December 15, 2023
It’s Holiday Time
Do you celebrate special days that have meaning for you? We do, and we look forward to them. The arrival of Christmas and New Year’s Days are anticipated. Our staff had lunch at Biagi’s on Wednesday for a nice social time.
2024 Changes
As we look into the new year of 2024 we mention a few things we think you may want to attend to – this is a small list, not exhaustive. Call us if you want to check on other ideas.
- Contributions to IRA’s increase if under age 50 to $7,500 and if over age 50, to $8,000.
- A new rule allows the beneficiary of a 529 plan to transfer up to $35,000 into a Roth IRA if no new contributions were made in the past 5 years and if the money is no longer needed for higher education.
- For people older than 70&1/2 and gifting QCD’s (Qualified Charitable Deductions from IRA’s) you can increase the amount you give directly to charity from $100,000 to $105,000. You can do this even if you are not required to take an RMD that year.
- You can gift $18,000 in 2024 to anyone you choose. This is not a tax deduction but an increase in the amount you can give without worrying about gift rules. If your estate would be taxable, yearly gifting can be a way to reduce taxable estates. Taxable estates start at $13,610,000 in 2023, increase in 2024, but are scheduled to revert to $5,000,000 in 2026.
Education Funding
Having just completed a continuing education course in 529 plans, I would like to remind parents and grandparents that the best rule I have seen is the rule that allows you to pay tuition and expenses directly to the school and is not taxable to the student or count against the yearly gift tax exclusion. There is a similar rule which allows one to pay medical bills directly.
Tax rules are endless. If you have an idea you’d like more information on or someone to discuss the idea with, try us. Ideas that sound wonderful frequently have many consequential negative results which rarely are mentioned. Our advice is always structured to bring positive results and keep it simple.
We wish you a special holiday time filled with rest and joy and we hope to see you in the New Year.
Sincerely,
Louise Googins, President, Investment Advisor
Michael Googins, Administrator
Kim Rankin, Accountant
Richard Martin, Investment Advisor
Lynne Goldsmith, Investment Advisor
Dayton Hoffmann, Associate