College Board Releases New College Cost Figures

College cost trends Every October, the College Board releases its Trends in College Pricing report that highlights college cost increases and trends. While costs can vary significantly by region and individual college, the College Board publishes average cost figures, which are based on its survey of 3,500 colleges across the country. Here are highlights from …

Will You See Higher Tax Rates in 2011?

The following information is reprinted with permission from Forefield, Inc. The year was 2001. The top marginal federal income tax bracket was 39.6%, and the tax rate that applied to most long-term capital gains was 20%. Then came the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, followed two years later by the Jobs …

Disappearing Tax Preparers, The Phantom Is Back

During preseason practices at a small college some years ago, I observed an unnerving phenomenon. Each morning at breakfast everyone would look around, taking a head count or otherwise attempt to figure out who was missing. Everyone knew that during the dead of night that something happened, people were somehow taken away – without a …

Standing Out In The Crowd: IRS Statistics

Many people like to stand out in a crowd, to have something a little different that’s out of the ordinary. Whether it’s the car they drive, a certain attire, or even a favorite hobby – most people like to feel special – to have or do something unique that is just a little different from everyone else. Yet …

Clunkers For Charity

So what’s to be done with the old family Clunker? It’s now ten years old and it has been around the world twice. From July through October of 2009 you could have turned that old heap into a $3,500 – $4,500 voucher towards the purchase of a new car. (Of course it had to be …

Required Minimum Distributions for 2010: They’re Back!

While this post contains difficult reading (I admit it!), it does provide important information for those subject to the Required Minimum Distribution rules. If these rules do not apply to you and you read this anyway, you probably should have been a CPA! Required minimum distributions, often referred to as RMDs, are amounts the federal government …