Flexible Spending Accounts (“FSAs”) are a popular means for employees to pay for medical/dependent care expenses using pre-tax funds. Funds that are unused in a given plan year are generally forfeited. Thanks to recent guidance from the IRS that’s about to change – at least temporarily. Notice 2021-15 details the relief offered under December 2020’s [...]
With the move to $0 commissions by the major brokerage firms a new light has been shined on the practice of selling order flow. Just what is it and why is it as good/bad as you’ve heard? Let’s peal back the layers of the onion and find out.
Concerned about stock market performance if Joe Biden wins the White House and the Democrats take a majority in the House and Senate? History suggests maybe you shouldn’t be. Dating back to 1951 there have been eighteen years in which the Democrats controlled the legislative branch. in fifteen of those eighteen years (83.3% of the [...]
Notice 2020-79 issued yesterday by the IRS covers the inflation adjustments for items such as 401(k) contribution limits, deductible IRAs, the saver’s credit, etc. Full details are available here.
The income side of fiscal policy (i.e. taxation) is always highly politicized. The song never seems to change. Republicans think everyone pays too much. Democrats think everyone pays too little. An oversimplification? Maybe. Nonetheless a basic understanding of the proposals independent of the emotionally-charged rhetoric can go a long way towards achieving Thomas Jefferson’s view [...]
Did you get a PPP loan of $50,000 or less? Good news. Compliance just got a little easier. On October 8th the Treasury Department in conjunction with the Small Business Administration released a simplified forgiveness application and instructions. This comes on the heels of a new interim final rule providing updated guidance on forgiveness and review [...]
As we wrote about in December 2014 the Achieving Better Life Experience (“ABLE”) was signed into law to provide a means for saving and paying for disability-related expenses. While ABLE contributions are not tax deductible distributions are tax-free to the designated beneficiary if used to pay for qualified disability expenses. Examples include: housing health, prevention [...]
What each candidate has in mind for our tax dollars:
Feb 2020: The S&P 500 hits an all-time high before the COVID-induced selloff. Aug 2020: The S&P 500 recovery is complete as the index sets a new all-time high. A funny thing happened along the way that’s not captured in the above graph. Earnings and projected future earnings fell off a cliff – the [...]
Although the SECURE Act (“Setting Every Community Up for Retirement”) was largely focused on retirement rules (e.g. changing RMD age from 70 ½ to 72) several provisions were included that impact an important way many of us save for the education of our children. So-called §529 plans – a tax-deferred and possibly tax-free means of [...]