Prior to 2010, individuals were permitted to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA under the tax law for Roth IRA conversion. There were only two stipulations that governs the conversion: (1) you have to pay taxes on the converted money and (2) you must be within the income limit which determined your eligibility [...]
Saving in Your 20s To Have More Security for Your 30s and 40s
In your 20’s and don’t think that you need to worry about your security later on down the line? There’s no need to worry about making yourself secure for once you reach your 30’s and 40’s, right? That’s probably the mentality of most people who are twenty-something. Most are in college or are just having [...]
The contribution limit for IRA did not change for 2010. Like 2009, the maximum you may contribute to your Traditional and Roth IRAs combined is $5,000. If you are 50 years and older, your contribution limit is $6,000 (due to $1,000 catch-up contribution allowance). Note this is a per individual limit and as a married [...]
Fall Cleaning For You and Your Financials!
Ah … Fall and Spring cleaning — a fresh desk, a clean home, a new perspective with the changing of the seasons. Why is this such a good idea, especially when it comes to your financial documents? It’s simple. Clutter can be dangerous – especially when it involves your finances. When your financial documents are [...]
Establishing Good Financial Habits Early
The young people today have a wide range of financial struggles. For the most part, young people have too much debt, bad spending habits, not enough savings and poor investing skills. Throw in today’s record unemployment for young workers and the result isn’t pretty. Most people would agree that investing should be a part of [...]
Up until about 10 years ago, there was one type of IRA, the traditional IRA which was deducted from your taxable income, grows tax deferred, and upon withdrawal, is taxed at whatever rate you find yourself. Its cousin, the Roth IRA is the mirror image, the money you put in is after tax money, but [...]
2010 Roth IRA Conversion Rules, What Is The Big Deal?
Converting to a Roth IRA is not new, so what with all the buzz about about this Roth IRA Conversion event in 2010? What makes it such a big deal is that up until then, most people couldn’t convert to a Roth IRA because their income was too high. For example, in 2009 if an [...]
2009 Tax Tables, IRS Federal Income Tax Rates And Tax Brackets
The following article contains information about the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)’s officially released 2009 federal income tax brackets. You’ll need this information to prepare and file your 2009 tax return in early 2010. To the extent that the information in this article helps summarize the changes in Federal Income Tax, you should consult the official [...]
My Company Cut My 401K Matching Contribution, What’s Next?
Well, it finally happened to me. Last Friday, my company announced that it is halting 401(k) matching contributions, raises, and promotions for the remainder of the year. This is definitely better than losing my job, but between the match and the raise, that’s a good 5-7% loss of income. I am sure many of you [...]
In my TurboTax Online Review, I mentioned that I owe some federal income tax and is thinking about opening a SEP IRA, or a Simplified Employee Pension Plan. Aside from reducing my tax liabilities, I want to maintain my safe harbor from having to pay quarterly income taxes in 2009.
Since I am already doing my [...]
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