Which is the right Trust for you and your family? One of the key goals of estate and Trust planning is to avoid federal estate taxes. Careful estate planning can eliminate a significant estate tax burden for surviving spouses and their beneficiaries. Any of the Trusts below can be useful tools in preserving an estate's assets. But which Living Trust is right for you? Credit Shelter Trusts (A/B … [Read more...] about What Type of Living Trust Should I Have?
What Employers Should Know about HSAs
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are a tax-smart way to cover an individual's uninsured medical expenses. Your business can set up HSAs for qualifying employees. Then the business can fully or partially fund the accounts or let employees fund them with salary-reduction contributions. While it's too late to add HSAs to your benefits package for 2019, next year is right around the corner. … [Read more...] about What Employers Should Know about HSAs
Get Real: New ID Requirements for U.S. Travel
Soon you may not be able to pass through security checkpoints at your local airport using your current form of identification, even if you're just flying domestically. The crackdown is aimed at U.S. citizens who don't yet have a "Real ID-compliant" driver's license, United States passport, United States military ID or another acceptable form of identification. The requirements for … [Read more...] about Get Real: New ID Requirements for U.S. Travel
Take Time to Review Your Retirement Savings Strategy
While you're considering health care benefits options during your "open enrollment" period, you should also take stock of your retirement savings strategy. Are you saving enough to cover your retirement needs? The answer depends on many factors, including your expected living expenses, bucket list items (such as travel and hobbies) and potential medical and long-term care costs. Also be … [Read more...] about Take Time to Review Your Retirement Savings Strategy
Bonus Depreciation for Your Business: Let’s Review Your Options
First-year bonus depreciation has been around for a while now. However, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) set forth more-generous, but temporary, rules for 2018 through 2026. Recent IRS guidance gives you additional flexibility to fine-tune the bonus depreciation break to suit your specific business and personal tax circumstances. Here's what you need to know. Old Rules, New Rules Under … [Read more...] about Bonus Depreciation for Your Business: Let’s Review Your Options
New Overtime Pay Rules Finalized for 2020
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued the long-anticipated final version of its overtime eligibility rules. The changes will take effect on January 1, 2020. As a result, the DOL estimates that 1.3 million workers will be newly eligible for overtime pay. Are any of them on your payroll? Read on to find out. What's Changing? The basic change that takes effect next year is that … [Read more...] about New Overtime Pay Rules Finalized for 2020
Exploring the Cashless Movement in Retail
Cash as a form of legal tender isn't yet as obsolete as 8-track tapes and VCRs. But it's definitely less popular with certain demographic groups than others. Only 30% of all retail transactions were completed using cash in 2018, down from 40% in 2012, according to the Federal Reserve. And that trend is expected to continue, causing some retailers to stop accepting cash from … [Read more...] about Exploring the Cashless Movement in Retail
Sticker Shock: How Much Does a College Degree Cost?
"Many families are uninformed about the cost of attending college," claims a recent study by the National Center for Education Statistics, part of the U.S. Department of Education's research division. Only 11% of high school freshmen could accurately estimate the cost of college tuition in their state. Of those that gave the wrong answer, 57% overestimated the cost, and 32% underestimated … [Read more...] about Sticker Shock: How Much Does a College Degree Cost?
Records Retention Guidelines to Remember During Spring Cleaning
Warm weather and rainy days bring the urge to purge. But before you clean your file cabinets or declutter your computer files, it's important to review these guidelines. Federal Tax Records It's a good idea to keep records that supportitems shown on your individual tax return until the statute of limitations runs out — generally, three years from the due date of the return or the … [Read more...] about Records Retention Guidelines to Remember During Spring Cleaning
Top 5 Mistakes When Naming Beneficiaries of Insurance Policies
Protecting Your Goals and Your Loved Ones Naming the beneficiaries of an insurance policy seems likes an easy thing to do. If a person is married, the spouse is the beneficiary. The children are often named as contingent beneficiaries. If a person is not married but has children, the children are often named as first beneficiaries. Usually, these are the people that life insurance is intended to … [Read more...] about Top 5 Mistakes When Naming Beneficiaries of Insurance Policies
