Search found 224 matches

by Spiffs
Fri Mar 01, 2024 2:37 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Robinhood 3% IRA Match
Replies: 1552
Views: 119810

Re: Robinhood 3% IRA Match

Do you really want to be making future contributions to get a $210 bonus that has a 5 year lockup? The 5 year lockup makes sense to me when it's for thousands of dollars. For $210? Not so much. Ah, I see--I'm in my 30s, so the IRA funds are already "locked-up" until I'm 59 1/2 to avoid the IRS early withdrawal tax, so Robinhood's 5 year lockup for each contribution match doesn't bother me too much; as long as the process in Robinhood isn't terrible, it doesn't matter to me if I'm making contributions and conversions there or somewhere else, basically. I'm just still not clear if you keep the 3% match, based on Robinhood's terms, if you contribute to a Traditional IRA but then convert to a Roth IRA without waiting the 5 years to k...
by Spiffs
Fri Mar 01, 2024 2:17 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Robinhood 3% IRA Match
Replies: 1552
Views: 119810

Re: Robinhood 3% IRA Match

Thanks again to the quick answers above--I appreciate it!
tj wrote: Fri Mar 01, 2024 2:12 pm You need to do your conversion somewhere else and then transfer to Robinhood.

Don't transfer funds to Robinhood that you need to convert.
So, this year is already all taken care of, but for future years, assuming the 3% match continues, folks contributing to a Traditional IRA at Robinhood and then converting it to a Roth IRA at Robinhood (i.e. doing backdoor Roth IRA) wouldn't receive their contribution match (because Robinhood specifies that "The funds that earned the match must be kept in the account for at least 5 years to avoid a potential Early IRA Match Removal Fee"?) or is there some other reason not to do this that you're referring to?
by Spiffs
Fri Mar 01, 2024 2:07 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Robinhood 3% IRA Match
Replies: 1552
Views: 119810

Re: Robinhood 3% IRA Match

Answers to the questions I've posted here were very helpful--thank you! Last fiddly question, I see discussion in previous pages of this thread about paying Robinhood's Gold membership fee via brokerage account--does Robinhood default to creating a brokerage account for you when you sign-up, and then you open a IRA and transfer in, or are folks creating a brokerage account just to avoid the Gold membership fee being pulled from your IRA account? Oh, also--as of now with Gold, if you contribute to a Traditional IRA at Robinhood and then convert it to a Roth IRA account at Robinhood, do you still get the 3% contribution bonus? Or, do you lose it when you convert to Roth IRA, since you aren't meeting their terms ("The funds that earned th...
by Spiffs
Fri Mar 01, 2024 4:44 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Robinhood 3% IRA Match
Replies: 1552
Views: 119810

Re: Robinhood 3% IRA Match

Just FYI with Schwab if you do a full transfer and you have partials still, they will sell them for you... But charge you $25/trade for the convenience of doing so. It's easy enough to sell the fractions yourself, I just did it, took 30 seconds. Of course, that's the reason for the FYI. Sell partials before initiating any full transfers from a Schwab account! Wow, good to know. Just to clarify, by "full transfer" do you mean Schwab charges the fee if they sell partials when doing a full transfer of a holding (e.g. all shares of VTI) even if another holding or some cash is kept in the account (i.e. it's a partial account transfer), or is this a fee Schwab charges only when the whole account is being transferred? Relatedly, if I se...
by Spiffs
Fri Mar 01, 2024 3:05 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Robinhood 3% IRA Match
Replies: 1552
Views: 119810

Re: Robinhood 3% IRA Match

nalor511 wrote: Fri Mar 01, 2024 2:59 amI like Schwab. I leave my accounts open.
I liked TD Ameritrade better (before they were consumed by Schwab :x), but good to hear. Did you keep any money in your IRA accounts to ensure they remain open, or should they just stay open even with a $0 balance?
by Spiffs
Fri Mar 01, 2024 2:52 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Robinhood 3% IRA Match
Replies: 1552
Views: 119810

Re: Robinhood 3% IRA Match

Currently doing backdoor Roth IRA contributions (i.e. making non-deductible contributions to Traditional IRA and then converting them to Roth IRA) with accounts at Schwab. I see that Robinhood supports doing conversions from Traditional IRA to Roth IRA, so would it make sense to establish both IRAs at Robinhood, transfer contents from the Schwab accounts to them for the 3% match, and then just leave the empty Schwab accounts open in case of issues at Robinhood (i.e. I decide to bail early or for potentially just transferring them back to Schwab after 5 years)? Any gotchas with keeping old IRA accounts open or closing them? Sounds like doing a partial transfer (and obviously keeping old accounts open) might avoid Schwab account transfer out ...
by Spiffs
Fri Mar 01, 2024 1:24 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: DRIP Broadcom denied and Vanguard Brokerage account
Replies: 34
Views: 3772

