4 ways to tap your retirement funds earlier than normally allowed Qualified retirement accounts can offer great tax advantages for people saving for retirement. Those advantages work incredibly well if you use them to save for several decades and then retire at age 59 1/2 or later, but if you need to tap your money [...]
If you use your home for business, you may be able to deduct expenses for the business use of your home. If you qualify you can claim the deduction whether you rent or own your home. If you qualify for the deduction you may use either the simplified method or the regular method to claim [...]
If you use your car in your job or business and you use it only for that purpose, you may deduct its entire cost of operation (subject to limits discussed later). However, if you use the car for both business and personal purposes, you may deduct only the cost of its business use. You can [...]
• Business owners can sock away a maximum of $54,000 in a SEP-IRA or $12,500 in a SIMPLE IRA. • If you're 70½ and don't need your required minimum distribution, give it to charity. If you want to save money, dust off your 2016 tax return. Back in April, after your preparer filed your Form [...]
Almost half of Americans die nearly broke Americans aren't known for being great savers. In a recent GoBankingRates study, 69% of adults admitted to having less than $1,000 in the bank, while 34% said they actually don't have any savings at all. But apparently, this collective lack of savings doesn't get all that much better [...]
5 things to give up if you want to be debt-free Debt is easy to rack up — but hard to pay off. That's why it's no surprise that Americans surpassed $1 trillion in credit card debt last year, the highest level since the Great Recession. However, if you're willing to buckle down, becoming debt-free, and doing it [...]
Why you shouldn't expect much from Social Security Social Security provides the foundation for retirement plans for millions of Americans, but that foundation is in seriously bad shape. According to the program's own trustees: It's already spending more cash than it takes in through taxes today, By 2020, its trust funds will start depleting, and [...]
Accounting tips for small businesses Accounting is one of the necessary tasks of any successful business, however monotonous it may be. Properly managing your business accounts helps you make sure you’re not losing unnecessary money, that your employees are getting paid, taxes are being filed, and more. To keep your business out of the weeds [...]
3 Social Security surprises that may leave money on the table Almost a quarter of future retirees who expect to receive Social Security either guess or don't know how much their benefits will be. Newslook Even if your retirement is years away, it's a good idea to periodically check in on your Social Security benefits. Why? To [...]
Backdoor IRAs: Another way to save on taxes in retirement Unless you've filed an extension with the Internal Revenue Service, the 2016 tax year is now history. You're probably ready to take a break from thinking about taxes at all, but there is no time like the present to consider how you might save on [...]
