Search found 94 matches

by egghead
Fri Nov 25, 2022 3:14 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: IRMAA billing before starting SS
Replies: 4
Views: 614

Re: IRMAA billing before starting SS

Thanks for the help! ... Short version is: "Quarterly" payments do not follow the calendar year, but are based on what month you start Medicare. If you have a quarter that crosses into January or February, Medicare does not yet know your IRMAA amount or the Medicare increase for the months in the new year. So you are only billed for current year Part B for January or January/February and your bill in the last "quarter" of the year is smaller. They will add in the increase for the new Part B premium and whatever your IRMAA is on the 1st bill of the new year, so that bill will be higher. The Spring and Summer/Fall quarters will equal your exact Part B plus IRMAA X 3 months. Thanks for your detailed response and that's my s...
by egghead
Fri Nov 25, 2022 1:34 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: IRMAA billing before starting SS
Replies: 4
Views: 614

IRMAA billing before starting SS

I have a question on IRMAA billing. I visited my Social Security webpage today and downloaded “Your 2023 Medicare Premiums.pdf” (dated Nov 23), which shows my Medicare 2023 Part B & D IRMAA charges (included in my premium as of Dec 2022). This is the first year I’ll have IRMAA charges and since I haven’t yet started Social Security, I need to pay my Medicare premiums rather than them being deducted from my SS payments. The Medicare.gov website shows I paid my quarterly premium bill due Nov 25 for the next 3-months and that I have no outstanding payments due, but that bill did not include the additional IRMAA charges. Are the IRMAA charges included in the normal Medicare premium billing process? If so, will Medicare bill me again for the...
by egghead
Sun Oct 30, 2022 12:19 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Bond fund or individual bonds in retirement?
Replies: 157
Views: 12742

Re: Bond fund or individual bonds in retirement?

I’m kind-of using a hybrid approach...
  • To fund my RMDs which I’ll be spending, I’m using a non-rolling TIPS ladder for liability matching.
  • For my remaining bonds (with undefined spending timeline and for occasional rebalancing) I’m using bond funds and let the fund manage the rolling treasury ladder.
by egghead
Sun Oct 30, 2022 9:27 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The 4% Rule Just Became a Whole Lot Easier - Allan Roth
Replies: 409
Views: 76679

Re: The 4% Rule Just Became a Whole Lot Easier - Allan Roth

I’ve experienced a few frustrations over the last several weeks since I started buy individual TIPS on the secondary market. I found the process at Fidelity has generally been very simple and fast, with a large depth of book to select from. A few times after wasting 10-15 minutes trying to buy a particular TIPS maturity (experiencing a few interesting error messages combined with multiple non-filled orders) I just gave up and tried again another day when I had more time available. During those few frustrating times, I remember thinking that trying to buy TIPS on the secondary market at Fidelity must be one of the exceptions to the adage “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”.
by egghead
Fri Sep 16, 2022 7:56 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard Roth conversion restriction on individual treasuries
Replies: 0
Views: 261

Vanguard Roth conversion restriction on individual treasuries

This year I’ve started buying individual treasuries in my Vanguard traditional IRA account.
I started going through the process of a Roth conversion and the Vanguard website showed that the individual treasuries are not eligible for a Roth conversion, unless I convert the entire traditional IRA account.
You can only convert your fixed income holdings if you are converting the entire account.
I wasn’t attempting to convert the individual treasuries, but I thought it was interesting that it’s not even possible to include them in a Vanguard Roth conversion unless I’m converting the entire account.

