[This is a guest post from Bogleheads investment forum participant Bob’s not my name.] There’s a lot of talk these days about the new Medicare taxes in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), so you may be wondering how much they will affect you. The short answer is: If your household income (married filing jointly) is […]
ACA 3.8% Medicare Tax and Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)
Now that the health care reform law is upheld by the Supreme Court, the 3.8% Medicare tax on unearned income for high earners is also here to stay. It will come into effect in 2013. Just to recap, the chart below shows how it works: The tax is on unearned income — interest, dividend, capital […]
Sitting Out the Roth IRA Movement Party
I woke up this morning hearing there’s a Roth IRA Movement going on in the bloggers circle. I don’t have anything prepared, except I want to remind everyone not to forget The Forgotten Deductible IRA. Roth IRA is great if you aren’t eligible for a tax deduction for contributing to a traditional IRA, meaning you […]
Selling Noncovered Shares With Specific Identification At Vanguard
The IRS implemented new rules to help the taxpayers report capital gains and losses from securities sales more accurately. They did it by requiring the brokers and mutual fund companies to report the cost basis for securities bought after a certain date and subsequently sold. For stocks and ETFs, that date is January 1, 2011. […]
How To Recharacterize An IRA with Vanguard, Fidelity, Or Schwab
As I mentioned in my previous post Recharacterize Backdoor Roth, I requested recharacterization of my Roth IRA conversions in 2011 and 2012. Since this is the first time I did this, I’m documenting the process here. Why Recharacterize? Recharacterizing an IRA can mean two things: recharacterizing contributions OR recharacterizing a conversion (from Traditional to Roth) […]
Most TSP Participants Should Switch To the Roth TSP
My friend Austin asked me about the Roth TSP. TSP is Thrift Savings Plan. It’s the equivalent to a 401k plan for federal government employees and members of the military. Until now, TSP only accepts pre-tax contributions, like a Traditional 401k. TSP announced that it will add the Roth feature soon. I heard April 1, […]
Tax Refunds On 1099-G: Taxable Or Not?
Among the various tax forms I have been receiving lately is a 1099-G from my state. It says it’s for the state income tax refund I received last year. I received a state income tax refund last year because I had too much withheld in the previous year. The refund was returning my own money […]
Recharacterize Backdoor Roth
I can’t say I invented the Backdoor Roth but I was an early proponent of it. If you are not familiar with this concept, a Backdoor Roth means contributing to a non-deductible Traditional IRA before converting it to a Roth IRA. Before the move was ever possible for those who earn "too much," I prepared […]
Saver’s Credit Plays Hard to Get
Are you a saver? I bet you are. Did you know there’s a tax credit called Saver’s Credit that reduces your federal income tax if you save for retirement in an employer sponsored retirement plan (401k, 403b, etc.) or in an IRA? If you knew, did you ever receive it? I bet you didn’t. I […]
Medicare Doc Fix: An Interview with Austin Frakt
The Medicare "doc fix" is in the news again. I keep hearing if Congress doesn’t act, doctor’s fees for treating Medicare patients will be cut by 27% starting on January 1. This is a complete mystery to me. What’s this evil force that’s trying to cut doctor’s fees? Why can’t Congress make it stop since […]
Tax on Capital Gains While Receiving Social Security Benefits
I wrote about tax-free capital gains when you are in the 15% tax bracket or lower. I created this chart to make it clearer what I’m talking about (click on the chart for a larger size). Your gross income first goes toward the pre-tax deductions from your paychecks (401k, health care insurance premiums, flexible spending […]
Deduct-and-Convert: Save Hundreds in State Tax on Roth IRA
If you live in the right state and have the right income, you can save hundreds in state income tax when you contribute to a Roth IRA in a different way.