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Generally as a single filer you can exclude up to $250k of the capital gain on the sale of your primary residence from Federal income taxes. Your state may treat any gain differently if you are subject to state income tax. A gain above $250k is taxed at Federal capital gain rates. Selling costs reduce the sale proceeds. The adjusted basis for the house usually includes your purchase price + purchase costs + any qualified capital improvements you made while owning it. If this is the sale of your primary residence, read IRS Publication 523 “Selling Your Home”, linked below. If you have ever had rental income/deductions for the home or have deducted home office expense for a business, read those sections carefully. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-...

Pinacoladapopsicle wrote: ↑Fri Mar 31, 2023 8:59 am … I won't come close to hitting the max for the year if I contribute 100% of my next two paychecks. …

Your company likely has a cap on the maximum % you can contribute. Usually it’s <100% to leave sufficient payroll $ to cover tax withholdings, etc.

Based on having friends with a parent who remarried and passed first, it seems like issues arose between the kids of the first marriage and the second wife/husband (who had a reasonably good relationship) when:
- the parent left the house to the kids with a life estate to the wife/husband.
- the parent did not clearly identify who personal possessions should pass to.
- the husband/wife was suspected of changing online beneficiaries on accounts belonging to the unaware parent because the parent shared passwords with the husband/wife or made them an authorized agent/POA.

So in your planning, try to avoid these issues.

The taped up toilets are a big red flag, real or perceived.
Personally, I would pass unless the house checked every other box for me. In that case, I would get an engineer out to check out the sewage system setup.

Welcome to the forum!

Your sibling is lucky to have a caring sibling like you. However, after two conversations about this with your sibling, consider saying no more. Unless you believe your sibling is incompetent to manage [edit- their] financial affairs or will expect you to support [edit-them] if [edit- they] runs short financially in retirement.

I was POA for my dad with dementia and co-morbidities living in an excellent skilled nursing facility that accepted Medicaid assignment if assets were depleted (which they were in my dad’s case as he was Medicaid-pending when he recently passed). Your projection of 5% annual facility increases is reasonable as care facilities generally raise rates annually. If your mom is not currently at the highest level of care (with highest cost), the cost will increase more than 5% in years her care level increases. +1 to the Hospice recommendation by another poster. Hospice is a great resource and will likely improve your mom’s care and comfort like it did for my dad. If her portfolio is projected to cover 5 years or less, consider reducing her equity...

Read the plan agreement to verify your options for distributions as a former employee.

Consider adding a plan termination notice to your Solo 401k files.

File the final Form 5500-EZ sooner rather than later via the EFAST2 system. It does some validation checks before filing transmittal plus you receive an electronic confirmation of timely filing.

Thanks for everyone's input. In addition to premium tax credits, I found information on cost sharing which reduces OOP expenses. Those benefits are available only through Silver plans. I have not compared those benefits (if any, to us) to the reduced cost of Bronze plans. https://www.kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/explaining-health-care-reform-questions-about-health-insurance-subsidies/ Your ACA MAGI as a % of the federal poverty limit needs to be low to qualify for silver plan cost-sharing subsidies (CSR) in addition to premium tax credits (PTC). As you are living on ordinary income from TIRA withdrawals until SS @ age 70, it may be difficult to keep your MAGI low enough to received CSR/PTCs while having sufficient cash to fund living ...

The vehicle is not reliable (you don’t trust it) and it lacks newer safety features. Rather than holding onto it, consider buying a new or recent-model-year used car for yourself or your child in 2 years. The child’s car is an investment for at least 6-8 years of his driving (high school, college, 1st job). The 2007 vehicle doesn’t sound like it will hold up for 8-10 more years.

Congratulations on resolving your TT issue!

Yes, thanks. I had already tried that and it didn't work. For good measure, I just went back, deleted all the 1099-R forms, and then manually re-entered them without success. It still thinks I owe $5,168 on $12,000 of IRA distributions when I preview the draft 1040 form. I agree with HomeStretch. The problem is not with your 1099-R. The problem seems to be that you haven't properly told TurboTax that your contributions were non-deductible. Yes, I'm pretty sure that the issue is that TurboTax isn't recognizing that my 2022 IRA contributions were nondeductible, which is why it thinks the conversion is taxable (instead of realizing the basis for the conversion eliminates any tax due). … Does your 2022 1040 MAGI and workplace 401k status allow...

