclosure, not merely have the disclosure given.

An example of this would be the salesperson that is required to give a prospectus to a client when the client purchases a mutual fund. Under the maximum information rule not only would the prospectus have to be given, but also explained to the client – every area that affected the client’s purchase or potential purchase. Under my definition of the maximum information rule it would also require that in any transaction the client be notified either verbally or preferably in writing what the fees and expenses are and what the salesperson or advisor is making on the transaction.

I would argue that there are not different levels of disclosure and information giving or withholding needed within different levels in the industry. The reason why I would be against this and why it would be detrimental to the industry is you would have many people within the industry try to avoid giving information by doing their best to “move to another level” where the required information be given in one level need not be given in another. Having this segregation would lead to avoidance of the maximum information rule which defeats the purpose of having such a rule.

People would argue my point and say that such a rule would prohibit growth in the industry and stagnate sales and income for employees in the industry. They may be right – in the short term. But I would ask them if they were truly professionals, to whose benefit should they be working for? If not for the client, then whom? And finally, the main question would be, “What do you have to hide?” The financial services industry must not be a zero sum game between professionals and clients. It must be win-win.

I would argue that perhaps it’s the way in which people are paid (commission) in the industry that deters them from wanting the maximum information rule. I would also argue that it would force a cleansing of the industry as now those people who wanted to stay in, would have to become much more knowledgeable about the products and services they are providing – as maximum information would require this.

In the long term, I believe you’d see more of a movement to a true profession as those who were great salespeople, but terrible professionals would leave and those that were professional and saw the industry as a profession would stay. By law of supply and demand, the supply of those providing services would decline, but the demand for those still in would increase as they would by default be more professional. I am using the term professional loosely here. I know that being a professional is much more than giving as much information as possible. But it does mean in this circumstance that if you are selling a product or service, under the maximum information rule – you must know what it is you’re providing – thus requiring competence and betterment of one’s knowledge in order to remain professional.

Financial planning and services is such a juvenile industry taking baby steps in its mission to be a profession. The maximum information rule would allow some obstacles to be removed and the profession to start taking giant leaps towards being recognized as a profession and not simply a sales job.

 

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Posted on Jan 31st, 2014
by author: sraskie.

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Posted in: commissions, fee-only, fiduciary, financial planning, investing, investment, variable annuities.
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Net Unrealized Appreciation is not subject to the 3.8% surtax

Jan 29th, 2014
by jblankenship.
1 comment
Image courtesy of Matt Banks at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Matt Banks at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When you take advantage of the Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA) treatment for stocks transferred from your employer retirement plan, you need to fully understand the tax treatment both when you transfer the stocks and when you eventually sell the stock.

Stock that you’ve chosen to treat with NUA tax treatment has three potential tax components –

  1. The basis of the stock – this is the original purchase cost of the stock, which is subject to ordinary income tax the year when you transfer the stock from the employer’s plan into your brokerage account.
  2. The Net Unrealized Appreciation – this is the difference in the total value of the stock minus the basis (from #1 above) on the date that you transfer it from your employer’s plan. This amount is not taxable until you sell the stock, and then it is taxed at long-term capital gains rates, no matter how long you’ve owned the stock.
  3. The non-NUA appreciation – this is any gain that has occurred in the value of the stock after you transferred it into the brokerage account, up to the date that you sell the stock.  This amount is taxed at short-term capital gains rates if held less than 1 year after the transfer, or long-term capital gains rates if held more than 1 year.

Here’s an example:

Ed has worked for ABC company for 30 years and will retire this year.  He has built up a 401(k) plan worth $500,000, of which $100,000 is stock in ABC company.  The basis of this stock, which he’s purchased over the years, is $75,000.  Ed wants to take advantage of the NUA provision for treatment of his ABC stock.

Ed transfers the $400,000 balance of his account that is not ABC stock into an IRA.  He then transfers the $100,000 of ABC stock into a brokerage account (non-IRA).  For the year, Ed must include the basis of the ABC stock ($75,000) as ordinary income on his tax return.

Later, when Ed is ready to sell his ABC stock, six months have passed, and the stock has increased in value to $115,000.  Ed sells the stock, and when he files his taxes for that year, he will have long term capital gains of $25,000 of NUA gain, and then short-term capital gains of $15,000 (the gain since he transferred the funds to the brokerage account).  If more than 1 year had passed, the NUA gain and the additional gain would all have been considered long-term capital gains.

