How to Plan Your Income for Retirement

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Planning for retirement is important if you want to cope with life after your days in the office. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 4 out of 10 American workers are saving money for their retirement. Do you want to be part of these smart employees or the lost majority? Here are some of the things you need to know about preparing for retirement.

Setting Financial Goals
Saving is a process that demands commitment. Since retirement is definitely not your only saving goal, you should try striking a balance or prioritizing what is necessary and weighty. For instance, you could comfortably do away with lingering debts and saving for vacations, cars, homes, and lattes.

Saving for Retirement
Retirement involves more than just assessing the amount of saving you need. When planning for retirement, it’s is also important that you pay attention to where you save your money. Find the best investment or saving account. Take time to calculate how much you need to save for retirement as well.

Investing
While saving is simply amassing wealth, investing is the process of multiplying the wealth. Cash is not a great way to store your wealth, and there are thousands of reasons why. Before investing your money in any project, assess the reward-to-risk ratio and the return on investment. Which investments are more diversified, and when do you get in for maximum gains.

What Do You Invest In?
Are you ready to have your retirement saving work for you? Well, if that’s the case, setting up an investment portfolio should not be complicated. Acquaint yourself with principal retirement investment rules. Are you a DIY person, or will you need to hire the services of a financial adviser? If you want to manage your retirement saving yourself, it is recommended that you gather sufficient knowledge on investment strategies. If you will choose to work with a professional, get to know about the related costs.

Building Wealth
Retirement investing is not a phenomenon that occurs in one sitting. It is a process that will change with the dynamics of your employment as you move from one job to another or up the promotion ladder. You will also have to endure changes in the stock markets and meet family obligations. However, that does not necessarily mean that you will have to babysit your retirement investment. There are numerous ways to protect and manage your wealth and savings in the long haul.

4 Things You Should Know About The R and D Tax Credit

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This blog was originally published to JBowmanAccountant.org.

The Research and Development Tax Credit benefits almost any business, no matter the size, age, or industry. Since 1981, this incentive has offered reimbursement for innovative and highly-technical businesses. Here are four things you should know about the R&D Tax Credit.

It is available for many industries

From aerospace organizations to wineries and vineyards, several industries can reap the benefits of an R&D Tax Credit. Organizations within these industries must pass a four-part test to affirm that their research activities qualify for an R&D Tax Credit. The four parts of the test are:

  1. Technological in Nature – “Activities must fundamentally rely on the principles of physical or biological science, engineering, or computer science.”
  2. Permitted Purpose – “Activities must be performed in an attempt to improve performance, reliability, or quality of a new or existing business component.”
  3. Eliminate Uncertainty – “Activities intended to discover information that could eliminate technical uncertainty concerning the development or improvement of a product.”
  4. Experimentation – “All of the activities must include a process of experimentation including testing, modeling, simulating, systematic trial and error.”

It covers a variety of expenses

With all of the activity that goes on in a given business, it can be difficult to track your direct and indirect R&D expenses. However, taking note of those expenses is essential for receiving the appropriate tax benefits. As a rule, the major expenses that qualify are salaries and supplies and materials. For salaries, employees who work in R&D or directly manage those in R&D are covered. Supplies and materials covers anything from nails to computers.

It offers unique benefits to smaller companies

If your small company has gross receipts for five years or less that average less than $5 million, your company may be eligible for an R&D Tax Credit. This is the case even if your company does not owe any taxes, and the covered amount can reach up to $250,000 of a payroll offset. If your small business does not have credit for offsetting payroll taxes in a given quarter, you can carry that credit into a different quarter. However, to do this, you must not exceed the $250,000 limit.

It undergoes regular updates

The R&D Tax Credit does not behave exactly as it did over a quarter of a century ago. As industries and economies evolve, the R&D Tax Credit does, too. In particular, the removal of the Discovery Rule in 2003 redefined research activities as those that would be “new to the taxpayer” rather than “new to the world.” More recently, the Protecting American from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act ensured that small, mid-size, and startup businesses could benefit from R&D Tax Credits.

John J. Bowman, Jr. is an accountant and tax professional based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Follow him on Twitter for more blog updates!

Tax Refund Boosting Hacks

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Tax season will be here before you know it. It’s time to start thinking about the ways you can get the most out of your return. Taxes can be tricky to navigate. There are a lot of factors that go into your return, some of which automated tax software won’t be able to pick up on. Before you file your taxes, take a look at the following items to see if you can take advantage of the unique benefits they offer.

Use Tax Deductions!

Many people shy away from tax deductions. Most of the time it’s only because they don’t understand them or didn’t know they qualified. You can deduct charitable donations and unreimbursed work expenses. There is even a deduction available if you’ve moved over 50 miles for a new job. You can claim all the moving, storage, and travel expenses associated with your move. Save all work expense and charitable donation receipts throughout the year so you can receive the right deduction and have the proof to back it up.

File Early

Filing early does not have a direct effect on the amount of money you get back. It does, however, expedite the refund process. You may even save yourself some money if you use part of your refund to pay off debt from the holidays. The sooner you pay down the debt, the less interest you have to pay.

Retirement Contribution Benefits

If you contribute to an IRA account, try your best to max out your contribution before the end of the year. You can receive a tax deduction for as much as your maximum contribution allotment. You may even be lucky enough to reap the benefits of a rare “double dip.” If you qualify for a saver’s credit, you’ll receive an additional deduction on top of retirement contribution deduction.

Dependents

Did you know that family members are not the only ones you can claim as dependents? If you have taken in and supported a friend for the entire year, you could receive a dependent exemption. There are some caveats to this rule. In order to qualify, non-relatives must reside within your home, but relatives do not. In either situation, you must provide for over half of their support. Finally, the dependent must also not make more than $4,000 in taxable income. If you think you may be able to claim dependents, it will not hurt to look into!