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SpideyIndexer

Regarding my first issue for which my mailed response was never received by the correct department, an agent recommended that additional data are best sent by fax. It is quicker, not just the USPS part but because sending a fax avoids the slow routing of the IRS mail system. The fax number is on the...

SpideyIndexer

Not exactly a collision, My rental was keyed in Hawaii (be careful where you park!) The estimate for repainting (~$800) was provided by the rental agency and not questioned. I took some photos which were helpful. Visa Gold eventually paid but mucho paperwork to copy and forward, and many phone calls...

SpideyIndexer

Blueskies123 wrote: ↑
Sat Oct 20, 2018 7:21 pm
Check the calories on those beers. I have to drink light to keep my weight down.

A friend was losing weight. His doctor advised him to drink beer.

SpideyIndexer

Do a search for "CP2000" and you'll find lots of threads. These are usually triggered automatically by the IRS computer system. The hold time is a PITA but I recommend telephoning rather than sending letters. Much easier get a quick exchange of details. I did one by mail for which my initial respons...

SpideyIndexer

There's some effort involved, but she could start a small business as a sole proprietor, then open a SE401(k). Fidelity's do allow rollovers from tIRAs while Vanguard's do not.

SpideyIndexer

It is a grey area whether your DCP deduction is considered a purchase by you. My opinion, with the usual disclaimers applied, is that you are safe because of the different indices that a being tracked. I think the "accounting exercise" has to do with the fact that your employer is holding the funds ...

SpideyIndexer

This topic applies to me as well, so thank you OP for posting. For clarification, is VWIUX the closest thing to a federal tax exempt version of VBILX? With my 35% federal income tax bracket, my TEY for the former fund would be approximately 4.1%, is that right? I actually just had my wife invest in...

SpideyIndexer

Holding corporates as your only bonds is not ideal, but perhaps you could hold corporates in the 457 and treasuries in the 401k. Some 401k's let you buy and sell any securities in an auxiliary brokerage account. Does yours have that option? Total bond is not a magic bullet. Currently it is about 43%...

SpideyIndexer

Try Farmer's.

SpideyIndexer

Do you have a good medical plan from your employer? I would expect so. Otherwise the SE Health Insurance Deduction would probably be more beneficial than a SEP or SE401(k).

SpideyIndexer

1 or 2 pieces of paper to me is not a big deal. If you convert some now, you won't spend the money. In general it is better to invest early in the year to gain more time in the market. Over the long term of many years that should be true. Doing one spouse at a time though is a good solution.

SpideyIndexer

The answer to the question is yes.

SpideyIndexer

To echo and add to the above, I would expect there is a bond fund that you can choose that is something like "total bond market" or "Barclays's Aggregate US Bond Index" fund. These are very similar with intermediate term average duration and perfectly suitable for rounding things out. It's probably ...

SpideyIndexer

The answer may depend on how much having CDs covered by FDIC helps you sleep at night. The brokered CDs at Vanguard get full insurance up to FDIC limits at each bank. And the rates are good, so you get the best of both worlds.

SpideyIndexer

I'm newly susceptible to the Medicare torpedo so am aiming for more precision in my income planning. Are there surprises I need to watch out for in terms of distributions? Investments are mainly the usual index funds plus some tilts: VTSAX, VTIAX, IJS, VSS, IEMG, and large cap value. And since it is...

SpideyIndexer

I will be claiming spousal Social Security benefits in several months, Due to GPO, the benefits will not always be sufficient to cover my Medicare premiums. What happens in that case? Will CMS debit my entire benefit and bill me for the remainder? Has anyone else been through this? Based on the abov...

SpideyIndexer

Spirit Rider, your post is very crisp and concise as usual. And thanks for bringing up the Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction which is in this case is important. In our case it would be optimal to maximize the Self-Employed Health Insurance Deductions by not contributing to our one-participant...

SpideyIndexer

Limits depend on total income (W2 + Self Employed) I believe the limits are dependent on total EARNED income which in the case of a W2 can be different from total income. If earned, it will be included in Social Security income. Also the solo or one-person 401(K) is specific to one self-employment ...

