Personal Finance Tax Thursday Thread for the week of March 03, 2022 |
- Tax Thursday Thread for the week of March 03, 2022
- Am I crazy for thinking owning a lot of equity in a single company is bad?
- Lender hasn't paid my home insurance since October 2021
- The Truist merger has been a real dumpster fire for me.
- Is $14.99 for state taxes a fixed rate from FreeTaxUSA, or do they pull the bait and switch like TurboTax?
- I'm 29 and have under $2k in my TSP. Looking forward I want to better prepare for retirement.
- Advice on Decade Old Credit Card Debt
- 10 years at my company, offered severance or 2 months to find a new role internally
- Parents are 66 and 65 with little retirement savings. What's the best use of their current savings and income?
- Mortgage is in my deceased mother's name, but the house in my name. About to pay off the mortgage. What should I expect?
- HELOC - Using it ELI5?
- Any tips for an 18 year old in his first year of college wanting to become financially independent?
- Choosing Fidelity funds for Roth IRA account
- Withdrawal from 401k
- Should I stay at near-minimum wage to keep my insurance?
- How do I refinance a car loan?
- How do I negotiate this house I'm buying as-is?
- Need A Car ASAP, What To Do
- Trying to get outside perspective on my situation
- Plan on buying a house, what to do with my yearly bonus?
- Advice on path out of credit card debt?
- Investment Advice for a Beginner
- Super confused on backdoor Roth conversion I performed in 2022 for year 2021.
- Should I buy/lease a new car or just stay with the current car I have?
- Does a cosigner increase personal loan approval odds?
| Tax Thursday Thread for the week of March 03, 2022 Posted: 03 Mar 2022 03:00 AM PST Please read the PF tax wiki page to see if your question is answered there before posting. Also check out the Tax Filing Software Megathread.This weekly cross-sub thread will be posted through mid-April to give subscribers a chance to ask basic tax-related questions in a consolidated thread. Since taxes can be a very complex topic, the main goal is to point people in the right direction, provide helpful information, and answer questions. (Please note that there is no protection under §7525 or attorney-client relationship when discussing matters in posts on a message board. Consult a reputable tax advisor in person if your situation demands it.) Make a top-level comment if you want to ask a tax-related question! If you have not received your answer within 24 hours, please feel free to start a discussion. For all of the Tax Thursday threads from the last year, check out the Weekly Archive. [link] [comments] |
| Am I crazy for thinking owning a lot of equity in a single company is bad? Posted: 03 Mar 2022 07:39 AM PST A lot of jobs in my field offer RSUs. I'd personally rather have the cash. The consensus seems to be that I'm nuts and it's better to get the stock. However, RSUs are counted as part of your regular income, so you don't get around taxes by diverting salary to the stock. While the stock could gain, in an erratic market, it's also just as likely the stock will lose significant value. I'm uncomfortable having a large portion of my income in a single company's stock, and I'm having trouble understanding why this is better than cash. Would it be smartto dump the stock as soon as possible and put it into something lower risk like an index fund? [link] [comments] |
| Lender hasn't paid my home insurance since October 2021 Posted: 03 Mar 2022 07:01 AM PST Title says it all. I only found out because my policy has been cancelled on my insurance App. My mortgage payment hasn't changed. What if something happened in that time period I had no insurance? I'd have been screwed? Are there any repercussions for this on their end? [link] [comments] |
| The Truist merger has been a real dumpster fire for me. Posted: 03 Mar 2022 06:35 AM PST I opened a new checking account with them two weeks ago online and immediately funded it with a $75 ACH from an existing checking account. A couple days ago, I logged into the mobile app as I had been doing, got kicked out, and could not log back in. Every time I went through the password reset options, the website simply said it could not find me. Assuming I misremembered my username, I figured I'd wait until the debit card arrives and use it to recover the user id. Instead, I receive a letter dated Feb. 24 that says they've decided to immediately close my account due to suspicious activity. Folks, let me tell you some of the things I've been able to do with this suspicious account after that alleged closure date: (1) change my paperless settings; (2) login at least one or two additional times; (3) receive emails from Truist promoting the features of my new checking account and inviting me to check them out; (4) receive a postcard confirming I don't want overdraft protection; (5) get invited to create a "My Truist Offers" account (basically an admittedly separate website for tracking whether I've met the requirements for their new account bonus); (6) actually create said account, in which I'm able to actually see the checking account and its reward status; (7) actually receive the debit card I hate to be the person who complains about this, but every time I've called their customer support, there is a 1+ hour or more wait. The one time I actually waited, the agent disconnected before we could talk. Ok, so I take the letter with me to my closest branch to get it sorted. There's only one banker who is busy, so I wait a half an hour in line for the teller, hoping she can at least put me on a waiting list for the banker. The customer in front of me was there for the same reason as me, and the customer in front of him was there because they