Is this a Vanguard peculiarity, or is this a common restriction also found at Schwab & Fidelity?
by egghead
Thu Sep 15, 2022 9:44 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Trading Treasuries (nominal and TIPS)
Replies: 4191
Views: 466735

Re: Trading Treasuries (nominal and TIPS)

With the 5-yr TIPS yield approaching 1% I’m planning to start buying longer term individual TIPS on the secondary market, which this thread has been very helpful. Thanks Kevin M & others! A lot of useful information to digest... From reading this thread it looks like it’s best to use the seasonally adjusted yields when comparing different maturities, but the SA yields are not readily available to us; we need to compute them (I haven’t finished reading Kevin M’s other thread on how he calculates SA yields using his spreadsheet after downloading the ask yields). I thought I’ve read that the seasonal adjustment becomes less significant for longer maturity TIPS. Is this correct and we can safely just use the quoted ask yields when comparing...
by egghead
Sat Dec 11, 2021 1:42 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Medicare newbie w/ Medigap Plan G - Part B deductible bill?
Replies: 4
Views: 571

Re: Medicare newbie w/ Medigap Plan G - Part B deductible bill?

Thanks for the very detailed responses. Much appreciated!
by egghead
Sat Dec 11, 2021 12:24 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Medicare newbie w/ Medigap Plan G - Part B deductible bill?
Replies: 4
Views: 571

Medicare newbie w/ Medigap Plan G - Part B deductible bill?

My first year on Medicare. I have Original Medicare, with a Medigap Plan G and separate Part D.
My question is the billing for the Part B deductible (associated with Medigap Plan G). Who sends the bill for the Part B deductible: the Medigap insurance company, Medicare, or the doctor/hospital who provided the service?

I've used several medical services over the last 6 months, but no Part B deductible bill yet...
by egghead
Mon Sep 14, 2020 10:51 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Medicare Part C / SS statement has Part B premium deduction
Replies: 10
Views: 872

Re: Medicare Part C / SS statement has Part B premium deduction

GerryL wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 8:20 pm
egghead wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 7:27 pm Thanks for the responses, much appreciated!
Slowly beginning to understand Medicare better...
Might be worth your while to get a copy of Medicare for Dummies. Great guide for understanding the complexities of this complicated program. What I like most about it is that it doesn't just reprint the text you can find on the official Medicare site. It explains it in different and more understandable language.
Thanks for the book recommendation. I myself need to sign up for Medicare soon, so the book will be very useful.
by egghead
Mon Sep 14, 2020 7:27 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Medicare Part C / SS statement has Part B premium deduction
Replies: 10
Views: 872

Re: Medicare Part C / SS statement has Part B premium deduction

Thanks for the responses, much appreciated!
Slowly beginning to understand Medicare better...
by egghead
Mon Sep 14, 2020 2:59 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Medicare Part C / SS statement has Part B premium deduction
Replies: 10
Views: 872

Medicare Part C / SS statement has Part B premium deduction

I have a question regarding my Dad’s Medicare plan and Social Security statement. My dad is on an AARP United Healthcare Medicare Advantage Part C plan (HMO), in which the Monthly Premium = $0 (their website says because they are one of the largest providers of Medicare coverage, they can offer more benefits than Original Medicare for a $0 monthly premium). However, my Dad’s 2019 SSA-1099 Social Security Benefits Statement includes a deduction of $1,626 for Medicare Part B. Since he is on Medicare Advantage (Part C), I’m trying to figure out which is true: 1. Social Security is incorrectly reducing his SS payments for a Medicare Part B deduction (since he’s on Part C, there should not be a Part B cost), or 2. Social Security is correctly in...
by egghead
Mon Jul 06, 2020 6:38 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Estate planning; Charitable Remainder Unitrust (CRUT)
Replies: 23
Views: 2404

Re: Estate planning; Charitable Remainder Unitrust (CRUT)

Thanks @Allan for the post bump. Lots of great info in all the responses. The best use of a charitable remainder trust is where the asset will produce ordinary income, such as nonqualified deferred compensation that's payable in a lump sum upon death. Along the same lines, a charitable remainder trust works well for IRA benefits payable over 10 years where the beneficiary is young (but at least age 27), assuming that the beneficiary will need distributions, isn't expected to have a taxable estate, is at a low risk of creditors, divorcing spouses or Medicaid, and has enough other assets available for any one-off needs. Very interesting. Never considered such a use case, even though there seems to be a long list of qualifiers. Thanks for list...
by egghead
Sun May 17, 2020 5:10 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Estate planning; Charitable Remainder Unitrust (CRUT)
Replies: 23
Views: 2404