In a nutshell, that’s how NUA treatment taxation works. Or rather, how it used to work, but there’s more to it now since the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on Earned Income

First of all, the basis amount (#1 above) is subject to ordinary income tax.  This brings up the question – if your income is above the limits as a result of this distribution and newly-recognized ordinary income, will it also be subject to the additional 0.9% Medicare tax on earned income?  The answer is no – this basis is treated as a distribution from your retirement account, and since your contributions were already subject to Medicare taxation, this is not subject to further taxation for Medicare purposes.

3.8% Medicare Surtax on Unearned Income

Secondly, given that upon the sale of the stock you’ll have (potentially) significant unearned income, you might wonder about the new 3.8% Medicare surtax on unearned income – does this apply?  Yes and no.

The “no” applies to the NUA as of the transfer into the taxable brokerage account (#2 from above).  This amount will not be included if you have unearned income that is subject to the 3.8% Medicare surtax.

The “yes” applies to the additional capital gains that have occurred in the account since you transferred it to the brokerage account.  This amount can potentially be subject to the 3.8% Medicare surtax, if you are otherwise subject to this tax, on top of the capital gains treatment.  From our example above, Ed’s additional gain of $15,000 would have this potential additional tax.

What about a loss?

If you experience a loss after the transfer into the brokerage account (the value becomes less than the basis, in other words) and you subsequently sell the stock, the loss is treated as a long-term capital loss, the same as any other capital transaction.  If the loss was experienced before you distributed the stock from the account – that is, upon the distribution the value of the stock was less than the basis – you may be able to deduct the loss as a miscellaneous itemized deduction, subject to the 2% floor.

Posted on Jan 29th, 2014
by author: jblankenship.

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Posted in: Affordable Care Act, Medicare, net unrealized appreciation, NUA.
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Watch out for scams at tax time

Jan 27th, 2014
by jblankenship.
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Image courtesy of chanpipat at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of chanpipat at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

You’ve probably seen news reports about how identity theft is rampant around the time tax returns are being filed.  All sorts of nefarious schemes are out there, via the phone or email.

The IRS recently published their Special Edition Tax Tip 2014-02, which details the warnings from the IRS about scams.  The full text of the Tip is below.

IRS Warns of Tax-time Scams

It’s true: tax scams proliferate during the income tax filing season.  This year’s season opens on Jan. 31.  The IRS provides the following scam warnings so you can protect yourself and avoid becoming a victim of these crimes:

  • Be vigilant of any unexpected communication purportedly from the IRS at the start of tax season.
  • Don’t fall for phone and phishing email scams tha use the IRS as a lure.  Thieves often pose as the IRS using a bogus refund scheme or warnings to pay past-due taxes.
  • The IRS doesn’t initiate contact with with taxpayers by email to request personal or financial information.  This includes any type of e-communication, such as text messages and social media channels.
  • The IRS doesn’t ask for PINs, passwords or similar confidential information for credit card, bank or other accounts.
  • If you get an unexpected email, don’t open any attachments or click on any links contained in the message.  Instead, forward the email to phishing@irs.gov. For more about how to report phishing scams involving the IRS visit the genuine IRS website, www.IRS.gov.

Here are several steps you can take to help protect yourself against scams and identity theft:

  • Don’t carry your Social Security card or any documents that include your Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.
  • Don’t give a business your SSN or ITIN just because they ask.  Give it only when required.
  • Protect your financial information.
  • Check your credit report every 12 months.
  • Secure personal information in your home.
  • Protect your personal computers by using firewalls and anti-spam/virus software, updating security patches and changing passwords for Internet accounts.
  • Don’t’ give personal information over the phone, through the mail or on the Internet unless you have initiated the contact and are sure of the recipient.
  • Be careful when you choose a tax preparer.  Most preparers provide excellent service, but there are a few who are unscrupulous.  Refer to Tips to Help You Choose a Tax Preparer for more details.

For more on this topic, see the special identity theft section on IRS.gov.  Also check out IRS Fact Sheet 2014-1, IRS Combats Identity Theft and Refund Fraud on Many Fronts.

Posted on Jan 27th, 2014
by author: jblankenship.

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Posted in: irs, tax preparers.
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How to Save More

Jan 24th, 2014
by sraskie.
9 comments

Money

This may seem like common sense but we are common sense people. If your’e looking for ways to save a bit more money in 2014 – here are some steps that you can take

to put some extra green back in your pockets.