Re: DRIP Broadcom denied and Vanguard Brokerage account

grace2020 wrote: Thu Feb 29, 2024 10:23 pm It sounds like you can hold Vanguard ETF’s at Fidelity with out any charge or fee. I guess that isn’t the case with Schwab, from your comment?
Neither Schwab or Fidelity charges any commission for online trades of ETFs (see here for Schwab and here for Fidelity).
by Spiffs
Fri Mar 01, 2024 12:48 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Do dividend reinsvestments mess up TLH?
Replies: 15
Views: 1552

Re: Do dividend reinsvestments mess up TLH?

Also, don't forget about how tax loss harvesting can impact qualified dividends and also some special rules about loss on mutual fund shares held for 6 months or less: Qualified dividends . If you hold shares for fewer than 61 days and receive qualified dividends from those shares, you cannot take them as qualified dividends, even though the fund company may state that they are qualified. Receiving dividends that are not qualified may outweigh the benefit of tax loss harvesting. Loss on mutual fund shares held 6 months or less . If you sell shares of a mutual fund at a loss, and you have held those shares for 6 months or less, special rules may alter the loss you claim. First, if those shares produced any tax-exempt interest, your loss is r...
by Spiffs
Fri Mar 01, 2024 12:35 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Portfolio Review Request & Questions After 10 Years
Replies: 12
Views: 1772

Re: Portfolio Review Request & Questions After 10 Years

I do not have a method of looking up international equity market cap, because I am not trying to maintain that cap in my portfolio. I just did a quick Google search and it appears that as of 2022, it was about 42%. I don't know if that is accurate, but if I were you, I'd start with a Google search. As an initial matter, you'll need to decide if you care whether you hold market cap or if you're fine with 50% or some other number. Good points, and my Google search result indicates that the international equity market was 55% in 2023 (and apparently was as high as 63.4% in 2015 and as low as 50.1% in 4Q23 -- I didn't know it moved around so much!). Thanks for all the other points made, as well, by everyone here, so far--I've read carefully th...
by Spiffs
Fri Mar 01, 2024 12:25 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Portfolio Review Request & Questions After 10 Years
Replies: 12
Views: 1772

Re: Portfolio Review Request & Questions After 10 Years

Looks like a lot of slicing and dicing with a strong tilt toward small-mid cap and international with a large emerging market component. I don't think those sectors have done nearly as well as the broader US market (e.g., VTI total US market index etf) over the past decade. Is that the reason you're considering abandoning the tilts and going with a 3 fund portfolio? The problem with tilting is it requires a decades-long strategy otherwise you may end up abandoning and selling the tilt low to buy a more balanced approach high. Yep, definitely part of why we're wondering if we should continue the tilts, but I completely understand your point about tilts potentially requiring decades (not just ~10 years) to see a benefit from and how abandoni...
by Spiffs
Thu Feb 29, 2024 11:55 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Portfolio Review Request & Questions After 10 Years
Replies: 12
Views: 1772

Re: Portfolio Review Request & Questions After 10 Years

dogagility wrote: Thu Feb 29, 2024 4:45 am Should should continue with an equity portfolio that you can hold (without tinkering) for the next 5 decades. If your conviction is that your "slice and dice" portfolio is likely to have higher returns compared to a market-weighted portfolio, then stay put. If not, then move.
Haha, yeah--very fair point. Less sure of my convictions now, so not quite sure what I want to do/makes sense to do--I suppose a half-measure would be to leave the existing investments as they are, but only add new investments to the total market funds (VTI, VXUS, BND).
by Spiffs
Thu Feb 29, 2024 12:02 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Portfolio Review Request & Questions After 10 Years
Replies: 12
Views: 1772

Re: Portfolio Review Request & Questions After 10 Years

I recommend adding the ETF names so that forum users don't have to look those up (most don't have them memorized and a lot won't look them up). You'll probably get more feedback if you make it easier for users to help. You didn't mention the size of your portfolio, but if your annual contributions have been relatively steady for the past decade, you probably have a sizeable sum. Your annual contributions are probably still making the biggest difference in overall portfolio growth. So to some extent, it doesn't really matter what you're investing in. International equity market cap varies so you'll have to decide whether you want to align with the market cap or stay at a fixed 50%. Ah, I did add the ETF names to the summary at the end (alon...
by Spiffs
Wed Feb 28, 2024 10:30 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Portfolio Review Request & Questions After 10 Years
Replies: 12
Views: 1772