Estate planning; Charitable Remainder Unitrust (CRUT)

I’m currently working on my first estate plan and slowly coming up to speed on various options. For future charity donations I’m considering a few options: add a charity beneficiary to my 401K, future Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD) from RMDs, or create a Charitable Remainder Unitrust (CRUT) for a highly appreciated home when I sell. For background, I’m retired, will start Medicare later this year and several years away from RMDs and SS (plan to delay SS until 70). Trying to come up to speed on CRTs and their pros & cons. It appears that a CRUT could help both meet a charity donation objective, while also maximizing after-tax moneys from a highly-appreciated home sale. I currently live in a HCOL area and my home value has appre...
by egghead
Sat Mar 14, 2020 7:17 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: How much could we theoretically lose?
Replies: 128
Views: 12350

Re: How much could we theoretically lose?

abuss368 wrote: Sat Mar 14, 2020 5:30 pm Plenty of other experts saying this will be contained. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. SARS was more potent and we never saw a panic to this degree. Or bird flu!
I heard that the infectious period for SARS was primarily after a person had symptoms, where this coronavirus is highly infectious before a persons shows any symptoms. That is a huge difference if true...
by egghead
Thu Jan 09, 2020 1:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Ooma Phone Service - I Do NOT Recommend
Replies: 50
Views: 20121

Re: Ooma Phone Service - I Do NOT Recommend

not only is there no way to cancel online, you cannot cancel it over a live chat or email (i tried). i generally don't like calling businesses when i have some issue i need solved, and find it is faster and easier to just fire off an email. Fast forward 3+ years and this thread came up when searching for "cancel ooma account". I'm happy to report that I was able to cancel over a live chat. :D Unfortunately, they no longer allow you to cancel via a live chat (at least that was my experience). The chat response was I had to call an "account specialist" to cancel. Took over 16 minutes between being on hold, being transferred to other account specialists, and listening to their sales pitch. Anyway, hopefully it's actually b...
by egghead
Sat Dec 21, 2019 11:13 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Newly-passed Tax Law and RMDs
Replies: 21
Views: 2664

Re: Newly-passed Tax Law and RMDs

Last month Kitces had an article on the New RMD Life Expectancy Tables.
https://www.kitces.com/blog/irs-propose ... n-in-2021/
by egghead
Sun Jun 09, 2019 9:23 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The Intelligent Investor – Kindle daily deal
Replies: 3
Views: 790

The Intelligent Investor – Kindle daily deal

For those interested, the revised edition of The Intelligent Investor (Benjamin Graham book with updated commentary by Jason Zweig) is one of today’s Kindle daily deals, for $3.99.
by egghead
Thu Jun 06, 2019 5:14 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Applying for credit card in early retirement (before Social Security & IRA withdrawals)
Replies: 2
Views: 476

Applying for credit card in early retirement (before Social Security & IRA withdrawals)

I recently applied for a credit card (a Costco opened near my home, so I joined and applied for their Costco Visa Card by Citi). First time applying for a credit card while in early retirement, and I gave them an estimate of my annual income (which is based on dividends and withdrawals from my taxable account as needed). The credit card application was denied, with the reason given that they couldn’t verify my income (they did however check my credit score, which is excellent). I was just curious, how do those in early retirement without a verifiable monthly income stream apply for a new credit card. Do you need to provide documentation from bank/brokerage showing available funds, or prior years income reported to IRS, or ???? I’m still try...
by egghead
Thu Jan 17, 2019 1:05 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: John Bogle has died at age 89
Replies: 856
Views: 82114

Re: John Bogle has died at age 89

Amazing how one man has affected the lives of so many individual investors in such a positive way. Very grateful for his impact in our lives...
Thank you, Mr. Bogle. RIP
by egghead
Mon Oct 29, 2018 12:34 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Reducing MAGI to qualify for ACA Premium Tax Credit
Replies: 12
Views: 1876

Re: Reducing MAGI to qualify for ACA Premium Tax Credit

OP here, first thanks for all the responses & information, much appreciated!

