Search found 95 matches

by joe-kr
Fri Mar 22, 2024 7:13 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Feeling Lost with 529s
Replies: 20
Views: 1902

Re: Feeling Lost with 529s

I’m also a NJ resident. For my main 529, I use the Virginia 529 plan. I like them because they offer low cost funds based on the recommended Vanguard funds. Total stock and Total bond index.
They also have the usual “set and forget” target date funds.

When NJ started allowing a tax deduction for the NJ Best 529, I opened an account and put in the maximum 10,000 deduction amount.
But in my opinion, the available funds are not good, so I just put the money in their US Gov money market fund. At least that fund is decent.
I’ll do the same this year to get the deduction again.
Your NJ Gross income (NJ 1040 line 29) must be 200k or less.
by joe-kr
Thu Feb 15, 2024 5:33 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: VMFXX Income
Replies: 7
Views: 1599

Re: VMFXX Income

Yes, you are correct. You have to calculate each holding separately.
So you take the total dividends for VMFXX and multiply by .4937 as you stated.
Then you must look up the percent federal obligations for any other holdings (if any) and do the same calculation.
by joe-kr
Wed Feb 14, 2024 4:52 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: FDLXX 90.39% state tax exempt in 2023
Replies: 29
Views: 2980

Re: FDLXX 90.39% state tax exempt in 2023

Dufus wrote: Wed Feb 14, 2024 11:04 am Searching by that name give me FDCXX
I think Fidelity made a little typo in this case. The “Treasury Money Market Fund” does also say “All Classes”, but then it lists the symbol FDCXX.

In every other instance on other lines where they say “All Classes” the symbol says “Various”.
Just my guess that the Treasury Money Market Fund line should also say “Various”
by joe-kr
Wed Feb 14, 2024 4:26 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Bond funds with repo vs. w/o repo in an IRA
Replies: 3
Views: 332

Re: Bond funds with repo vs. w/o repo in an IRA

I would say in an IRA it does not matter - at least for today. Both pay 5.20% at the moment. But it could change slightly and with TFDXX having more flexibility to invest in Repo's, etc, it could pay a slightly higher rate sometimes.

Personally, I would stick with TTTXX even in the IRA because its 100% Treasury Bills and seems "cleaner".

As for Fidelity vs Merrill money market - yes Fidelity is much more convenient, but at a price. Their funds, like SPRXX, have a high expense ratio of 0.42%, compared to a net expense ration of 0.17% for the Blackrock funds. And that is reflected in the lower yield for Fidelity.
by joe-kr
Wed Feb 14, 2024 11:36 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Any benefit of keeping BOA saving account
Replies: 17
Views: 1424

Re: Any benefit of keeping BOA saving account

I would say no. I had one and drained it to a zero balance. Some time later BOA let me know that they would close the account in a few months. So I just let that happen.

What I have been doing is using my linked Merrill Edge account as my high yield savings. We have instant transfers between Merrill and BOA, and I buy TTTXX - this money market fund allows me to sell and transfer the cash back to BoA checking instantly. The caveat is that you must sell by the cutoff time. I think the cutoff is 1:45pm for TTTXX, but I have not confirmed recently.
by joe-kr
Mon Feb 12, 2024 10:10 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Supermarket pizza - any good ones? Any great ones?
Replies: 174
Views: 16181

Re: Supermarket pizza - any good ones? Any great ones?

Our family favorite is the Screamin Sicilian Bessie’s Revenge. That’s the one with the circles of mozzarella.

We also like DiGiorno and Homerun.
by joe-kr
Mon Feb 12, 2024 9:42 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Reporting a portion of 1099-DIV as Government Interest
Replies: 9
Views: 2064

Re: Reporting a portion of 1099-DIV as Government Interest

Ok, BIL etf is from State Street, and it seems they make this as hard to find as possible. I found it here:

Do a Google search for "SPDR ETF 2023 Tax Summary - Secondary Layout"
For me, its the 2nd link on the page - and it's a link to a spreadsheet. When you download the sheet, you can search for "BIL".
Column K of the sheet is "% of Income From Exempt Federal Securities:"

The amount for BIL is 98.43% for 2023.