1. Brew your own coffee. I’m m a coffee fanatic and rarely go a few hours without replenishing my mug of joe. I can’t imagine what my coffee bill would be per month if I went to the fast food place or coffee shop – likely $5-$10 per day. At $150-$300 per month, brewing my own makes more sense.

2. Cut your TV costs. Don’t watch a lot of TV or want to make more time for other things? Simply reduce the channels you watch or scrap it altogether. This can put an extra $150 in your pocket per month.

3. Turn the lights off. This one is near and dear to me. My wife often calls me the light Nazi as I’m m constantly going through the house checking and turning off lights. Even with energy efficient bulbs, leaving lights on uses energy which raises electric bills.

4. Pay Yourself First. This is a pretty easy concept. Before you pay any other bill, put some aside for yourself. Then live off what’s left. If there’s s not a lot left for cable TV or other luxuries that’s s ok. Your cable box won’t spit out $50 bills for your retirement, given the huge amount you’ve paid into it over your lifetime.

5. Educate yourself. Take some financial planning classes, money classes, or even check out some great books at the library (free of course). You can learn a lot and put yourself in a great position. Note: Cable news money shows are
not education.

6. Take advantage of every tax deduction and credit you can.

7. Start today. The best laid plans are useless without action. Start a savings plan and stick to it. If you can make it automatic (paycheck deductions to a retirement account) even better.

8. Talk to a financial planner. This may be one of the best investments you can make. Since anyone can call themselves a financial planner, start with a CFP; and then go from there. Interview them, ask questions, and become informed.

9. Don’t be a do-it-yourselfer. Do you give yourself the flu shot? Did you build your own home? Would you act as your own attorney? Likely the answer is no for these questions. The same thinking needs to apply when you think about your finances and retirement planning. There’s s a lot to be said for point number 5, but too many folks rely on the last sentence.

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Posted on Jan 24th, 2014
by author: sraskie.

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Posted in: financial planning, saving.

The Inequity of Spousal Social Security Benefits

Jan 22nd, 2014
by jblankenship.
4 comments
Cover of "Sid and Nancy: The Criterion Co...

Cover of Sid and Nancy: The Criterion Collection

We’ve covered a lot of ground talking about Spousal Benefits and strategies for filing, and other facts to know about Spousal Benefits.  But did you realize that there is a flaw in the process that shortchanges some couples when it comes to Spousal Benefits?

Here’s a pair of example couples to illustrate the inequity:

The first couple: Jane has worked her entire life and has earned a Social Security benefit of $2,600 per month when she retires.  Her husband Sam has been a struggling artist his whole life, as well as a stay-at-home Dad to their three kids when they were young.  As a result, Sam has never generated enough income on his own to receive the requisite 40 quarter-credits to have a Social Security benefit of his own.

The second couple: Sid and Nancy have both worked and had earnings within the Social Security system over their lifetimes.  Sid had a higher level of earnings, generating a Social Security retirement benefit of $2,600 when he’s ready to retire.  Nancy operated a home-based business part-time while the kids were young, and worked outside the home for several years after they were all finished with high school.  As a result, Nancy has a retirement benefit of $1,000 built up for when she’s ready to retire.

The result is this: Both couples, if they file at Full Retirement Age (FRA), will be eligible for the exact same benefit amounts. For the sake of my illustration and to keep things simple, all four individuals reach FRA at the same time.

Jane files for her own retirement benefit of $2,600.  Sam, without an earnings record, can now file for the Spousal Benefit in the amount of $1,300.  Altogether they will receive $3,900 per month.

Sid also files for his own retirement benefit of $2,600.  Nancy then files for her own benefit of $1,000, and since she’s eligible to file for the Spousal Benefit, she will receive a Spousal Benefit offset amount of $300 – bringing her total benefit to $1,300.  Altogether they will receive $3,900 per month.

Exactly the same benefit amount.  Nancy receives nothing extra from Social Security for her earnings record.

One Difference

There is one difference in the options available to these two couples.  Having read my columns on the subject, Sid and Nancy decide that Nancy should file a restricted application for Spousal Benefits only, which would result in the same $1,300 per month benefit.  Nancy can then later, at age 70, file for her own benefit which has been increased due to Delayed Retirement Credits.  This amounts to a 32% increase, which would bring her total benefit to $1,320 per month at that time.

