Mid-Year Planning: Tax Changes to Factor In

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, passed in December of last year, fundamentally changes the federal tax landscape for both individuals and businesses. Many of the provisions in the legislation are permanent, others (including most of the tax cuts that apply to individuals) expire at the end of 2025.

Madison Planning Group Vice President, Rochelle Odesser, was a guest on the Ask Beatty radio show. Rochelle discussed how women can empower themselves financially both personally and professionally.

What are the gift and estate tax rules after tax reform?

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed into law in December 2017, approximately doubled the federal gift and estate tax basic exclusion amount to $11.18 million in 2018 (adjusted for inflation in later years). After 2025, the exclusion is scheduled to revert to its pre-2018 level and be cut approximately in half.

The Roth Conversion Conversation

When you convert funds to a Roth IRA, your pre-tax funds will be included in your income in the year of the conversion. This will increase your income for the year of the conversion, which may impact deductions, credits, exemptions, phase-outs AMT (alternative minimum tax), the taxation of your Social Security benefits and more.

The Markets (as of market close April 30, 2018)

April was marked by the impending tariff war between the United States and China. Tensions between the world's two largest economies certainly affected stocks both home and abroad. Escalating strife in Syria posed an additional reason for investors to be concerned.

The College Landscape After Tax Reform

College students and their parents dodged a major bullet with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

Quiz: Can You Answer These Social Security Benefit Questions?

Most people will receive Social Security benefits at some point in their lifetimes, but how much do you know about this important source of income? Take this quiz to learn more.

Questions

1. Can you receive retirement and disability benefits from Social Security at the same time?

How do you cut costs if you're spending too much?

No matter how tightly you try to control your spending or how strictly you follow your spending plan, at some point you are likely to wonder how you can cut costs. In order to find out how to cut costs, you first need to find out where and when your spending occurs.

On March 8, 2018, President Trump imposed a global tariff of 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminum imports.¹ A tariff is a tax on a particular class of imported goods or services that is designed to help protect domestic industries from foreign competition.

The Markets (as of market close March 29, 2018)

The first quarter of 2018 began as the fourth quarter of 2017 ended: with strong market gains. The Nasdaq led the way by the end of January, posting a monthly increase of almost 7.40%, followed by the large caps of the Dow (5.79%) and the S&P 500 (5.62%).