Bogleheads.org

Sorry I meant withdraw (not sell). > And then it comes out contributions first, then conversions by year. This would be good. Do I have any control over this or is this done automatically by Vanguard? > You only have to pay the 10% when you finally get to a <5 year old conversion (if you are still < 59.5yo). No I think the five year rule applies regardless of age. This link below reads: The 5-year rule on Roth conversions requires you to wait five years before withdrawing any converted balances — contributions or earnings — regardless of your age. If you take money out before the five years is up, you'll have to pay a 10% penalty when you file your tax return. https://www.unionbank.com/personal/financial-insights/investing/retirement/what-i...

How to comply with the 5 year Roth Conversion rule with my Roth account set to an average cost basis? I understand that I have to wait 5 years before I can withdraw the money converted from my Rollover IRA to my Roth IRA without paying a 10% penalty. I converted the money into existing funds. In hindsight I should have converted into a new fund. For example assume that there were $100000 in my Roth IRA and then I converted $10000. So sometime later there is $110000 in the Roth IRA plus maybe another $100 because reinvested dividends for a total of $110100. What happens if I sell $50000? PS The website won't let me change the cost basis method saying: Vanguard's cost basis service offers average cost information only for IRAs established aft...

Thank you. I will post again if it worked.

So if I understand correctly:

Enter 2022 for the calendar year and my ssn at the top of form 8888.

Enter on line 1a with the amount of the refund minus the amount in line 4. Fill out 1b and 1d.

Enter on line 4 the amount of the requested iBONDS (which must be a multiple of 50).

Enter on line 8 the sum of line 1a plus line 4. This sum must equal the refund calculated on form 1040.

So I don't enter my name on form 8888, only my ssn, but the iBONDS will still be issued in my name?

Thanks again for your help.

But what about the instructions saying: "If you are filing form 8888 only to buy paper series I savings bonds, skip Part I".

And still a bit strange to fill out line 4 and 5b, but not 5a.

Because my tax refund is unlikely a exact multiple of $50 the refund needs to split up. How or where to I specify where the portion of the refund goes that can not go towards the iBONDS? Do I enter my account number on in the Refund section of form 1040? Or enter my account number in Part I of form 8888. Or request a paper check in Part III of form 8888? At the top of the Specific Instructions for Part 1 it reads: "If you are filing form 8888 only to buy paper series I savings bonds, skip Part I". And what do I enter in line 4 and 5a of form 8888? Thought that would be 5000 each, but at the bottom it reads: "Add lines 1a, 2a, 3a, 4, 5a, 6a, and 7. The total must equal the refund amount shown on your tax return." So leave...

Does it matter when I sell either fund below, ie on the first of the month versus 1 day before the dividends are distributed?

The VG Intermediate-Term Treasury fund (VFIUX) pays its dividends at the end of every months. And the VG Inflation protected fund (VAIPX) pays its dividends at the end of every quarter. This question relates to a rollover IRA to Roth IRA conversion. The dividends are set to automatically reinvest.

Thanks for your help and insights.

Hallo Inspired by Michael Kitces 2019 paper "Navigating The Capital Gains Bump Zone: When Ordinary Income Crowds Out Favorable Capital Gains Rates" I tried to understand how one could max out the 22% income tax for a Roth conversion and the 15% capital gains tax for tax harvesting w/o paying the 3.8% net investment income (NII) tax. https://www.kitces.com/blog/long-term-capital-gains-bump-zone-higher-marginal-tax-rate-phase-in-0-rate/ The numbers below assume no employment income and 2021 tax numbers as an example. 1 86375 — top of the 22% tax braket 2 -375 — interest 3 -3000 — non qualified dividends 4 +12550 — standard deduction ————— 5 83000 max Roth conversion 6 200000 — 15% capital gains tax w/o 3.8 NII 7 -12000 — qualified d...