So for her work record, Nancy can increase her overall benefit by $240 per year.  Doesn’t seem fair, does it?  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think a stay-at-home parent should be penalized and receive nothing for his or her time in that critical occupation, nor do I think that spouses with low or no income should suffer either.  But it does seem that there should be *some* additional benefit for the lower-earning spouse who has generated a benefit on his or her own record.

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Posted on Jan 22nd, 2014
by author: jblankenship.

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Posted in: Social Security, social security retirement, Social Security spousal benefit, Spousal Benefit.
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Book Review: The $1,000 Challenge

Jan 20th, 2014
by jblankenship.
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I picked up this book at FinCon 2013, the Financial Blogger’s Conference held last year in St. Louis.  The author, Brian J. O’Connor, is the Personal Finance Editor and syndicated “Funny Money” columnist at The Detroit News.  The book is the compilation of a 10-part series O’Connor wrote in 2010, wherein he opened up his personal financial situation to his readers and attempted to come up with ways to save an on-going $1,000 per month on regular, everyday expenses.

The result is a surprisingly interesting (not to mention humorous!) journey with the author into the depths of personal financial dealings – everything from babysitting expenses to transportation costs to groceries.  The author takes each section of his personal finances in turn, laying out what the current costs are, and the steps he took to make reductions in his monthly outlay.  He the takes the series a step further to recommend steps for folks in three “saving” situations: Freeing Up Cash (where you’re looking for ways to increase your savings contributions, for example), Making Ends Meet (when you are constantly coming up just a bit short each month in paying your regular expenses), and Pinching Pennies So Hard That Lincoln Gets A Headache (for folks suffering through long bouts of unemployment or underemployment and have to make drastic changes).

For each situation the author provides sound advice that can be applied to other monetary situations, with a wide array of methods for saving. It seems like this might be a dry reading, but the author has a wonderful way of dropping in little bits of humor to really keep you interested.  Of course, what would you expect from a column known as “Funny Money”?

In addition to the financial aspects of making these changes, O’Connor supplies some real-world advice to help you stay the course and make it all work for you.  Here’s a quote from the Entertainment category, where the author drives home the point that you can’t live solely on Ramen noodles for long:

Trust me. Meal planning, shopping for bargains at the grocery store, and learning to love every part of the chicken – except the McNugget! – will be much easier to bear if you go out for a good crab cake once in a while. Otherwise, you become one very crabby cake yourself.

I won’t ruin it for you by telling how it turns out, but suffice it to say that I believe virtually anyone can gain valuable insights into reducing day-to-day expenses from this book.  And who doesn’t want to save money?

Posted on Jan 20th, 2014
by author: jblankenship.

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Posted in: Book review, financial planning, personal finance.
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Why Watching the Stock Market Can Make You Sick

Jan 17th, 2014
by sraskie.
4 comments

YuckFaceI recently read a fascinating article on the correlation between market declines and admission rates to hospitals. The authors point out that almost instantaneously; the effects of a market decline affect mental health such as anxiety. In a nutshell, the authors describe that expectations about the future play a role in investor’s utility (happiness) today.

The research in this article can be beneficial on two fronts. One the one hand, the information can be beneficial to advisors in educating their clients that once proper assets allocation for a particular client is achieved there is little to be gained by logging into an account and watching the daily and even hourly fluctuations of the market.

And every asset class will fluctuate – which is why we diversify and allocate assets accordingly such as real estate, large cap stock, small cap stocks, commodities, bonds, etc. It’s important to note that at any given time, any of these asset classes will be both in and out of favor. The more someone watches the gyrations, the more likely their headed for the antacids – or in the case of the article, the hospital!

The other benefit is self-evident for the client; not watching the market can be beneficial to your health and I would argue your wealth. The reason why it’s beneficial for your health is there’s going to be a lot less stress and worry looking at your account on a daily basis. Unless you’re a day trader (proven to be especially useless) there’s little need to look at your account more than once per month – and less if you can stand to.

The reason it’s beneficial for your wealth is that by not watching the daily movements, there’s less of a chance you’re going to act on that worry and succumb to the loser’s game of trying to time and actively beat the market. Additionally, you may be tempted to stop investing in your IRA, 401(k), or other savings plan which is the last thing you want to do in a down market; in fact, consider investing more when the market drops.

Finally, this is where a financial planning professional can be worth their weight in gold (no; that is not a recommendation to buy the metal!). Working with a professional can help you better control your emotions by helping you think objectively which can be extremely difficult in a market downturn.

