Personal Finance Advice

Donating appreciated stock to charity is a very common tax tool for the wealthy. When you donate stock that you have held for more than a year (through direct transfer of the stock to the charity) you get a tax deduction for the fair market value of the stock, on the date of donation. [...]

I came across an interesting online discussion the other day, about how maxing out both a 401k and an IRA was simply a lot of over-saving. The discussion was based on some article about a single adult male who maxed out his 401ks and IRAs every year, and had another $1200/month to invest. His income [...]

In the spirit of political correctness, the IRS long ago did away with the old designations of “husband” and “wife” on individual tax returns, and replaced them with “taxpayer” and “spouse.” The result of this change has led to many headaches for tax practitioners.
It seems that every tax season, inevitably one client will come in [...]

As April 17th approaches, the inevitable question is, “Have you filed your taxes yet?” Hopefully you are all on the ball and if you had a refund due, you filed back around February 1 and if you owed, you are waiting for April 17th, right? Of course the nice thing about e-file is that you [...]

If you have already prepared a will, power of attorney, health care directive, and perhaps a living trust if it is right for your circumstance, well, good for you. You can pat yourself on the back. But don’t get too complacent. Your work is not done yet.
Does your family or significant other know where your [...]

If you own a home, you have probably heard of an impound account, sometimes referred to as an escrow account. So what is an impound account anyway, and is it a good idea?
An impound account is an account that is set up so that you pay your mortgage company a monthly amount, which they hold [...]

Well, we all know it is that time of year. If you haven’t had your taxes done by now, maybe you are still trying to decide how you will go about getting them done.
I did a recent article on Free File. If you meet all the income and age requirements, and expect to have a [...]

The IRS website and many state government websites can provide information on the status of your income tax refunds. But at the same time, they request very personal information such as your social security number and your income, in order to verify your identity and disclose refund information. If you find yourself at the wrong [...]

By now, you’re probably well aware that you can Free File your federal taxes through the IRS Free File program. What hasn’t been discussed a lot is that which of the programs you should choose to do your federal taxes depends on what they charge for the state taxes where you live.
Basically, the IRS has [...]

You’ve probably wondered why your bonuses are so heavily taxed. It’s all in the tax law. There are two methods to determine bonus withholding. One method is called the Percentage Method; the other is the Aggregate Method. Which method is used to tax your bonus is determined at the state level.
The Percentage Method is [...]

There are a number of new tax laws in recent years when it comes to charitable contribution deductions. These are some pretty significant changes, so keep in mind the following as you do your taxes in regard to the cash and non-cash donations you’ve made.
Cash Donations: For cash donations, the big news in 2007 is [...]

So you made it out into the real world and received your first paycheck. Wait a minute…Where did it all go? You were expecting X amount of dollars, but probably received a lot less.
It amazes me how little the average person really understands about the money that comes out of their paycheck for taxes. You [...]

Restaurant.com offers gift certificates for restaurants, at discount prices. You can pay $10 for a $25 gift certificate or $3 for a $10 certificate.
Most people when they first hear about this wonderful find are a little skeptical. What is the catch? Well, like any coupons or rebates there are some catches. But overall if [...]

Have you ever been curious about where the paper money in your pocket has been, and where it goes after it leaves your hand? If so, WheresGeorge.com is the website for you.
The Where’s George? Website was started in 1998, “for fun,” to track paper currency. The website has a form to input your [...]