My Blog

Did you properly report your IRA contributions on your taxes?

What do you plan to do with your tax refund?

If you turned age 70 ½ in 2014 and have a traditional, SEP or SIMPLE IRA, you must start taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) for that year and every year going forward. But your actual deadline for taking your age-70 ½ IRA RMD is April 1, 2015.

How far will your retirement money go in the state where you live? Do you plan to retire there or move somewhere else?

Did you  know that you can use a Roth IRA as an education savings tool? Roth IRAs–along with other retirement accounts–are not considered assets when determining a family’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC) when filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

A distribution from an inherited IRA can never go directly into an IRA in your own name. Since it is the same thing as receiving a check payable to you, it is a taxable distribution.

Whenever you convert funds to a Roth IRA, you can recharacterize (unconvert) them by October 15 of the year after the conversion. When you do a recharacterization, you must include the gains or losses attributable to the amount being recharacterized using the value of all the assets in that Roth IRA.

Retiring from one career doesn’t mean you can’t start another. Do you plan to go into another line of work when you retire?

Did you know that required minimum distributions from your IRA (although taxable) do not count as earned income (compensation)?

Did you know that SEP IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs are not savings accounts for retirement? Yes, they are a way to save for retirement, but they are not the same as a savings account. Many business owners operate these plans without paying attention to the rules that govern them.