Author Archives: David
Your Social Security number isn’t suspended. Ever.
Scammers have been working overtime lately. Don’t fall for it. Don’t call them back. Don’t give them money. Don’t give them information. If you want to confirm that your SSN is okay — call the Social Security Administration directly, visit an office, or just start by logging on to your SS account online directly. […]
What Happened to my Tax Exemptions?
Or: The TCJA giveth, the TCJA taketh away. One huge change in the tax code as a result of the 2017 TCJA (“Tax Cuts and Jobs Act”) was that there are no longer “personal exemptions”. Previously, each exemption worked — in addition to either the standard deduction or itemized deductions — to effectively lower one’s […]
Did You or Did You NOT Lose The Home Office Deduction?
There’s been a lot of confusion regarding the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (Also known as TCJA, or as the “Trump Tax Cuts”). One particular source of such confusion is regarding the loss of certain itemized deductions — previously included as part of the “Job Expenses and Certain Miscellaneous Deductions” […]
If you get a random e-mail from IRS concerning a tax refund… delete it.
“If you get a random e-mail from IRS concerning a tax refund… delete it. It’s a scam, the Service warns. The e-mail tricks people into opening a link by saying that incorrect information was detected on their tax refund account. The link goes to a fake page where scammers try ot steal your personal information. […]
Beware of Erroneous Tax Refunds!
The IRS has issued some warnings recently about a new scam which seems especially on the rise with more tax professionals having more client data online than ever before. The scammers file a fraudulent tax return – but include the taxpayers’ real bank account information (or if they don’t file for electronic deposit of their […]
Kiddie Tax and the 2017 Tax Reform
What’s the Kiddie Tax? Under the Tax Reform Act of 1986, a new “Kiddie Tax” was introduced in order to close a loophole through which wealthy folks were getting investment income taxed at lower rates by transferring assets to their children. Under the ’86 rule, unearned income (mainly investment income like stock dividends, interest, and […]
Year end strategizing for the potential tax reform
While the GOP has apparently tightened up on deductions from folks accelerating state and local tax payments, that was always going to be a somewhat limited option. The big takeaway is this – you need to understand the structure of your current deductions — and whether you are in AMT now — and whether you […]
Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit
The Child and Dependent Care Credit helps working families offset some of the cost of childcare.
Mortgage Rates hit 2017 Low
Freddie Mac surveys lenders weekly and publishes average mortgage rates for the previous week every Thursday. Today they’ve published rates which show a year-to-date low: 30 year mortgage originations are down to 3.78% (with 50bp points/fees), 15 year mortgages are down to 3.08% and 5/1 ARMs are down to 3.15%. These aren’t quite historic lows […]
The Equifax Data Breach
Some notes regarding the Equifax data breach – updated on 9/29/2017 to include links for freezing your credit, getting free credit reports, getting your medical records, getting your Social Security records, plus some additional security items to consider: There’s been a lot of reporting, and Equifax’s response has changed a bit since the first reports […]
Meyers Wealth Management 