Is TurboTax perhaps showing the IRA contribution as deductible which means that the Form 1099-R distribution related to the Roth conversion would then be taxable?

Naris wrote: ↑Mon Mar 27, 2023 8:28 pm … For good measure, I just went back, deleted all the 1099-R forms, and then manually re-entered them without success. It still thinks I owe $5,168 on $12,000 of IRA distributions when I preview the draft 1040 form. …

Have you tried deleting both the contribution and the Form 1099-R distribution, re-entering the contribution (check whether your taxes owed at top of the screen changes) and re-entering the distribution/conversion (again checking whether taxes owed at top of the screen changes)?

IRAs are individual accounts. Your spouse’s Rollover IRA does not impact your backdoor Roth.

Rather than selling investments, another possible option is a securities-based lending line against your Taxable account. No idea which brokerages are the best for this, what current rates are and what the maximum % of your Taxable account balance they will lend against. There are past forum threads on this topic you might search for.

For example, here is a write up by Schwab about their lending line (see 3rd item):
https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/3-wa ... our-assets

Every additional $ your mom can put into savings is helpful. So a possible conversation with your mom could be: “hey mom, if you use a low-cost brokerage account at Fidelity [or Schwab] instead of your current broker and a bank savings account, you can reduce your investment cost by ~$200/year on your investments and earn ~$1,100/year more by using treasuries or a treasury money market fund for your cash savings. The additional $1,300 in savings will boost your current savings rate of $7,200/year by 18% to $8,500/year. With little risk, this helps you increase your retirement portfolio. Plus Fidelity has a local office that can help you in a pinch if I’m not around.” This might be good advice to someone else. But this is not good advice he...

Every additional $ your mom can put into savings is helpful. So a possible conversation with your mom could be:
“hey mom, if you use a low-cost brokerage account at Fidelity [or Schwab] instead of your current broker and a bank savings account, you can reduce your investment cost by ~$200/year on your investments and earn ~$1,100/year more by using treasuries or a treasury money market fund for your cash savings. The additional $1,300 in savings will boost your current savings rate of $7,200/year by 18% to $8,500/year. With little risk, this helps you increase your retirement portfolio. Plus Fidelity has a local office that can help you in a pinch if I’m not around.”

xtallographer wrote: ↑Sun Mar 26, 2023 10:37 pm In this case, in 2023 the total allowed solo401K contribution is 66000+7500=73500; this is because (22500+7500+25%*200000=80000, larger than 73500).
Then 73500 minus the contribution already made, 73500-2007.11-903.44 = 70589.45. Is this calculation correct?

The maximum allowable Solo 401k employER contribution is 20% x ($200,000 - employER share of self-employment tax).

If you correct the underlined portion of your calculation, above, you may get closer to the online calculator. The most accurate online calculator (for non S-Corp) is the Oblivious Investor’s calculator.

Per your post, you need cash to fund your expenses. If your only option to generate cash is through distributions from your tax deferred accounts (as you don’t want to touch Roth accounts or cut expenses), then I don’t see an option other than perhaps a HELOC to significantly control your MAGI for ACA subsidy purposes. If you borrow in 2023/4 via the HELOC and repay in 2025, will the large 2025 distribution from your tax deferred account (in order to repay the HELOC) cause you to be subject to Medicare IRMAA? Also, will the incremental ACA subsidies you receive be worthwhile $-wise given the HELOC borrowing rate? Also look at the 2024-only HELOC borrowing/subsidy option. Depending on how much you have in your Roth accounts and what you plan...

If your mom is contributing $600/month to a Taxable savings account, she should instead contribute to a Roth IRA, which will grow tax free. Or to a deductible Traditional IRA, if eligible, as it looks like her marginal tax rate in retirement may be lower than her current rate.

Welcome to the forum! Good move to get a higher rate on her savings. What is your mom’s profit sharing invested in? I’d move all the money invested by an advisor to low ER funds to save a bit in investment costs. Also I’d verify there really isn’t any advisor fee. If your mom nets $60k after tax and saves $7.2k/year to get savings account, is she spending the remainder of $53k? If yes, it would be helpful if she analyzes her spending to look for possible cost savings that she can, in turn, contribute to her savings. If her annual gross retirement spending will continue to be $53k plus taxes (let’s say $60k), if not working after age 70 she will have to fund net annual expenses (after SS) of $29k. At a 4%-5% withdrawal rate, she needs a reti...

As your state offers a 529 state tax deduction, at a minimum do fund/immediately withdraw (if allowed) the $3500/year for education cost (if qualified) through a 529 account.

