RMDs Require Careful Planning

By : August 23, 2013 Comments Off on RMDs Require Careful Planning

After all the advice you've received about saving for retirement, taking money out of your traditional IRAs and other qualified retirement plans may feel strange. Yet once you reach age 70-1/2, the required minimum distribution (RMD) rules say you have

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Retirement Tax Rules

By : August 8, 2013 Comments Off on Retirement Tax Rules

Just a shout out to all you Baby Boomers out there!Three important birthdays affect your retirement plan:At age 50, you can make extra "catch-up" contributions to your IRA and 401(k) savings. For 2013, these are $1,000 aand $5,500, respectively.After age

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Crowdfunding? What’s That?

By : July 30, 2013 Comments Off on Crowdfunding? What’s That?

Are you looking to jump on the "crowdfunding" bandwagon? This trendy method of investing in start-up companies gained momentum after federal legislation was enacted last year, but the basic idea has actually been around for centuries. It just has a

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Don’t Forget About The Energy Credit

By : July 26, 2013 Comments Off on Don’t Forget About The Energy Credit

The IRS reminds taxpayers that certain energy credits are still available. If you haven't already taken adventage of them, this may be the year to make energy-efficient improvements to your home. You may be entitled to a credit of 10%

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What Investment Expenses Are Deductible?

By : July 10, 2013 Comments Off on What Investment Expenses Are Deductible?

Whether you are a stock market bull or bear, you probably have investment expenses. You may be wondering if they are deductible on your federal income tax return.Here's a quick overview:What are investment expenses? Investment expenses are amounts you pay

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FBAR Filing Due by June 28, 2013

By : June 27, 2013 Comments Off on FBAR Filing Due by June 28, 2013

If you have assets in a foreigh account and the total value exceeded $10,000 at any time, you just file the "Foreign Bank Account Report" (commonly called FBAR) by June 28, 2013. The FBAR is an annual information form, filed

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What Are Your Audit Odds?

By : June 14, 2013 Comments Off on What Are Your Audit Odds?

Do you wonder what your odds are of being selected for an IRS audit? Statistics just released for tax returns filed in 2011 and audited in 2012 show a 1% audit rate for individual returns. About 3.6% of business returns

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Protect Yourself From Bogus IRS E-mails

By : May 22, 2013 Comments Off on Protect Yourself From Bogus IRS E-mails

The IRS reports that even though April 15th has come and gone, fradulent e-mails purporting to be from the IRS are still running rampant. Here is what you need to know to protect yourself.The typical scam starts with an e-mail

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Deductible Charity Requires Recordkeeping

By : May 8, 2013 Comments Off on Deductible Charity Requires Recordkeeping

If spring cleaning leaves you with items that you want to donate to charity, remember that donations of used clothing and household items must generally meet certain requirements to be tax-deductible. First, such items must be in "good used condition

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