Charitable Gift Annuities, Explained: Lifetime Income, a Tax Deduction, and Capital-Gains Relief in One Gift
A charitable gift annuity trades a lump sum for lifetime income plus an IRS deduction — fundable with cash, stock, or a $55,000 IRA QCD.
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IRA contributions, tracking, and retirement planning
Still Working Past 73? How to Legally Delay Your 401(k) RMDs Until You Retire
The IRS still-working exception lets non-5% owners delay 401(k) RMDs past 73 until retirement — but only from a current employer plan that allows it.
When the Lemonade Stand Makes Bank: The $400 Tax Rule Every Teen Entrepreneur Hits
A teen owes a tax return at just $400 of net self-employment income — no age minimum. How the 15.3% SE tax, the $1,000 estimated-tax tripwire, the $20,000 1099-K threshold, and a custodial Roth IRA fit together.
The Rule of 55: Tapping Your 401(k) Early Without the 10% Penalty
Separate from your employer during or after the calendar year you turn 55 and distributions from that employer's 401(k) escape the 10% early-withdrawal penalty — but not ordinary income tax, and not a rollover into an IRA. How the separation-from-service exception works, the age-50 public safety version, the 20% withholding haircut, and the five mistakes that forfeit it.
SIMPLE IRA vs. SIMPLE 401(k) in 2026: Contribution Limits, Deadlines, and the 2-Year Rollover Rule Every Small Employer Needs to Know
Both SIMPLE plans share a $17,000 employee deferral limit for 2026, but they split on Form 5500 filing, participant loans, and the SIMPLE IRA's 25% early-distribution tax during its two-year rollover restriction. A practical comparison for employers with 100 or fewer employees, with the payroll deadlines, catch-up limits by age band, and the reconciliation workflow to run either plan cleanly.
Vermont Saves and New York Secure Choice: The 2026 Auto-IRA Rules for Small Employers
Vermont Saves reached employers with five or more workers on July 1, 2026, and New York Secure Choice finished its three-wave rollout on July 15, 2026. What each program requires, the penalties ($20 rising to $75 per employee in Vermont, $250 per employee per year in New York), and how to book the withholding as a payroll liability rather than an expense.
The IRA Contribution Limit Hits $7,500 for 2026: Your Freelancer and Small-Business Owner's Guide to the First Big Increase in Years
The IRA contribution limit rises to $7,500 for 2026 — the first base increase since 2023 — plus a new $1,100 catch-up at 50+. Learn who qualifies, how it stacks with Solo 401(k) and SEP, and how freelancers can capture the extra room before April 15, 2027.
TrumpIRA.gov and the Federal Saver's Match: What Self-Employed Workers Should Know Before 2027
TrumpIRA.gov, a Treasury-run IRA marketplace launching January 1, 2027, will list providers capped at a 0.15% expense ratio with no account minimums and connect eligible savers to a Federal Saver's Match of up to $1,000 a year — a 50% match on the first $2,000 contributed. Here is how it fits alongside a SEP-IRA or Solo 401(k), and why accurate books determine the contribution you can actually make.
QLACs in 2026: How the $210,000 Qualifying Longevity Annuity Contract Limit Shrinks Your RMDs
A QLAC lets you move up to $210,000 — the 2026 SECURE 2.0 lifetime limit — from a traditional IRA, SEP-IRA, or 401(k) into a deferred annuity the IRS excludes from RMD calculations until payments start, as late as age 85. Here are the rules, a worked example, and the break-even math showing when to skip it.
Trump Account Gift Tax Rules: The IRS Safe Harbor That Spares Most Families From Form 709
IRS Revenue Procedure 2026-25 (June 29, 2026) creates a gift tax safe harbor for Trump Account contributions: individual donors whose total gifts to a child stay under the $19,000 annual exclusion owe no Form 709 filing, resolving the future-interest question raised by the accounts' lock-up until age 18.
Solo 401(k) vs. SEP IRA: Which Saves the Self-Employed More Tax in 2026?
A freelancer earning $80,000 net self-employment income can shelter roughly $43,070 in a Solo 401(k) versus $18,570 in a SEP IRA in 2026 — the gap comes entirely from the $24,500 employee-deferral bucket that SEP IRAs don't offer.
Inside the Coin Shop Ledger: AML Compliance, Spot-Price Inventory, and Buy-Sell Spread Accounting for Bullion and Numismatic Dealers
A working guide for owner-operators of coin and bullion shops covering ASC 606 revenue streams, spot-price inventory methods, Form 8300 and 1099-B triggers, 31 CFR 1027 AML duties, Section 408(m) IRA fulfillment, and the KPIs (buy-sell spread, turn-earn index, GMROI) that separate profitable shops from break-even ones.