There may be an easier place to find this information but this works for me.
by joe-kr
Mon Feb 12, 2024 8:55 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Taxation of Treasury bills, notes and bonds
Replies: 1075
Views: 157007

Re: Turbo Tax not deducting federal bond income from state income

Swansea wrote: Mon Feb 12, 2024 8:43 am I uploaded the 1099Ds forms into TT, but my gross income for state did not subtract federal obligations income.
The state of Maryland has a line for subtracting the income but I can figure out how to edit it. I know the % needed adjust the totals on the forms.
On my download software version, it works like this: You do this in the Federal tax section. Edit your dividends, then click continue.

It should ask about the federal ID number, click continue, then you should see a list of situations, click the box for “A portion of these dividends is US Gov Interest”
Click continue and enter the percentage that is US Gov obligations. This will then carry over to the state section.
by joe-kr
Sat Sep 23, 2023 12:05 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)
Replies: 6658
Views: 1240449

Re: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)

Another thing I did not factor in my answer is that you'll have to pay tax on your gains once you sell the 2022 ibond. If you sell on Dec 1, 23, that will be $1,272 of interest on each 10,000 ibond. Just something to consider.
by joe-kr
Sat Sep 23, 2023 12:01 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)
Replies: 6658
Views: 1240449

Re: I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)

I was wondering if anyone can help figuring out timing of selling/repurchasng?: We bought a total $20,000 Ibond (spouse/myself) on April 1, 2022 and plan to hold for a long run (semi-EF, and also as bond portion) Given current 0.9% fixed rate, I'd like to sell now and re-purchase within this year, and buy another $20,000 early next year after tax return. However, per Finance Buff blogpost and TIPS watch post, appears optimal timing for selling for me would be Jan1, 2024 - which would prohibit my buying I bonds next year. Should I just sell total $20000 in Oct 2023 and rebuy, or Nov 1 2023, or Dec this year? Thank you! Your ibonds are still earning 6.48% which is why it's not a good time to sell them. Plus you will lose the last 3 months of...
by joe-kr
Sat Sep 16, 2023 11:53 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What is the risk of using Vanguard's 4-hour log-in option?
Replies: 15
Views: 3039

Re: What is the risk of using Vanguard's 4-hour log-in option?

I think the only danger is that the connection is open on your browser. And someone could come along, sit down and use that logged in connection.

The connection is encrypted end to end using https - so anyone in the “middle” of the connection (like your ISP) cannot see your data.
by joe-kr
Thu Sep 07, 2023 10:04 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards
Replies: 7054
Views: 890902

Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Could someone please explain how Merrill's CMA account and Preferred Deposit work together, or do they? In order to open a Preferred Deposit account, do you first open a CMA account, then call Merrill in order to open a PD account and deposit the $100k? If so, then the PD account is within the CMA account, correct? Also, once you have a PD account, can you purchase TTXX or treasuries directly through that account? In other words, is the PD account considered the sweep account? I find all of this so confusing! And is there a bonus for opening a PD self-directed account? When I met with the Merrill rep this week, he advised me to talk with a Wealth Management rep and ask these questions. He told me there were two Wealth Management reps on hi...
by joe-kr
Sat Jun 03, 2023 3:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards
Replies: 7054
Views: 890902

Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

radiowave wrote: Sat Jun 03, 2023 2:30 pm Just curious, I'm using the Black Rock Federal Funds MM TFDXX which I'm using to hold cash. I sold shares on Thursday mid day in Merrrill Edge but the transaction was not completed until after trading on Friday. I thought the ME money market funds were basically instantaneous buy/sell when market was open. Am I using the wrong MM fund for the ME account?
Is your account an IRA? I noticed the same thing in my IRA. And I think someone else mentioned something about longer settlement times for an IRA.
by joe-kr
Sat Jun 03, 2023 2:56 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Estate planning/administration without a lawyer. Is it possible?
Replies: 44
Views: 3453

Re: Estate planning/administration without a lawyer. Is it possible?

I think his plan is only reasonable for the non-probate” assets - the bank accounts with beneficiaries.
For the probate assets - the house and cars, you would have to open probate.

Probate will be more of a hassle than if he had a will. Assuming he is not married, and only two children, the probate court should leave everything to the children. And they would appoint one of you executor.

Doing a will could be a quick and easy process with Legalzoom or Quicken Willmaker. You just need to get two witnesses to sign. My library has Willmaker available for free so maybe check yours.
by joe-kr
Fri May 19, 2023 4:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: New Jersey Car Beneficiary now permitted
Replies: 6
Views: 673

Re: New Jersey Car Beneficiary now permitted

paws wrote: Fri May 19, 2023 3:15 pm Interesting, thanks for sharing!

