Taxes

On 12/02/2025 the IRS issued Notice 2025-68 which is a notice of intent to issue regulations with respect to section 530A Trump accounts that will become active no sooner than July 4, 2026, one year after the signing of the legislation  commonly referred to as OBBBA. Thus the IRS is in the very early stages of the writing of the tax rules as this 44 page notice is not proposed regulations or final regulations but largely a question and answer format of IRS preliminary thinking and intent to propose regulations providing guidance.

WHERE YOU PUT your investments can make a huge difference for your after-tax wealth. 
As you know, we have 3 main investment accounts:

Taxable account. A traditional brokerage account where you are taxed every time you dividends or sell investments at a gain.
Tax deferred account. Traditional 401(k), 403(b), and traditional IRAs allow taxes to be deferred to the future. You pay taxes when your investments are withdrawn, and generally come with an immediate tax deduction.

A new bill was introduced on 11/20 in Congress to amend some HSA rules. It still has to go through the Ways and Means, House and Senate.
I doubt it will get through this year, but it’s good to be aware of potential changes.
If enacted, all the changes would go effective after December 31, 2025, but it’s very unlikely.
In particular, there are 2 main proposals:
> Income limits
> 2 Year rule
Currently, there is no income limitation to contribute to an HSA.

Today, 11/24/2025, I logged into mysocialsecurity.gov account. On the Benefit Verification Letter tab I found my December 2025 benefit amount that will be paid in January 2026. There was currently no indication of my 2026 SS benefit on the main SSA splash page. The gross amount for 2026 was equal to my 2025 gross amount plus the announced 2.8%  COLA as rounded down to the whole dollar. My 2026 Medicare Part B premium deduction was the standard $202.90 per month as previously publicly announced.

SECTION 415(D) OF the IRC requires the Secretary of the Treasury (IRS) to annually adjust limitations for cost-of-living increases. So, let’s dive into some of the changes:
 
401(k), 403(b), and Most 457 Plans:

For 2026, the 401(k)/403(b)/457(b) amount you can contribute is increasing from $23,500 to $24,500. If you are in a 24% marginal tax rate, that’s an additional $240 of federal taxes you can defer. If you are over age 50, the catch-up contributions are also increasing by $500,

MANY PEOPLE ARE familiar with tax loss harvesting, where you sell a losing security/ETF and rebuy a similar, not identical, security/ETF.
But often we don’t really think about the opposite side of the coin: sell a winning security/ETF and rebuy the exact same, or a different, security/ETF.
That strategy is called tax gain harvesting, and because it’s a gain, the wash sale rule doesn’t apply.
 
Execution
Long-term capital gains can be taxed at 0% depending on your income.

Here in the UK, there’s an ongoing, large-scale auto loan scandal involving discretionary commission arrangements—where car dealers secretly earned higher commissions by steering customers into more expensive loans. A recent court ruling has ordered loan providers to potentially compensate millions of people who took out car finance over the last 18 years. The news has barely hit the headlines, but the vultures are already circling.
So far, I’ve had unsolicited emails from three different claims handling businesses.

Jerry’s post reminded me of something I’ve been wondering about. We both hit 65 this year and started Medicare. We pay a hefty IRMAA up charge because it’s based on our 2023 income, when we were both working.
I retired in July. Though I’m drawing pension income, my gross income has obviously dropped. However, between my pensions, my husband’s pension, and his current salary, I’m guessing that filing for a change in status reconsideration wouldn’t adjust the big picture.

My wife passed away in June. Our 2024 MFJ tax return was in the first IRMAA premium tier. The 2024 tax return will be the basis for my SS Part B fee including the IRMAA premium. My wife’s only income was SS and my projected 2026 MAGI will be reduced because of this. However, the main reason we were in the IRMAA Premium tier was that I did a $106k Roth conversion from my TIRA. How will this be dealt with now that I will be a single tax payer in 2026?

I have a question for my fellow humble members of this Forum.
I’ve often heard financial professionals discourage borrowing from a 401(k) plan, citing what they call a “double taxation” issue. The claim goes like this: when you repay your 401(k) loan, you use after-tax money, and then later, when you withdraw funds from your 401(k) in retirement, you’ll pay taxes again on that same money. Therefore, they say, you’re taxed twice.
While there are many valid pros and cons to taking a 401(k) loan,

The projected IRMAA premiums for 2026 start at $109,000 for a single person and $218,000 for married filing jointly.
The median household income in the US is about $83,730 (2024). And many workers pay far more for health insurance than any Medicare premium. 
The median household income for those age 65 and older is around $56,680 with significant variations by race and ethnicity- several much lower – roughly a quarter of the IRMAA threshold.
And yet,

MOST PEOPLE THINK their retirement accounts are completely locked until age 59½ due to the 10% early withdrawal penalty, but that’s not really true. There are many ways to access your money earlier without the penalty, and knowing them can give you flexibility. Of course, you shouldn’t be touching your retirement accounts unless you’re ready to retire.
Here are some distributions that are not subject to the 10% penalty, per the IRS list:

Birth or adoption (up to $5,000 per child)
Series of substantially equal payments (72t)
First-time homebuyer (up to $10,000,

I received an email from my previous employer a few weeks ago. I’ll paraphrase: “Ooops. When we processed your last paycheck in June, we failed to deduct your elected contributions to your 403B and 457 accounts.”
Now, I knew this because my final paycheck was quite a bit larger than I’d expected, but I thought I’d just misunderstood how the dates worked. (I separated from my employer on June 28, retired on July 1, and my final paycheck,

WHEN MOST PEOPLE think of Roth IRAs or Roth 401(k)s, they just think “tax-free withdrawals.” But that’s only part of the story.
Roth accounts can protect you from financial traps that catch many retirees off guard. Here are five key advantages to keep in mind:
 
1. Tax Rate Protection
One thing we can’t control is future tax rates.
Did you know that in the 1980s, the highest federal tax rate was 50%?

Heads-Up – I received a notice this morning letting me know to use the 2025 TurboTax desktop software will require Windows 11, released in 2021.  Windows 10 or earlier will need to be upgraded to Windows 11.  You can check whether your PC is compatible by running a PC Health Check, find in your PC settings or do a Google search.  (Looks like I’ll be purchasing a new computer as mine isn’t compatible with Windows 11.)
I’ve been using TurboTax for years to both file my taxes and plan for capital gains and other variables.