were charging fees to an old SunTrust account she was blocked from accessing. I finally make it to the teller, she's understandably super frazzled and gasps "you're going to have to make an appointment or something. I don't know, the banker is very backed up right now, it's not a good time." Drive to a bigger Truist branch where the banker is able to see me, albeit while juggling at least two other customer problems. Poor guy seems stressed out. He eventually contacts the Operations Center, and we find out why my account was closed: (1) suspicious email address; and (2) suspicious IP address; Let's think about those for a second. Regarding (1), it's a gmail address, the same gmail address that was tied to a mortgage I previously had with BB&T (one of the two predecessor banks that merged into Truist). I was even able to see my old mortgage back when I was allowed to log into my checking account. Regarding (2), what probably happened was that I logged in from my work computer hours after logging in from home, but the work IP address belongs to a government agency, and it geolocates within a 10 mile radius of my home. IMO, that's not a good enough reason to close an account, especially since the bank makes me use 2FA. So the banker verifies my identify by scanning my license and social security card, and "emailing it to the Operations Center." (reaaalllllly hope I don't end up regretting that one). Then he gives me his SunTrust business card and tells me to email him three days later to follow up. "Don't call the number, it's wrong because they changed our numbers after the merger but never printed new cards. Just email me." Not sure what the outcome will be, as tomorrow will be the three day mark when I email him. Apart from all that, while I was still allowed to use them, both the app and the website seem really janky. Sorry for the rant, but just came on here to see if anyone else has had a similar experience or has any other insight about how things are going for them with this merger. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Mar 2022 09:39 AM PST I've used TurboTax for the past four years, and I just used the free or low-cost version. Now they are charging me $138 because I received stock dividends. I am thinking about switching to FreeTaxUSA, but I don't want to complete my taxes only find out they are going to charge me more just like TruboTax did. [link] [comments] |
| I'm 29 and have under $2k in my TSP. Looking forward I want to better prepare for retirement. Posted: 03 Mar 2022 06:35 AM PST I am 29 and have under $2000 in my TSP and nothing else for retirement. I decided to open an individual account with Fidelity and start investing into $VOO. And being national guard move my TSP conteibutions to 100% of my drill check. Is it better (or does it even matter) if I do it through an individual account or IRA account? If I open an IRA Account, I'd want it to be Roth. Is it just considered Roth because the money's already been taxed from my paycheck or how does that work when it isn't a retirement account deducting from my check pre/post tax? Thanks. [link] [comments] |
| Advice on Decade Old Credit Card Debt Posted: 03 Mar 2022 08:33 AM PST Hi, Here is my background story. I came to the US in my teens for high school and college. During my senior year in college, I racked up some credit debt ($~7500) from Capital One and Citi. I went back to my home country to work, around 5 years +. In 2015, I came back to the US for graduate school (master + PhD), and I am recently graduated, found a job, planning to settle in the states for good, i.e. buying house and such. I "sort" of forgot about the debts I owed 12 years ago, and it is NOT on my credit report (my current score is 772 with Equifax). I only realized this because I was applying to the Costco Citi card, the application was rejected due to delinquency on the account. I assume I could not apply to any capital one credit card either. I have CSP credit card (credit limit $20k), chase freedom (credit limit $14.5k) and discovery IT (1st cc since coming back to the US in 2015, credit limit $5k). I have no loans, nor debts, other than the previously mentioned situation. My questions are the following,
Thank you for reading! Kay [link] [comments] |
| 10 years at my company, offered severance or 2 months to find a new role internally Posted: 03 Mar 2022 10:29 AM PST Like the title says, I have been at my company 10 years. They are restructuring my team and a bunch of us have been offered a severance package, or given a deadline to find a new role within the company within 2 months. I was a little shocked by the news but I understand this kind of thing happens in large companies. The severance for me would be in the low six figures. In order to qualify I need to stay at the company 2 more months, and can only start a new job after my termination date. I'm nervous about being unemployed and finding a new job because it has been 10 years since I have done that and I don't know how marketable my skills are. At the same time the severance package is attractive. I am confident I will be able to find a new role internally in my company, this is the safer option for sure. Other info: I am 35, currently single and renting, I have enough savings to potentially last me 5-6 years but I don't want to live off those for more than a month or two. I am curious what others would do in my position, or if anyone has been through a similar issue. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Mar 2022 08:06 AM PST Hi all - was hoping to get some advice on a retirement strategy for my parents. Here are some details:
Since they're older, I want to lean more on the conservative side...but open to feedback and other suggestions.
