ACA & You: 3 Things To Know When Filing

1. Did you have health insurance through your employer, Medicare, Medicaid, or a plan you bought outside of the Marketplace?

 If you answer "yes", stop right here.
 We will check the required box on your federal income tax return and be done.

https://www.healthcare.gov/taxes/other-health-coverage/

2. Did you have health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace?

If you answer "yes", you will be receiving a Form 1095-A in the mail by early February. This will be needed in order to complete & file your federal income tax return. 

Some of those who bought health insurance under the ACA received advance tax credits. These were tied to their income to help with the monthly premiums.  

https://www.healthcare.gov/taxes/marketplace-health-plan/

The information from 1095-A will be needed in order to complete Form 8962, which will be a new form on your tax return.

Federal officials will check the taxpayer's actual income against their original estimated income when they applied for the subsidies. 

• If you TOOK LESS advance payments of the premium tax credit than the actual credit you’re eligible for: You’ll get the difference as a credit on your tax return.
• If you TOOK MORE advance payments of the premium tax credit than the actual credit you’re eligible for: You may need to pay the difference with your tax return.
• If you DIDN’T TAKE ANY advance payments of the premium tax credit during 2014: When you complete Form 8962 you may find out that you qualify for a credit. If you do, you can claim it when you file your taxes.

3. If you didn't have any health insurance coverage for 3 months or more in 2014, one of the following will apply to you:

• You will qualify for a health coverage exemption
• OR you will pay a fee when you file your 2014 federal income tax return

The penalty for being uninsured in 2014 is either:

•  $95 per adult (with a family maximum of $285)
• OR 1% of household income, whichever is greater.

The penalty for being uninsured in 2015 will be:

• $325 per person
• OR 2% of household income

https://www.healthcare.gov/taxes/no-health-coverage/

Planning for Retirement

Save substantially. Invest your savings wisely. The conventional wisdom holds that this is the way to accumulate a nest egg for your retirement, and the conventional wisdom is right on the money.

            

However, you probably won’t always have earnings to invest. At some point, your work income is likely to cease or drop sharply in retirement, and you’ll need to draw down prior savings. Yet, studies have found that very few people have considered how they’ll go from investing earned income to generating retirement income. 

The sooner you give this issue serious thought, the more likely you’ll be prepared with a realistic spending plan when the paychecks stop. Here are a few options to consider.

Spend income, not principal

Most people can rely upon Social Security benefits for some retirement income. Beyond Social Security, you probably will have to tap your own savings. The question, then, is how to go about drawing down the money you’ll spend. One method is to use only dividends and investment interest income for cash flow.

     

Example 1: Suppose Ed and Nancy Parker will each receive $20,000 a year from Social Security, so their joint annual benefits will be $40,000 per year, indexed for inflation. The Parkers have a $600,000 portfolio, in this example, invested in high-quality stocks and bonds. If their interest income and dividends average 2.5%, the Parkers will receive another $15,000 a year (2.5% of $600,000). By spending that $15,000 but leaving their stocks and bonds intact, the Parkers’ retirement income will be $55,000 a year, including $40,000 from Social Security.

Cracking your nest egg

Dividends and investment interest yields are low today, and may remain low in the future. The Parkers, in our previous example, may wish for greater retirement income than $55,000 a year. One alternate strategy is to follow the so-called 4% rule, which has been developed by financial advisors and academic researchers.

      

Example 2: The Parkers withdraw 4% of their $600,000 investment portfolio ($24,000) in the first year after they stop working. Now they have $64,000 ($40,000 from Social Security plus $24,000 from their portfolio) to spend rather than $55,000.

      The 4% rule assumes that the Parkers increase their withdrawals each year to keep up with inflation. Going by historic investment results, research indicates a high probability that the Parkers’ portfolio will last at least 30 years, with this method.

      To get that $24,000 in the first year of retirement, the Parkers might spend their $15,000 of investment income, as explained, and sell $9,000 of their investments to raise the rest of their cash. Over time, they would gradually deplete their portfolio in this manner.

      The 4% rule likely will provide more retirement income than just spending interest and dividends. However, active management will be involved—deciding which assets will be sold each year to provide the cash flow. In addition, the Parkers run the risk that poor results in the stock or bond market will accelerate portfolio depletion.

Assessing annuities

Yet another approach is to put retirement funds in an immediate annuity, sometimes called an income or a payout annuity. You can give a lump sum to an insurance company and receive monthly income for the rest of your life. Joint annuities are available, so a married couple might get this payout as long as either spouse is alive.

      

Example 3: The Parkers, both age 65,  weigh putting all of their $600,000 into a joint annuity. By using an online annuity calculator, they learn that such an annuity might pay them $3,000 a month, or $36,000 a year. If one spouse dies, the survivor will continue to get that $36,000 a year.

