Kevin Kroskey's Money & Mind

The info below provides a good summary from the Kiplinger Tax Letter on who pays taxes in the US and to what extent. --- (From Kiplinger Tax Letter) Do the rich pay taxes?  New IRS statistics show the burden on taxpayers. The top 1% of all filers paid 37.4% of all federal income taxes in 2010, the most recent year IRS has analyzed.  That's up from 36.3% the previous year. They reported 18.9% of total adjusted gross income, also higher than the year before.  However, the average tax rate paid by the top 1% fell slightly to 23.4% of their AGI.  Filers needed to have AGI of at least $369,691 to qualify for the top 1% of earners. The highest 5% paid 59.1% of total income tax and accounted for 33.8% of all adjusted gross income.  They each had AGI of at least $161,579.  The top 10% of filers, those with AGIs of $116,623 or more, bore 70.6% of the total tax burden while bringing in slightly more than 45% of the total adjusted gross income. The bottom 5...

After you turn 70½, the IRS requires you to withdraw some of the money in your retirement savings accounts each year. These withdrawals are officially called Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). While you never have to make withdrawals from a Roth IRA, you must take annual RMDs from traditional, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, pension and profit-sharing plans and 401(k), 403(b) and 457 retirement plans annually past a certain age. If you don’t, severe financial penalties may be enforced. If you are still working as an employee at age 70½ , you don’t have to take RMDs from a profit-sharing plan, a pension plan, or a 401(k), 403(b) or 457 plan. Your initial RMDs from these accounts will only be required after you retire. However, you must take RMDs from these types of accounts if you own 5% or more of a business sponsoring such a retirement plan. 1 You must take RMDs from IRAs after you turn 70½ regardless of whether you are still working or not. The annual deadline is December...

On February 13, President Obama's Fiscal Year 2013 budget was released. Follow this link to get a full copy of the   2013 Budget . The   Treasury's Green Book   containing general explanations of the Administration's revenue proposals can be found here. Robert Keebler, a leading professional in the area of tax and estate planning, highlighted some of the key proposals potentially affecting taxpayers below: Extend Bush tax cuts for all but the top two brackets. The only change would be to have the 33% and 35% rates go back to their pre-2001 levels of 36% and 39.6%. Taxpayers in the top two marginal brackets would still benefit from reduced rates on the portion of their income taxed in the lower brackets. Raise the long-term capital gains rate to 20% for single taxpayers making more than $200,000 per year, $250,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly and $125,000 for married taxpayers filing separately. Tax rate on qualified dividends would revert to ordinary income t...

The IRS has made cost-of-living adjustments to IRAs and employer-sponsored retirement plans for 2012, so here is what you need to know about the newly altered contribution limits and phase-outs for these plans. 401(k) & IRA yearly contribution limits. In 2012, these are the annual contribution limits for some popular retirement savings vehicles. ·          401(k)s, 403(b)s, most 457 plans, Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) - $17,000 with an additional $5,500 catch-up contribution allowed for those 50 or older. (2012 COLA: $500.) ·          Traditional & Roth IRAs - $5,000 with an additional $1,000 catch-up contribution allowed for those 50 or older. (No 2012 COLA.) ·          Simple IRAs - $11,500 with an additional $2,500 catch-up contribution allowed for those 50 or older. (No 2012 COLA.) ·          SEP IRAs - $50,000 ...

I'd like to remind everyone to not be too anxious to file your taxes. Many taxpayers rush to file their tax returns as quickly as possible. Ordinarily, that’s fine. But if you own mutual funds, don’t file your tax return before March 1. In past years, revised 1099s were often issued, reclassifying distributions and/or their amounts. This was a huge headache for the investors who had already filed tax returns based on the original documentation. These hapless consumers found themselves forced to redo their returns and file amended tax returns, adjusting the amount they owed or were due in refunds - and paying their tax preparer additional fees to do the extra work. It looks like 2010 may be the same. Therefore, if you own mutual funds, do not file your tax return before March 1. By then, any amended IRS forms are likely to arrive, potentially helping you avoid the hassle and costs of filing an amended return. Kevin Kroskey, CFP, MBA

Global diversification gives investors a valuable tool for managing risk and volatility in a portfolio. But smart diversification has an important side effect. It requires maintenance. In a given period, asset classes experience divergent performance. This is inevitable and, in fact, desirable. A portfolio that holds assets that do not perform similarly (i.e., with low return correlation) will experience less overall volatility. That results in a smoother ride over time. However, dissimilar performance also changes the integrity of your asset mix, or allocation—a condition known as “asset drift.” As some assets appreciate in value and others lose value, your portfolio’s allocation changes, which affects its risk and return qualities. If you let the allocation drift far enough away from your original target, you end up with a different portfolio. Once you form a portfolio to match your current investment goals and risk tolerance, you should preserve its structural integrity since as...

There is a lot of hoopla surrounding the ability to convert pre-tax IRA (or 401k) dollars into tax-free Roth IRA dollars. Much of this hoopla is deserved and much is not. As with most anything, the devil is in the details.  How this strategy may apply to you could be vastly different when compared to someone else. The article from Money Magazine linked to below does a good job of discussing some background information on the Roth conversion and considerations for determining whether or not to convert; and if so how much. If this strategy seems to be something for you to investigate, I'd recommend obtaining professional help from a good CFP or CPA. This is one area that can easily trip you up as effectively implementing a conversion strategy can get quite complex. http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/25/pf/expert/roth_iras.moneymag/index.htm To Your Prosperity ~ Kevin Kroskey