Post-Cliff Financial Plans for 2013
U.S.News & World Report LPBy Roger Wohlner | U.S.News & World Report LP
It’s 2013. The world did not end in December and our “leaders” in Washington seem to have averted the fiscal cliff, at least for now. Against this backdrop there are a number of financial planning opportunities for this new year.
Some opportunities born out of the bill passed by the House and the Senate:
–There will be increased opportunities for investors to do Roth conversions. This may or may not be a good idea for you and should be looked at carefully before going this route.
–The estate tax rate increases to 40 percent and the estate tax exemption remains at $5 million. This now allows for some certainty in estate planning which was lacking with the pending expiration of the old rates.
–The income tax rates on the highest earners will rise to 39.6 percent from 35 percent and the tax rates on dividends rise to 20 percent from 15 percent. Together these increases might influence your investing activities in terms of the types of investments held in taxable vs. tax deferred accounts and in the types of investment vehicles in your portfolio.
–Congress has also made permanent a fix to the Alternative Minimum Tax for the next ten years. Again this might make certain investments more desirable and others less so in your taxable portfolio.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/post-cliff-financial-plans-2013-165124022.html