Wealth Advisory
Social Security Benefits to Increase by 1.3 Percent in 2021
AAFCPAs Wealth Management would like to make clients aware that the Social Security Administration announced that Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for nearly 70 million Americans will increase 1.3 percent in 2021. Cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) have averaged 1.4 percent in the past decade. The 1.3 percent cost-of-living adjustment will begin in January […]
Sunsetting Tax Exemption: $11.58M Estate Tax Exemption Could Decrease to $3M on Jan, 1, 2021
“When I first started practicing tax law in 2000, the federal estate tax exemption was $675,000,” said Josh England, LLM, Esq., AAFCPAs’ Consulting Tax Attorney. “Today that exemption is $11,580,000.” The federal estate tax exemption is the amount you may give away during your lifetime and own at your death without subjecting it to a […]
IRS Deadline to Return RMDs is Aug. 31
AAFCPAs reminds clients who are IRA owners, beneficiaries or workplace retirement plan participants and received a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) this year that they have until August 31 to rollover or repay the distribution to avoid paying taxes. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, waives RMDs during 2020 for IRAs […]
The Current Economy Presents Opportunities in Estate Planning
The current economic environment presents opportunities for high-net-worth individuals to maximize the benefits of estate planning to leverage tax exemptions and insulate your assets. Why is now a good time for estate planning? How can you maximize estate tax exemptions, market values, and interest rates while maintaining control of your assets? In initial consultations with […]
AAFCPAs Wealth Management’s Quarterly Update
March: in like a lion… The year started with so much possibility and promise as we had every reason to believe the U.S. economy would continue to expand due to low inflation, muted interest rates, and historically low unemployment numbers. However, true to the English proverb, March certainly came “in like a lion.” Over the […]
Retirement Plan Provisions of the CARES Act
AAFCPAs would like to make clients aware of retirement plans provisions included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Stimulus (CARES) Act legislation. These provisions include expanded and penalty-free withdrawal rights, expanded loan rights, extended rights to repay loans and withdrawals, and a deferral of mandatory distributions. Coronavirus-Related Hardship Distributions The 10% early distribution penalty […]
Market Update: Coronavirus Impact
On Monday, March 9th, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) halted trading via a procedural tool called a circuit breaker. Circuit breakers were implemented to allow for the market to halt the trading of stocks during periods of extreme uncertainty. There are 3 circuit breaker levels that can be triggered: down 7%, down 13%, and […]
The Markets React to Viral Outbreak
Like you, we too are monitoring the warning from the CDC on Tuesday that the US should prepare for severe disruptions to everyday life as it relates to the Coronavirus. As you can expect, we are keeping a close eye on the related 1,900-point drop to the DOW. Indeed, it is a scary time, but […]
Catalysts Affecting Your Investments
As you may recall, one year ago we were discussing the tug-of-war between fear and greed. The fourth quarter of 2018 presented some of the worst stock market declines in decades. 2019 was a much different story in which most investments, including domestic stocks, real estate investment trusts, foreign stocks, and bonds, had strong synchronized […]