Hopefully this is enough information. Happy to share more if needed! Thank you all in advance! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Mar 2022 09:28 AM PST Hi, I am positive I've done what's legally required of me to get the house deed in my name after my mother passed away about 7 years ago. I've never refinanced the house in my name. The monthly bills still go to her address and get mail forwarded to me, and I pay them on time. I am about to start paying 4x the amount of the mortgage every month and I expect it to be paid off early next year. I explained this last night to one of my friends who works in banking and he's telling me that the bank will probably screw me over somehow, or I'll be in a tough spot trying to clear everything with the state. But, he didn't give me specifics because he's just assuming. I probably should have refinanced shortly after her passing, but that's in the past. I don't want to get the house refinanced at this point as it's just going to be a waste of money/fees. Anybody feel like this is going to present a problem for me somehow? Thanks. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Mar 2022 06:50 AM PST I know what a HELOC is, borrowing against the equity of the property as a line of credit similar to a credit card. What I don't understand despite my attempts a googling is the mechanics of how it actually works. I did see something about a draw period and a repayment period but I didn't really follow it. But what if I need additional moneys a couple months later before fully paying off the first draw? How our monthly minimum payments determined, both amount and number of months for repayment? To help illustrate, let me spell out a hypothetical (which I hope doesn't break this sub's rules): Approved for $100,000 HELOC at say 5% APR. Hire contractor(s) to make various repairs/remodeling totaling $50,000. $15k is due right away, another $10k two months later, and the last $25k three months after that. Two months after that, another $5 repair is needed. When would repayment need to start? How much per month initially and how much more after each additional draw? How many months/years for full repayment? To bring this back into reality, I own a property worth $500k free and clear. Value is the land, not the house. It needs a new kitchen and bathroom, including all new plumbing from the street. Not looking for luxury/high end, basic box store/builders grade would be fine. Not in the position to front this cost and need to use the property value to pay for it. It will not be owner occupied, but a traditional investment mortgage might be an option despite the higher fees (compared to a traditional owner occupied mortgage), but would hate to over borrow and be sitting on extra money and a higher monthly bill or worse, borrow too little and run short. HELOC might make more sense so as not to have to guess on the total repair costs/flexibility on total amount borrowed, but again, I'm not sure on the actual mechanics of using a HELOC, hence this post. [link] [comments] |
| Any tips for an 18 year old in his first year of college wanting to become financially independent? Posted: 03 Mar 2022 11:02 AM PST Im working part time as a entry level software developer and making about 6k a year (I know its not much but money is not a necessity since im still living with my parents), I want to know if any of you had any tips on next steps for me to become independent. I have a bank account and a debit card but im thinking of getting a credit card to start building up my credit. I also started investing a percentage of what I earn which is not much but its something. Any tips for my next steps to becoming financially independent? [link] [comments] |
| Choosing Fidelity funds for Roth IRA account Posted: 03 Mar 2022 10:14 AM PST I'm 28 and married, just started investing with Roth-IRA this year, planning to max out to 6000$. Based on bogleHead's 3 fund folio: With Fidelity, for example, you could construct a three-fund portfolio using:
I'm confused,
I'm thinking:
Please suggest [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Mar 2022 10:08 AM PST I know that I shouldn't pull money from it. I'm trying to pay a 2,000 credit card. The reason is that everytime I put a lot of money to pay it off. Something on my car breaks and needs fixing. My dog has to have surgery on March 31st. I need to have money for that which is $1100. I have $600 on my other credit card. I own like $300 to the tool truck dude. Also $1700 for transmission parts for my other car to run. I'm just trying to get all of my debt paid off. The card that needs $2000 paid off is a 0% balance transfer but that won't help until I get it paid off. I do plan to pay $600 to it tomorrow. Next month I get 3 paychecks so I can blow that all on my credit cards. Anyone have any advice on what I should go about doing this? Maybe a better way? [link] [comments] |