Welcome to the forum! If you have additional questions about your portfolio, for best advice post using the template found in “Asking Portfolio Questions” here: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Asking_portfolio_questions This way we have the information needed to give you the best advice. For example, in answering your questions it would be helpful to know your Federal and state marginal tax rates and what type of IRA you mention in your post. 1. … I'm in high tax bracket so I don't know what's best for me Roth or Traditional 401k? … Read the BH wiki page linked by lakpr , above. The Traditional v. Roth decision starts with comparing your actual marginal tax rate at contribution to your projected rate at withdrawal in retirement. If your rat...

Have you read the match language in your 401k plan document? Matching contribution % may not apply to income from tips and commissions.

Vanguard’s i401k does not allow in-plan Roth rollovers. E*TRADE’s i401k is the only mainstream plan that I am aware of that allows it. You can amend your plan from Vanguard to E*TRADE.

Welcome to the forum! +1 to retired@50 ’s advice to post your portfolio in the “Asking Portfolio Questions” for best feedback. In the meantime, in your Taxable account turn off automatic reinvestment of dividends and capital gain distributions so you don’t buy more of funds that you may not want. Reinvest in a low cost S&P 500 or total stock market index fund. The BH wiki is a great source of info. The page, linked below, about tax-efficient fund placement may be helpful. It discusses where best to place your holdings in your various accounts. https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Tax-efficient_fund_placement Either convert the $4k rollover IRA to Roth IRA (this is taxable) or roll it over into your ADP 401k (if allowed; this is not taxable) ...

tl24 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 24, 2023 11:52 pm … Which of the following, if any, will count towards your MAGI for Roth IRA contribution income limits?
- Pretax 401k to Roth 401k in-plan conversions (i think YES?)
- After tax 401k to Roth 401k in-plan conversions, although this amount should be minimal if promptly converted (I think YES?)
- Traditional IRA to Roth IRA conversions (I think NO?) …

You are correct - yes, yes (just the converted pretax earnings, if any), and no.

… They sent a form to "remove excess contribution"... In addition to SuzBanyan ’s comments, it doesn’t seem appropriate that Vanguard is advising you to remove this as an “excess contribution”. You technically have not made an IRS-defined excess 401k deferral as you are eligible to make the contribution. Rather, you are trying to recharacterize it from pre-tax to Roth. Also, if you did not make a written 2022 employee elective deferral by 12/31/22, you aren’t able to make a tax year 2022 Solo 401k employee elective deferral in calendar year 2023. HomeStretch, are you certain that the following statement is true? "Also, if you did not make a written 2022 employee elective deferral by 12/31/22, you aren’t able to make a tax ye...

Caliscotsman wrote: ↑Mon Mar 20, 2023 12:30 pm … Does the profit share amount need to be contributed by tax day this year? (Tall order)

If cash flow is an issue, you are allowed to make the 401k employer contribution after you file your return. So if you file an extension, you can file your return now but make the contribution afterwards up to the extension deadline. This can be handy for someone who, for example, needs their tax refund to make the contribution.

Patzer wrote: ↑Fri Mar 24, 2023 1:04 pm … At 80, I could get a reverse mortgage, buy a SPIA (Single Premium Immediate Annuity) with the proceeds. That SPIA would pay 14.7K/yr, for a total of 49.7K/yr with Social Security. Most likely, I will still have investments to cover the remaining 4.3K, but even if I don't that won't matter, because I will easily be able to live on 49.7K/yr (Inflation Adjusted).

If you don’t have any assets remaining at age 80, I don’t believe an insurance company will allow you to buy a SPIA with 100% of your reverse mortgage proceeds. You may be limited to 50%. At least that’s what I recall from when I purchased a SPIA for a parent last year.

lucha wrote: ↑Fri Mar 24, 2023 1:21 pm … They sent a form to "remove excess contribution"...

In addition to SuzBanyan’s comments, it doesn’t seem appropriate that Vanguard is advising you to remove this as an “excess contribution”. You technically have not made an IRS-defined excess 401k deferral as you are eligible to make the contribution. Rather, you are trying to recharacterize it from pre-tax to Roth.

Also, if you did not make a written 2022 employee elective deferral by 12/31/22, you aren’t able to make a tax year 2022 Solo 401k employee elective deferral in calendar year 2023.

