Multiple Retirement Accounts? Considerations Before Consolidating

Is your retirement portfolio a mess? Sometimes a natural result of changing jobs several times over your lifetime can be an accumulation of several retirement accounts. For example, you may have three 401(k) accounts, a Roth IRA and a couple of traditional IRAs. Is it best to leave everything as is, keeping a mishmash of […]

New Overtime Regulations Start December 1, 2016

On May 18, 2016 President Obama and Labor Secretary Perez announced new Department of Labor overtime regulations that go into place December 1, 2016. The Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) has information everyone needs to know to comply with these new rules. The Changes Any worker making $47,476 or less must be paid overtime for […]

Moving From “Paycheck to Paycheck” to “Planning Ahead”

A recent study found that 47% of American workers live “paycheck to paycheck”. The path to achieving financial milestones like paying for a college education, buying a car, owning a home or retiring at an early age always begins with one step – saving for the future. Based on this survey, many Americans aren’t saving […]

The Three Rules Behind a Uniform Deduction

Over the years, the courts have established three criteria that an employee must satisfy before claiming a tax deduction for work-related clothing: Is the clothing required or essential in the taxpayer’s employment? Is the clothing not suitable for wear outside of work? Does the taxpayer in fact not wear the clothing outside of work? What […]

Ideas to Manage the Burden of Student Debt

Each year a new crop of graduating high school seniors begin their collegiate careers while college graduates consider the opportunities that graduate school provides. As a result, the mountain of student debt continues to build. While this debt is unavoidable, here are some ideas to help make that mountain a little less insurmountable. Know the […]

The Top 1 Percent

According to IRS statistics, the federal income tax burden on the top 1% of filers is slightly less than the previous year. It takes an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $428,713 to make it into the top 1%. The difference – the upper crust paid 37.8% of the tax in 2013, down from 38.1% in […]

The IRS is Not Always Right

Quotes from actual IRS correspondence received by clients: “Our records show we received a 1040X… for the tax year listed above, We’re sorry, but we cannot find it.” “Our records show you owe a balance due of $0.00. If we do not receive it within 30 days, appropriate collection steps will be taken.” “Payment is […]

Ghosting Identity Theft – What Everyone Should Know

To most people “ghosting” is the act of breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend by breaking off all contact. Now there is a new ghosting phenomena; stealing the identity of a recently deceased loved one. Ghosting protocol Would-be identity thieves scour obituaries to find as much personal information as possible about the recently departed. […]

Don’t Let Taxes Upset Your Nest Egg!

Are you one of those who have carefully planned ahead for your retirement – setting up tax-advantaged savings accounts and researching the best place to live? You might be surprised to learn about the many tax issues that apply to retirees which should be taken into consideration when planning your retirement. For example, you could […]

Going Back to College? How to Deduct Tuition Costs

Can you deduct the cost of going back to a school to get ahead in your career? It depends. The tax law is clear on this issue whether you’re returning to school full-time or just enrolling in a summer refresher course. To qualify for deductions, you must meet one of these two requirements. The education […]