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I'm in a similar boat in the north bay. The low supply of houses on the market and high demand make me think now is not a good time to buy. It is too speculative. If you are willing to wait at least a few years to see where things go, I think that is the wise choice. If you feel you have a need to o...

With the exception of my emergency savings and some spending money, I'm 100% equities and I have been since I started investing. I'm in my thirties and my experience has been that I can handle the risk. If you can't handle a 50% drop in the value of the equity part of your portfolio, you probably ha...

Thank you for the reference and for the insights. Is there any way to distribute mutual funds without recognizing the capital gains in that year? I would like to postpone realizing the capital gains as long as possible (when I will be in a lower tax bracket). Does that make sense, or is there somet...

I'd think more in terms of what you want with your career and what your future opportunities will be with either choice. I'd think working for a company like Google could open many doors. If you are willing to pay your dues now in order to get those opportunities later, it is worth seriously conside...

Thanks for the thoughtful responses. Several different issues here. 1. how to do it. my CPA thinks we just file Form 8832, Entity Classification Election, and can change the LLC from S Corp to Partnership without there being any tax issues. 2. Why not distribute the funds as an S Corp? Money is in ...

I own an LLC taxed as an S corp. We plan to downsize, reduce income, reduce employees, and distribute the money in the company (not necessarily by choice, but that is a separate matter). Because we want to make unequal distributions, we plan to change to a partnership. I have discussed this extensi...

The main point that confuses me is how to weigh the risk of holding the current portfolio (long-term unwind scenario) as opposed to the taxes I'd be hit with. A second point is the risk of transitioning at an inopportune time (i.e., a quick unwind is incompatible with dollar-cost-averaging while ma...

http://www.kitces.com/blog/archives/509-Is-Capital-Loss-Harvesting-Overvalued.html An interesting article for some of the more beginner investors on this forum (including myself) about tax loss harvesting. The benefits of tax loss harvesting may not be worth the hassle if your investment isn't larg...

Thank you everyone! So I looked at 2011 990 filing for this non profit org and is it unusual for a non profit to have net assets of 600 million in investments and cash? Also, can a non profit become for profit? If so who are the shareholders? My wife works for this non profit and the last 4 years, ...

I am thinking about asking for the following funds: Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) Exp ratio 0.10% Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) Exp ratio 0.05% My 401(k) has small, mid and large cap index funds as well as an S&P one. Thoughts? Most 401k platforms still deal with mutual funds, no...

Non-profits are not necessarily required to distribute their audited financial statements. They are required to provide other information included their tax returns. If you look at the information on the 990, there is a question about whether the non-profit was required to have audited financials (w...

I think the OP's point is well-taken although perhaps I can shed some light on this. As a physician, I'm very well aware of how some perceive a high-income earner: as someone to take advantage of. I can't tell you the times I've had insurance sales personnel approach me with some half-baked plan to...

I agree that it's weird that any post by or about a physician on this forum seems to be carrying a label for the last 6 months. It seems to be the moderators doing it as near as I can tell. I've always assumed it has to do with the legal liability that can be associated with practicing doctors and ...

I bet you got hit with the $3 fee for the first month since you started with less than $5K and that the fee in the first month reduced your balance below $5K for the remaining months. The only month I got his with the $3 investment fee was the last month I had a balance under $5K on one day during t...

If you expect to be in a lower tax bracket in retirement, it generally makes sense to max that out first. Why pay more in taxes now (unless you will need the funds before you can withdraw them without penalty)?

Wow, a lot of strong opinions are being discussed here, perhaps some are a bit overboard. Anyhow, it is simple. The bank has their right to assess a $5.00 fee for accounts less than $300.00. It is not criminal and I certainly understand your point how they make money off of your few hundred you kee...

I live in California and the local market does not seem rational. As someone who does not have a need to own a house yet, I've decided to wait the market out on this one and keep my savings invested in the stock market which has higher expected returns. Worst case I'm wrong and I'll have to buy a mo...

I'd just like to give my 2 cents here after following this thread from the start. I'm amazed that no one has agreed with Leonard he is advocating for a very BH approach. I know I agree with him. The advice given here by most posters to me flies in the face of 99% of the advice I've seen on other qu...

I would try to find a lender that does not require what your current lender does. It is is hard to find, perhaps the contingency is reasonable (ie: they would have to make the change to sell in any bank financed transaction).

Everything needs to be in writing for real property related contracts. My understanding is that verbal contracts and promises mean pretty much nothing. Your friend should review what the previous contract that was signed says about what happens when the lease expires as well as the applicable state ...

Was this the reaction to the fake news from the hacked AP twitter account?

A $10K car seems expensive with your current debt.

I'd transfer your negative equity elsewhere (CC balance transfer with promotional rate or a line of credit on your house?) and then buy a cheap car. $3-4K seems to buy a pretty decent car based upon what I've seen recently.

If you are investing in baskets of stocks instead of individual securities, you can find something very similar (but not substantially identical) to use to replace the previous holding. That avoid the risk of significant tracking error from being out of the market for a month.

He should mail in his return. The IRS will note the discrepency and make the necessary inquiries and resolve it. Exactly. Unfortunately, the IRS will not let a return be e-filed claiming an exemption that has been claimed on a return that has already been filed for the year. The proper procedures (...

This certainly causes me some psychological warfare. I really hate that the market has run up like it has in 2013 right now because last week I maxed my 2012 Roths, my 2012 HSA, and my 2012 ESA. I felt a lot better lump summing in prior years. In 20 years from now it won't make any difference. I se...