How did people handle this before this form? Sounds like PoA was needed?
A PoA ends at death, so before this change, the executor would have to open probate to transfer the title.
by joe-kr
Wed May 10, 2023 4:42 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Mechanics of Multiple IRA Beneficiaries Claiming
Replies: 22
Views: 1621

Re: Mechanics of Multiple IRA Beneficiaries Claiming

I recently did this with Merrill. I’m not sure how it would work if the beneficiaries did not act as a group, and work on it in a timely fashion. My guess is that they would have waited until all beneficiaries had called in and completed their forms. My sisters and I worked together, each calling the estate rep that was assigned by Merrill. One particular form for my state had to be notarized, so I was able to do that for the group, along with sending in the death certificate. Then we each had an IRA transfer form to complete, and detailed information was required, like the holdings and number of shares to split and the percentage. The rep provided all the information. We had each opened a new inherited IRA with Merrill to receive the funds...
by joe-kr
Wed Apr 12, 2023 8:17 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Quicken Sale
Replies: 55
Views: 5919

Re: Quicken Sale

Thanks! I just placed an order.
by joe-kr
Fri Mar 17, 2023 5:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Issue with Quicken and Fidelity retirement accounts
Replies: 9
Views: 1187

Re: Issue with Quicken and Fidelity retirement accounts

I had this happen and it only affected my wife’s Fidelity 401k account. I was able to fix the problem (after some experimenting) by just replacing the security name. I went to an older transaction entry and copied the security name, then pasted over the new incorrect security name. After doing this, my holdings, when clicking the “holdings” button, were correct. Before I stumbled on this, I also clicked on the “security detail view” which is the little icon after the security name. This appears once you select a transaction line. Once you click that, you can click “edit details” and add in the correct symbol for the new security name. I noticed that there was no symbol associated with the new security name. I’m not sure if I needed to do th...
by joe-kr
Sat Feb 18, 2023 2:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 1099-Q Earnings (don't understand)
Replies: 3
Views: 429

Re: 1099-Q Earnings (don't understand)

Hello, Looking at 1099-Q issued to my college going son, has $16000 of Gross distribution, has a large amount $6900 for 'Earnings', Basis of $9700. My understanding is, 'Earnings' is amount of money that the account earned through investment during the tax year. And if spent on 'Qualified' expenses, it should be tax exempt. The 1098-T only reports an amount of $9928. When I enter the above information in TurboTax, and enter extra $2300 for room and board and books, my federal tax payment owned jumps up (I own taxes based on my 1099 Q and 1098 T). When I go check my withdrawal records for my NEST 529 account, all withdraws are for 'Qualified' expenses. It almost seems like the 1098-T is missing an entire semester' tuition bill. Can you plea...
by joe-kr
Fri Feb 17, 2023 11:07 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Merrill Edge Question
Replies: 3
Views: 354

Re: Merrill Edge Question

Do you need to go to a BofA branch to open a Merrill Edge account? If not, do we open the Merrill Edge account in both our names or just my spouse? Our BoA account was originally in my spouses name, but I was added later and have full access, but the 1099 Int only comes in my spouses name. Don't want to screw up and trigger anything. Does the Merrill Edge 1099 Div come in only the primary owner or both names? Don't want TurboTax to get confused. You can open the Merrill Edge account online. Or at least try to :D You can choose a Joint account or individual, that is really up to you. A Joint account will show up on each of your portal logins. An individual account will only show for the owner. My joint account Merrill 1099 has both my name ...
by joe-kr
Fri Feb 17, 2023 10:56 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: NJBEST 529 Plan vs Nevada 529 Plan
Replies: 7
Views: 1179

Re: NJBEST 529 Plan vs Nevada 529 Plan

This NJ article discusses pros and cons. https://www.nj.com/news/2022/01/njs-529-plan-now-offers-a-tax-break-but-is-it-enough-of-an-incentive.html If you're actually saving $10K a year, that's around $500 or so tax savings for you, right? When I was doing this, I found the tax deduction to be a bit of a double-edged sword. If it increased my NJ state refund, great, but guess what? I'd then have a higher amount to declare as income on my Federal return the following year. The NJBEST fees are not good. And, their Franklin funds are actively managed. I also think the NJBEST site is being disingenous (okay, dishonest) about fees. There is one fund, the Franklin U.S. Large Cap 529 Index Fund, which states that the "underlying fund fee"...
by joe-kr
Wed Feb 15, 2023 1:19 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Doorbell help
Replies: 12
Views: 1604