      Now the Parkers will start retirement with $76,000 of income in the first year, with $36,000 from the annuity plus $40,000 from Social Security. The annuity will protect them from running short of money over a long retirement. They won’t have to make decisions about selling securities, and they’ll enjoy some tax benefits because most of their annuity payments will be treated as a tax-free return of principal for many years, if held in a taxable account.

      On the other hand, annuities typically provide a fixed payment. The $36,000 the Parkers receive in 2015 won’t buy as much in 2025 or 2035, assuming inflation drives prices higher. Depending on the terms of the contract, a joint annuity may not leave anything to their children, even if the Parkers both die in a few years. Buying an annuity today, while interest rates are at historic lows, also will lock in a relatively low return, which might be surpassed by stocks and bonds over the coming decades.

Mix and match

The bottom line is that no method is absolutely better than the others. Some advisors suggest putting some retirement funds into an immediate annuity, for dependable lifetime income, while continuing to manage other assets under a withdrawal plan, such as the 4% rule. Other sources of income also might be considered: an inheritance, selling your home, using a reverse mortgage, even doing some part-time work.

     By planning ahead you will have a better idea of how much cash you reasonably can expect to receive and where it will come from, so you can set your retirement expectations realistically.

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As Collectibles Boom, Selling Can Be Taxing

In the past two years, five paintings have been sold at auction for more than $100 million apiece, while another (by Cezanne) reportedly brought more than $250 million in a private sale. In the same time frame, a pink diamond was auctioned for a record $83 million.

            As you can see, the collectibles market has been booming. You might not own a multimillion dollar item, but the chances are that the coins, stamps, or paperweights that you collect have grown in value. If you decide to cash in by selling one or more pieces from your collection, you may have to deal with unpleasant tax surprises.

Raising the rates

The tax code has special treatment for collectibles, which can include artwork, rugs, antiques, gems, stamps, metals, coins, and alcoholic beverages, according to the IRS. When you sell collectibles, the special 0%, 15%, and 20% tax rates on long-term capital gains don’t apply. Instead, you’ll owe tax at your ordinary tax rate, with a cap of 28%.

            As is the case with all assets, short-term capital gains on the sale of collectibles are taxed at ordinary rates.

            Example 1: Dan King bought a rare U.S. coin for $1,000 and sold it 11 months later for $1,300. Dan’s $300 gain was short-term, so he owes tax at his ordinary rate, 15% in this example.

            Dan bought another coin at the same price at the same time; he sold that coin for a $300 gain as well. This coin, though, was sold 13 months after Dan’s purchase. Because the holding period was over one year, Dan reports the $300 as a long-term capital gain.

            Normally, a long-term capital gain is taxed at a 0% rate by taxpayers in the 15% tax bracket, such as Dan. That would be the case, for example, if Dan had a $300 long-term gain on a stock sale. A long-term collectibles gain, though, doesn’t qualify for the 0% rate. Thus, Dan will owe 15% in tax on this $300 gain ($45) from the second coin sale, just as he does on the first (short-term) coin sale.

            Similarly, taxpayers in the next higher tax brackets (25% and 28%) also owe tax at their ordinary rate on long-term gains from collectibles. Taxpayers in higher brackets (33%, 35% and 39.6%) do get some tax break from long-term gains on collectibles because the rate does not exceed 28%.

            Example 2: Emily Larsen has taxable income over $500,000, so she is in the top 39.6% tax bracket this year. She sells a painting for a $20,000 gain after holding the artwork for several years. On long-term gains from a stock, Emily would owe tax at the special 20% rate. However, Emily doesn’t qualify for the 20% tax rate on the sale of the painting because it is a collectible. Emily’s tax rate is higher than 28%, so she will owe the maximum 28% rate on her $20,000 long-term collectibles gain: $5,600 in tax.

Personal use

                                                                             

If you plan to sell collectibles at a loss, be aware that the tax code still works against you. If you sell collectibles for which you had “personal use,” you can’t claim a capital loss, and selling collectibles for which you had personal use at a profit will still result in a taxable capital gain.

      Personal use will depend upon specific circumstances. Hanging a painting on the wall of your home might be considered personal use, depriving you of any tax benefit from a loss on a subsequent sale. However, if you regularly buy a specific type of painting, keep some in careful storage when not on display, and maintain careful records of your collection, you might be able to make the case that the artworks were held for investment purposes. Such efforts could result in a capital loss that provides tax benefits. Our office can help you determine if your collectibles may be treated as investment property.

Collecting Net Investment Income Tax

·       Some taxpayers owe a 3.8% surtax, commonly called the net investment income tax, to help finance Medicare.

·       This net investment income tax may be imposed if you report modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $200,000, or over $250,000 on a joint tax return.

·       Your net investment income tax amount will depend on your MAGI and your net investment income.

·       If you owe the net investment income tax, that may effectively increase the tax you owe on sales of collectibles: the maximum tax on a long-term gain could rise from 28% to 31.8%.