by Kristine McKinley | Dec 10, 2006 | Taxes
Q. I am making my first home purchase. Can I take money out of my IRA to help with the down payment? A. Generally, withdrawals from a traditional IRA before the age of 59 ½ are subject to income tax and a 10% penalty. There are several exceptions to the 10% penalty,...
by Kristine McKinley | Oct 5, 2006 | Taxes
Q: How do capital gains taxes work? I want to sell my home, but have only been there for 18 months. How much will I have to pay in capital gains tax? Is two years the shortest time I can stay in my house without having to pay capital gains tax?...
by Kristine McKinley | Sep 21, 2006 | Taxes
If you give money or non-cash donations to charity, you’ll be interested in some of the provisions of the new Pension Protection Act. There are two changes affecting charity: the first is that you are now required to maintain written documents for any cash...
by Kristine McKinley | Sep 13, 2006 | Retirement, Taxes
Recently, someone asked me if they could deduct losses they incurred in their Roth IRA. Here’s my response… You can deduct losses in a Roth IRA, but the rules and treatment are different than you might expect. First, in order to claim a loss in...
by Kristine McKinley | Aug 14, 2006 | Investing, Personal Finance, Retirement, Taxes
Whether you’re switching jobs or retiring completely, chances are you have a 401K or other company sponsored retirement plan that you’ll need to make a decision about. There are several options on how to handle your 401(k) money when you leave a job: Take the...
by Kristine McKinley | Jul 24, 2006 | Investing, Personal Finance, Retirement, Taxes
You may have heard that the new tax law eliminates the $100,000 income limit for Roth conversions beginning in 2010. If you haven’t been able to contribute to a Roth IRA because your income is too high, you now have a back door into the Roth IRA. You...
