When Can I Access Money in My Roth IRA?
Roth IRAs have some interesting provisions that make them a little more liquid than other retirement accounts. Roth IRAs contain after-tax contributions that actually remain accessible to you at any time, without tax or penalty. The stipulations on withdrawals are only concerned with earnings in the account, not the principal amount. In order to withdraw earnings without paying a 10% penalty and income taxes, you must be at least 59½ and five years must have passed since you first began contributing. Continue reading...
Can I Take a Loan From my Cash-Balance Plan?
The IRS permits such loans, but it is rare to find a plan that allows it. In the vast majority of cases, you cannot. Though the IRS permits it, the administrative burden of a defined benefit plan is already significant for an employer, and it is much more likely that they will not make a provision for loans in the plan document. As far as the IRS is concerned, generally speaking, these plans have the same rules as other qualified plans. If a small partnership or LLC with a cash balance plan wants to put loan provisions into their plan document, they can do it. Continue reading...
What will Long-Term Care Insurance Cover?
Long-term care insurance is designed to pay benefits for the elderly in need of daily medical services, such as an at-home nurse, room and board in an assisted living facility, adult daycare, respite care, hospice care, and/or medical supplies needed for daily living. Depending on the insurance company offering the services and the policy selected, the menu of benefits will vary. The more benefits offered the higher the premium for the policy. Continue reading...
What is the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP)?
In 2009 the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) commissioned the HARP program to help Americans upside-down on mortgages to get approved for mortgage refinancing. This is only available to people whose mortgages are already owned by Freddie Mae and Freddie Mac. Many Americans find themselves upside-down, or underwater, on their home mortgages, particularly after the housing bubble popped in 2008. To be underwater means that there is more owed on the loan than the home can serve as collateral for. Continue reading...
What is Form 4563: Exclusion of Income for Bona-Fide Residents of American Samoa?
IRS Link to Form — Found Here Residents of US Territories will sometimes have to file their taxes with their resident territory as well as the US Department of Revenue. For those who are bona-fide citizens, they are more likely to be able to exclude their income from US taxation. Bona-fide residency of a territory is most easily defined by the 183-day rule: if the person is physically present and living in the territory for 183 days out of the year, he or she is a bona-fide resident of the territory (in most cases). Beginning or ending bona-fide residency requires form 8898. American Samoa is the only place that can exercise the “possession exclusion,” as defined in IRC Section 931. Continue reading...
What is market disequilibrium?
Market Disequilibrium occurs when market and external forces combine to unbalance a market, creating inefficiency in the market in the process. A disequilibrium produces what’s called a “deadweight loss,” “welfare loss,” “excess burden,” or “allocative inefficiency.” As described by efficient market theory, the price fluctuations we see in market behavior are the market trying to find its truly efficient price and quantity – the theoretical point of equilibrium. Investors attempt to locate it using moving averages and other means of technical analysis. Continue reading...
What is Appraisal?
Appraisal is a valuation conducted by a certified professional to assess the value of property, especially real estate. Appraisals are an important service in the real estate industry in particular. Where mortgage loans are being taken out from banks, including original mortgages, refinancing, home equity loans and lines of credit, as well as in business and estate valuations, the property appraisal will play an important role. Continue reading...
What is a Market Order?
A market order is an order to execute a trade (buy or sell) immediately at whatever the current market price. If an investor places a market order after hours, for instance, the order will be filled at the market’s open wherever the price of the security is. Placing a market order, also known as an “unrestricted order,” means the person trading the security is more concerned with timely execution of the trade than they are the actual price. If a market order is placed for a security that has very high volumes and is a common stock, the market order is likely to be filled right away. Continue reading...
What is a Fixed Income Security?
A fixed income security is one designed to pay interest/coupon payments on a predetermined basis, or a fixed schedule. Fixed income securities are often used by late stage retirees who need safe, reliable income streams. Fixed income securities still have risk, such as interest rate risk where if interest rates rise the price of a fixed income security can fall. Examples of fixed income securities are U.S. Treasuries, municipal bonds, or CDs. Because fixed income products carry relatively low risk, it generally translates into relatively lower returns. Continue reading...
What is an "Ex-Dividend"?
Ex-Dividend is a classification on a stock that indicates the dividend payable is to the seller of the stock, not the buyer. If a stock is sold on the ex-date or after, the seller will receive the dividend payment. More articles about Dividends — Found Here Continue reading...