Although the IRS code is complicated and thorny, there are plenty of legitimate ways to reduce your tax bill. Before you sit down to attack your taxes, grab last year’s return as a reference and then review your W-2s, 1099s, charitable contribution receipts. Additionally, your credit card and bank statements may be useful to jog your memory for unreimbursed business or medical expenses. Then, consider these six concepts:
Read MoreAs the bull market in US stocks gets set to celebrate its eighth birthday this week, it is stunning to consider how far we have come. On March 9, 2009, here was the closing level of the three major indexes:
“Both large and small investors should stick with low-cost index funds,” according to Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett. In his annual shareholder letter, the Oracle of Omaha reminded investors something they probably know intuitively, “When trillions of dollars are managed by Wall Streeters charging high fees, it will usually be the managers who reap outsized profits, not the clients.” This is not a new message for Buffett. Three years ago, he provided similar advice to the trustees of his estate: “Put 10 percent of the cash in short-term government bonds and 90 percent in a very low-cost S&P 500 index fund…I believe the trust's long-term results from this policy will be superior to those attained by most investors…who employ high-fee managers.”
Read MoreThe Roth IRA turns twenty years old this year. The retirement vehicle was part of the Tax Relief Act of 1997 and it was seen as such a boon to savers, many believed that it would not survive. Two decades later, it is alive and well. As many Americans consider funding retirement plans this tax season, it’s a good opportunity to provide you with a Roth Q&A.
Read MoreOn Tuesday night, the President will speak to a joint session of Congress, where he could finally outline details of a major overhaul to the personal and corporate tax system. Last week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC that the administration is “primarily focused on a middle-income tax cut and simplification for business. And what we are focused is that on the high end, if there are tax cuts, that they are offset with reduction of deductions and other things.”
Read More
