The OBBBA's 0.5% AGI floor and 35% deduction cap take effect in the 2026 tax year, raising the cost of small annual gifts. Concentrating four years of donations into a single donor-advised fund contribution can add roughly $39,600 in total deductions for a $200,000-AGI couple while keeping the recipient charities on their normal schedule.
At the May 2026 reset, Series I Savings Bonds pay a 4.26% composite rate — a 0.90% fixed rate locked for 30 years plus a 3.34% annualized inflation rate — with state-tax exemption and a $10,000-per-SSN annual cap. A practical guide to where I bonds fit in personal and small-business cash strategy, including LLC entity-account stacking, the 12-month lock and 5-year penalty, and the education-exclusion rules.
A see-through trust named on an IRA beneficiary form must navigate the SECURE Act 10-year rule. Conduit trusts pass every distribution through to the beneficiary by year ten, while accumulation trusts retain assets but face compressed trust brackets that reach the 37 percent federal rate at just $16,000 of retained income in 2026.
How the 2026 Health Savings Account combines tax-free contributions, tax-free growth, and tax-free medical withdrawals — and how the shoebox strategy turns an $8,750 family limit into a six- to seven-figure retirement vehicle by age 65.
U.S. cash balance pension plans let solo doctors, attorneys, and consultants deduct $100,000–$370,000 a year on top of a Solo 401(k). 2026 contribution limits, a worked example for a 54-year-old physician, and the actuarial commitments to weigh before signing.
How a Charitable Remainder Trust lets you sell appreciated assets without capital gains tax, take an immediate income tax deduction, collect lifetime income, and pass the remainder to charity—plus the math comparing CRUT, CRAT, NIMCRUT, and Flip CRUT structures under the May 2026 5.0% Section 7520 rate.
A working-age self-employed professional is roughly three times more likely to become disabled than to die before 65, yet most carry no disability coverage. This guide explains the four policy types, the clauses (own-occupation, elimination period, benefit period) that decide whether claims pay, 2026 premium ranges of 1–4% of income, and the after-tax-vs-deductible premium choice that can shift net benefits by six figures.
How founders use zeroed-out GRATs to transfer pre-IPO stock appreciation to heirs tax-free, leveraging the IRS Section 7520 hurdle rate while preserving the lifetime estate exemption.
Non-spouse IRA beneficiaries must empty inherited accounts within 10 years, and annual RMDs become mandatory in 2025 if the original owner died on or after their required beginning date. A missed RMD triggers a 25% excise tax. Only surviving spouses, minor children, disabled or chronically ill individuals, and beneficiaries within 10 years of the deceased's age keep the old stretch treatment.
How the federal kiddie tax pulls a child's unearned income above $2,700 in 2026 onto the parent's marginal rate via Form 8615. Mechanics, UTMA/UGMA pitfalls, full-time-student rules through age 23, and planning strategies using 529 plans, Roth IRAs, and gain timing.
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