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Refinance Payment Calculation

By Dan Madden, CFP®

Lisa refinanced her home mortgage to a 30-year fixed mortgage with biweekly payments. How much is each payment if she owed $550,000 at the time of the refinance and the interest rate is 3.5%? $943 $1,139 $1,321 $1,453 CLICK TO REVEAL ANSWER Expand B is the answer. Lisa pays her mortgage every two weeks which…

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Early Holiday Gifts from Secure 2.0 Act

By Bruce Starks, CPA, CFP®

Good to Know Secure 2.0 Act is dramatically more impactful than is commonly appreciated.  Not-to-be-missed “gift” opportunities range from employer 401(k) plan matches for student loan repayments to Roth account rollovers from 529 plans and more.  This article will summarize the most powerful opportunities.   Employer 401(k) Match for Student Loan Repayments Employers have the…

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Social Security Retirement Benefits

By Bruce Starks, CPA, CFP®

Course: Investment PlanningLesson 14: Evaluation Portfolio Performance Student Question: This question (below) doesn’t quite make sense to me.  Could you clarify why the correct answer is D? Robin Elizabeth qualifies for a retirement benefit of $250 and a spouse’s benefit of $400. At her full retirement age, she will receive which of the following? Instructor Response:…

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Passing Property Via Will

By Bruce Starks, CPA, CFP®

Course: Investment PlanningLesson 14: Evaluation Portfolio Performance Student Question: Hello – I’m a little confused about the example (below) discussing an heirloom of only sentimental value. Why would this be titled at all for a will, especially since an earlier lecture said items of no value would pass through will as the situation does not…

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The CFP Board releases updated demographics on CFP Professionals

By Dan Madden, CFP®

CFP® Board Updates The CFP Board periodically updates the demographic makeup of the field of CFP® Professionals.  It has long been important to the board that CFP® Professionals reflect our everyday society and our clients.  A few key numbers that stick out: The total current number of CFP® Professionals is 97,575 Males make up 76.3%…

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Calculating Gross Income from Various Sources

By Dan Madden, CFP®

A client received an annual salary from his employment of $30,000. He was a 50% owner of both a C corporation and an S corporation. The C corporation had net profits of $24,000, and the S corporation had income of $17,000. Neither corporation made a distribution. The client’s revocable trust had income of $15,000 but…

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Defined Benefit Plan Reversion Tax

By Dan Madden, CFP®

Lucky Star Corp has been extremely lucky with their defined benefit plan as it is currently overfunded. Management decided to terminate the plan while they are overfunded and share the excess with the employees. What amount of reversion tax will Lucky Star Corp have to pay upon termination? 0% 10% 20% 50% CLICK TO REVEAL…

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Alternatives to Medicare, Part IV

By Bruce Starks, CPA, CFP®

Good to Know This is the final article of a IV-part series to help early retirees make informed healthcare coverage choices when they retire before age 65-and are ineligible for Medicare.  The previous three parts in the series were: Faith-Based Cost-Sharing Affordable Care Act Policies Short-Term Limited Duration Insurance We’ll begin with an application summary…

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Percentage of Completion Method

By Bruce Starks, CPA, CFP®

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+650+700/2100000*3,000,000.  That wasn’t…

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