Portfolio Review Request & Questions After 10 Years

Emergency funds: six months of expenses Debt: $123K home mortgage @ 2.6% Tax Filing Status: Married Filing Jointly Tax Rate: 24% Federal, 7.65% State State of Residence: Wisconsin Age: mid-30s (no kids, now or in future) Target asset allocation has been:  92% stocks / 8% bonds Target international allocation has been: 50% of stocks Current retirement assets--overall summary included at end (all at Schwab, except for her 401k) Taxable 14% VTI - Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF 8% VO - Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Fund ETF 7% VBR - Vanguard Small-Cap Value Index Fund ETF 12% VXUS - Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF 3% VWO - Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund ETF His Self-Employed 401k 2% VBR - Vanguard Small-Cap V...
by Spiffs
Thu Aug 17, 2023 2:59 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Tax Efficiency 2022 (this year adds Avantis to Vanguard and iShares)
Replies: 20
Views: 6233

Re: Tax Efficiency 2022 (this year adds Avantis to Vanguard and iShares)

This is a follow on to excellent work done by triceratop here and here and followed up by someone else in 2018 that I could never find and my own creations for 2020 here and 2021 here . The google spreadsheet is here . Thanks so much for this! Wow, and I entered in my tax rate (24% fed, 15% QDI, 5.3% state) on the 2020, 2021, and 2022 to spreadsheets, and was surprised to see how much the tax efficiency of my funds bounce around (for instance, IXUS goes from 0.36 total expense + tax in 2020 to 0.71 in 2021 and then to 0.20 in 2022!). If I am using the spreadsheets for guidance in determining tax efficiency for the future, should I average the tax efficiency results for my funds across 2020, 2021, and 2023 for a more accurate sense of futur...
by Spiffs
Tue May 10, 2022 7:06 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How to Find Out Unreported Dividend Reinvestment in 401K
Replies: 13
Views: 789

Re: How to Find Out Unreported Dividend Reinvestment in 401K

Thanks! This is all very helpful.

As of now, I'd rather not test the IRS' lack of clarification on whether 401ks are excluded or not from wash sale rules, so I have stopped making retirement contributions to the funds that I want to tax loss harvest in taxable, temporarily.

Given that I have no information to access on dividends for the 401k funds, though, and that they may not even be distributing dividends (like Northern Flicker and the 401k customer service agent implied), I think I'm not going to worry about them.
by Spiffs
Tue May 10, 2022 5:09 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How to Find Out Unreported Dividend Reinvestment in 401K
Replies: 13
Views: 789

Re: How to Find Out Unreported Dividend Reinvestment in 401K

I see, thanks! Via Vanguard's Collective trusts page , this one ( Institutional Total Stock Market Index Trust ) and this one ( Institutional Total International Stock Market Index Trust ) look like what the 401k is holding, and these track the same index as VTI and VXUS. For instance, for the Institutional Total Stock Market Index Trust one, what it says is a bit different from what you have: Seeks to track the performance of the CRSP US Total Market Index. Large, mid-, and small-cap equity diversified across growth and value styles. Expected to achieve its investment objective by investing in Institutional Select shares of the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund. Trust remains fully invested. Low expenses minimize net tracking error. D...
by Spiffs
Tue May 10, 2022 4:39 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How to Find Out Unreported Dividend Reinvestment in 401K
Replies: 13
Views: 789

Re: How to Find Out Unreported Dividend Reinvestment in 401K

livesoft wrote: Tue May 10, 2022 4:35 pm Another reason to use CITs in a retirement account: No wash sale reporting! :)

CITs are not substantially identical to anything a retail investor can purchase in a taxable account. <-- That's what I think.
Oh, interesting--you are saying that these (Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Trust
and Vanguard Total Intl Stock Index Trust
) are CITs (which stands for collective investment trust, it sounds like)?
by Spiffs
Tue May 10, 2022 4:37 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How to Find Out Unreported Dividend Reinvestment in 401K
Replies: 13
Views: 789

Re: How to Find Out Unreported Dividend Reinvestment in 401K

Also, I don't think this makes a difference, but just in case, the 401k customer support specified this about the dividend reinvestments in question: "At this time our records indicate that no fund that you've invested in issues those dividends directly to your retirement plan. So we are just not given that information here." To clarify, I asked: "When you write that at this time our records indicate that no fund that you've invested in issues those dividends directly to your retirement plan , you aren't saying that your records indicate the fund doesn't issue dividends at all; you are saying that when the fund issues dividends (which are reinvested) it doesn't issue them in a way that you are able to record in our accounts. ...
by Spiffs
Tue May 10, 2022 4:34 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How to Find Out Unreported Dividend Reinvestment in 401K
Replies: 13
Views: 789