My MAGI will be over 150% FPL, so I won’t qualify for the Enhanced Silver 94 plan.
It will be difficult to keep MAGI below 250% FPL, so I probably won’t qualify for Cost Sharing Reductions.
I know I can keep MAGI below 400% FPL, so I will be eligible for some Premium Tax Credits.
(will probably have MAGI between 300-400% FPL)

Currently leaning towards Bronze HSA plan for my situation....

Good to hear that the justification process for a reduced MAGI is not a big deal. Thanks for those comments.

Thanks @munemaker for the calculator and other links.
by egghead
Sun Oct 28, 2018 4:21 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Moving positions between taxable, tax-advantaged, & tax-free accounts
Replies: 3
Views: 648

Moving positions between taxable, tax-advantaged, & tax-free accounts

There are times in which we may sell equity positions in one type of account and buy them back (or similar) in another account, to basically keep the same asset allocation. A few examples: The wiki discusses placing cash needs in a tax-advantaged account (to improve tax efficiency), and if you need the cash you can sell equities in the taxable account and with the cash/bonds in the tax-advantage account buy the same equity positions. https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Placing_cash_needs_in_a_tax-advantaged_account In retirement, if your equities are mainly in taxable and your bonds in tax-advantaged, then when you need to raise spending cash, you sell equities in taxable and use bonds in tax-advantaged to buy those equity positions back (assum...
by egghead
Sat Oct 27, 2018 2:15 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Reducing MAGI to qualify for ACA Premium Tax Credit
Replies: 12
Views: 1876

Reducing MAGI to qualify for ACA Premium Tax Credit

I’m considering making some financial changes this year, so that my MAGI for the next 2 years (before Medicare starts) will be low enough to qualify for the ACA Premium Tax Credit. Next year will be my first full year using ACA and trying to qualify for a subsidy, so I have what’s probably a few dumb questions. When selecting an ACA plan on CoveredCA, it looks like you enter your estimated MAGI to determine your eligible subsidy and subsequent reduced monthly premium, and at tax time the IRS will reconcile your actual MAGI with your estimate and you may owe more/less based on your actual MAGI and subsidy. Someone mentioned that if you enter an estimated MAGI which qualifies for a subsidy, and if that estimated MAGI is significantly lower th...
by egghead
Sat Oct 20, 2018 9:06 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Early retirement and use of ACA HDHP/HSA?
Replies: 4
Views: 901

Re: Early retirement and use of ACA HDHP/HSA?

for 60 year old male in washington with 17k of income: Premera Blue Cross PersonalCare Silver Estimated Premium $ 478.68 Estimated price after $645.72 tax credit Out-of-Pocket Maximum $650 Deductible $200 Individual / $400 Family vs Premera Blue Cross PersonalCare Bronze Estimated Premium $ 249.76 Estimated price after $645.72 tax credit Out-of-Pocket Maximum $7,350 Deductible $6,350 Individual / $12,700 Family comparing the two.. for 2747.04 difference in premium, if you think you would use 3000+ in healthcare, picking the silver plan is better. if you don't typically consume healthcare, then yes, potentially the bronze is the way to go. hsa vs non hsa bronze plan, without any details, it is hard to see if there are any gotchas. Thanks fo...
by egghead
Sat Oct 20, 2018 8:39 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Early retirement and use of ACA HDHP/HSA?
Replies: 4
Views: 901

Early retirement and use of ACA HDHP/HSA?

