Tax reform took a lurch forward over the weekend with both the House and Senate passing different versions of the bill. You’ll find a lot of similarities between the two: overall tax rates are lower for individuals and businesses, child credits are increased, itemized deductions are simplified. However, there is compromising to be done. The…
For some of our client families, this time of year means tax planning. For others, we’re focused on how to help them complete the charitable resolutions they set back in January. In today’s blog post we discuss how to achieve both by comparing gifts through Qualified Charitable Distributions, appreciated stock or Donor Advised Funds. For…
As fee-only-Certified Financial Planners, clients often ask us our opinion about various investments. It seems like we get this question every time there is a new investment fad or a new IPO offering. Because we are investment fiduciaries, we always try to provide advice that puts our clients’ best interests first. The problem with new…
As fee-only financial advisors, the fall often means some hands on year-end tax planning for our clients. Couple that with recommendations of early filing in the wake of the Equifax data breach and news of a tax reform proposal, and it got us thinking about our tax system. What’s the history behind it and what…
Our clients often express concern about the debt that they, their kids or their grandkids are saddled with straight out of college. In the last several years, news about the possibility of student loan forgiveness has surfaced. If ever there were a program that fully embodied the nuance, complication and confusion that often accompanies government…