RBD Tax Services

Just a reminder, Exemptions are gone this year. The Standard Deduction is higher: $24,000 for a Married Filing Joint Couple You will get a $2,000 tax credit for a child (this figure has doubled) -for dependents under 17... Could mean fewer people itemizing deductions this year.

Let's talk about retirement income / taxation. I see it every year at tax time as retirees are shocked at what they have to pay in taxes. Working for years, taxes are witheld from your paycheck, you have write offs for mortgage insurance, write offs for the kids, etc. Now you retire and the house is paid off, the kids are out of the house, you don't have a pension, but you have a 401 (K) or a 403 (B). Your accounts total to a little over $1 Million. You decide to fix up ...the kitchen and you have to pull money out to live on. So, you pull $80,000 out of your accounts. If you did not have the proper amount witheld, you could owe up to $9,479 in federal taxes as that is the amount due for a married couple. Depending on the state you live in, you'll owe for that as well. What if the portfolio you have drops 10%. That equates to another $100,000. So it is easy to see your $1 Million nest egg goes to $800,000 pretty quickly and you are only 65. Part of the answer is to have some Tax Free Income in retirement as most people have tax deferred income from 401 (K) or 403 (B) or IRA accounts. Let me know if you'd like more information on Tax Free accounts and the importance of sequence of returns as you are retiring. Our country is headed for a crisis as people in their 40's and 50's didn't plan this out. Don't let it be you. See more

Took the family to The La Brea Tar Pits this weekend. Got a bite to eat at La Salsa afterward because it is close and saw a homeless guy come in to the store and he tried to get some salsa off the salsa bar. As he got kicked out of the store he knocked a couple of tables over on the patio as he left due to his frustration. As we approach tax season, I want to view the tax brackets as Mr. Wendal would. With hunger and need, the glaring gap is the tax rate jumping from 12% ...to 22% for Married filers when the income hits $77,400 and for Single filers when the income hits $38,700. If you are hungry and trying to maximize, you would want to stay below the above thresholds as it would cost a family an extra $7,700 and a single person an extra $3,800 in round numbers in taxes if you go over those thresholds. The figures are in taxable income. Call if you need ideas on staying below these figures if your income is in this ball park. Afterall Mr. Wendal has warned us about our ways, but we don't hear him talk. In other words, if you don't pay attention to this and you are just over these marks, you may be the one knocking over some tables on April 15th. See more

Remember the Obamacare rule that penalizes you if you do not have health insurance still applies in 2018. The mandate is gone in 2019. So if you don't have health insurance this year, you will be penalized on the tax return you do in February or March.