In 1996, the Small Business Job Protection Act created 529 savings plans: state-administered programs designed to help parents save for their children’s future college costs. In a 529 plan, deposited funds are allowed to grow free of federal and state taxes and growth remains tax-free as long as the money is used for qualified educational
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MoneyTips The last few years have been difficult ones for the IRS with respect to security issues, and the agency is determined to improve security during this year’s filing. Electronic filing is particularly vulnerable because of the speed of the process — it is a favorite method among thieves who steal information from taxpayers and
If you have planned properly, retirement can open up a wide set of new possibilities. You can take up new pastimes, travel to foreign lands – and perhaps even retire there. There are many countries with reasonable costs of living, expat communities that would be happy to welcome you, and friendly locals if you want
In a previous article, I covered the topic of life insurance quoting, rate classes, and approvals. The point was to make note of the fact that you, like most consumers looking for life insurance, may see quote info and take that as conclusive pricing – before underwriting has had a chance to assess your application
If you have done your homework leading into retirement, you probably already know that Social Security benefits may be subject to federal taxes under certain circumstances. Did you know that some states also impose taxes on Social Security?
Currently there are thirteen states that impose at least some tax on the benefits of Social Security
On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court settled the issue of same-sex marriage in the U.S. with the landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. This decision requires states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and for states to recognize such marriages that were performed in other states. Gay marriage became legal in all 50
Help the Renters, Too For years, cities have struggled to help lower-income Americans find affordable housing. Many housing assistance programs approach this problem through making home mortgages more affordable. However, a new test program in Montana addresses an underserved area of the housing market – affordable rental homes – by making loans to help people
The average retirement age in the United States has ticked up over the past decade. As you can see in the chart below, as of 2014, the average retirement age increased to 62 and the expected age of retirement is now at 66.
If you look at the state of retirement savings these days, the
Are you counting on your tax refund to pay off bills? You may need the cash before your refund arrives.
The IRS website states that typical refunds take less than 21 calendar days if you e-filed your return. However, if you are claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Additional Child Tax Credit
According to Collegedata.com, the average annual cost of tuition and fees for the 2017-2018 school year was $9,970 at an average public college for in-state residents. Out-of-state collegians paid an average of $25,620, while those attending private colleges saw average bills of $34,740.
Throw in a typical $10,000-$12,000 for housing and meals, another $1,200 for
When using the Life Insurance Quote Comparison Tool on MoneyTips, you can see multiple carriers and rates. Daily, we receive new applications for life insurance through this channel. When I see a new application, I know that an intelligent person has made a choice to get coverage, and that they likely did some investigating before
Taxpayers tend to shy away from taking the home office deduction, assuming that they will be targeted for increased scrutiny from the IRS. That is certainly possible, especially if your deductions are unusually large – but if you truly were entitled to the deduction, why wouldn’t you take it?
You may feel that you have
What two words cause the most panic to Americans? There are probably a hundred funny responses running through your mind right now, but we were thinking of a less humorous response: “IRS audit.”
Your odds of avoiding an audit are usually pretty good. The IRS reviewed 1.03 million tax returns in fiscal year (FY) 2016,
Soft Heart, Hard Choices If you lend your credit card to a friend in financial need, trying to be helpful, there’s a decent chance that you’ll end up with increased debt – and possibly an ex-friend.
A recent survey by CreditCards.com found that 49% of Americans that have owned a credit card at any time
Policymakers have been struggling to identify ways to deal with America’s staggering student loan debt. As of January 2018, Student Loan Hero estimated total outstanding student loan debt at $1.48 trillion, affecting 44 million Americans. Thanks to this debt burden, young Americans are having difficulty achieving typical financial milestones such as home ownership.
Here’s
In many facets of life, experience is the best instructor. So, MoneyTips asked retirees for advice to give to people planning their future retirement.
In an exclusive MoneyTips online survey, we asked 258 retirees:
From the choices provided them, the most popular answer was “Start planning today” (36.8%), followed by “Save more than you think
Computers and the Internet have become mainstays in virtually every area of American life in the 21st century. There are tremendous benefits and conveniences to this, of course, but there are also some downsides — such as the increased risk of identity theft that arises as we share more of our personal information online.
In
1. Lead by example – Great leaders operate with humility and a “Do as I do” rather than a “Do as I say” mentality. They never ask anyone to do anything they are not willing to do themselves.
2. Use the 7 P’s – In the military, I learned that
Proper
Prior
Planning
Prevents
Pitifully
The news seems to be filled with stories about hackers and identity theft these days, and rightly so. According to the Identity Fraud Study released by Javelin Strategy & Research, there were 16.7 million victims of identity theft in 2017, racking up a total of $17 billion in damages. Identity fraudsters successfully netted 1.3 million
Retiring without the worry of running out of money is a major goal for many of us. But what is the best way to ensure that you never run out of money in retirement?
It used to be that many retirees lived off of a pension, interest income, Social Security, or all three. This made
What’s the best way to pay down credit card debt? LaTisha Styles, Millennial Finance Expert and Founder of Financial Success Media, LLC, outlines two popular strategies.
“In the first way,” says Styles, “you pay off the debts with the smallest balance. That’s how you get quick wins.” This is known as the “snowball” method, because
You Can’t Decide Without Facts When should you claim your Social Security benefits? Should you claim them on your own work record or on your spouse’s work record? Those relatively simple questions can become very complex in certain cases.
Fortunately, there are Social Security Administration (SSA) offices throughout the nation with staff waiting to help.
Millions of Americans choose to supplement their Original Medicare benefits with additional coverage that helps to cover the gaps. Medigap plans in America are standardized, and for decades, Medigap Plan F has been a top seller. This is largely because it covers all of the deductibles, coinsurance, and copays that would normally be your responsibility
By Eric Olsen, Executive Director, HELPS Nonprofit Law Firm
At this time of year, creditors sometimes send out what is called a Form 1099-C. They email it to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and copy the person who owes them debt. The form tells the IRS that they, the company who is owed the debt,
For eight years in my 20’s, I was working 80-90 hours a week, fixated on chasing the all-powerful dollar. I barely saw my wife and first-born child, and I was miserable. I made a lot of money, but had no balance. At 30, when we found out my wife was pregnant with our second child,
By Kelly Hartog
One of the most significant changes in the GOP tax plan is the abolition of the alimony tax break. Until now, the person paying alimony in a divorce could claim a tax deduction on that money. The spouse receiving alimony then had to declare those funds as taxable income.
However, with the
The Equivalent of Debtors’ Prison Is there such a thing as a modern-day debtors’ prison? Not literally, as
debtors’ prisons were outlawed by Congress in 1833. However, a recent ACLU
report on the criminalization of private debt points out that some private debt
collectors are creating the equivalent of debtors’ prison via the courts.
The
War is coming. This one will not be a traditional type of war. This conflict will be fought inside the borders of the United States, between foes of different birth-years armed with little more than outrage and hyperbole. The point of this war isn’t land or power. The purpose of this battle is to affix
Early retirement sounds delightful. Who wouldn’t want to give up their desk for a deck chair, 9-to-5 for a 9-iron, or board meetings for surfboards and snowboards? According to our recent survey, many people are retiring earlier than they planned. However, this often results in less savings than intended to be spent over a longer
By Ryan Coon, CEO and co-founder of Rentalutions
While the unusually fast push-through of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act raised eyebrows around the country, potential real estate investors have reason to cheer now that it’s passed. The law, which will affect the taxes we file for 2018 (meaning those we submit in 2019) through
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