Re: Doorbell help

I recently had a strange doorbell problem. What happened is my doorbell button got stuck down and this overheated the workings of the chime box. The slightly melted plastic in the bell strike mechanism caused it to get stuck and not sound the bell. In my case, my chime box has both front and back door bells. I was not using the back door so I just moved the wire to the back door bell. With that said, if you remove the cover from your chime box, you can see if there is any movement when someone pushes the door bell button. If there is no movement, then move on to trouble shoot the button and transformer. If there is movement, try and determine if it can be fixed by cleaning, oiling, etc. To test the transformer and push button, you’ll need t...
by joe-kr
Tue Feb 07, 2023 11:24 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Sell BND fund in IRA? Or hold?
Replies: 7
Views: 835

Re: Sell BND fund in IRA? Or hold?

The 30 day SEC yield may be 3.95%, but the distribution yield is about 2.5%.
I know this has me confused, so maybe a good explanation on the difference is in order.

The yield we are actually getting (distribution) is 2.5% so where does the SEC yield come into play?
by joe-kr
Tue Feb 07, 2023 11:16 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Internet speeds
Replies: 25
Views: 2111

Re: Internet speeds

eukonomos wrote: Tue Feb 07, 2023 10:08 am Our current cable internet plan claims up to 250 Mbps download speeds.
Over wifi, I usually measure about 40 download and 3 upload - though I just now measured 60 and 10.
With an ethernet cable to the router I measured 70-80 and 3.

Our performance is fine for our household.

There are cheaper plans with 150 or 100 Mbps.
With one of those, would I expect the same speeds I get now, or would things scale down proportionately?
Are you using an older laptop or computer for the Ethernet direct connect test and maybe you have a 100 Mbps Ethernet port? If so that could top out at the speeds your are seeing.
by joe-kr
Wed Dec 28, 2022 11:43 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: TurboTax 2022 [purchase discount thread]
Replies: 394
Views: 52282

Re: TurboTax 2022 [purchase discount thread]

For the Costco people - I just bought Fed & State at Costco. The package says: 2 ways to install - download or CD.
Cost was $55.99 with $11 off, for a sale price of $44.99.
The package also says “includes $10 credit for in-product add-ons”
Add on must be made by payment card to receive $10 credit at time of in-product purchase.
Cannot be applied to TurboTax online. Only for state e-file fees, additional state, audit defense.
by joe-kr
Wed Dec 28, 2022 6:20 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity Holiday Offer - $150 for $50 deposit
Replies: 408
Views: 58695

Re: Fidelity Holiday Offer - $150 for $50 deposit

I helped my wife and daughter sign up for the $150 bonus and they both received it a few days early. In my case, I noticed when I opened the new account on an iPad, it used the Fidelity app and I didn’t see any place to enter the bonus. I called Fidelity after opening the account and they said they would “note” this and I should call back after 25 days if no bonus. I called Fidelity last week after the 25 days, but they said to call back 25 days after my funding cleared. :oops: So I called again yesterday and explained the situation again, and after a 10 min hold, they said they would post the bonus within a few days. It posted last night. This process was a pain, but Fidelity made good and calling them was always easy with no wait time for...
by joe-kr
Sun Dec 25, 2022 10:54 am
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: My Christmas Gift to You
Replies: 126
Views: 13748

Re: My Christmas Gift to You

Thank you Taylor!
by joe-kr
Sat Dec 24, 2022 4:44 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: TurboTax 2022 [purchase discount thread]
Replies: 394
Views: 52282

Re: TurboTax 2022 [purchase discount thread]

I understand why you would think that, as that was me last year, but this conclusion is incorrect. The offer is admittedly confusingly-worded and coupled with notification about a separate secondary offer of a $15 discount when purchasing TurboTax through the affiliate site. If you re-read carefully, you will likely see that that element of the fine print is referring to the separate $15 discount on TurboTax purchased through the affiliate site which was marked with an asterisk earlier in the offer description. It's meant to be a clarifying footnote. The same confusing wording was there last year. I activated the offer for my card in the Chase app, purchased the downloadable version of the TurboTax Deluxe on Amazon during the one-day post-...
by joe-kr
Sat Dec 24, 2022 11:37 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: TurboTax 2022 [purchase discount thread]
Replies: 394
Views: 52282