My COBRA has ended and I’ll use ACA for the next few years until I’m Medicare eligible. I’m curently healthy and for 2019 I’m comparing a Bronze plan vs. a Bronze HDHP w/HSA plan. Since I’m no longer working, if I chose the Bronze HDHP plan I’d be funding the HSA without an employee contribution. However, the HSA contribution would lower my MAGI, allowing a larger Roth conversion (or other type of income) while still qualifying for an ACA subsidy. I’m sure all HSA contributions would be used for future qualified medical expenses (so no taxes when withdrawing from the HSA in the future). I don’t see a downside to selecting the HDHP/HSA option, other than the hassle of creating an HSA and prepaying some medical expenses into the HSA. Am I mis...
by egghead
Mon Apr 16, 2018 9:20 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: "The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need" Kindle daily deal
Replies: 16
Views: 12940

"The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need" Kindle daily deal

Andrew Tobias's book "The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need" is one of today's Kindle daily deals at $1.99.
by egghead
Sun Dec 10, 2017 11:25 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing – today’s Kindle deals
Replies: 6
Views: 1599

The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing – today’s Kindle deals

For those interested, “The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing” is one of today’s Amazom Kindle deals for $4.99.
I think this book has been mentioned a few times on this forum :happy
by egghead
Wed Nov 29, 2017 2:54 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: HSA withdrawal for old med bills affects current year med deduction
Replies: 9
Views: 1281

Re: HSA withdrawal for old med bills affects current year med deduction

I didn’t have any luck further exploring Turbo Tax, including form 8889. I submitted a question to Turbo Tax support. On the Turbo Tax AnswerXchange I did see a similar question and the responses agreed with what HueyLD stated. In TurboTax you must increase the amount that you enter as Schedule A medical expenses by the amount that you reimbursed yourself from the HSA for prior-year medical expenses. ……. Padding your medical deductions requires no explanation. The padding appears nowhere on your tax return since TurboTax automatically reduces the amount reported on Schedule A line 1 by the amount you entered as having been paid from your HSA. I also like the idea of having an attachment that explains what was done, as a few of you recommend...
by egghead
Tue Nov 28, 2017 3:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: HSA withdrawal for old med bills affects current year med deduction
Replies: 9
Views: 1281

Re: HSA withdrawal for old med bills affects current year med deduction

I encountered such a situation once and the work around was to increase the medical expenses on Sch. A by the amount of HSA withdrawal so that the end result came out correctly. I attached a statement to indicate what I did. It is unfortunate that TT has not fixed this problem. Interesting idea. How many years ago did you file that return (curious if it beyond the IRS audit period). I am not a current user of Turbo Tax so this may not be true. The main path of the top tier tax software providers is a question and answer wizard format that are designed for the 99% scenarios. Usually, there is a forms and worksheet view available to handle these exception conditions. This is generally a better way to handle situations like this. You should l...
by egghead
Tue Nov 28, 2017 1:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: HSA withdrawal for old med bills affects current year med deduction
Replies: 9
Views: 1281

HSA withdrawal for old med bills affects current year med deduction

I’m playing with TurboTax 2017 to help with year-end planning and thought I’d share an observation regarding HSA withdrawals and medical tax deductions. During early 2017 I make an HSA withdrawal to cover medical bills paid at the end of 2016. For 2017 I’m planning to stay in the 15% tax bracket, and my 2017 medical expenses will exceed 10% of AGI, so I’d be eligible for a medical deduction. However, TurboTax subtracts my 2017 HSA withdrawal from my 2017 medical expenses, dropping these expenses below 10% of AGI. I understand I can apply an HSA withdrawal to prior years medical expenses (as long they occurred after I opened the HSA account) and I naively thought I could somehow declare that was the case without it affecting my eligibility f...
by egghead
Fri Sep 29, 2017 9:21 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The Four Pillars of Investing – today’s Kindle daily deal
Replies: 10
Views: 2101