How to Find Out Unreported Dividend Reinvestment in 401K

For potential wash sale reporting, I was hoping to learn the dividend reinvestments made (as my 401k doesn't provide an option to disable dividend reinvestments) for these two 401k holdings of mine: Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Trust and Vanguard Total Intl Stock Index Trust. My 401k's customer support said that "Mutual funds in your accounts may have a certain dividend yield, however those dividends are not reported to us. Instead those dividends are reinvested directly by the mutual fund and that just appears as a small growth in performance for that fund." For the funds, they link to these pages ( Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Trust and Vanguard Total Intl Stock Index Trust ), which don't provide details (date and amou...
by Spiffs
Sun Dec 05, 2021 2:49 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: New Solo 401(k) - elective deferrals on previously earned compensation?
Replies: 16
Views: 1161

Re: New Solo 401(k) - elective deferrals on previously earned compensation?

MP123 wrote: Tue Nov 30, 2021 10:47 am Yes, since you're self-employed you don't have to worry about having to run the soloK deferral through payroll. For an S-Corp that can't easily be done retroactively, but you're ok.
cowdogman wrote: Tue Nov 30, 2021 9:36 am You will then make the elective deferral sometime before December 31, 2021. You make this election by writing a note to yourself saying, for example, "I hereby elect to defer $19,500 of my compensation as employee deferrals under the [describe plan] adopted on [date.]"
Just wanted to loop back to say thanks to MP123 and cowdogman for the help here--I really appreciate it!
by Spiffs
Mon Nov 29, 2021 10:32 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: New Solo 401(k) - elective deferrals on previously earned compensation?
Replies: 16
Views: 1161

Re: New Solo 401(k) - elective deferrals on previously earned compensation?

MP123, are you saying below that you agree with cowdogman, or something else? (Not sure which calculation above you're saying is correct.) The net self employment income - 1/2 SE tax calc is correct. The Fidelity sheet linked by @cowdogman above is a good resource. Note it's using the deductible half of SE tax already so don't reduce again. Okay, thanks, and as a Schedule C filer, do I still need to limit this year's elective deferrals to self-employment income earned "on or after the later of the date this Adoption Agreement is signed (i.e. today, unless they allow back-dating it) or the Effective Date" (as noted on page 2)? ...On page 2 , it goes on (in a note) to specify that "The Effective Date is usually the first day o...
by Spiffs
Mon Nov 29, 2021 8:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: New Solo 401(k) - elective deferrals on previously earned compensation?
Replies: 16
Views: 1161

Re: New Solo 401(k) - elective deferrals on previously earned compensation?

I'm assuming you are a Schedule C filer and that you do not do a formal payroll and have no employees. That's right. If you put January 1,2021 as the effective date for the plan, then your elective deferrals can be based on your compensation for the whole year, as can your employer contribution. That would be great if both elective deferrals and employer contributions could be based on compensation starting on the effective date of the plan (dated retroactively to January 1st of this year)! Why does TD Ameritrade's Solo 401(k) Adoption Plan have you specify a different effective date (on page 2) for elective deferrals (which can't be the beginning of the calendar year), though? MP123, are you saying below that you agree with cowdogman, or ...
by Spiffs
Mon Nov 29, 2021 7:57 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: New Solo 401(k) - elective deferrals on previously earned compensation?
Replies: 16
Views: 1161

Re: New Solo 401(k) - elective deferrals on previously earned compensation?

Yes, that's correct. But the employer contribution portion can be based on the whole year's compensation. Actually, a follow-up question--on the Solo 401(k) plan wiki page, I fall under the rules below for contribution limits for elective deferrals. So, does this mean that to calculate my maximum allowable elective deferral for this year, I would need to calculate gross self-employment income and then subtract business expenses (and then substract 1/2 of the self-employment tax... for that amount of self-employment income?) for the eligible time period (between the effective date for elective deferrals and the end of this year)? Solo 401(k) Contribution Calculation - for a sole proprietorship, partnership or an LLC taxed as a sole propriet...
by Spiffs
Mon Nov 29, 2021 7:32 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: New Solo 401(k) - elective deferrals on previously earned compensation?
Replies: 16
Views: 1161

Re: New Solo 401(k) - elective deferrals on previously earned compensation?

Thanks for confirming--almost missed that limitation... :greedy

I don't take regular distributions / payroll for my self-employment (disregarded entity; all just reported on Schedule C / SE), so I don't think I could do a year end bonus to defer the whole amount as a work-around, unfortunately, but appreciate you mentioning it, regardless!
by Spiffs
Mon Nov 29, 2021 6:02 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: New Solo 401(k) - elective deferrals on previously earned compensation?
Replies: 16
Views: 1161

New Solo 401(k) - elective deferrals on previously earned compensation?