I don't think there is anything contradictory about wanting to buy low and then have the value of the assets to have increased at a later date. Since there is no way to predict the future valuation, this is really just a way to see bear markets in a positive light and keep accumulating in this situa...

Has anyone ever run across this? I have an employee who is a k-1 employee (owns a trivial amount of our partnership). When she applied for a HELOC, the bank is asking not only for her K-1, but also our firm's 1065. I don't like sharing the 1065, especially when it adds no information to her applica...

To the extent you're morphing after-tax dollars into equities in the 401K, you're buying the right to pay a higher tax rate on gains in the equities. Perhaps much higher, if in the 15% marginal bracket. Usually your not buying the right, your being paid for it. You get a tax deduction for the 401K ...

Thanks for the replies so far guys. I guess I needed a bit of a reality check on the 10% bond allocation. I won't quote you guys individually due to the number of replies thus far but I will touch on the overall points you've all made. This portfolio has two purposes: First, to provide my mom with ...

Is an executor necessary without a will? Do I have any responsibilites if there is no will? If you are not named in the will, you are not the executor. If there is not a will, the assets will go through the state's probate process in a way that will give the family little (if any!) control over the...

Just to clarify, are you required to wait until the last possible day to do this? Of course - I had a significant bill this year, with retroactive taxation this is not unusual. It's financially prudent to pay it at the last moment since, being a boglehead, I'm earning interest on the money. The lit...

I'm a CA CPA and our experience today is that the payment system works fine as long as you select the option to 'pay without registering' instead of logging into an account first. It is the state registration / login system (which keeps user preferences and banking information) that is experiencing ...

We looked at buying a house here in Northern CA off and on for the last six months. We heard some disturbing things from realtors that indicated people are abandoning common sense to chase quickly escalating prices here. These gems included suggesting we abandon the financing contingency since the ...

Never. I long ago realized that going to a "fine" restaurant was a waste for somebody like me who eats and extremely healthy, basically vegetarian diet. The few times I have fish when "forced to" I have plain fish broiled with nothing added. So there is no value to the fancy sau...

I have already filed my 2012 tax return and would like to add more to my Roth IRA (still under tax year 2012). Do I need to file an amended return? I found an answer by searching from 2008 and it appears I am okay without filing an amended return. Has anything changed since 2008? http://www.boglehe...

The deadline for amending your 2009 return is April 15, 2013 (if you filed the 2009 return by April 15, 2010), so you need to get that return done fast..... Also remember to amend your state tax returns. THANKS - Damn - this just gets better and better. yeah, here's the IRS link on filing Amended R...

I don't understand the problem. Can't you give (gift) someone $16,000 before any "Gift Tax" paperwork is involved? I don't see the problem giving your daughter $5,000. What she does with it is up to her. Am I wrong? The ‘problem’ from my perspective is the tax laws are designed to allow e...

The idea is to get licensed in the state you are going to be practicing.

I would stay away from CPAs and find an independent tax preparer. That's all mine does. He does over 1000 returns every year and nothing else. Since he only does tax returns he is very skilled at it. And also much cheaper than a CPA. He also corrects botched returns from CPAs, such as yours. I beli...

This is a simple issue. If you are paying a professional well, the level of service you receive should be high.You are paying a lot and not getting the service you should. Find someone who gives a lower level of service (and charges less) or find someone who can provide a high level of service.

Is it $300 per hour or a $500 fixed fee? Based upon the information you provided, that is definitely more than a 2 hour tax return. I don't think it is an excuse but it sounds like maybe they rushed through your return in order to do it for the $500 fee quote.

Read page 3 of form 4868. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4868.pdf Making Payments Electronically For information on paying your taxes electronically, including by credit card, debit card, or EFTPS, go to http://www.irs.gov/e-pay. You must enroll in EFTPS before you can use it. Go to http://www.eft...

Read page 3 of form 4868. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4868.pdf Making Payments Electronically For information on paying your taxes electronically, including by credit card, debit card, or EFTPS, go to http://www.irs.gov/e-pay. You must enroll in EFTPS before you can use it. Go to http://www.eftp...

I don't have any direct experience with the site but I often see mrlandlord.com recommended.

This is going to sound obvious but keep all your records relating to the period under audit and start getting anything you may not have saved (such as bank statements for each month). You never know what may be useful for your case and it can be a lot harder to get the information later when you nee...

Professional's are people too. No one is perfect, not even those who hold professional license and certifications. Heck, my folks CPA in practice 30+ years, was trying to sell them in pre-Boglehead.org days a loaded, high ER Fidelity Advisor class fund and when I called him out on it, then tried to...

What if #3 is an employer offered ESPP investment? I am really curious to know more as I am invested in my employer offered ESPP and 401(K) plans/benefits. What is the downside, please explain. The risk is that your employer does poorly, the stock drops in value, and you get laid off. Worst case is...

My friend the dentist became an "S" Corp a few years ago. I help him with accounting, although he has a CPA who does his tax returns. I noticed that due to a temporary situation, he had a loss in 2012. I am just wondering out loud if that loss, which flows thru to his personal Schedule E ...

I think this is a good example of why it is import to understand what you are investing in. If you invest in something where the manager has a broad discretion over the holdings, you could end up owning anything.

I disagree. Not every CPA is just a tax return preparer. The good ones will do the planning based upon your numbers and run difference scenarios. Find a good CPA who will work with you and do the tax planning and later prepare your returns when the transactions occur to make sure everything is treat...