Q&A: Can I Fund My HSA with Appreciated Stock?
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Sadly, the IRS is very clear about this; contributions must be cash.

How to Avoid an IRMAA Medicare Premium Surcharge 2021
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Depending on your particular case and Social Security agent, you may get your surcharge waived, lowered, or upheld.

Q&A: If I Close My Oldest Roth IRA, Do I Change My 5-Year Clock?
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Fortunately, closing a specific account doesn’t reset your Roth clock.

Q&A: Can I Convert an Inherited IRA to Roth?
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Roth conversions can only be performed during the IRA owner’s lifetime.

How to Report NAP Credits on a Virginia Return
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Luckily, the form is organized by type of tax credit and the NAP credit section of Schedule CR is only five lines long.

Q&A: Can I Make a Prior-Year Roth Conversion This Year?
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Alas, the year you move the funds from traditional IRA to Roth IRA is the year that those assets are taxed.

Q&A: Are There Any Restrictions on How Much or Who Can Convert to Roth?
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Taxpayers of any income level, age, and employment or retirement status can convert their pre-tax individual retirement assets to Roth IRA.

The 2020 Joint Charitable Standard Deduction: $300 or $600?
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The draft 2020 Form 1040 instructions clarify: the $300 limit is per form.

The Full Complexity of All Required Minimum Distribution Divisors Explained (2020 Update)
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The SECURE Act of 2019 changed several things, so here is an updated review of this complex subject.

Can a College Drop-Out Reimburse for Expenses Out of a 529 Plan?
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Hopefully this simple guide helps you get started in the right direction for correcting these surprise excess distributions.

Q&A: Can a 529 Reimburse for Last Year’s Expenses?
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Unfortunately, neither “yes” nor “no” is a correct answer to this question.

Before the Estate Tax Exclusion Sunsets in 2026
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Individuals with more than $5M may be served well from gifting to utilize the higher estate exclusions before they sunset.

How to Transfer 529 Funds From One Family Member To Another
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You can transfer up or across the family tree. However, if you want to transfer down a family tree, you can run into taxation problems.

How to Change Your IRA Beneficiary Designations After the SECURE Act
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Now non-nuclear family or friends who are more than 10 years younger than the decedent and in good health are never eligible for stretch provisions and must distribute the whole balance over 10 years.

Can I Deduct a 529 Contribution to an Account I Don’t Own?
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Unfortunately, the answer is that you cannot. The 529 account owner receives any state tax deductions for contributions make to their account.

How to Claim Your Virginia State Tax 529 Contribution Deduction
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Form ADJ of the 760 lines 8a – 8c are where you report miscellaneous deductions.

Virginia 529: What Counts as a Unique Account for Per-Account Deductions?
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Oddly enough, what qualifies something as a unique account is both a unique account registration and investment portfolio selection.

Before August 31: Another Chance to Redistribute Your 2020 RMD
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This latest notice now gives both seniors and heirs who have not yet been able to put their formerly RMD funds back into their IRAs the chance of redistributing those funds to the IRA that distributed them.

How to Transfer Your Economic Impact Payment Card Into Your Bank Account
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It took me one hour to complete from start to finish. Hopefully, now that I have bumbled my way through it on my own and documented the steps, it takes you less time.

Do Children Need To File A Tax Return To Fund Their Roth IRA? (2020)
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Don’t let stress about tax filing requirements keep you or your child from a powerful opportunity to provide for their future.

Yet Another Chance to Redistribute Your 2020 RMD
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Hopefully, this extension helps some take advantage of this welcome relief.

Q&A: Can You Fund a Roth IRA After Filing Your Taxes?
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You always have until the tax filing deadline to make your IRA contributions regardless of when you file.

Q&A: Can I Undo My Roth Conversion? (2020)
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Unfortunately, as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act back in December 2017, Congress eliminated the ability to undo Roth conversions, so there isn’t a way to undo a conversion.

How to Use a Coronavirus-Related Distribution to Reverse Your RMD (2020)
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In this way, those with inherited IRA distributions they would like to reverse or those with distributions no longer eligible for regular 60-day rollover contributions may be able to still complete either a Roth conversion or IRA redistribution with those assets.

This 2020, The IRA Contribution Deadline Isn’t Until July
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Because the due date for filing Federal income tax returns has been postponed to July 15, the deadline for making contributions to your IRA for 2019 is also extended to July 15, 2020.

