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The tax filing deadline is fast approaching, which means time is running out to fund an IRA for 2024. If you had earned income last year, you may be able to contribute up to $7,000 for 2024 ($8,000 for those age 50 or older by December 31, 2024) up until your tax return due date, excluding extensions. For most people, that date is Tuesday, April 15, 2025. You can contribute to a traditional IRA, a...

The IRS began accepting and processing 2024 tax-year returns on Monday, January 27, 2025. Tips for making filing easier To speed a potential tax refund and help with tax filing, the IRS suggests the following: Make sure you have received Form W-2 and other earnings information, such as Form 1099, from employers and payers. The dates for furnishing such information to recipients vary by form, but they are generally not required before February 1, 2025....

Late last year, the IRS announced a delay in the application of proposed regulations interpreting certain changes to the required minimum distribution (RMD) rules made by the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022. The IRS originally said the proposed regulations would take effect in 2025 to align with the implementation of other final regulations governing RMDs for beneficiaries of retirement accounts, which were finalized last year. However, due to concerns raised during a September 2024 public...

The Markets (as of market close January 10, 2025) Stocks fell sharply last week as favorable economic data furthered sentiment that the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates elevated for a longer period of time this year. Each of the benchmark indexes lost value with only energy and health care advancing, while the remaining market sectors ended the week in the red. Crude oil prices rose to levels not seen since October as new sanctions...

According to data from the International Monetary Fund, the United States received almost one-third of all global foreign investment from 2021 to 2023. This compares with an average of just 18% before the pandemic. The dramatic increase is even more remarkable considering widespread concern about the dominance of the U.S. dollar as a global currency.1 By contrast, China received just 3% of foreign investment from 2021 to 2023, a significant drop from an average of...

On September 18, 2024, the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) lowered the benchmark federal funds rate one-half percentage point to a range of 4.75% to 5.0%. It was the first rate cut since the Fed raised the funds rate aggressively from March 2022 to July 2023 to help control inflation.1 The long-awaited policy shift suggests that a soft landing — the rare feat of bringing down inflation without causing a recession — is...

On August 5, 2024, the S&P 500 Index dropped 3% from its previous close, the largest single-day loss in almost two years. This continued a three-week slide that saw the benchmark index — generally considered representative of the U.S. stock market — decline by 8.5%. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite Index dropped even further, losing 3.4% on August 5 and more than 13% over a four-week period.1 The final losses for the day were not as...

National Public Data, a consumer data broker, confirmed last week that a hacker had targeted the company in December 2023, “with potential leaks of certain data in April 2024 and summer 2024.”1Other reports indicate that this leaked data had been found on the dark web and could include the names, addresses, phone numbers, and Social Security numbers of millions of Americans.2 A data breach of this magnitude is especially worrisome, and is the latest in a...

On August 9, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit officially blocked the SAVE student loan repayment plan in its entirety, saying the injunction would remain in place “until further order of this court or the Supreme Court of the United States.”1 The ruling replaced a temporary order issued by the same court in July. The result is that millions of borrowers who enrolled in the SAVE Plan to benefit from lower monthly...

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act) changed the rules for taking distributions from retirement accounts inherited after 2019. The so-called 10-year rule generally requires inherited accounts to be emptied within 10 years of the original owner’s death, with some exceptions. Where an exception applies, the entire account must generally be emptied within 10 years of the beneficiary’s death or within 10 years after a minor child beneficiary reaches age 21....