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What is a Lump-Sum Distribution from a 401(k)?
Lump sum distributions are when the entire balance of an account is paid out at once. After you retire, you can elect to receive your money in a lump sum. Of course, you will end up paying income taxes on the entire distributed amount that year. There is also what’s called the mandatory 20% withholding, which requires custodians to withhold 20% from retirement plan distributions if they are not part of a trustee-to-trustee transfer (such as funding an IRA). Continue reading...
What is IRS Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax?
IRS Link to Publication — Found Here This IRS guide gives taxpayers and businesses an idea of how to calculate the appropriate amount of withholding to do and how to continually estimate tax rate on an ongoing basis for an entire year. It is about 60 pages long and touches on many issues related to tax withholding. Tax withholding applies to payroll needs, self-employed reporting, as well as some retirement planning applications, among other things. Continue reading...
What are Periodic Distributions from a 401(k)?
Periodic distribution is a planned intermittent payment of cash from a 401(k). If you choose to have your money distributed periodically, you will usually have a choice between monthly, quarterly, or even annual payments. Money distributed periodically is not subject to the same 20% withholding the lump-sum payment is. The periodic payments are treated as wages, and, because plan participants taking these payments in retirement may find it easy to calculate what their income will be for the year, they can instead plan for their actual tax bracket, or opt-out of withholding if they prefer. Continue reading...
What are ICOs?
ICO is an acronym for Initial Coin Offering, and it is the primary way that new companies can use blockchains to raise capital. Many entrepreneurs have gotten their start in the last decade through crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter, where anyone can contribute funds to help an idea get off the ground. Obviously, such funding methods were bound to reach new heights when peer-to-peer blockchains came onto the scene. Blockchains allow transfers of value anywhere in the world without regulatory... Continue reading...
Why do ICOs Matter to Ethereum and Bitcoin?
ICOs can help the market and developers test the waters for new concepts using blockchain technology. When a new idea succeeds or fails after using an ICO, it could be said that the company had made use of every advantage at its disposal and that it had the best chance at success in that environment as it could have had anywhere else. It could have done so more cheaply, and with less interference, than in the “real world,” generally speaking. Continue reading...
What is Income Tax?
Income tax is paid to the government based on the amount of income earned. There are federal income taxes, and some states have their own income taxes, too. As an employee for a company, income taxes will be withheld from paychecks using the company’s best estimation of your annual earnings. At the end of the year it may turn out that they withheld too much, and the government may give you a tax refund for what was overpaid. Continue reading...
What is Income Tax Payable?
Income Tax Payable is an account on a company’s ledger where they reserve amounts that will be used to pay the tax liability in the current quarter or year. This account tends to be separate from payroll taxes and sales taxes. This account will typically be empty at the end of the fiscal year. Corporations must pay income taxes based on their gross income, and the funds to pay them are held in the Income Tax Payable account on their company ledger. Continue reading...
What is Form 1099-MISC?
IRS Link to Form — Found Here The 1099-MISC form is filed by the payer, which is the business (whether for-profit or not-for-profit) making the distributions or payments to an individual who is operating in a non-employee capacity as independent contractor. This form is also used to report rental income, royalties, and Indian gaming profits. Independent contractors are often used by businesses for various kinds of labor. These arrangements might be temporary or long-standing, but the business and worker have agreed that the contractor is not an employee, and does not have employee benefits. Continue reading...
What is Tokenization?
Tokenization is a concept that can take several forms, but essentially it means to create a tradeable item which holds value anchored in an asset which is not itself readily tradeable. If something of value is not easily traded, it is natural that a token is created which represents part or all of such value, which can then be held until redemption or circulated as currency. Historically, some things, such as hours of labor, could not easily be accounted for without a physical token. Continue reading...
How Do You Use Ethereum?
When most people ask this question they are actually asking how to use Ether, the main currency of the Ethereum platform. But the Ethereum platform can be used in many ways as well. Ethereum is a platform that can be used by developers to create decentralized applications (dapps), tokens/cryptocurrencies, and basically anything else that can be programmed. It was the front-runner of the race to develop what is sometimes called Crypto 2.0: blockchain technologies that go well beyond singular usage as digital currency and instead reach and revolutionize every aspect of digital technology in the world today. People can and do use Ether, the primary currency of the Ethereum system, to make transactions like a currency, or as an investment. Continue reading...
How Does Ethereum Work?