The Four Pillars of Investing – today’s Kindle daily deal

For those who don’t have William Bernstein’s book “The Four Pillars of Investing”, you can get a Kindle copy today for $1.99.
One of my favorite investing books.
by egghead
Sun Mar 05, 2017 4:56 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Question on compensation for making an IRA contribution
Replies: 1
Views: 313

Question on compensation for making an IRA contribution

Last year was my first full non-working year, but I did receive compensation from my previous employer along with a W-2 form. The compensation consisted of two elements: - Employee Incentive Plan (based on my 2015 working year, but paid in 2016) - Deferred compensation distribution from their non-qualified deferred compensation plan The sum of these two elements equals my 2016 W-2 box 1 amount. The amount of the deferred compensation element is reported in my W-2 box 11. I understand the compensation used to determine an eligible IRA contribution is based on the W-2 box 1 minus box 11 (which in my case would just be the employee incentive compensation). Is that correct and I'm eligible to make an IRA contribution based on the compensation I...
by egghead
Sun Dec 25, 2016 10:01 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Today's Kindle deal on The Intelligent Investor (revised edition)
Replies: 5
Views: 1515

Today's Kindle deal on The Intelligent Investor (revised edition)

For those interested in The Intelligent Investor (revised edition with commentary by Jason Zweig), it's one of today's Amazon kindle deals for $3.99.
by egghead
Wed Apr 13, 2016 12:21 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: "The Four Pillars of Investing" is one of today's Kindle daily deals
Replies: 24
Views: 5011

Re: "The Four Pillars of Investing" a Gem

Taylor Larimore wrote:"The Four Pillars of Investing" is one of the best books I have read on the subject of personal investing.

Dr. Bernstein's book is in my Collection of Investment Gems where we can quickly learn much of his sound advice:

The Four Pillars of Investing
This has been one of my favorite books on personal investing as well. I just wish I had discovered Dr. Bernstein's books (as well as many others) and the Bogleheads years earlier.

Taylor - thanks for your Collection of Investment Gems. I've referred to them many times. Much appreciated!!
by egghead
Tue Apr 12, 2016 11:11 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: "The Four Pillars of Investing" is one of today's Kindle daily deals
Replies: 24
Views: 5011

"The Four Pillars of Investing" is one of today's Kindle daily deals

For those who don't have a copy of William Bernstein's "The Four Pillars of Investing", it's one of today's Kindle daily deals.
by egghead
Wed Sep 23, 2015 12:46 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TLH (tax-loss harvesting) & quarterly dividends
Replies: 61
Views: 7654

Re: TLH (tax-loss harvesting) & quarterly dividends

I always thought the declaration date preceded the ex-dividend date. Live & learn. Thanks for pointing out the links again. I guess it depends on whether a Vanguard mutual fund or ETF is involved or not. :) This discussion is reminiscent of the discussion in the last link in the OP (re-linked later in the thread, too). So what Vanguard does is not always consistent with what anybody else does. Not to get too side-tracked but it does appear that the so-called ex-dividend date is preceded by Vanguard's record date (aka Vanguard's declaration date). That is, if one submits an order to buy the mutual fund shares before the market closes on the record date, then one gets the dividend. Vanguard does not report an ex-dividend date for mutual ...
by egghead
Wed Sep 23, 2015 12:55 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TLH (tax-loss harvesting) & quarterly dividends
Replies: 61
Views: 7654

Re: TLH (tax-loss harvesting) & quarterly dividends

randomizer wrote:The one place where I can see earning dividends as desirable is in retirement withdrawal mode, where you might not want to touch your shares and just live off dividends checks.
Even in retirement, wouldn't it be better to be in control yourself and withdraw money when you need it and also ensure the shares you sell will all be taxed at a LTCG rate, rather than automatically receiving a variable withdrawal (whether or not you want it) and a portion of that withdrawal taxed at ordinary income rates (non-qualified dividends)?
by egghead
Tue Sep 22, 2015 8:08 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TLH (tax-loss harvesting) & quarterly dividends
Replies: 61
Views: 7654