SpideyIndexer

Hi. Both my spouse and I each have a tiIRA mainly used to make non-deductible contributions to be rolled over in Roths (backdoor Roth contributions) and also solo 401(k). Our earned SE income will be pretty low for this year, about 4K each. How do we figure how to calculate deductible and non-deduct...

SpideyIndexer

Would you use either to take you and your spouse from home to the airport? What worries me is that because of the bidding process, possibly hundreds of potential drivers would learn that a couple needs a ride from your house to the airport and know the house will be unoccupied for some period of tim...

SpideyIndexer

Stlutz raises good points. One needs to consider future returns of stock and bonds along with future taxation thereof in order to optimize asset placement. Lots of things that may vary. So I hedge between the two camps: taxable is more stock heavy and TD more bond heavy but not 100/0 or 0/100 in eit...

SpideyIndexer

Big Dog wrote: ↑
Thu Oct 11, 2018 9:17 am
rookie question: if one is in a tax-free fund like the vanguard California Tax Exempt (VACDX), is tax loss harvesting even doable?

Yes, you are realizing a loss in the value of the fund shares. This is entirely separate from the fact the the interest earned in VCADX is not taxed.

SpideyIndexer

The SSA agent was not very knowledgeable about the how IRMAA appeals with LCE's work. I ended up filling out the form for a hearing and left it at the office. We'll see, though i have a feeling it will be denied. In hindsight it would have been better to have had a meeting in person rather than mail...

SpideyIndexer

Yep. I had some short term index that I had been meaning to relocate from taxable and did so.

SpideyIndexer

So it seems that WCI assumptions is that you invest in bonds for one account, in stocks in the other, no rebalancing, and stocks on tax-sheltered win. I think this is a no brainer. Over long term, the benefits of tax-free compounding will always win Now, there is people saying that you should rebal...

SpideyIndexer

Thanks. Just to clarify, my form SSA-44 only mentions the reduction in hours as a LCE which reduces my MAGI. But it also asks for prior year actual MAGI and projected current year MAGI. The other events happened to occur and may be to my benefit In fact, when I discussed things on the phone with an ...

SpideyIndexer

Yes, amend is your friend. CA gives a little more time. I think 6 months beyond the Feds.

SpideyIndexer

The Outback has pretty good ground clearance for light offroading. We found the Forester less comfortable and I believe it has less clearance. I agree with the poster wishing for a turbo engine. Our 2.5L is ok but a bit gutless in difficult merges , though we didn't want to suffer worse fuel economy...

SpideyIndexer

I'm trying to figure out the whole where to put bonds and where to put stocks myself. My thought is that, in retirement, you need cash and bonds in taxable accounts to cover expenses for 1 or 5 or 10 years, depending on your comfort level. In other words, you don't want to sell stocks during a down...

SpideyIndexer

Not too late but I would be fairly conservative, and reduce risk over time. Having the assets in a 529 beats having them in taxable. You'll be saving the tax drag. If plans change, the penalty will apply to small gains which is not so terrible.

7 years before he's a senior in college.

SpideyIndexer

The SSA rejected my request for a new initial determination by mail (an SSA-44) by mail but it is unclear why, so I will be visiting the office in person tomorrow. My 2017 MAGI is reduced one tier due to both that certain events in 2016 were one-time and did not reoccur in future years and that self...

SpideyIndexer

Another recommendation for telephoning the IRS. Yes it is a nuisance to wait a half to a full hour for a live agent but that's why cell phones have speakers. I've been through it twice, once when my response was lost in the mail and a second time for a different tax year when I didn't even bother to...

SpideyIndexer

I'd be interested in a good discussion of pros and cons of two asset location strategies: (1) Ultimate tax-efficiency by either holding only stocks in taxable. (2) Mix of stocks and bonds in taxable. Bonds could be munis. For example, 80/20 in taxable and 20/80 in TD. Details may depend on the size ...

