In the waning days of 2019, both the House and the Senate overwhelmingly passed the SECURE Act and President Trump signed it while flying somewhere on Air Force One (December 20, 2019). The new law’s name: Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act.  Effective 01/01/2020 there are 29 new provisions or changes to retirement that will affect retirees as well as a number of other Americans. Here are six of the most important changes that you should know: … Continue reading

ROTH CONVERSIONS   Although ROTH contributions and ROTH conversions do NOT save taxes today, they will save you taxes tomorrow as well as not cause your Social Security checks to be subject to taxation nor increase your Medicare Part B and D premiums! And there are NO RMDs either! If you think taxes must rise due to the growing Federal debt ($23+ TRILLION) and a total of $126+ TRILLION of unfunded federal promises made to the American people, then why … Continue reading

You may have heard that the Social Security COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) for 2020 is 1.6%. That means the average American’s SS check will be $1,503 next year (that’s $24 up from last year’s $1,479 avg. check). The maximum SS check for those retiring at Full Retirement Age (FRA) in 2020 will be $3,011. Of course, for those who delay taking benefits after FRA can get 8% per each year of delaying until age 70. There is no advantage … Continue reading

2019 Last-Minute Section 199A Strategies That Reduce Taxes Remember to consider your Section 199A deduction in your year-end tax planning. If you don’t, you could end up with a big fat $0 for your deduction amount. We’ll review four year-end moves that (a) reduce your income taxes and (b) boost your Section 199A deduction at the same time. First Things First If your taxable income is above $160,700 (or $321,400 on a joint return), then your type of business, wages … Continue reading

                 Tax-Saving Tips October 2019   Roth IRA vs Traditional IRA: Which Is Better for You? Roth IRAs tend to get a lot of hype, and for good reason: because you pay the taxes upfront, your eventual withdrawals (assuming you meet the age and holding-period requirements—more on these below) are completely tax-free. While we like “tax-free” as much as the next person, there are times when a traditional IRA will put more money … Continue reading