Ethereum uses a blockchain that looks very similar to Bitcoin’s until you get into the details. Ethereum is a platform on which transactions can be made using Ether or other tokens which have been made using the protocol, and smart contracts and decentralized applications (Ðapps) can be executed using the distributed computing power of what’s called the Ethereum Virtual Machine. When viewed from different angles, Ethereum is an open-source coding environment, a market upon which to distribute new blockchain-based applications, and a distributed computing machine that processes functions of the blockchain applications across a broad network. Distributed computing itself is not that new, but distributed computing on a blockchain is. Continue reading...
What is Ether?
Ether is the currency that powers the Ethereum network, which is a platform of distributed blockchain computing on which transactions, smart contracts, and distributed applications operate. Ethereum is a blockchain code environment through which distributed applications, smart contracts, and financial transactions using the Ethereum protocol are tested, validated, and added to distributed ledgers by the mining computers acting as nodes in the network. Ether is the currency, or token, in the Ethereum world which is used to pay the miners and transaction fees which are specific to its blockchain. Continue reading...
What is naked shorting?
In a regular short sale transaction, the seller would locate and borrow the security being sold before the sale. Naked shorting means that the seller has not located or secured the security being short sold, and is in many cases illegal. Naked shorting is illegal because it accompanies an extreme likelihood that the security sold short will be FTD (Fail to Deliver) within the settlement period. Naked shorting is selling something that you do not have, without confirming that you can get the security to deliver, or even that the security exists. Naked short selling has a long history. Continue reading...
What is foreign aid?
Wealthy countries and non-government organizations frequently donate or lend resources to help the population of a country in dire economic need. This can come in the form of educational assistance, funds, materials, construction, food, medicine, and so on. On a macroeconomic scale, foreign aid constitutes one of the major forms of asset transfer between different parts of the world. Governments, charitable organizations, and NGOs donate or lend resources to countries that cannot supply their own needs effectively. Aid can be given altruistically, that is, just for the sake of doing good deeds, or it can be used as a tool for influence or personal gain, which is common. Continue reading...
What is Mortgage Insurance?
Mortgage insurance may refer to a few kinds of insurance that protects the lender in a mortgage loan. It might be mortgage life insurance, mortgage title insurance, private mortgage insurance (PMI), or another form of protection. Usually the borrower will pay the premiums for such insurances. Mortgage insurance protects the bank or lending institution from various risks that might prevent them from being repaid for their loan. This might include the risk that a borrower will default on payments or that the borrower might die. Continue reading...
Is the 80-20 Rule the Key to Efficiency? Exploring the Pareto Principle
Unlock the power of the 80-20 Rule. Dive deep into the Pareto Principle and discover how focusing on just 20% can drive 80% of your results. Is this the key to unparalleled efficiency? Let's explore. Continue reading...
Is the 50/30/20 Budget Rule the Key to Financial Success?
The 50/30/20 budget rule, championed by Senator Elizabeth Warren, has gained popularity as a straightforward and effective approach to managing personal finances. This rule offers a clear blueprint for budgeting, helping individuals allocate their after-tax income into three distinct categories: needs, wants, and savings. But does this budgeting strategy hold the key to financial success? Let's explore the 50/30/20 rule in detail and its potential benefits. Continue reading...
What is Dividend Enhanced Convertible Stock (DECS)?
This is a type of automatically convertible security that comes in the form of preferred stock shares, which function basically like bonds, that experience a mandatory conversion to common stock at some point. The dividend enhancement is a higher yield payout than other share classes are offered, to compensate the investor for the lack of control he or she has, since the shares will be converted at a predetermined time by the company. Mandatory convertible shares will offer a higher yield than their counterparts, but it will only last as long as the issuing company has determined. Continue reading...
How Does Pareto Analysis Harness the 80-20 Rule to Impact Decision Making?
Unlock the power of the 80-20 rule with Pareto Analysis! Dive into this transformative decision-making tool and discover how to pinpoint key challenges, allocate resources wisely, and drive unparalleled business growth. Ready to master the art of prioritization? Continue reading...
What is Publication 515, Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities?
IRS Link to Publication — Found Here Publication 515 serves as a guide for employers with regards to the tax withholding requirements for nonresident alien employees. It also addresses income being paid to foreign corporations and partnerships, foreign trusts and estates, and foreign governments and international organizations. Income paid by companies to employees who are not US residents will have to follow regulations including withholding and filing requirements outlines in this Publication and the referenced forms. Continue reading...