With all that has happened in 2020 you may ask if there anything you need to be aware of when filing your taxes for 2020? Is there anything that might be different? The short answer is yes. There are a few items that retirees should be reminded when filing. 1) An IRS extended deadline 2) waived 2020 RMD’s 3) Charitable donation write offs 4) and stimulus checks. Extended Deadline Due to the ongoing pandemic, the IRS has made the decision to extend the 2020 individual tax filing deadline. The deadline is now May 17th 2021. Individuals can also delay federal income tax payments till May 17th 2021 for the 2020 tax year without penalty or interest. The same is true for the NYS tax return. Most other states have matched the federal filing deadline, but if you do not live in NYS, you can use the link here to check with your state tax agency. Waived Required...

One of the many ways we help people save money on taxes is by using a strategy called Tax Lot Optimization or TLO. Tax Lot Optimization is a strategy in which shares are sold in a thoughtful way to reduce or eliminate capital gains when trading in a non-retirement investment account. Investors can save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in the short term when this strategy is used. To get more granular, Tax Lot Optimization is utilized when someone has multiple share lots of the same stock/fund purchased on different dates. For a retiree, this is a very common scenario. For example, if an investor bought shares of a S&P 500 index fund over a period of 30 years, they would have many different purchases dates as well as a different cost basis for each lot of shares. If these shares are held in a taxable account, the investor can...

If you were to ask yourself what you think the greatest risk in retirement was, what would you say? One of the first subjects that might come to mind would be the risk of your retirement investments losing value.  You aren’t alone! According to a recent study done by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College1, the greatest fear that most pre-retirees collectively have is market risk. Why? Because the market can be turbulent at times and that can spark fear -- fear that seems to be more important than anything else. The same study found that most pre-retirees ranked their retirement fears from greatest to least as indicated below: Market risk (investment loss) Longevity risk (outliving your nest egg) Health risk (unplanned health costs) Family risk (unplanned costs in relation to health of family members) Policy risk (Social security benefit cut) Clearly, all of these risks are valid, but...

At Level Financial Advisors, one of our primary goals is to create efficient and valuable communication between you and your planning team. That is why we strive to implement a seamless software interface that you a can interact with on your computer, tablet, or mobile phone. Here is a brief review of the 4 Key Tools available to our clients as part of our technology stack: 1 - Client portal – The connection hub between you and your advisor What can it do? Review your portfolio allocation and performance. Review your required minimum distribution amount and what’s remaining for the year. Download portfolio reports such as performance and beneficiary statements. Review your retirement plan through MoneyGuide. Schedule a meeting with your advisor through Calendly. Retrieve Schwab custodial statements and tax reports. Download your Quarterly Reports. Link your Sharefile account to retrieve documents with one login (see below). Aggregate your “held-away” assets that are...

What’s new with taxes? Due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak, the IRS has made the decision to extend the 2019 tax filing deadline from April 15th 2020 to July 15th 2020. This move gives all taxpayers, regardless of their status or if they owe money, three months longer to file. Tax payments that were due on April 15th 2020 can also be deferred to July 15th 2020 without incurring interest or penalty. Keep in mind that the extension applies to Federal tax filing/payments. When it comes to filing or paying your state taxes, they might have a different deadline. There is some good news for those who live in New York; state officials have said the deadline will be extended to match the Federal deadline of July 15th. Who does this apply to? This applies to any individuals, trusts, associations, companies, estates, or corporations that file within the U.S. Should you wait to file? The answer...

As the IRS does every year, all the tax brackets are increasing by the annual inflation amount. This is beneficial because it gives the consumer the ability to keep up with the rising cost of living. But don’t worry, it’s really just a regular IRS tax adjustment and not any major overhaul like we had a few years ago. 2020 Tax Brackets for Single Tax Payers Taxable Income Tax Rate $0 - $9,875 10% $9,875 - $40,125 12% $40,125 - $85,525 22% $85,525 - $163,300 24% $163,300 - $207,350 32% $207,350 - $518,400 35% $518,400+ 37% 2020 Tax Brackets for Married Filing Jointly Taxable Income Tax Rate $0 - $19,750 10% $19,750 - $80,250 12% $80,250 - $171,050 22% $171,050 - $326,600 24% $326,600 - $414,700 32% $414,700 - $622,050 35% $622,050+ 37% Head of Household 2020 Tax Brackets Taxable income Tax Rate $0-$14,100 10% $14,100-$53,700 12% $53,700-$85,500 22% $85,500-$163,300 24% $163,300-$207,350 32% $207,350-$518,400 35% $518,400+ 37% Married Filing Separately 2020 Tax Brackets Taxable Income Marginal Tax Rate: $0-$9,875 10% $9,875-$40,125 12% $40,125-$85,525 22% $85,525-$163,300 24% $163,300-$207,350 32% $207,350-$311,025 35% $311,025+ 37% Standard Deduction: The standard deduction is an amount you can deduct from your total taxable income for the tax filing year. The standard deduction has increased in 2020 to the following limits: Single or married filing separately: $12,400 Married...