America over the next decade. A Forbes perspective.

An interesting look at America over the next decade - from  the Forbes. perspective.

If you are Self-employed are you withholding your taxes?

So you are self-employed, and, your income is not being reported to the IRS on a W2 but on a 1099-MISC form, which means that neither federal income tax or self-employment taxes are being withheld from your checks, and it also means that you are responsible for getting those funds over to the IRS on a regular basis, quarterly in fact.  Basically, you are required to pay

When is a loan not quite a loan?

So you took a loan from your 401K, because after all, if you were going to pay interest, you wanted to pay it to yourself, and there is some validity in that.  However, you hadn't bargained on losing your job before you repaid the loan.   You borrowed $20,000, repaid $5,000 and had an outstanding loan of $15,000.   If you get terminated with a 401K loan outstanding, you are required to pay the entire remainder in a very short time period, back to your company.  If  you are unable to do so,  then the loan morphs into a taxable distribution.  Now that $15,000 is added to your income and you will

Can your College Freshman manage a credit card?

Some questions that need to be answered to decide whether your student will be able to manage a credit card are:

Are they accustomed to paying bills on a regular basis? Will they be able to maintain a bill paying routine when they are under the stress of exams, or sorority/fraternity rush?

If not, late fees will probably accrue and interest rates could be increased. If they do not have a bill paying routine or if they are disorganized, the stressors of college life could cause them to

Where did 2% of Your Income go?

So I keep seeing articles and reports on how the payroll tax has been hiked by 2%, and I wonder why it is being reported as such, because it isn't a tax hike, it is a return to the rate that we had before.   The rate for payroll taxes has been 6.2 % for many years, since 1990.  The decrease to 4.2% was a temporary measure for 2011 and 2012.   The administration in an effort to increase workers take home pay, during a weak economy, reduced the payroll tax by 2%, so instead of those funds going towards social security which is where they normally go, they came home with you. 

Recently Married? Here are some Tax Tips

 

So you got married this year, and you are probably wondering how will your taxes be affected, or what steps you may need to take to be ready for tax season.   Here are a few tips:

1. Make sure that the Social Security Administration (SSA) has your new name.  The name and social security number recorded with the SSA must match your tax return. If you need to apply for a new card, call 800-772-1213 or apply here.  This short video gives you some more information.

Quoted 0911

"Americans are in a cycle of fear which leads to people not wanting to spend and not wanting to make investments, and that leads to more fear. We'll break out of it. It takes time."   Warren Buffet.

Spend responsibly.  Support a producer.  Help the economy avoid further contraction.