I'm setting-up a Solo 401(k) via TD Ameritrade, and saw on page 2 of the adoption agreement that "Elective Deferrals can be made under this Plan effective" essentially no earlier than the signing date of the agreement. I also saw that this IRS 401(k) Resource Guide says that "employees may not make elective deferrals nor make deferrals from previously earned compensation any earlier than the date the 401(k) feature was actually adopted." If I sign the Solo 401(k) adoption agreement today, am I correct in understanding that this then means that I can only make elective deferrals for this year from self-employment income earned between when I sign it and the end of this year ? UPDATE: answer is no if entity is a sole propr...
by Spiffs
Thu May 27, 2021 4:02 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: One Schedule C or Two for LLC Owned by Spouses in Community Property State?
Replies: 12
Views: 1403

Re: One Schedule C or Two for LLC Owned by Spouses in Community Property State?

A lot of this kind of legislation and policy changes come from recommendations from the taxpayer advocate. They publish a report every year with advice on changes. If you really want to dig deep into this (though I'm not sure I would spend the time if I were in your shoes), I'd look at the annual reports for the couple of years preceding issuance of that Rev Proc you noted to see if there's any thoughts in there. Obviously, it's not very authoritative, but it may help. I would also do the same around the QJV legislation and see if you can find an annual report that talks about that, likely within a couple years preceding that legislation. See if those statements may help with the answer or reference the 2002 Rev proc you cited. Interesting...
by Spiffs
Wed May 26, 2021 4:20 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: One Schedule C or Two for LLC Owned by Spouses in Community Property State?
Replies: 12
Views: 1403

Re: One Schedule C or Two for LLC Owned by Spouses in Community Property State?

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/election-for-married-couples-unincorporated-businesses "Spouses electing qualified joint venture status are treated as sole proprietors for Federal tax purposes. The spouses must share the businesses’ items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Therefore, the spouses must take into account the items in accordance with each spouse's interest in the business. The same allocation will apply for calculating self-employment tax if applicable, and may affect each spouse’s social security benefits. Each spouse must file a separate Schedule C (or Schedule F) to report profits and losses and, if otherwise required, a separate Schedule SE to report self-employment tax for eac...
by Spiffs
Wed May 26, 2021 1:43 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: One Schedule C or Two for LLC Owned by Spouses in Community Property State?
Replies: 12
Views: 1403

Re: One Schedule C or Two for LLC Owned by Spouses in Community Property State?

It seems to me that the answer should be two Schedule Cs and two Schedule SEs. Schedule C asks questions that might be answered differently depending on which spouse is answering, like "Did you 'materially participate' in the operation of this business during [the year]?" Also, as you point out the instructions direction to allocate distributive shares makes no sense otherwise. These seem like really good points, too! EDIT #1: hmm, well Instructions for Schedule C does say this about material participation ( here ): "Participation by your spouse during the tax year in an activity you own can be counted as your participation in the activity." (not applicable to QJVs, but that's not the issue here). So maybe that question...
by Spiffs
Tue May 25, 2021 11:54 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: One Schedule C or Two for LLC Owned by Spouses in Community Property State?
Replies: 12
Views: 1403

Re: One Schedule C or Two for LLC Owned by Spouses in Community Property State?

I think we did one Schedule C and then separate Schedule SE's. This was California. Appreciate the response, though, and this does make sense to me (not that this means much with the IRS, haha) ...And guess how TurboTax treats it--if I select that the business is owned by "both of us" (both spouses) when it begins a Schedule C section, it stops me with this message: " Business Owned by Married Couple Normally two people who own a business need to file a partnership return. Since you're married you won't need to file a partnership return if you split your business income and expenses between you and report them as separate businesses. This will be to your advantage when it comes to things like Social Security and certain dedu...
by Spiffs
Tue May 25, 2021 11:42 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: One Schedule C or Two for LLC Owned by Spouses in Community Property State?
Replies: 12
Views: 1403

Re: One Schedule C or Two for LLC Owned by Spouses in Community Property State?

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/taxation-llcs-owned-spouses-community-property-states.html I saw this Nolo article--still felt it was bit vague about the actual implementation. :? I think we did one Schedule C and then separate Schedule SE's. This was California. Appreciate the response, though, and this does make sense to me (not that this means much with the IRS, haha)--what confuses me is that this sounds like it conflicts (to me at least) with the Instructions for Schedule C ( see here ) that "if both spouses participate, the income and deductions are allocated to the spouses based on their distributive shares," as how would you be allocating the income and deductions to spouses except on separate forms (both Cs and S...
by Spiffs
Tue May 25, 2021 10:01 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: One Schedule C or Two for LLC Owned by Spouses in Community Property State?
Replies: 12
Views: 1403

One Schedule C or Two for LLC Owned by Spouses in Community Property State?