Edit - for a $1k annual donation, likely not worth using a DAF unless you want to give anonymously. Some DAFs have minimum donation amounts (I think Fidelity is $25). But utilizing a DAF might be part of your estate planning.

In addition to the tax and anonymous giving mentioned by others, above, my/spouse’s plan is to leave any charitable bequests to be directed through our DAF rather than name any charities directly in our Wills.

In the event of a dementia diagnosis for one spouse, consult with an experienced elder law attorney in your state. At a minimum, both of your durable powers of attorney and Will may need to be updated in case Medicaid LTC is ever needed. In my parents state, the home and one car was transferred to the well spouse with no possibility of Medicaid clawback. The point of the planning was to leave sufficient assets for the well spouse.

Long-term care either in-home or in-facility is expensive. If I were in your situation, my focus would not be on the potential care costs depleting an inheritance. Rather my focus would be on insuring one spouse’s cost of care, if needed, did not drain the couple’s joint assets to the point where the well/community spouse is left impoverished without enough to live on or for their own long-term care. Edit - after our parents’ situations, spouse and I have discussed that if either of us are diagnosed with dementia, we will consider putting a portion of our assets in an irrevocable trust for the benefit of the “well” spouse. But the substantial portion of our assets will go to the care of the spouse with dementia (at a minimum, enough to fund...

In my parent’s state, the in-home care my parent received and privately paid for during the 5-year look back period does not matter to Medicaid during their review. No doctor’s certification of the level of care was needed for the Medicaid review (but it was needed for tax purposes as I noted, above). During the ongoing review of my parent’s finances for the 5-year look back period, Medicaid is primarily verifying my parent’s health need is eligible for assistance, income and countable assets as of the requested benefit start date as well as reviewing all transactions in all accounts for the 5-year look back period. They are mainly looking for undisclosed assets/income and gifting/asset transfers during the 5-year look back period which are...

Medicaid varies by state. You need to check what home care your state’s program will cover and whether your dad is eligible for long term care benefits. Eligibility is usually based on your dad’s needs (dementia or assistance with multiple defined daily living activities) and your dad’s level of assets/income. While you are private paying, it is up to you to determine how much aide time your dad needs and can afford. Medicaid in my parent’s state will give a monthly set amount towards home care, if eligible, but I don’t know how that works. In my parent’s state, home healthcare aides through an agency are $30-$35/hour with a minimum of 4 hours per day. The availability and quality of aides is low so be sure to carefully screen the candidate...

I’ll start by saying that if your parent or you do not fully understand these complicated arrangements that you need to set up a consultation with the attorney to review them again. I don’t understand your parent’s set up (but I am not an expert) especially if the attorney is saying their income is too high to qualify for Medicaid LTC benefits in the future. Medicaid and estate planning vary by state. I can only give you my (long) version of events in my parent’s state (not NY) which may or may not help you make sense of your parent’s Trust arrangement. My parent did not have a LTC policy. An irrevocable trust for Medicaid purposes usually involves moving the title of some or all Taxable assets to a properly-constructed trust to avoid the a...

It’s not unusual for IRS correspondence to arrive separately and at a different time than a tax refund or bill.

Before calling the IRS, have you logged into your IRS.gov account to review your 2022 tax transcript and to compare it to your tax return as filed? You will probably be able to see if any line items were adjusted by the IRS that changed the amount of tax due. You may still need to call for an explanation but at least you can direct the agent to the adjusted line which may shorten your call.

For an objective view on your portfolio and whether there are any tax red flags, consider posting using the “Asking Portfolio Questions” template found here:
https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Asking_ ... _questions

Is it possible your dad received two checks that total to the amount on the Form 1099-R?

Asking the issuer to explain the amounts and to correct, if necessary, the Form 1099-R is the appropriate first step. If you believe it is incorrect and the issuer does not issue a timely corrected Form, read this IRS Tax Tip for guidance:
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/what-to-do ... x%20Return.

I don't want to derail my own topic too much but I am wondering - I'll be on Medicare this time next year, is the ACA even relevant at that point? My wife will just use my company's retiree medical for 2-3 years until she can start Medicare. I revisit the Roth conversion decision every year as variables (such as my ACA subsidies) in my analysis change from year to year. So just revisit your Roth conversion analysis annually. You/your spouse have such a short window until Medicare eligibility that likely ACA subsidies will not factor into your Roth conversion decisions for each of the next 2-3 years. If, worst case, the retiree health coverage was discontinued or the cost was higher than subsidized ACA coverage, then you might choose to tak...