| Should I stay at near-minimum wage to keep my insurance? Posted: 03 Mar 2022 10:06 AM PST Hey guys, so I work with my parents in our family business. Right now I get paid just above minimum wage. I take home roughly $16k/year and the medicaid cutoff is about $17.5k in my state. We don't make a ton of profit, so best case scenario is that I could get maybe $22k/year as a "raise" if I ask. But if I do this, I'll lose my medicaid insurance. Would that raise be worth the loss of insurance? I've never purchased private insurance, I've always been on either my parents' insurance until I Was 26 and medicaid after that. So I'm not sure what the real cost of insurance will be. Any advice would be appreciated! [link] [comments] |
| How do I refinance a car loan? Posted: 03 Mar 2022 05:50 AM PST Hi all! I bought a new car last May (I know buying a new car is not a great idea and I should have bought used) with a high monthly payment and interest rate. At the time my credit was in the low 650 and I just got a new job which I needed a car for. Now almost a year later, my credit score has jumped up to 731 and I've been getting offers to refinance my car with a much lower interest rate and monthly payment. I currently have a car loan with Wells Fargo. If I apply and get approved for a new car loan, would that car loan transfer? Would I have to pay both before the transition? How does that work? Sorry if this has been asked before, I'm just new to the subreddit and I don't have a lot of experience with this type of stuff! [link] [comments] |
| How do I negotiate this house I'm buying as-is? Posted: 03 Mar 2022 05:24 AM PST How should I state my offer considering how much work it needs? I don't want to go too low and insult the seller. I'm buying a house as-is from a family friend who has moved into assisted living. It's not on the market yet so she won't be getting competing offers. I'm pre-approved for the mortgage and I also have enough in savings to buy in cash. The house will be worth $130k after being updated. Seller doesn't want to put a dime more into it, just wants to sell. It has a new roof, windows, furnace, and hot water. No A/C, this is upstate New York. It needs a new kitchen and 2 bathrooms need updating. The "kitchen" is from like 1950 when the house was built. Zero counter tops, just a pedestal sink, a gas range, and a fridge - it's basically an 8x8 closet surrounded by load bearing walls. Bathrooms are tiny with crumbling tiles. The second floor needs to be gutted and new insulation and walls. Current walls upstairs are literally just wallpaper - no drywall, no paneling, just paper. Otherwise the house is solid. My uncle next door is a handyman and has helped the owner with odd jobs over the years. He assured me it is solid, just needs updating. Property taxes are $5300. The problem is that given the current market, the asking price is $130k as-is. I think it needs about $40k in updates to bring it into the 21st century and achieve that value. The bank agrees with me. For comparison, the house 2 doors down recently sold for $126k but fully updated and with a finished basement, which this house doesn't have. I want to offer $80k cash or will do $90k mortgage but that will involve a bank, appraisers, inspectors, lawyers, realtors, etc. Do you think that's a good offer? I don't have anyone else to consult with. This is my first time buying a house and everyone else in my family bought their homes from the price of a McChicken decades ago and don't have current knowledge of the market. Edit: Thank you all for the input. I will be hiring an independent appraiser. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Mar 2022 11:20 AM PST Hello all. I just got offered a job today after seven years of not working. Five because of a chronic illness that left me bed bound, and then two because of the pandemic. I'm happy to be getting a job. It's nothing glamorous. A bank teller. But they're eager to hire and I had a good interview. I used to work in film. Have a bachelors degree. I feel a little like shit but know I need to start somewhere. Dilemma. I need a car asap now. I'm about to be sent an offer letter, will that be enough to prove employment? My credit score is about 711, 688 is the lowest one between transunion, experian, and the other one. I don't want a POS. I have about $4k in savings. Can I get a decent used car and finance it?? What are my chances. What's my best bet, and what's a financing offer that I should be looking to get? I've fcked up on money for a lot of my life and I'm trying to be extremely smart going forward so, I'm coming for advice. [link] [comments] |