Here's my understanding so far--if you and your spouse co-own and operate an unincorporated LLC as community property in a community property state and want to consider the LLC a disregarded entity (so it can go on your joint return), the LLC: Doesn't qualify to be treated as a Qualified Joint Venture (because it is a LLC, i.e. is " in the name of a state law entity "). Does qualify to be treated as a disregarded entity under IRS Rev. Proc. 2002-69, 2002-2 C.B. 831 ("for special rules applicable to married couple state law entities in community property states" as it says here ). Regarding the last bullet above, in the Instructions for Schedule C ( right here ), it says: "If you and your spouse wholly own an unincor...
by Spiffs
Mon Feb 08, 2021 3:30 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Owner's EIN or Single Member LLC's EIN Tax Filing Situation
Replies: 3
Views: 620

Re: Owner's EIN or Single Member LLC's EIN Tax Filing Situation

Further update:
  • Heard back from clients and they should be issuing corrected 1099-NECs for my SMLLC with my name and SSN on them, instead of the EIN in my name on the 1099s.
  • Called bank, and they were very clear that the 1099-INT they issued in my SMLLC's name with SMLLC's EIN for my LLC's business bank account is correct, and they would only pursue changing it if the IRS sends them back a notice that it's an issue.
So, the bank gets to use my SMLLC's EIN for its tax reporting, but my SMLLC has to provide my SSN when a tax ID number is requested for business tax reporting purposes. ...Thanks, IRS. I blame you when my identity is stolen. :annoyed
by Spiffs
Mon Feb 08, 2021 12:36 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Owner's EIN or Single Member LLC's EIN Tax Filing Situation
Replies: 3
Views: 620

Re: Owner's EIN or Single Member LLC's EIN Tax Filing Situation

As an update (in case anyone else wants to chime in or if it's helpful to someone else in the future): It sounds like the reference on the W-9 to a SMLLC disregarded entity being able to use an "owner's EIN" is only if the owner of the LLC is a company (not an individual), and so using an EIN that is in my own name (as sole proprietor) on a W-9 for my SMLLC is incorrect, as I don't have a sole proprietor business that owns the SMLLC, I own the SMLLC as an individual. So, it appears that the only option with a SMLLC disregarded entity is to hand-out your SSN when requested via W-9, etc.! :shock: Consequently, I've had my 1099-K updated with my SSN and have sent an updated W-9 with my SSN to clients and have requested that they issu...
by Spiffs
Thu Feb 04, 2021 1:27 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Owner's EIN or Single Member LLC's EIN Tax Filing Situation
Replies: 3
Views: 620

Owner's EIN or Single Member LLC's EIN Tax Filing Situation

Very much have appreciated the help I've received here in the past, and would be grateful again for any input and insights! My situation: Started my own business in 2019. (It's still going! Woo hoo!) Formed a single member LLC (SMLLC) for the liability protection. Business coach told me to get an EIN in my LLC's name to open a business bank account and also read that it was a good idea to get an EIN for your LLC, so that when clients request a W-9 you don't have to provide your SSN. :beer Yes, please. Following advice above, I got an EIN in my LLC's name and used it to open a business bank account. Didn't have income in 2019 that reached the threshold to generate tax forms to me (1099s), but filed 2019 taxes with what I'd made (lost), putti...
by Spiffs
Wed Feb 03, 2021 6:11 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: A single member LLC receives a 1099-INT, where to report it?
Replies: 2
Views: 2045

Re: A single member LLC receives a 1099-INT, where to report it?

I have a similar question--I was told that I needed an EIN for my single member LLC to open a business bank account (which I got and used to do that). ...Then I learned that " a single-member LLC classified as a disregarded entity generally must use the owner's social security number (SSN) or employer identification number (EIN) for all information returns and reporting related to income tax. For example, if a disregarded entity LLC that is owned by an individual is required to provide a Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and Certification, the W-9 should provide the owner’s SSN or EIN, not the LLC’s EIN . " - (from this IRS page ) So, because I didn't want to put my SSN on my W-9s, I got an EIN in my name....
by Spiffs
Sun Dec 01, 2019 2:50 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: SMLLC issuing 1099
Replies: 4
Views: 2296

Re: SMLLC issuing 1099

I know this is a really old thread, but -as a new SMLLC- I just got surprised by the same instructions on the IRS' W-9 form that I must provide my "SSN or EIN, not the LLC's EIN." :oops: I thought I got an EIN for my LLC exactly so I wouldn't have to give out my SSN, but I guess not, unless anyone else has any suggestions.