SpideyIndexer

Maybe I took that view because I didn't form an LLC or corporation and just filed individually with Schedule C. Could that matter? If I cheated myself you folks all owe me some money. It doesn't matter what the business entity type is. From the Form 1040 Instructions, Line 29 Self-Employed Health I...

SpideyIndexer

I'm fairly new to this process. Some experiences: 1. It is amazing that the billings for premiums are so opaque. I first received one bill for the 3 months of the minimum part B premium, with the amount in the Part B column and described as for a 3 month period. After paying the first bill, I signed...

SpideyIndexer

EM is 20% of my portfolio and have no issues continuing to add to keep that static allocation. The difference is if EM went to 0% it would make NO difference in my retirement. If it is going to make a difference I am not so sure I would be so heavy. Good luck. So I guess if it doubles in value it w...

SpideyIndexer

Has anyone either applied and/or requested an accurate benefit statement prior to applying when subject to WEP? I see lots of warning about WEP and GPO on the SSA website but absolutely no instructions about what actions to take. Do nothing and wait for the bad news with the first benefit check?

SpideyIndexer

Ditto to the above.

SpideyIndexer

The answer is complicated, depending on the market, yields, tax considerations and how much "help" is needed from investment returns. Consider these points: 1. RMDs are a given and they will deplete the bond portion of the portfolio. 2. The advice to have the dividends taken out from the stock in t...

SpideyIndexer

Myself having only taxable accounts, I am not super familiar with IRAs. So aside from rebalancing, which I understand, you are suggesting selling stocks (total domestic stock index) from the taxable funds, even when the market is down, is preferable to selling bonds from the IRA funds after the RMD...

SpideyIndexer

The answer is complicated, depending on the market, yields, tax considerations and how much "help" is needed from investment returns. Consider these points: 1. RMDs are a given and they will deplete the bond portion of the portfolio. 2. The advice to have the dividends taken out from the stock in ta...

SpideyIndexer

A simple Google search shows that Medicare premiums are indeed deducttible, but cannot exceed the person's earnec income after expenses. I don't agree that a self employed person can't deduct family coverage that they pay for. You cannot be self employed, your spouse has the policy and is not self ...

SpideyIndexer

I have been looking into the eligibility for this deduction. Both my spouse and I have been self-employed for a few years. We have had a a family policy under my name but I have moved on to Medicare, so my spouse has individual health insurance coverage. From reading the IRS documents, I gather that...

SpideyIndexer

Sounds encouraging. I'm trying to finalize 2018 tax strategy and trying to avoid costly mistakes.

SpideyIndexer

A few more questions regarding WEP and GPO. Do government pension providers send the information to the SSA as a matter of course? Or will my spouse need to request this be done, and fill out form SSA-150? It seems the SSA website warns about WEP and GPO but does not give any information about what ...

SpideyIndexer

Nevermind. I see my plan suddenly has a $67 a year recordkeeping fee. For me that's an additional 0.08% expense, thanks Fidelity :( It is up to the employer whether or not they want pass along the recordkeeping fee or not. For example, my wife's MegaUni's 403b has no recordkeeping fees while my Meg...

SpideyIndexer

Has anyone seen a good explanation of AMT for 2018 and future years, and perhaps a calculator? Interested in Federal and CA. Most of the references give two numbers for the exemption phaseout but don't really explain how the exemption is calculated. After the tax reform, it seems that MAGI and AMTI ...

SpideyIndexer

Somewhat of a blast from the past....my spouse has worked for some government agencies but also took time off to go back to school. So some 0 income years were due to no employment not government employment. I don't know how the WEP calculator would comprehend this.

SpideyIndexer

The title should be explanatory. The compensation gain when exercising a stock option is considered earnings and not investment income by the IRS, correct? And as such is not subject to NIIT? Pretty sure the answers are yes but looking for confirmation. Thanks.

SpideyIndexer

I haven't used taxcaster before. I can't seem to find the 2018 edition. It seems the 2017 will move on to 2018, however my numbers have changed a lot. How do you get to Taxcaster 2018?

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