-
Do I Need a Financial Advisor If I Have $5 Million?
Not always. Plenty of people with $5 million manage their own money well. But at $5 million the hard parts are no longer picking investments. They are taxes, Medicare surcharges,…
-
Selling Your Home in Massachusetts: The Real Tax Bill
If you are married, the first $500,000 of gain on your home is tax-free ($250,000 if you are single). Everything…
-
How Do I Diversify a Concentrated Stock Position?
You diversify a concentrated stock position by selling it down on a written schedule while controlling which tax bracket each…
-
Qualified Charitable Distributions: Giving From Your IRA
A qualified charitable distribution (QCD) is a direct transfer from your IRA to a qualified charity that never enters your…
-
The Inherited IRA 10-Year Rule: What Heirs Must Know
If you inherit an IRA from anyone other than your spouse, you almost certainly have to empty the entire account…
-
Tax-Loss Harvesting: Real Benefit or Overhyped?
Tax-loss harvesting is real but badly oversold: banking a capital loss usually does not eliminate tax, it only delays it,…
-
Net Unrealized Appreciation: The 401(k) Tax Break for Stock
Net unrealized appreciation (NUA) is a tax break that lets you pay long-term capital gains rates — instead of ordinary…
-
Should I Leave Massachusetts to Lower My Taxes in Retirement?
For most Massachusetts retirees, leaving the state saves far less than the headlines suggest. The 5% flat income tax is…
-
The Massachusetts Millionaires Tax: What the 4% Surtax Means
Massachusetts charges an extra 4% surtax — the “millionaires tax” — on the portion of your taxable income that exceeds…
-
Medicare IRMAA: The Hidden Tax on Higher-Income Retirees
IRMAA (the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount) is a surcharge Medicare adds to your Part B and Part D premiums once…