I know retirement plans can be confusing, but they are very powerful tools for saving in a tax optimized way. The Popular Way Make tax deductible contributions to your 401k, 403b or other retirement plan. This allows you to delay paying taxes on a portion of your income until later in life. The idea here […]
We all know we get taxed many different ways, and it’s important to understand them all at least to some degree. I want to focus on the capital gains tax and how we can use these rates to our advantage. Capital gains happen when you sell something for a gain. Each year, the IRS requires […]
If you regularly give to charity and have income that fluctuates, I’m going to show you something that is going to save you money. As I’m sure you know, your charitable contributions are deductible from your income for tax purposes. So, if you give $10,000 per year, you get to reduce your taxable income by […]
Last week we talked about the three types of accounts we can use for our Long-Term Portfolio and I said it’s important to have balances in all three types. The Already-Taxed or Roth account is the most difficult to contribute to so I want to talk this week about how we can get money into […]
There are three tax structures under which you can invest: Taxable Tax-Deferred Already-Taxed or Roth. We want to use all three of these when investing our Long-Term Portfolio and I’ll tell you why in a moment. But first, I want to talk through how each of them works. 1. Taxable First, a Taxable portfolio is […]
Our tax structure is progressive which means the more you make then the more as a percentage that you will pay in tax. For example, if you are married and make $400,000 after deductions, you are in the 32 percent marginal tax bracket. This means if you make an extra dollar you will have […]
Maximize Available Tax Breaks for Your Existing Strategies The goal with taxes is not to pay the least amount of tax – it’s to keep as much as you possibly can. There are lots of strategies out there designed to minimize taxes, and unfortunately, many of them also minimize what you take home. Many people […]
Once you have a plan in place to sell your Company Stock over time, be sure that money has some place to go. We don’t ever want our money to be without a job and the cash you get from your Company Stock is no exception. How to Calculate Your Savings Target You should always […]
Previously, we have focused on the stock you own that has already vested sometime in the past. We talked about understanding the risk that creates as well as knowing the tax effect of selling those shares. Today, we are talking about newly vested shares – whether they are RSUs, stock options, ESPP or another type […]
Taxes are a fact of life. I talk to a lot of people who are trying to find the super-secret way that people with money avoid paying taxes. I’m here to tell you – it doesn’t exist. People offering you such strategies are not telling you something. Either that you’ll have to pay even more […]