| Trying to get outside perspective on my situation Posted: 03 Mar 2022 08:57 AM PST I'm 29, almost 30, living in a high COL area that's a bit unique. I'm making just under $100k after tax. Have about $13k in savings, $8k individual investments and $2.5k in a Roth IRA, $140k in 401k. Take home pay is roughly $5200. Monthly rent is $1250, with necessities like basic utilities, gym, internet etc bring that to $1500 monthly I usually spend a lot on food because I spend 2-2.25 hours on the road everyday and work 10-11 hour days. I live pretty far from my job because the job site is fairly remote and incredibly expensive to rent in (if I can even find a place) so my gas expenses are about $150 a month on a Corolla that's paid off. I also have 3.5k left in student loans at 3.15% which I've paid down aggressively since I started working. In total I'll spend about 800 on food and gas. And maybe an extra ~50 for weekly entertainment so I don't go crazy from this prison-like lifestyle. I've been wanting to borrow against my 401k to buy a house but I'm always put off when I look at the local market and find nothing but run down duplexes or quadplexes that without question require new exterior, roof, or some other costly repair due to being VERY old properties. In some instances the houses are unlivable but still sell for over 300k and my realtor claims I have to be willing to bid at least 15% over on nicer properties that aren't total dumps which I clearly can't afford. The same is true for just about anything that costs less than ~450k. Essentially the only options I see are save up for years until I can afford what are currently a 450k+(list price) 2bed/2bath homes or just forget about owning a home altogether and try to invest money and hope it outgrows the housing market. To add insult my employer is increasing workforce and is paying new hires more and offering insane housing buying assistance to them =( I've heard first hand of up to 85k…. I've also wanted to buy a truck since most of my hobbies are very outdoorsy type things like fishing, snowboarding, and hunting but also because it snows where I live and I've had too many close calls. I've gotten by so far by hitching rides or taking my Corolla on dirt roads which I don't like doing. I guess my question is what appears to be the best path forward? Would buying a truck to make my life a bit more enjoyable be worth it or should I try to continue saving for a house that I won't have to immediately repair upon move in? Are house repairs as costly as I'm imagining? I've thought about leaving my job and looking for a lower cost of living area in Texas even though I kind of like what I do. I feel trapped with everything increasing in price so quickly. This year I turned down my 401k contributions to the minimum employer match to put more in my savings but I'm not sure how good of an idea that was. Thanks for reading my rant If you got this far. Hope people can offer some valuable advice [link] [comments] |
| Plan on buying a house, what to do with my yearly bonus? Posted: 03 Mar 2022 11:08 AM PST I plan on buying a house this year. I'm also receiving a $30k bonus this year. I have the option of taking the bonus as a one-time payout and paying taxes on it (I expect to pay about half in taxes), or contributing up to 85% of it to my 401k. If I plan to use this bonus as part of my down payment for a house, is it better if I eat the tax and take the payout, or throw it into my 401k and then borrow against it? What are the procs/cons of each option? [link] [comments] |
| Advice on path out of credit card debt? Posted: 03 Mar 2022 11:02 AM PST Hi everyone! I (25F) am looking for some help evaluating my options for paying down my credit card debt. I currently have 2 credit cards:
