Bruce Starks, CPA, CFP® – Page 33

What You Don’t Know About Social Security Can Hurt You

Good to Know Social Security benefits are key to most Americans’ quality of financial life during retirement. Yet, an alarming number of those approaching retirement do not have a basic understanding of Social Security benefits. Twelve basic questions were posed to 1,5001 pre-retirees to gauge their Social Security knowledge. Take the quick quiz below to…

ALERT for CFP® Candidates – Add Points to Your Score

CFP® Certificants in the News Those planning to take the CFP® Exam must be aware of how recent changes to the exam structure could affect your score. We will identify the exam change and the takeaway that could add points to your score. The Exam Change The CFP® Exam was traditionally structured as a 170-question,…

Value of Life Insurance in Buy-Sell Agreements

Course: Insurance PlanningLesson 17: Business Uses of Life Insurance Student Question: Do Buy-Sell Agreements account for projected growth of the company? Do the life insurance benefits increase over time to account for projected growth, or perhaps can they invest and grow conservatively to keep up with inflation (or COLA on the plan)? Thanks, Thomas Instructor…

5 Habits of Successful CFP Exam Takers

CFP® Certificants in the News This blog is dedicated to CFP® Candidates, especially those planning to take the CFP Board Exam soon. What better place to begin planning than planning to pass the CFP Board Exam? By the way, hope is not a plan. Hope is a wonderful quality but we need a specific, sequential…

Unused Premiums in Term Insurance

Course: Insurance PlanningLesson 12: Types of Life Insurance Student Question: Could you help clarify the term “unused premiums” as it relates to term life insurance? I guess I don’t see how you could have a premium not used in term life. Thanks, Michael Instructor Response: Hi Michael, Assume you pay $6,000 in annual prepaid premiums…

Last Minute Tax Deductions for 2020

Good to Know Taxpayers may reduce their 2020 taxable income by tens of thousands of dollars by contributing to tax-deductible IRAs, 401(k)s, and other accounts by May 17, 2021. Traditional Deductible IRA Contributions Taxpayers who are unaware of this opportunity or miss the usual April 15, 2021, deadline may contribute to an IRA for 2020…

Percentage of Completion Method

Course: Income Tax PlanningLesson 10: Recognition of Expenses, Losses, and Deductions Student Question: Question 5 (below) did not make sense to me. I started out by breaking down by year: 400,000 / 2,100,000 * 3,000,000 and so forth but did not arrive at the correct answer. So, then I tried adding up 3 year: 400 +…

Contingent Business Interruption versus Extra Expense Insurance

Course: Insurance PlanningLesson 6: Commercial Property and Liability Insurance Student Question: Can you please provide an example of contingent business interruption and extra expense insurance? Thanks, Laura Instructor Response: Hi Laura, Good question. Here’s how contingent business interruption insurance might apply. You own a nationwide chain of jewelry stores that specialize in gold/palladium alloys. Your…

Reprieve from the Warden: Individual Federal Income Tax Return Due Date Extended

Good to Know In mid-March, the IRS announced an extension of time to file individual 2020 income tax returns. The following excerpts were taken directly from IRS press release IR-2021-59, March 17, 2021: “WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service announced today that the federal income tax filing due date for individuals [including…

Maximum Family Benefit

Course: Insurance PlanningLesson 10: Social Security Student Question: Does the maximum family benefit apply to a husband and wife that are both fully insured if the combined total between the two exceeds the maximum family limit? If I understand correctly, the maximum family limit only applies if there are beneficiaries within the family receiving benefits…