How to Calculate Your Roth Contribution Phase-Out and What To Do With It
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What can you do when you are in the middle of the Roth IRA contribution phaseout range?

The RMD Waiver in the CARE Act of 2020 is a Repeat of 2009 Legislation
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Hopefully, this bit of tax history gives seniors and heirs a bit of comfort in taking advantage of this welcome relief.

Q&A: Do I Need to File Schedule H for My Child’s Wages?
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I do not need to file Schedule H and imagine that most parent household employers also do not need to file this schedule.

CARES Act Creates a $300 Charitable Contribution Deduction for the Standard Deduction
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Congress enabled those who are taking the standard deduction to deduct $300 of charitable giving if they do not itemize.

If You Act Fast, You Can Undo Your 2020 RMD Thanks to the CARES Act
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Among the temporary measures, Congress waived required minimum distribution (RMD) requirements for only tax year 2020.

Funding a 3-Year-Old’s Roth IRA
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My daughter was employed at her first job, earned her first income, and was able to fund her Roth IRA for the first time.

Q&A: Do I Need to Pay Tax on This 1099-R?
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The given numbers on a 1099-R are insufficient to be able to fill out your tax return correctly. Knowledge of what was actually done is required in order to file your taxes accurately.

Q&A: Who Pays Taxes and Penalties on 529 Distributions and How?
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Who will be responsible to pay for the taxes related to the distribution? Where do you report the taxable portion on your tax return?

How to Fund Your Roth with Babysitting Money
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For domestic tasks like babysitting there are often two options: independent contractor or household employee. Taking the time to educate yourself on the difference may be worth your while.

Q&A: Can I Do a Backdoor Roth and a Reverse Rollover to a 401(k) In the Same Year?
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This person has an IRA balance, but is about to empty it with a reverse Rollover. So the question is one of timing: can they do the IRA Rollover before the nondeductible contribution so that their cream and coffee never mix?

Q&A: Should I Donate QCDs When I Have a Nondeductible Basis?
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Luckily for the charitably-inclined individuals with nondeductible balances, QCDs are excluded from your Form 8606 taxable and nontaxable calculations.

The SECURE Act of 2019 Becomes Law
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The SECURE Act was merged into the 2020 budget bill which is now law.

Keeping Your Roth 401(k) Balance Separate During an IRA Rollover
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Having a 401(k) plan with both pre- and post-tax balances is quite common, but mistakes are common as well.

Q&A: Can I Reimburse More Than My Actual Room and Board Expenses From My 529 Plan?
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Every school sets a budget or allowance for room and board, referred to as the cost of attendance. Are you allowed to reimburse yourself for the entire amount of Room and Board even if you did not spend that much?

Q&A: How Do I Use a 529 to Reimburse for Housing at a School Abroad?
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The first step to answering this question is to check that the school you want to attend is an eligible educational institution.

What is Cost Basis and How Do I Calculate It?
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The process of correcting cost basis problems, although time consuming, is worthwhile.

Q&A: Can I Still Use a QCD to Get State Tax Credits?
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If a portion of your charitable gift is nondeductible, then no portion of the gift can be counted as a Qualified Charitable Distribution. But there is one accepted loophole for QCDs.

State Tax Credits: Navigating the New IRS Rules to Find Tax Savings
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This June, the IRS came out with their final ruling on how charitable gifts to receive state tax credits will be handled. This is how the strategy works now.

The Complete Guide to Retirement Account Types
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Here is a simple list of the retirement account types and their differences.

Q&A: How Does the SECURE Act Change QCDs?
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“I will be turning 70 1/2 and wanted to start making contributions to charity from an IRA and taking the QCD at that time. Would this bill require me to wait two more tax years, until I am 72, to do this?”

IRA Reform on Horizon – SECURE Act of 2019
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On May 23, 2019, the House passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 with a vote of 417 Yeas and 3 Nays. It is on its way to the Senate.

The Complete Guide to Homeschooling Laws in Virginia
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I must say that homeschooling was by far my best education experience.

How QCDs May Help Your Virginia State Taxes
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“If you claimed the standard deduction on your federal income tax return, you must also claim the standard deduction on your Virginia return.”

No One Tells the IRS You Did a QCD Except You
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Be sure to remember to tell your tax preparer that you did a QCD.

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