EDIT: also, hen it says I must provide my SSN or my EIN, is there a legitimate way that I can get an EIN, then, or would that just confuse things more?
by Spiffs
Wed Oct 18, 2017 12:12 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Fellow TDA bogleheads [TDA dropping Vanguard ETFs from commission-free list]
Replies: 566
Views: 86974

Re: Fellow TDA bogleheads [TDA dropping Vanguard ETFs from commission-free list]

I've been surprised that more people who are transferring out of TDA (or are thinking about it) aren't just transferring their accounts to Vanguard (though I understand there are some account type limitations and that they aren't an option for foreign investors).

If you have only taxable and IRA accounts at TDA (and aren't a foreign investor), what are the drawbacks to transferring the accounts in-kind to Vanguard? Is Vanguard's online platform really that bad for even just re-balancing a few times a year?

...I feel like I'm missing something!
by Spiffs
Wed Dec 21, 2016 2:54 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Corporate Action Cost Basis Question
Replies: 0
Views: 370

Corporate Action Cost Basis Question

I had shares of ALU (Alcatel Lucent), which was taken over by Nokia. As a result, I had the option of turning my ALU shares in for Nokia shares (and I thought that would happen automatically, and didn't realize it wouldn't until past the deadline, unfortunately). So, my ALU shares were sold through corporate action (transaction entry below): ALCATEL LUCENT ADR TERM $2.676512 2/25/16 PROCEEDS FROM CASH MERGER Auto Reorg#300813|TR|CASH PAYMENT As this bulletin helps explain: "The Depositary hereby announces that it has received all of the Nokia Corporation ordinary shares to which it was entitled in accordance with the Share Purchase Agreement and sold such Nokia Corporation shares and converted the net proceeds from such sale into U.S. ...
by Spiffs
Mon May 02, 2016 8:23 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Potential Employer was excited to hire me! Then silence... What did I do?
Replies: 60
Views: 10401

Re: Potential Employer was excited to hire me! Then silence... What did I do?

toto238 wrote:She's going to touch base with her references, make sure they're good to go, and then I guess just keep applying.
So much speculation (for good reason)--is there a reason that your wife couldn't just call the school district's HR and politely inquire whether any information could be provided about the reason for the decision on her application (or something similar)? ...Is it just because there's no way they would (be able to) provide any information? Because, the worse that can happen is that they just say they cannot provide any information, right?
by Spiffs
Sat Apr 30, 2016 11:19 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: I Hate My Job: Politics at Work (Advice Needed)
Replies: 108
Views: 18849

Re: I Hate My Job: Politics at Work (Advice Needed)

tjhar wrote:I really don't know how to deal with this kind of zero sum game, when I have the odds quite badly stacked against me.
Check out the book, Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Fisher & Ury, it's a quick read and is the gold standard for negotiation in everything from international conflicts to business disputes. It widened my perspective about situations that initially appear to be zero-sum games in some really creative ways.
by Spiffs
Sat Apr 30, 2016 3:42 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How do I gift stock to spouse (in a way the IRS honors)?
Replies: 5
Views: 2193

Re: How do I gift stock to spouse (in a way the IRS honors)?

But note: "If you sell or trade at a loss property you acquired from a related party, you cannot recognize the loss that was not allowed to the related party" Gill But, I'm not selling or trading property. I'm gifting. The quote you pulled out is from Related Party Transactions in Publication 550 , which is about "Special rules [that] apply to the sale or trade of property between related parties." The section immediately above it, Transfers Between Spouses , specifies that "Any transfer of property to a spouse or former spouse on which gain or loss is not recognized is treated by the recipient as a gift and is not considered a sale or exchange" (my emphasis in bold), and continues in the next sentences to spe...
by Spiffs
Sat Apr 30, 2016 3:13 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How do I gift stock to spouse (in a way the IRS honors)?
Replies: 5
Views: 2193

Re: How do I gift stock to spouse (in a way the IRS honors)?

You can transfer them to her brokerage account but the loss situation won't work the way you think. Her basis for losses will be FMV on the date of gift. Her basis for gains will be your basis. In other words, the IRS prevents you from giving away losses. Gill I do not think that your wife can claim the losses even if you gift the stock to her because her cost basis for determining a loss is determined by the fair market value of the stock on the date that the stock is transferred to her. http://fairmark.com/investment-taxation/capital-gain/stocks-and-other-securities/stock-received-gift/ Are you sure? That's not my understanding--see this Fairmark page ( Acquiring Stock from Your Spouse ) and see Transfers Between Spouses in Publication 5...
by Spiffs
Sat Apr 30, 2016 2:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How do I gift stock to spouse (in a way the IRS honors)?
Replies: 5
Views: 2193

How do I gift stock to spouse (in a way the IRS honors)?

