Today’s column addresses questions about divorcing and remarrying after 60 to allow survivor’s benefits from a previous marriage, temporarily avoiding the deeming provision even if you were born after 1/1/1954 and how Social Security uses earnings histories to calculate benefit amounts. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and
Taxes
Is the IRS broken? It depends on whom you ask. Yesterday Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen tweeted “It’s a stunning achievement. In the midst of a crisis, the IRS has put on a masterclass in implementation and how the machinery of government should work.” The pushback from tax industry professionals was immediate and vehement. Brian Streig,
It may be time to get a professional haircut and take your working clothes to the dry cleaner (while being sure they fit over any “pandemic pudge” you may have gained.) Although companies will allow more home-based work than before the pandemic, there’s evidence that office work is on the way back, and could be
Senate procedures, particularly those for budget reconciliation, mold the tax laws that are created or altered in that process in critical ways. Most recently, the reconciliation process prompted revision of the monthly distribution plans for the child tax credit, resulting in its being changed — at least statutorily — from a monthly benefit into a periodic
Today’s column addresses questions about when to apply to make sure you’ll receive all of the delayed retirement credits (DRCs) you earned by delaying until 70, eligibility for child disability benefits on a second parent’s record and potential options to increase benefit amounts. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the
The first round of aid for state and local governments is set to go out next week, but with no guidance yet on the spending rules, leaders are becoming increasingly frustrated. The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) included $350 billion in direct aid to states and localities and the law requires the U.S. Department of
In his American Families Plan, President Biden unveiled a tax compliance initiative aimed at closing the gap between taxes that are owed and what are paid. Most of the anticipated revenue, which the Administration estimated at $460 billion over 10 years, would come from requiring financial institutions to report account information that Treasury says would
The House Ways & Means Committee is once again tinkering with the law that requires retirees to take minimum distributions from their individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and 401(k)s. Each time, Congress eases the required minimum distribution (RMD) rules at great cost to the federal government. Yet the beneficiaries would overwhelmingly be wealthy retirees and their
If you live in California, you likely know it is one of the highest-taxed states when it comes to income taxes; there is some good news for those worried about estate taxes. California is part of the 38 states that don’t impose their own estate tax. Keep in mind; this does not necessarily mean that
Today’s column addresses questions about potential effects of retiring from work four years before filing for a retirement benefit, filing for retirement benefits before spousal benefits and transferring conserved benefits to a capable beneficiary. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc, which