Most of the cafeteria benefit plans that I have seen have boilerplate language that says in the event of conflicting language in agreements, the benefit plan agreement language prevails. One reason for this is to keep the cafeteria plan from jeopardizing it’s qualified tax status by not allowing special one-offs in a cafeteria plan that is meant to be applied to all employees consistently. If you really want the legal answer, you need to send both agreements to an experienced employment practices attorney. My non-legal opinion is that if the 401k plan says former employees receive the true-up even if not employed as of the date the true-up is made, you are fine. But learn from my example, below… My spouse and I (not attorneys) almost got bu...

What I don’t understand is how I am not named fiduciary with the state plan but will need to be named fiduciary with my own plan through a provider. I don’t see what the difference is on its face. The plan provider has liability if they function as the named Plan Trustee and/or Plan Administrator. There used to be third-parties that would take on the fiduciary Trustee function for small plans if the plan provider would not assume these functions. When I priced the third-party option about 10 years ago, the fee was $10k for a plan with 35 participants. If you use Vanguard for the higher fee, do they act as the Plan fiduciary? If you take on the fiduciary function, look into whether your business liability coverage covers you as the 401k fid...

Is this a revocable trust or an irrevocable trust? If an irrevocable Trust, was part of the purpose for establishing the Trust to remove assets from the reach of Medicaid if needed in 5+ years for your parent’s care costs? In addition to the house, were all Taxable accounts retitled into the name of the Trust and is the Trust the primary beneficiary on all retirement accounts? Are the long-term care benefits per the LTC policy good if your parent needs them? Or is it’s primary purpose to pay a death benefit to you and your brother if the Estate is depleted? If the latter, if your parent receives Medicaid LTC benefits in the future, will Medicaid allow your parent to keep the policy in order to be eligible for benefits or for you/sibling to ...

Besides yourself, you have three people dependent on your salary and portfolio. If you decide to take a break or retire from work, at least secure your financial future by diversifying out of the volatile single stock. In the meantime, don’t hang your hopes on leaving only if they pay you severance. Consider telling your boss you will be in the office only 1 or 2 days per week, wfh the rest, keep your hours to a reasonable # no matter how many former employer jobs they try to shift to you and your co-worker. The worst they can do is fire you. Polish your résumé and see what else is out there regardless of whether you receive severance or not. Another job for a couple years will give you time to beef up your portfolio and unwind your single ...

Is the $7k just legal fees or does it also include some pass thru expenses paid by the attorney on the estate’s behalf such as court/probate fees, newspaper notices, etc.?

BashDash wrote: ↑Wed Mar 22, 2023 9:28 am Homestretch.....that has me thinking.....the loud bangs aren't sounding like they are literally coming from the laundry machine but nearby in the laundry room where there are a lot of pipes in the ceiling by the furnace etc.

It’s a process of elimination. The arrestors are inexpensive so I’d try those first and it may completely solve your issue.

If not, check the the nearby pipes. They may need to strapped on to a nearby joist/beam to reduce the jumping /hammering. You can check any visible pipes near the furnace when you hear the hammering to see if you can see any big movement in the pipes.

… I'm not following the ACA considerations since I was planning on using my company's retiree medical. … If I'm reading the ACA information correctly, I'll get some subsidy but even with a subsidy it's ~3X higher than my retiree medical. … If company retiree coverage is better/less expensive than a subsidized ACA plan, certainly go with the company plan. With a MAGI of $90k, for a household of 2 you likely won’t qualify for an ACA subsidy in future years if the 400% FPL subsidy cliff is reinstated as scheduled in 2026. Your retiree plan may also not allow you to enroll later if needed, if declined when first eligible. Without the ACA subsidy factor, you will have one less consideration when deciding about Roth conversions. In my case, as I...

Stainless burst-free hoses are a good idea.

If a plumber installs the arrestors, have them wait while you start a laundry cycle to be sure the hammer sound is eliminated.

I was going to try the arrestors but turns out my loud
water hammer was due to a pex water line (near other pipes in a chase) leading into the laundry room that was jumping/hammering when my new high efficiency washer first started a wash cycle.

Going forward, consider taking screenshots of brokerage transactions just in case.

A few years ago, Vanguard had issues with trade confirmations incorrectly using average cost rather than specific ID. I was affected. Luckily I screenshot all brokerage transactions entered so it was easy to prove their error and have Vanguard correct the issue (not all posters were so lucky).