Re: TurboTax 2022 [purchase discount thread]

anon_investor wrote: Sat Dec 24, 2022 10:14 am Interesting, if Amazon doesn't offer the the discounted TT after Xmas, I will buy the Costco deal, which includes $10 off in-program purchases, which combined with the $10 Chase offer would make state e-file only a few bucks, right?
I just read the fine print on the Chase offer, and it says you must purchase only from this link “http://turbotax.com/affiliate/chaseoffer22

So, looks like an “in program” purchase of state tax filing would not work.
by joe-kr
Thu Jun 16, 2022 8:07 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Account locked at Treasury Direct and cannot get through on phone
Replies: 255
Views: 44906

Re: Account locked at Treasury Direct and cannot get through on phone

Spouse account was locked during setup due to identification issues. We went to the credit union to get the signature guaranty on the form and sent it by Priority Mail via USPS on May 13th. Arrived at TD in Minneapolis on May 16th. Nearly a month later, the account is still locked. Seriously, should this long of a wait be expected now? Yes, I think TD is swamped because everyone and their brother is trying to get I Bonds right now. I think upthread people posted longer wait times than a month. My daughter recently had her new account unlocked - here is the timeframe: Mailed unlock form around 4/22/22 Email from TD that they received form - 5/12/22 Account finally unlocked - 6/13/22 After this, she was able to log on. And I was able to send...
by joe-kr
Tue May 24, 2022 9:33 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Gifting IBonds while waiting for account verification
Replies: 10
Views: 712

Re: Gifting IBonds while waiting for account verification

My daughter’s form mailed on 4/22/22 took 18 days to be acknowledged. Still waiting for the account to be activated.
by joe-kr
Tue May 24, 2022 9:30 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: TreasuryDirect account hold
Replies: 7
Views: 1518

Re: TreasuryDirect account hold

Here is the timeline so far for my daughter’s new TD account:

4/22/22 - Mailed signature guarantee form
5/12/22 - received acknowledgment email from TD that they received the form

Based on some other recent postings, I think this should be completed any day now.
by joe-kr
Fri Apr 22, 2022 1:26 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Treasury Direct problems
Replies: 3
Views: 697

Re: Treasury Direct problems

Yes, the same thing happened to both my wife and I when we opened our accounts in 2020.

My daughter just opened her TD account and had the same thing. We made an appt online with Bank of America, and we were in and out in 10 min today to get the form processed / stamped.
by joe-kr
Tue Sep 28, 2021 9:23 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: iPad OS 15
Replies: 6
Views: 636

Re: iPad OS 15

I installed it on my 2 or 3 year old 6th gen ipad. It’s been fine so far but I’m not doing anything very demanding. I like the small improvements and it seems a bit snappier to me.
by joe-kr
Mon Jul 12, 2021 11:44 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Question on Memory Care 30 day Notice Tax Deductibility
Replies: 6
Views: 526

Re: Question on Memory Care 30 day Notice Tax Deductibility

Some more info, my mom was already in memory care at the assisted living facility. But now I felt she needed more care that it seemed they could provide. So I moved her to a nursing home with a memory care wing. This was after a few hospital stays for falls, and other issues. The hospital first sent her to the rehab wing of that nursing home, so it was an easy move to just stay there in their memory care. Since she is under doctors care for Alzheimer’s, both facilities are tax deductible. My only question was about the 30 day notice where she is paying for two places at once. The assisted living memory care facility had the 30 days notice in their contract, so it was not a surprise to me. I don’t want to argue that fine point with them. I’l...
by joe-kr
Mon Jul 12, 2021 11:36 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Question on Kiddie Tax - Capital Gains
Replies: 8
Views: 930

Re: Question on Kiddie Tax - Capital Gains

If you haven't yet, check out: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Kiddie_tax But basically, you have the option on how to file. From the wiki, since the "income" is < $11k, you can include the income on your return . But doing so (as I understand it) would lose the $2.2k of tax-free "income" if the children filed their own returns. Again, per the wiki, each child can have up to $2,200 of "unearned income" (dividends, interest, capital gains, etc.) before federal taxes are owed if they file their own return (or you file individual returns for each on their behalf - assuming they are minors). Pay attention to state taxes - while our child might have a $0 federal tax bill - we write a check for the state taxes... Th...
by joe-kr
Mon Jul 12, 2021 11:35 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Question on Kiddie Tax - Capital Gains
Replies: 8
Views: 930

