I know in the US you don’t have to file your tax return until mid April. Here in the UK the filing date has just passed at the end of January. I’m always amazed by the sheer number of people who fail to meet the filing deadline, as if it somehow sneaks up on them despite being the same date every single year. Last year, even with reasonable extensions, it was close to 10% of the population who ended up getting hit with late fines.

A couple years ago I wrote a check to the IRS  for a tax payment with more than enough funds in my account to cover it.     The bank rejected the payment.  I went to the bank and they told me that the IRS was the one who rejected payment, not them.  Called the IRS a number of times as well as wrote them with all the relevant bank statements.  They said the bank denied payment.

Financial institutions frequently offer bonuses in exchange for transferring substantial amounts to new or existing accounts. I’ve taken advantage of these a couple of times at Schwab.
There’s a current promo at Marcus by Goldman Sachs, where I already have a savings account, which I’m seriously considering. It offers $1500 for $100,000 in new money , $750 for $50,000, and $100 for $10,000. In addition, the funds only have to remain there for 90 days after the initial funding period.

HD contains numerous articles and comments about taxes, many of which talk about avoiding or minimizing those taxes. There are some like FICA that are certain. But income taxes are far more complicated and I guess you could say flexible.
I have the impression that Americans are unique in complaining about taxes, in part because they don’t see the connection between taxes and what they provide, at least not as much as many Europeans do. 
The United States is not a high tax country,

Just a short update on Trump Accounts.   https://trumpaccounts.gov/
Myself, I wish they had named these “Ben Franklin” accounts, in honor of the first American, the Favorite Founder. 200+ years ago, Ben showed us how to do super long term investing.
Read: M. Meyer, Benjamin Franklin’s Last Bet, The Favorite Founder’s Divisive Death, Enduring Afterlife, and Blueprint for American Prosperity, 2022, Harper Collins
Beyond Ben
Not only will you want to investigate this opportunity. You will also want to prompt your employer to consider adding Trump Accounts to your employer’s IRC 125 cafeteria plan (pre-tax contributions for health and welfare benefits –

LISTEN TO THE financial news, and you’ll often hear reference to “the VIX.” But what exactly is the VIX, and how important is it?
The VIX index is intended to be a measure of investor sentiment. For that reason, it’s often referred to as the market’s “fear gauge.” How can investor sentiment be measured? While the math is complex, it’s based on a straightforward principle: When investors get nervous, they look for ways to protect their portfolios and are sometimes even willing to pay for that protection.

MANY PEOPLE don’t know, but there is a net investment income tax of 3.8% that applies to some of your income. Today, I want to discuss what it is, how we can reduce its impact, and how we can save money.
Let’s dive right in:
Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT)
The net investment income tax is imposed on investment income if the modified adjusted gross income (adjusted gross income + foreign income exclusion) is more than $200,000 for single filers or $250,000 for those married filing jointly.

Gold fever seems to be everywhere at the moment. My grandson asked me the other day, “Do you own any gold, Pops?”
I said no and asked why he was curious. Apparently, even ten-year-olds know that gold is having quite a run. Pushing through the $5,000 mark had captured his imagination.
There’s something amusing about being financially questioned by a ten-year-old who only recently discovered the tooth fairy isn’t real. I’ve been investing for decades, and I’m getting the third degree from a kid whose worldly wealth consists entirely of football cards and a bag of loose change.

We could just ship a pallet full of the things that Chrissy’s niece, Liz, had stored in her mother’s basement before she passed. But doing that would spoil the fun of renting a minivan, loading it up, and driving from Ohio to Los Angeles to spend some quality time with Liz. I also have a couple old friends in LA that I would love to see. 
I thought that I might put my rudimentary knowledge of AI to use in planning the trip. 

Here’s a link to a youtube video below between Ben Carlson & Mike Piper discussing the topic of Soc Sec going bankrupt. For those who may not recognize the names, Carlson is part of Ritholz Wealth mgt and author of “A Wealth of Common Sense” email blog. Mike Piper is a CPA, author of the “Oblivious Investor” email blog and creator of the Open Social Security calculator (https://opensocialsecurity.com/).  Here’s the url to their

The Trump administration plans to increase payments to next year’s Medicare Advantage plans by less than 0.1% on average — far below what the industry had expected.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, also proposed to restrict further how insurers can code the illnesses of their Medicare Advantage enrollees.
These moves are probably necessary given MA costs Medicare more than traditional coverage as opposed to the planned savings.
HOWEVER, retirees using MA may be in for a shock.

I paid the property taxes on my vacation home the other day. That got me thinking about the reality and impact I have on the local area and the ongoing debate around property prices.
I suspected property prices in the small coastal village where I have a vacation home were inflated, partly because of owners like myself buying in the area. But I recently discovered just how bad things have become. The village has the largest disconnect between median wages and median house prices in my entire region: properties cost 11.3 times the median annual wage.

I love a New Year. It’s a great time to evaluate your current situation and make changes as necessary. Here’s what I’ve been up to recently:

1. We adjusted the tax withholding for our Social Security payments. Current withholding options are 0%, 7%, 10%, 12% and 22%. We reduced our withholding from 15% to 7% since our income is lower than when we were working and refunds were getting too large.

2. We opened a new checking account with a $500 sign-up bonus and couldn’t be happier with the improved service.

I recently received an e-mail survey from the Senior Citizens League, a senior advocacy group. Out of curiosity I completed the survey so I could see all the questions. They are all leading questions all focused on getting more for seniors. 
What is not contained in the e-mail is reference to the financial status of Social Security and Medicare, the need to lower costs or increase FICA taxes or both.  As I read it, it is all about me,

The other evening I looked at the clock for the fifth time: 3:26am. I just couldn’t get to sleep. My mind was like a merry-go-round with different payment obligations occupying the funfair horses: wedding dress 1, wedding dress 2, vacation home property tax, a $10,000 down payment for a wedding reception here, an upcoming $6,000 payment for a summer trip there. They all revolved around my mind, and they all had one thing in common—an end of January payment date.