So then I could buy the equivalent ETF. But that requires brokerage privileges. Anybody know how it long that takes to setup?

Is it possible to sell and buy the Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund Admiral Shares in the same transaction? I want to do this for capital gains harvesting.

Otherwise wouldn't I have to sell first and wait one or more days before I can the same fund back?

Thanks much for your insights and help.

Should I be concerned about including all my financial information in a college application for my daughter? I wonder how safe that information is kept so it does not fall into the wrong hands (my daughter, my former spouse, and all manner of identity thiefs).

My daughter might not even be accepted. However if she is accepted than a statement of the level of financial aid she can expect would be included.

The particular form they want filled out is called the "Noncustodial Parent’s Statement" by the CollegeBoard. That form makes me feel financially naked, they want to see EVERYTHING!

And thank you for sharing your experience.
Fin

My tip would be to spend 2 days in Athens and then go island hoping. It is a lot of fun to just explore the many islands. The Greek islands are ideal for just getting lost, no need to book anything in advance, very safe, very family friendly. You will always find inexpensive and clean rooms. And the Greeks are welcoming and honest. Best time to travel is mid May thru June and September thru mid October. My favorite island is Naxos.

1388

The one thing I did not like about Tracfones was the fact that you are not allowed to send international text messages. This was hidden in their (very) fine print. This was several years ago so perhaps this is no longer true.

> Are these employee stock options?

No sorry, they are regular stocks (not stock options of any kind).

Olaf

Can tax loss harvesting avoid having to pay the alternative minimum tax (assuming that enough losses were harvested to offset the gain)?

Background:
never paid AMT before
sold stock options
invested the money after paying (AMT) taxes
investments dropped in value
did tax loss harvesting
eventually will sell the remaining stock option

Thank you for your help with this.

This was a general question, but here are Vanguard funds I am interested in: VTSAX, VFWIX, VISVX, and VTMSX.

I looked at vanguard.com and morningstar.com tax data but can find information that tells me how to calculate capital gains, dividends, etc say for a $1000 investment.

Yes that $3K minimum even for IRAs is a real bummer.

I ended up with a traditional IRA with some $2900 in it. Yet, Vanguard doggedly insists on the $3K minimum even though I have several other accounts with them, one of which with admiral funds.

How about the trading fees (for example for contributions and re-balancing)?

Where can I lookup (or how can I calculate) the capital gains and dividends that a certain fund distributes. I would like to know for tax reasons.

Thank you for your help.

Taylor

Thank you. I missed the Intermediate Term Treasury Fund because it is not an index fund. Just curious, there is probably a good reason why there is no treasury index fund?

Olaf

I am looking for a bond fund that invests mainly in US Treasury bonds (as in core asset class defined by David Swensen) for my retirement account.

The Vanguard Total Bond Market Index is high on mortgages and the Vanguard Intermediate Term Bond Index is high on corporate bonds.

A related question, is it possible to buy US Treasury bonds directly for a Vanguard retirement account?

Any comments and help are much appreciated. Thank you.

Very difficult to find financial planners that advise and manage money without conflict of interest!

I would recommend they start reading books. Being informed helps to make good decisions. A good one to start is "Mutual Funds for Dummies" by Eric Tyson (5th edition). This book explains all the basics including a section on hiring a financial adviser.

PS This is the only dummies book I ever read, but I have to admit it is a great book!

Below is the portfolio I have in mind. Any comments and/or suggestions are welcome and are very much appreciated. I have worked with financial planners in the past, was not satisfied, and started to read books. I eventually realized that it is best to manage my own money. I am currently in the process of consolidating all my accounts to Vanguard (except for my 401(k) account). I like the ideas of the efficient market theory, passively managed index funds, and the core asset classes as proposed by David Swensen. My general philosophy is to reduce costs and keep my portfolio simple: just the right number of total market type index funds. All investments are for my retirement. Once implemented I am not planning on changing the asset allocation...