Re: TLH (tax-loss harvesting) & quarterly dividends

Thanks livesoft for the links and additional comments.
I did see the OP comment:
What is interesting to me is that funds are in 3 batches of dividend declaration dates which are probably the record dates as well.
I always thought the declaration date preceded the ex-dividend date. Live & learn. Thanks for pointing out the links again.
by egghead
Tue Sep 22, 2015 4:01 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TLH (tax-loss harvesting) & quarterly dividends
Replies: 61
Views: 7654

Re: TLH (tax-loss harvesting) & quarterly dividends

Vanguard provided their dividend declaration dates, but we still don't know there ex-dividend dates, correct?
by egghead
Tue Aug 25, 2015 2:07 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: TLH wash sales help SCHE -----> VWO
Replies: 3
Views: 883

Re: TLH wash sales help SCHE -----> VWO

MN Finance wrote:
wing911 wrote:HI Guys,

i want to know if i claim 2000$ lost on SCHE can i buy VWO in replacement ? will the wash sales rule apply to my trade? anyother ETF i can buy that will not trigger wash sales rule ?

thanks for the help !!!! :D
Of course you can do this.
Don't both VWO and SCHE track the same index (FTSE Emerging Markets)?
TLH with IEMG seem much safer, as it tracks a different index.
by egghead
Sun Aug 23, 2015 2:56 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Wash sale and IRA interaction
Replies: 15
Views: 2371

Re: Wash sale and IRA interaction

livesoft wrote:All the more reason to use Specific ID for cost basis.
Using Specific ID for cost basis in both the taxable account and IRA would provide the most flexibility.
But a Vanguard IRA doesn't provide the ability to use Specific ID if established after July 11, 2011.
Vanguard's cost basis service offers average cost information only for IRAs established after July 11, 2011.
That would complicate avoiding a wash sale, if you had multiple IRA purchases of the fund you're trying to TLH in taxable (purchases earlier than the 31 day window, and purchases within the 31 day window); as you can't just sale selected IRA lots within the 31 day window. You'd have to sale all IRA purchases of that fund, unless I'm missing something ......
by egghead
Sat Jul 11, 2015 12:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Installment sale on primary residence
Replies: 1
Views: 557

Installment sale on primary residence

I'd appreciate any advice regarding the installment sale of a primary residence. I have a primary residence in Silicon Valley and I'm planning to relocate. Over the years, the home price has increased significantly beyond the $250k/$500k home sale exclusion, and I'll have a significant tax bill on both fed & state (CA taxes long-term cap gains as ordinary income). I've read a little about installment sales and wondering if that would be a good option, to spread the sale across 2 or 3 years to reduce the tax bill (get long term cap gain back down to 15% with no Medicare surtax). I'd appreciate any thoughts or recommendations, especially from folks who have experience with an installment sale (pros/cons, finding CPAs & realtors with t...
by egghead
Thu May 28, 2015 5:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: ESPLanner software
Replies: 1
Views: 574

Re: ESPLanner software

I've purchased ESPlanner, but I'm sure others on the forum have more experience with the program and all its options.

I've used it to run a few what-if-scenarios: age to start social security, impact of doing Roth conversions in early retirement years (prior to RMDs), and impact or which state you live in (tax implications). Its ability to calculate complex consumption-smoothing with lots of factors is very helpful. I wish the program included a few additional options and could provide some optimization recommendations, but overall I like the program and think it's a very useful tool.
by egghead
Tue May 26, 2015 1:06 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Book recommendation
Replies: 6
Views: 1558