I currently pay the minimum payment + an additional $150-$200 (depending on the month) toward each card. I'm obviously more immediately concerned about the Discover card balance - the Capital One is a lot more manageable, and therefore has lower interest fees and minimum payments. EDIT: I understand that the interest rates are the same - but since the Capital One balance is lower, the interest fee is lower compared to the interest fees incurred on my high Discover card balance. I just got an offer from my bank for a pre-approved credit card with a 0% promotional APR for the first 15 billing cycles on balance transfers. A balance transfer fee also applies, either $10 or 4% of each transfer, whichever is greater. My question is: What is the best way to utilize a deal like this to my advantage? i.e. Is there a 'magic number' to transfer from my Discover card to a new credit line that will allow me to most efficiently pay down my debt? Is it better to transfer a portion of the balance to the new card so that I can strategically pay down that amount with no interest before the promotional APR ends, and then have a low to zero balance on the new card at the end of the 15 billing cycles? Or would it be better to transfer the entire balance and pay down as much as I can? Or maybe transfer half of the balance, pay down as much as possible, and then have lower minimum payments/ overall balances on each card to help boost my credit score and lessen the monthly burden? OR -> Is this a bad idea overall? Any advice at all would be really helpful! I really want to tackle my finances and take action toward paying down my debt, but I'm confused on the right path. Thank you! PS: If more information is needed for context, let me know! [link] [comments] |
| Investment Advice for a Beginner Posted: 03 Mar 2022 04:58 AM PST I (26) have a few thousand dollars I feel comfortable setting aside to invest. Basically with student loan deferment I was able to save a lot the last few years and now can comfortably afford expenses and have a nice safety net. I already pay the matched contribution toward the retirement my employer offers plus some extra. I'm really risk averse though, so I'm not sure how comfortable I am with stocks. Where and how should I invest my money safely for a low risk reasonable return? Government bonds, more into retirement? [link] [comments] |
| Super confused on backdoor Roth conversion I performed in 2022 for year 2021. Posted: 03 Mar 2022 02:08 AM PST I contributed $6000 to a Roth IRA for 2021. I ended up making too much money by the end of the year. In January 2022, I contacted Schwab and they performed the backdoor conversion over the phone with me. They had me create a traditional IRA. They transferred funds from the Roth to the traditional, and then performed the conversion back to the Roth. They said I would owe only a couple hundred dollars in taxes and would need to fill out a tax form (8606 I think?). I am checking my tax forms in my Schwab account and I have a 1099 for my brokerage, and a "year end gain loss reporting 2021" for my Roth IRA. I don't see any 8606 form. I'm just really confused on what forms I need to give to my accountant. Since this conversion was technically done in 2022 (but for the year 2021) does that mean I don't have to worry about this until tax season next year? In other words, are the taxes owed for 2022 or 2021? [link] [comments] |
| Should I buy/lease a new car or just stay with the current car I have? Posted: 03 Mar 2022 10:35 AM PST Hi everyone, first time poster here. As the title says, I need advice on whether or not I should commit to buying/leasing a new car, or just stay with my current car. Income: 120k annual salary Debt: 13k student loan debt (200/month, low interest, taking time to pay off) Spending: Total 2.5k monthly for everything (absolutely everything from rent all the way to fun money) So here's my current situation. I had a leased car that I bought out at 13k last year. Current estimates from dealerships shows that I can sell the car at around 17.5k due to the market conditions. Under the assumption that I am somehow able to get a car at near MSRP, should I utilize the current conditions to take advantage of that discrepancy of 4.5k? for an additional detail, I'm looking at a price range of 30-35k. Let me know what you guys think. [link] [comments] |
| Does a cosigner increase personal loan approval odds? Posted: 03 Mar 2022 10:29 AM PST
Right now I'm being rejected by every loan offer out there mainly due to my revolving balances on all my credit cards which is the meat of my debt (~$16,000). I was trying to find a way to pull out a loan, hopefully $20,000 or more (or even just half that to wipe out the main portion of my debt), but no one is accepting me. I have a few family members and some friends that I could possibly add as a cosigner (which as I know it is a huge responsibility but they'll understand my situation). Will this hopefully increase my approval odds if they have great income history and credit history? Really need to work something out in the next few months if I'm to try to make sure my debt is settled down a little bit and I have enough money to pay for rent amongst other things. Thanks everyone! [link] [comments] |
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