Taxes — Blog — Sisters for Financial Independence

All tagged Taxes

Apr 1

Apr 1 Book Review & Notes: The Power of Zero - How to Get To the 0% Tax Bracket

Social Security was never intended to be a retirement program. It was merely insurance against living too long.

This month’s book review and notes are from The Power of Zero - How to Get To the 0% Tax Bracket and Transform Your Retirement. Learn more about David McKnight over davidmcknight.com and listen to his podcast via YouTube. Fitting since we are just about to close out tax season. Perhaps, the lessons in this book will change the way you manage your money to be more tax efficient now and always.

Apr 15

Apr 15 The End of An Era: Goodbye Marriage Penalty

Anna

Relationships, Financial Education, Taxes

50 years. That’s how long it took to get rid of the “marriage penalty” in our federal tax system. What’s even worst is that some people never even knew it existed. The marriage penalty arose if two married individuals, both earning income, paid more in taxes if they file with under “married filing jointly” than if they filed taxes separately under the “single” tax status. How is this possible? It’s because the income tax brackets from single status did not rise in proportion to the marriage filing jointly tax bracket.

Mar 4

Mar 4 Can You File Taxes on a Postcard? Sure, if Your Tax Returns are Simple

Anna

Taxes

Our society is so simple and so standardized...NOT!

In an effort to simplify the tax code, lawmakers aggressively pushed and passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. One of the first claims of the Trump administration was to reform the tax code and streamline tax filings so far as to allow people to file their taxes on a postcard-sized piece of paper! Do I think it’s possible? Yes! But I think it will only be applicable for taxpayers with little to no complications in their tax returns.

Feb 18

Feb 18 Understanding Student Loan Interest Deductions: Tax Deductible is Not What You Think It Means

Anna

Taxes

One of the arguments for continuing to incur student loan interest has been “oh but it’s tax deductible!”. That’s good, right? Yes and no.

I understand the need to take out student loans. I took them out myself as I went through college. My intention is not to dissuade you from them, I simply want to provide some additional details which may guide your decision on taking them out, paying them back or strategies you can use to take advantage of the tax deduction.