Re: Question on Kiddie Tax - Capital Gains

I’ve been doing this for my kids. You will need to file a tax return for each child—via paper-snail-mail if it’s their very first tax return. Federal tax will be zero. The first $1100 is the standard deduction for unearned income for dependents. If the gains (plus dividends and cap gain distributions) were below this, you would not need to file a return for either child. The next $1100 is taxed at 0% if the income is capital gains (which it is). Note that other unearned income (eg, interest) would be taxable above $1100. That’s why you are filing a return for zero tax—to make clear that the income is capital gains. If the income goes above $2200, it triggers “kiddie tax.” That’s a different topic entirely. I’m not sure, but I think the “co...
by joe-kr
Mon Jul 12, 2021 9:42 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Question on Memory Care 30 day Notice Tax Deductibility
Replies: 6
Views: 526

Question on Memory Care 30 day Notice Tax Deductibility

My mother recently moved from her memory care facility to a nursing home. She has Alzheimer’s and meets the requirements for tax deductibility of her care.

The memory care facility required 30 day move out notice and my question is if those 30 days are tax deductible.

Let’s say she moved from the memory care on June 15th. The nursing home starts billing on June 16.
But the memory care billing goes to July 14th.
Deducting this extra 30 days of memory care seems like double dipping since she will now deduct the nursing home charges for the same 30 days.

What is your opinion?
by joe-kr
Mon Jul 12, 2021 9:34 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Question on Kiddie Tax - Capital Gains
Replies: 8
Views: 930

Question on Kiddie Tax - Capital Gains

I have 2 early teens with identical UTMA accounts. I wanted to capture some capital gains, which I figured would be tax free. I sold an appreciated etf in each account.

The gain for each child’s account is about $1,350.

I’ve been reading up on dependent tax filing requirements, etc, but it’s leaving me confused.

From my latest reading, I think I’ll be required to file a tax return for them since the gain is over $1,110. But I’m not sure if any tax will be owed.

I also read that both children’s cap gains need to be combined to calculate the tax due. Help.
Thanks
by joe-kr
Tue Jun 29, 2021 5:05 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Changes to NJ 529
Replies: 9
Views: 1301

Re: Changes to NJ 529

Thanks for posting - I was not aware of this. Like you, I am in a different state’s 529 plan.

Below is a link to the NJBest fund fees from the “Investor Handbook”, go to page number 54 (pdf page 61)

https://www.franklintempleton.com/forms ... 29NJ-HNDBK
At least they do have a S&P 500 fund available at .13% fee.
by joe-kr
Mon Jun 07, 2021 5:38 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Epoxy or paint a garage floor?
Replies: 50
Views: 7069

Re: Epoxy or paint a garage floor?

You want to find a company that specializes in garage floor coatings and make sure they use a polyaspartic product. The results are outstanding and the performance far out weighs any paint or epoxy. I’d suggest finding someone who is a slide-lok distributor as they have a excellent floor coatings but there are others as well. I’ve done several patios and garages and we loved the results so much I did an interior floor in it as well. The last one done was 10 years ago and it still looks brand new. Getting ready to do a large 48’x36’ garage and I won’t use anything else. Absolutely gorgeous. I had a polyaspartic coating put down last Aug and it’s doing and looking great. It was $6 a sq foot. We use the garage as our usual main entrance so I ...
by joe-kr
Wed Apr 21, 2021 7:45 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How quickly did you receive your 2020 tax refund?
Replies: 437
Views: 50275

Re: How quickly did you receive your 2020 tax refund?

I filed on 2/19/21 and my transcripts finally updated today. I should receive my refund in a few days. The “where’s my refund” site still shows processing, but I hear that usually lags a day from the transcript update.
by joe-kr
Tue Mar 23, 2021 7:40 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: No record of e-file after a month
Replies: 2
Views: 379

Re: No record of e-file after a month

I have a similar situation. I efiled on 2/19 and still waiting. When I check “where’s my refund”, with my refund amount, it has no record.

But while experimenting, I found that if I enter 1 as my refund amount, it finds my info (with a zero refund due).