Re: Book recommendation

Thanks for the recommendation Larry.
bayview wrote:Larry, any idea when the 3rd ed. will be out? This sounds like what I'm looking for, but I do want the latest edition.
I'm also waiting for the 3rd ed. release. Regarding the release date, you can go to Jim Lange's website http://www.retiresecure.com/index.php and if interested join his mailing list and you'll be notified by email when the book will be released.
by egghead
Sun May 03, 2015 10:49 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Portfolio Checkup - 31 - Rebalance/AA
Replies: 14
Views: 1575

Re: Portfolio Checkup - 31 - Rebalance/AA

Just_For_Jenna wrote: ...., because I am almost fully maxed for the year on my 401k, so there won't be more contributions after May until next January.
Do you lose any company matching by front-loading your 401K contributions (max out your contributions early in the calendar year)?
by egghead
Sat Feb 07, 2015 1:34 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Recommend a custodian for individual HSA account
Replies: 39
Views: 10258

Re: Recommend a custodian for individual HSA account

From my limited research it seems that HSA bank is a good choice for both paying medical bills and offering good investment options via a self directed TD Ameritrade account. To avoid a monthly fee you need to keep a minimum balance of $5k with the bank (low interest rate), but if you choose to invest all with TD Ameritrade rather keep the $5k minimum balance with the bank, it appears the monthly fee is just $2.50 ($30/year).
by egghead
Sat Nov 29, 2014 11:57 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Change COBRA health plan election after relocating?
Replies: 1
Views: 437

Change COBRA health plan election after relocating?

My health plan election for next year is a little more interesting this time, as I’m also considering its COBRA cost due to my upcoming job termination in mid-2015. At that time I’ll need to pick up either COBRA or ACA. My current company’s health plan options include Kaiser and BCBS HDHP plans. If I select Kaiser and then pickup COBRA in mid-2015, then later relocate to an area that isn’t covered by Kaiser, is that considered an event in which I can change my COBRA health plan election (select another health plan offered by my company if that plan provides coverage in my new area)? I’m checking with HR, but would be interested to hear if anyone has experience on this topic. I was planning on just selecting our HDHP again for next year (whi...
by egghead
Sat May 03, 2014 2:30 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Best retirement books request
Replies: 28
Views: 5420

Re: Best retirement books request

A few retirement books (or preparing for retirement) that I found helpful are listed below. The first is financial and the second is not.

"Control Your Retirement Destiny: Achieving Financial Security Before the Big Transition", by Dana Anspach.
"How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free: Retirement Wisdom That You Won't Get from Your Financial Advisor", by Ernie Zelinski.
by egghead
Sun Apr 06, 2014 1:33 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Establishing new state residency before CA home sale
Replies: 9
Views: 1388

Establishing new state residency before CA home sale

I'm doing some early retirement planning and would appreciate any input on selling a home in a high-tax state (CA) and establishing residency in a lower-tax state. My current CA home has appreciated beyond the tax-exclusion limit and I will pay income tax on the sale. I assume if I've established residency outside of CA the year I sell my CA home, I can avoid the CA state income tax. For those that have done this, I'd appreciate any thoughts. I need to do more research on establishing state residency. I assume the safest is to be a full-year resident of the new state during the year that I sell my CA home. I could consider renting my CA home for a year or so if that would help, but no sure if the hassle would be worth it and how the housing...
by egghead
Sun Mar 02, 2014 1:45 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Be careful with Turbotax [Importing data from Vanguard]
Replies: 20
Views: 4532

Re: Be careful with Turbotax [Importing data from Vanguard]

Are there any security concerns of using TurboTax to import data from your investment accounts?
by egghead
Sun Feb 09, 2014 1:19 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: The Power of Zero (0% tax bracket in retirement) book
Replies: 22
Views: 8140

The Power of Zero (0% tax bracket in retirement) book

Curious if any Bogleheads have read the recently published book "The Power of Zero: How to Get to the 0% Tax Bracket and Transform Your Retirement", by David McKnight. If so, any comments on the book?