If you’re a small business owner and you hire your children this summer, you may be able to secure tax breaks and other nontax benefits. The kids can gain bona fide on-the-job experience, save for college, and learn how to manage money. You may be able to shift some of your high-taxed income into tax-free or low-taxed income, and, depending on the situation, you may realize payroll tax savings. Perhaps best of all, your kids will spend time with you.
SEP IRAs vs. SIMPLE IRAs: Choosing the Best Retirement Option
Many small business owners run their companies as leanly as possible. This often means not offering what are considered standard fringe benefits for midsize or larger companies, such as a retirement plan.
Retirement Saving Options for Your Small Business
Consider some options if you’re looking for a retirement plan for yourself and your employees but are worried about the financial commitment and administrative burdens involved. One possibility is a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP).
This plan, which comes with relative ease of administration and the discretion to make or not make annual contributions, is especially attractive for small businesses.
There May Still Be Time to Lower Your Tax Bill
If you’re preparing to file your 2023 tax return, you may still be able to lower your tax bill – or increase your refund. If you qualify, you can make a deductible contribution to a traditional IRA right up until the original filing deadline, April 15, 2024, and see tax savings on your 2023 return.
Individual Taxpayers: The Year in Review
As we close out the year and get ready for tax season, here’s what individuals and families need to know about tax provisions for 2022.
Self-Directed IRAs Provide Both Flexibility and Risk
Traditional and Roth IRAs can be relatively “safe” retirement-saving vehicles, though, depending on what they’re invested in, they limit your investment choices. For more flexibility in investment choices but also more risk, another option is a self-directed IRA.
IRS Guidance on SECURE 2.0 Catch-Up Contribution Changes
In Notice 2023-62, the IRS addressed a technical error in the SECURE 2.0 Act that wouldn’t have allowed catch-up contributions to 401(k)s and similar plans after 2023.
Reverse Mortgages: What To Know
Home equity represents a significant portion of the average retiree’s wealth. If you’re 62 or older and house-rich but cash-poor, a reverse mortgage loan allows you to convert part of the equity in your home into cash – without having to sell your home. You can use this cash to finance a home improvement, pay off your current mortgage, supplement your retirement income, or pay for healthcare expenses. A reverse mortgage is not without risk, however.
Avoiding a Tax Surprise When Retiring Overseas
Are you approaching retirement age and wondering where you can retire to make your retirement nest egg last longer? Retiring abroad may be the answer. But first, it’s important to look at the tax implications — because not all retirement country destinations are created equal.
Changing Jobs? Don’t Forget About Your 401(k)
One of the most important questions you face when changing jobs is what to do with the money in your 401(k) because making the wrong move could cost you thousands of dollars or more in taxes and lower returns.
Let’s say you work five years at your current job. For most of those years, you’ve had the company take a set percentage of your pretax salary and put it into your 401(k) plan. Now that you’re leaving, what should you do?