A big THANK YOU to all of our local supporters for voting us #1 again in the Wicked Local Readers Choice Awards. This year we have again, won #1 Favorite Accountant in Wrentham and #1 Favorite Financial Planner in Wrentham. We also brought home the Bronze Award for Regional Favorite in the Accountant category. It means a tremendous amount to us that we continue to have this support. So, THANK YOU!
Over the last several months, COVID made clear the fragility of life and how uncertain financial stability can be. In recognition of Life Insurance Awareness month, here are some important reminders to consider.
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Are your beneficiaries updated? |
| Any life changes such as a marriage, divorce, or loss of a loved one may necessitate the need to adjust your beneficiaries. | |
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Did you know… insurance companies typically only offer a 30-day grace period if you’re late on a premium payment? |
| Unfortunately, if someone is going through a health challenge, their premium due dates may get away from them. Offering to track a loved one’s payment schedule may prove to be one of the most valuable things you can do for them and their family. | |
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Is your life insurance policy going to attract state or federal estate taxes? |
| Ownership and beneficiary designations should be reviewed for maximum tax efficiency. | |
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Does your current life insurance policy qualify for a long-term care rider? |
| Many newer, hybrid policies can offer benefits while living or upon death. | |
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Do you have a charitable cause that is important to you? |
| Existing or new life insurance policies can be a tremendous asset to leave to your favorite charities. | |
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If you are a business owner, have your business life insurance policies been reviewed? |
| Businesses are subject to various rules and regulations around corporate owned life insurance policies. If they haven’t been reviewed recently, life insurance awareness month may be a great time to request a review. | |
If any of the above situations have you wondering how you may be affected, please do not hesitate to reach out to the office for a consultation.
While many schools are switching to hybrid or remote learning models, teachers and other educators should remember that they can still deduct certain unreimbursed expenses such as classroom supplies, training, and travel. Deducting these expenses helps reduce the amount of tax owed when filing a tax return.
To qualify for the deduction, the taxpayer must be a kindergarten through grade 12 teacher, instructor, counselor, principal, or aide. They must also work at least 900 hours a school year in a school that provides elementary or secondary education as determined under state law.
Teachers and other educators can also take advantage of various education tax benefits for ongoing educational pursuits such as the Lifetime Learning Credit or, in some instances depending on their circumstances, the American Opportunity Tax Credit.
Educators can deduct up to $250 of unreimbursed business expenses. If both spouses are eligible educators and file a joint return, they may deduct up to $500, but not more than $250 each. The educator expense deduction is available even if an educator doesn’t itemize their deductions. To take advantage of this deduction, the taxpayer must be a kindergarten through grade 12 teacher, instructor, counselor, principal or aide for at least 900 hours during a school year in a school that provides elementary or secondary education as determined under state law.
Those who qualify can deduct costs of books, supplies, computer equipment, and software, classroom equipment, and supplementary materials used in the classroom. Expenses for participation in professional development courses are also deductible. Athletic supplies qualify if used for courses in health or physical education.
Educators should keep detailed records of qualifying expenses noting the date, amount, and purpose of each purchase. This will help prevent a missed deduction at tax time. Taxpayers should also keep a copy of their tax returns for at least three years. Copies of tax returns may be needed for many reasons. A tax transcript summarizes return information and includes adjusted gross income and available free of charge from the IRS.
Don’t hesitate to call if you have any questions about tax deduction available to educators including teachers, administrators, and aides.
The sluggish economy continues to put financial strain on many of us. So it just makes sense to examine our budgets and look for ways to trim the fat from our monthly expenses and put more into savings, if possible.
That’s a great way to help stabilize your finances, but it’s also important that you have a financial safety net in place in case something were to happen to you. Life insurance is one of the few guarantees your family could rely on to maintain their quality of life if you were no longer there to provide for them.
There are 95 million adult Americans without life insurance, according to LIMRA, an insurance industry research group. The fact is, the vast majority of Americans need life insurance and, sadly, most people either have none or not enough. If someone depends on you financially, you need life insurance. It’s that simple.
September is Life Insurance Awareness Month, making it the perfect time to take stock of your life insurance needs. And there are three additional reasons why now is the best time to look into getting life insurance.
You’ll never be younger than you are now. While that may sound obvious, youth is on your side when it comes to life insurance. It makes good financial sense to get coverage when you’re young and healthy, as premiums are based on your age and health. For most policies, your premiums will be locked in at that rate over the life of the policy, and can’t be raised due to a change in your health status.
It’s affordable, with rates near historic lows. People overestimate the cost of life insurance by nearly three times, according to a recent study conducted by LIMRA and the LIFE Foundation, a nonprofit insurance education organization. In fact, life insurance rates remain near historic lows; the cost of basic term life insurance has fallen by nearly 50 percent over the past decade. For example, a healthy 30-year-old can buy a 20-year, $250,000 level-term policy for about $13 per month.
Life happens. One day life is going along smoothly, and the next, you’re thrown a curve ball. No one knows what the future holds. None of us expect to die prematurely, but the truth is roughly 600,000 people die each year in the prime of their lives. That’s why today is always the best day to take care of your life insurance needs.
Life Insurance Awareness Month is the ideal time for a life insurance review. I urge everyone to take a few minutes out of their busy schedules to make sure they have adequate life insurance protection.
Consumers can get a general sense of their life insurance needs by going to www.lifehappens.org/lifecalculator and using the online calculator offered by the LIFE Foundation. The next step should be to contact a local insurance professional, who can conduct a more comprehensive needs analysis and help you find the right products to fit your specific needs and budget.
Held each September, Life Insurance Awareness Month is an industry-wide effort that is coordinated by the nonprofit LIFE Foundation. The campaign was created in response to growing concern about the large number of Americans who lack adequate life insurance protection. Roughly 95 million adult Americans have no life insurance, and most with coverage have less than most insurance experts recommend. For more information on life insurance, visit LIFE’s website at www.lifehappens.org.
Call us at 800-560-4637 and we can help you through the entire life insurance process!
Receiving a tax refund might be the only thing people like about filing their return, and it looks like some taxpayers are getting just a little more money from the Department of Treasury.
The Internal Revenue Service announced last week that it “will send interest payments to about 13.9 million individual taxpayers who timely filed their 2019 federal income tax returns and are receiving refunds.” As with seemingly everything else in 2020, this is a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Federal law requires the IRS issue interest payments to taxpayers who file on time after a disaster postpones the filing deadline. In this case, the obvious culprit is COVID-19 pushing Tax Day back to July 15, 2020. But before people start exchanging socially distanced air high fives, there are a few things they’ll need to know:
The longer it takes for a timely filed tax refund to arrive after the original deadline (April 15, 2020), the more interest the IRS will owe. And since the interest is calculated using the adjusted quarterly rate (compounded daily), that can sometimes result in using a blended rate for refunds that “span quarters.”
Here are the rates specifically cited by the IRS:
Interest payments affected by the blended rate will be calculated using “the number of days falling in each calendar quarter.” Perhaps making it a little easier to report a taxable interest payment, the IRS will send letters containing Form 1099-INT at the beginning of next year.
Taxpayers should generally expect to receive their tax refund interest payment the same way they received their tax refund: “In most cases, taxpayers who received their refund by direct deposit will have their interest payment direct deposited in the same account …. [and] everyone else will receive a check.”
If you have any questions about the amount you received, please do not hesitate to contact the office.