After I efiled, I received a 1099-S late that had a mistake. I had the sender correct the error and refile that form. But, I’m not sure if this is the issue holding up my refund. Maybe the IRS changed my refund amount due to the original incorrect 1099 not matching my return.
by joe-kr
Sun Mar 07, 2021 1:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How quickly did you receive your 2020 tax refund?
Replies: 437
Views: 50275

Re: How quickly did you receive your 2020 tax refund?

Filed on 2/19 with TurboTax and accepted by IRS same day. Still waiting on over 6k refund. We also have ACTC, AOC and recovery credits. When I check the IRS website, they show no record of my return. Did you check the "Where's my refund?" page at irs.gov? https://www.irs.gov/refunds My return shows as accepted and has for at least a week. I also filed on 2/19 and am waiting for a refund. Yes, sadly I just get this error message: “ You may not have entered your information correctly. Please verify your personal tax data and try again” I have seen other people post that they receive the same message, so I just hope it’s a glitch. Next Friday will be 21 days since I filed so then I can call to check. I have the same error. Filed ele...
by joe-kr
Sat Mar 06, 2021 9:14 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How quickly did you receive your 2020 tax refund?
Replies: 437
Views: 50275

Re: How quickly did you receive your 2020 tax refund?

cowdogman wrote: Sat Mar 06, 2021 7:55 pm
joe-kr wrote: Sat Mar 06, 2021 11:13 am Filed on 2/19 with TurboTax and accepted by IRS same day.
Still waiting on over 6k refund.
We also have ACTC, AOC and recovery credits.

When I check the IRS website, they show no record of my return.
Did you check the "Where's my refund?" page at irs.gov? https://www.irs.gov/refunds My return shows as accepted and has for at least a week. I also filed on 2/19 and am waiting for a refund.
Yes, sadly I just get this error message:
“ You may not have entered your information correctly. Please verify your personal tax data and try again”

I have seen other people post that they receive the same message, so I just hope it’s a glitch. Next Friday will be 21 days since I filed so then I can call to check.
by joe-kr
Sat Mar 06, 2021 11:13 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How quickly did you receive your 2020 tax refund?
Replies: 437
Views: 50275

Re: How quickly did you receive your 2020 tax refund?

Filed on 2/19 with TurboTax and accepted by IRS same day.
Still waiting on over 6k refund.
We also have ACTC, AOC and recovery credits.

When I check the IRS website, they show no record of my return.
by joe-kr
Wed Mar 03, 2021 3:51 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Mechanics of teen's 1st tax return
Replies: 35
Views: 2705

Re: Mechanics of teen's 1st tax return

I have an 18 year old daughter, and she made about 6,000 in 2020. She has a Roth but no other interest or investment income.

She has no federal or state tax income taken out from her pay. Is there any reason to file since earned income is under 12,400?
by joe-kr
Thu Feb 25, 2021 2:15 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: For users of TreasuryDirect, what is the difference between a certifying officer and a notary?
Replies: 6
Views: 2055

Re: For users of TreasuryDirect, what is the difference between a certifying officer and a notary?

yoga wrote: Thu Feb 25, 2021 1:40 pm
joe-kr wrote: Thu Feb 25, 2021 1:04 pm When I signed up for Treasury Direct last year, I had to get a signature guarantee to complete the account. I was able to make an appt at my Bank of America branch and they did it for me (and my wife the next day).
They seemed to be familiar with the process.
Is this needed when opening an account to purchase ibonds?!
I think for some people like me (and my wife), Treasury Direct does not like, or can’t check some of the info provided when the account is opened. But, I usually don’t have any trouble with opening other financial online accounts.
by joe-kr
Thu Feb 25, 2021 1:04 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: For users of TreasuryDirect, what is the difference between a certifying officer and a notary?
Replies: 6
Views: 2055

Re: For users of TreasuryDirect, what is the difference between a certifying officer and a notary?

When I signed up for Treasury Direct last year, I had to get a signature guarantee to complete the account. I was able to make an appt at my Bank of America branch and they did it for me (and my wife the next day).
They seemed to be familiar with the process.
by joe-kr
Thu Jan 07, 2021 3:49 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Throttling, Spectrum and a VPN
Replies: 21
Views: 2509

Re: Throttling, Spectrum and a VPN

I’d also suggest that you do your speed test from a pc or laptop connected directly to your router with a network cable. That way you eliminate any potential wifi issues that could be occurring in your home.