That being said you still need to do your homework. Make sure your professional isn’t in the same boat when markets fluctuate. If he or she is irrational and thinking emotionally, it’s going to be difficult if not impossible to be objective. And this is your money.

Be leery of professionals that claim to be market prognosticators or actively beat the market or use funds that do so. Numerous empirical studies show that this is almost an impossible feat. And again, this is your money. Also be cautions of “order takers” – meaning professionals that do whatever you ask – as if you were ordering from the drive through.

A good professional financial planner will challenge your requests (politely) if they feel it’s not in your best interest and can help prevent you from making mistake that can be hard to recover from. Case in point: think of all the “orders” that were placed to sell in 2008 when it’s the last thing investors should have done. Some folks experienced irreversible damage to their portfolios.

To quote a wonderful line from one of my favorite investment books, The Investment Answer, “There are those that don’t know, and those that don’t know they don’t know.”

The market is much bigger than all of us so it makes sense not to worry about what we can’t control.

Posted on Jan 17th, 2014
by author: sraskie.

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Posted in: fee-only, fiduciary, financial planning, investing, investment, investment diversification, real estate investment, recession, retirement, retirement savings.
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Social Security and the Non-Citizen Spouse

Jan 15th, 2014
by jblankenship.
2 comments
Citizenship ceremony, 1960

Citizenship ceremony, 1960 (Photo credit: Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center)

With our increasingly global society today, many married couples are made up of a US citizen and a non-citizen.  In some cases, the non-citizen spouse has never been covered by the US Social Security system – he or she may have been covered by another system in his or her home country.  In other cases, the non-citizen spouse may have worked in a Social Security-covered job while living in the US, and so may have generated a Social Security earnings record of his or her own.

At any rate, it is important to know that your lawful spouse who is a non-citizen may be eligible for Social Security benefits based on your earnings.

As long as other qualifications are met (length of marriage, age of the spouse, and your filing status with Social Security), your non-citizen spouse may qualify for Spousal Benefits based upon your record.  By the same token, your non-citizen spouse will also be eligible for Survivor Benefits upon your passing, as long as all other qualifications are met.

The good news is that if the non-citizen spouse is receiving a pension from another system (such as in his or her home country), this will not trigger GPO (Government Pension Offset) treatment of the Spousal or Survivor Benefits.  These foreign pensions only trigger WEP (Windfall Elimination Provision) impact, and then only to the individual receiving the pension’s own retirement benefit, not the Spousal or Survivor Benefit.

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Posted on Jan 15th, 2014
by author: jblankenship.

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Posted in: Social Security, Social Security spousal benefit, social security survivor benefits.
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Who’s Got Your Back?

Jan 10th, 2014
by sraskie.
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Compass

We all have people we look to for advice and people whom we trust deeply with our thoughts, feelings, money, fears and dreams.

These people could be loved ones, friends, family and professionals such a s doctors, psychologists, counselors and planners.

Naturally we don’t trust just anyone with our most intimate thoughts, feelings and dreams. These are reserved for those people that we feel have earned that privilege.

For the last week I have been working at my first residency for my PhD in Financial and Retirement Planning at The American College in Bryn Mawr, Pa. One of the courses involves the subject of ethics – and not just a list of commandments of what we should do, but more of a mentality of what we owe to ourselves, loved ones clients and people we come into contact with on a daily basis.

There has been a lot of theory discussed from Kant, Mills, Aristotle, Bentham and Boatright to name a few. All of these philosophers have had thoughts and contributions to the world of ethics and virtue and have striven to make the world a “better place”. From the standpoint of the scholars in my class we’ve discussed how these virtues can be applied in our lives and how the World would act if it applied the same views.

It became quickly obvious that many theories can be applied and there is not one theory that is better than the other. We all have our own moral compasses – but my question is – what if we all did our best to be our best and treat other with our best?

What kind of World would that be?

In the financial planning industry, what would that mean for the industry? For the people that trust us with their livelihoods, dreams and fears?

I would argue that we would advance the financial planning industry from a vocation to a profession in the eyes of the people we serve. And that’s what we strive to do here. That’s why we embrace the fiduciary standard. That’s why we do what is best for our clients – even if it means they do that best with another company or adviser.

And that’s why we choose to do what we do. For Jim and I, it’s a choice, a duty, a pleasure – and an honor to serve our clients.

 

 

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Posted on Jan 10th, 2014
by author: sraskie.

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Posted in: fee-only, fiduciary, financial planning.
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