Kitces | Nerd's Eye View - MailBag

MailBag: How To Get Started On Twitter As A Busy Financial Planner

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 06:03:00 -0500

Many readers of this blog contact me directly with questions and comments. While often the responses are very specific to a particular circumstance, occasionally the subject matter is general enough that it might be of interest to others as well. Accordingly, I will occasionally post a new "MailBag" article, presenting the question or comment (on a strictly anonymous basis!) and my response, in the hopes that the discussion may be useful food for thought.

In this week's MailBag, we look at a question about how to get started using Twitter (and other social media) as a busy financial planner. What are the tools for efficiency, and what are the tips and tricks to get started easily?

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MailBag: The Impact Of The Phaseout Of Itemized Deductions (Pease Limitation) On AMT Exposure

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 06:04:00 -0600

In this week's MailBag, we look at a question about the interplay between the phaseout of itemized deductions for high income individuals (the so-called "Pease limitation") and potential exposure to the AMT.

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MailBag: Is A Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) From An IRA Better Than Donating Appreciated Securities?

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 06:10:00 -0600

In this week's MailBag, we look at a recent inquiry regarding whether it's still a good deal to donate appreciated securities to a charity, now that the rules are back allowing Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) directly from an IRA to a charity.

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MailBag: What Are The Implications Of A Uniform Fiduciary Standard To Advisors And Consumers?

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 06:03:00 -0600

In this week's MailBag, we look at a recent inquiry regarding the proposed changes to the fiduciary standard, and whether the implementation of a uniform fiduciary standard that applies equally to all types of advisors could help or hurt investment advisers and the public.

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MailBag: 0.9% Medicare Tax Withholding From Nonqualified Deferred Compensation And Separating Twitter Accounts For Personal And Business Use

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 07:04:00 -0600

In this week's mailbag, we look at two recent inquiries: 1) what is the treatment of nonqualified deferred compensation for the purposes of the new 0.9% Medicare earned income tax starting in 2013; and 2) should you have separate Twitter accounts for your advisory firm and yourself personally, or just do everything personal and business from one account?

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MailBag: Hostess Pension Shortfall And The PBGC, And The Cost Basis And Tax Treatment Of MLPs

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 06:06:00 -0600

In this week's mailbag, we look at two recent inquiries: 1) was there anything illegal in what Hostess did in stopping its pension plan contributions and leaving a huge shortfall, and how shaky is the PBGC; and 2) how do you calculate cost basis for a Master Limited Partnership (MLP) as distributions are received, and what is the tax treatment of gains when the MLP is later sold?

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MailBag: Solo 401(k) Contributions For S Corps And End-Of-Year Rebalancing To Harvest Capital Gains

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 13:34:00 -0600

In this week's mailbag, we look at two recent inquiries: 1) when do employee "salary deferral" contributions have to be made for a solo 401(k) where the business is an S corporation; and 2) is it a good idea to split end-of-year rebalancing trades to trigger the gains this year but the losses next year (even if it means you're out of the markets for a few days).

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MailBag: Roth IRA Conversions With Higher Tax Rates And Hybrid Life/LTC Insurance Policies

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 06:03:00 -0600

In this week's mailbag, we look at two recent inquiries: 1) whether or not it's a good plan to do a significant Roth IRA conversion if your client has a high conviction that tax rates are going up in the future (and/or what the downside risks of the strategy are); and 2) what is and isn't guaranteed if you purchase one of the new hybrid life/LTC insurance policies, and the potential risks of owning such policies.

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MailBag: Problems With RMD Method For Retirement Income And 1031 Exchanges To Avoid New Medicare 3.8% Tax

nospam@example.com (Michael Kitces) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 06:03:00 -0600

In this week's mailbag, we look at two recent inquiries: 1) whether or not it's a good deal to use 1031 real estate exchanges to avoid the new 3.8% Medicare surtax on investment income that begins in 2013; and 2) some thoughts on the recent Center for Retirement Research brief about using the RMD method as a retirement income/withdrawal strategy.

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