Taxes

Prioritizing Employee Savings and Retirement Benefits

If you’re lucky enough to work for one of the many tech companies that offer multiple ways to save money, you may be wondering which programs to prioritize. Microsoft employees, for instance, have the good fortune of having access to a pre-tax/Roth 401(k), after-tax 401(k), Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) and Health Savings Account (HSA)….

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Here’s How to Know Whether to Self-Prepare Your Taxes or Hire a Professional

Every year, somewhere between January 1st and April 15th, millions of Americans work their way through the five stages of grief as they prepare and file federal and state tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). And although, for a very small few, this time of year can bring about feelings of elation, for…

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Time to Negotiate Your Next Pay Increase? Ask for Stock Instead of More Cash

If there is one thing that workers of all job types across every industry can agree on, it is that they could always benefit from having more money in their paycheck. It does not matter how much a person currently makes or the amount of it they actually spend; there is always room for more….

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Ways to Make Your Charitable Giving Count Come Tax Time

When it comes to managing personal finances, charitable giving is a well-established tool often used to assist individuals and small businesses with year-end tax planning. With strategic and well-timed donations, you can minimize tax liability while supporting the causes you hold dear. Traditionally, people consider charitable giving simply as writing a check to a few…

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Your Employer Just Granted You Stock Options. Now What?

Stock options are no longer just for the few executives at the very top of the org chart. Many publicly traded companies now make them available to non-executive staff. And while splitting compensation between cash and stock has some real benefits, turning those stock option certificates into real dollars takes some careful planning. It is…

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Just Inherited a Retirement Account from a Loved One? Here’s How to Keep the IRS from Taking Half

We have all seen the headlines: Baby Boomers are set to pass somewhere between $60-75 trillion — depending on the study — to their heirs over the next 20 or so years. In other words, we are set to witness the largest generational wealth transfer of all time. It is also said that most of…

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The TCJA Blessed the Backdoor Roth IRA. Why Aren’t More People Using It?

Buried in the text of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) lies a statement that Congress approved, blessing the so-called “back-door” Roth IRA: “Although an individual with AGI exceeding certain limits is not permitted to make a contribution directly to a Roth IRA, the individual can make a contribution to a traditional IRA…

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Roth IRAs Are Not for Everyone. Here’s Who They Are For

The key advantage to utilizing a Roth Individual Retirement Account (IRA) is that when done properly, your withdrawals in retirement are not taxed. For that reason, it has become the most coveted retirement vehicle there is. Roth IRAs prompt many savers to wonder whether they should either begin contributing to or converting a portion or…

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Just Inherited a House from a Relative? Here’s What You Should Know

When a loved one passes away, the grieving process can be difficult enough without factoring in any of the financial responsibilities that an inheritance can create. And when that inheritance includes a house, there are several decisions to make — many of which will need to be made in a timely manner. Coupled with the…

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