I live in Wisconsin (a community property state), and I have an individual brokerage account with several stocks in it that are considered my individual property (they aren't marital property). These stocks have significant losses (one is a "worthless stock" or at least is no longer being traded), and I'd like to gift these stocks to my spouse, so that she can claim the capital losses on her tax return this year as married filing separately. What do I need to do to gift the stock to her in a way that the IRS would honor if they question our tax returns? Can I just give her a signed, dated statement stating that I've gifted her the stocks? Or do I need to transfer the stocks to her individual brokerage account (for what it's worth ...
by Spiffs
Sat Mar 14, 2015 2:22 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Married Filing Separately in Community Property State--help!
Replies: 9
Views: 6679

Re: Married Filing Separately in Community Property State--h

Another question that is pretty minor (I think?), but I can't find an answer to, anywhere: My filing status and state requires the use of Form 8958 as a part of my federal return (see: http://www.taxact.com/support/1662/community-property-states---federal-allocation-record---married-filing-separately/). On this form, I am supposed to enter my income and my spouse's income, and allocate exactly 50% to me and 50% my spouse. TaxACT and TurboTax don't allow me to do this, though, as they don't allow cents to be entered on Form 8958, so when the income that needs to be divided between my spouse and me is an odd number (say, $10,125), I can't divide it exactly in half on Form 8958, as specified (because 50% of $10,125 would be $5,062.5, which Tax...
by Spiffs
Tue Mar 10, 2015 12:40 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: HSA deduction when filing MFS in community property state?
Replies: 0
Views: 472

HSA deduction when filing MFS in community property state?

On page 6 of Publication 555 (Community Property), it says that "Deductions for IRA contributions cannot be split between spouses (or registered domestic partners). The deduction for each spouse (or each registered domestic partner) is figured separately and without regard to community property laws."

Publication 555 does not say anything about how deductions for HSA contributions (see line 25 on Form 1040 with attached Form 8889) should be handled in community property states when spouses are filing as married filing separately (MFS), though. Does anyone know whether the HSA deduction (for spouses filing MFS in a community property state) should also be figured separately and without regard to community property laws?
by Spiffs
Wed Feb 18, 2015 10:18 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Reporting W-2 when Filing MFS in Community Property State
Replies: 0
Views: 576

Reporting W-2 when Filing MFS in Community Property State

This past June, my wife and I moved to Wisconsin, which is a community property state, and we will be filing as married filing separately (MFS) this year (and for many future years), because of how Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Income-Based Repayment of loans work. For filing as MFS in community property states, IRS Publication 555 specifies that you must to do this: If you file separate returns, you and your spouse must each report half of your combined community income and deductions in addition to your separate income and deductions. Each of you must complete and attach Form 8958 to your Form 1040 showing how you figured the amount you are reporting on your return. On the appropriate lines of your separate Form 1040, list only your...
by Spiffs
Wed Feb 18, 2015 1:54 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: How to find historical price of stock that no longer exists?
Replies: 7
Views: 3023

Re: How to find historical price of stock that no longer exi

Hi orlakis--I did hear back from BMO Investor Relations, and they might be able to help you:

---------- Original message ----------
From: Secretary, Corporate <Corp.Secretary@bmo.com>
Date: Mon, Feb 4, 2013 at 8:45 AM
Subject: RE: Historical stock price of M&I

I have some historical share prices for M&I, do you happen to know the dates that you acquired your original shares we can start from there.

Catherine

Catherine Golyak-Paterson | Corporate Secretary's Department
Legal, Corporate & Compliance Group | BMO Financial Group
416-867-6785 | catherine.golyakpaterson@bmo.com
by Spiffs
Wed Feb 18, 2015 1:45 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Recommend a general U.S. history book
Replies: 22
Views: 2734

Re: Recommend a general U.S. history book

Triple digit golfer wrote:There are hundreds of books out there. Any recommendations?
by Spiffs
Fri Sep 12, 2014 7:23 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Married Filing Separately in Community Property State--help!
Replies: 9
Views: 6679

Re: Married Filing Separately in Community Property State--h

flyingbison wrote:Might be easier to get a divorce. :twisted:
Haha, I know, right!?! :shock: ...Only three questions left, though!
by Spiffs
Mon Sep 08, 2014 6:48 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Married Filing Separately in Community Property State--help!
Replies: 9
Views: 6679

Re: Married Filing Separately in Community Property State--h

Beth* wrote:It sounds like you may need to find a CPA to help you with your taxes this year.
That certainly may be the case! Thanks to help here and elsewhere, though, I've actually been able to answer several of my questions (I've updated my first post with a list of the questions I've had that have been answered and the unanswered questions that still remain).
Beth* wrote:Given how specific your tax situation is I would be hesitant to rely on tax advice from a forum that most people join because they are interested in investments.
Probably good advice, too--I am looking to verify the answers I get here (or from any forum) with authoritative documentation (such as IRS publications).