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How To Use Dividends To Reduce Taxes And Protect Income

By Frugaling 6 Comments

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Dividends Photo
Photo: LendingMemo

Over the last few months, I developed plans to minimize my tax bill, earn more money, and invest in the stock market. Much of this financial planning is motivated by an upcoming tax burden that’s sure to sting.

The problem starts with self-employed earnings. These are filed under Schedule C of the U.S. tax code. Unfortunately, those earnings don’t include withheld funds that support Medicare and Social Security. To account for this, the federal government requests about 30% in self-employment taxes.

As someone who’s funneled as much cash as possible to swiftly pay off student loans, I don’t necessarily have a lot of liquidity or extra funds to pay this tax bill (yet). The U.S. government doesn’t adequately account for someone paying off student loans when asking for the tax bill at the end of the year (and this is just the tip of the iceberg for financial aid concerns).

With these worries in mind, I took time today to restrict my spending ability, increase my regular income, and provide a bit of a tax shelter. And it all starts with dividends.

One of the most contentious elements in our tax code has to do with capital gains and dividend taxes. Whereas normal income from work is taxed at steep, progressive rates, these stock-affiliated earnings receive an artificial discount. If you make over $406,750 as a single person, you pay only a 20% tax on dividend earnings. And if you hold stocks/assets for over one year, you also qualify for this reduced rate.

Dividend income
Only 20% of qualified dividends and long-term capital gains are taxed for those making over $406,750 per year.

For me, as a single filer with projected earnings of less than $36,900 for 2014, I’m looking at a brilliant tax rate of 0%! You heard me right: zero percent! That means for every stock that I hold onto for over one year or qualified dividend I receive, I should be able to keep the entirety of that income. Here’s where nifty financial planning will help lower my tax burden and increase the money in my pocket.

Today, I made a small (large for me, though) investment in Apple Inc. (AAPL). The stock is currently valued at $95.25, as of August 5, 2014. At that value, it is hardly one of the greatest income earners, but it pays a substantial 2% dividend yield. Simultaneously, Apple is still highly favorable among stock analysts — Yahoo Finance suggests that the collective price target is $104.79 within 1 year.

Based on stagnant yield growth, I should make about $31.96 per year from dividends. That’s all income that should receive a 0% tax due to those gains. Based on about a 10% (possible) appreciation in Apple for one year, any gains will be completely protected from taxation — even after I sell the stock. I will again have the 0% tax liability.

Long term capital gains and dividend income
This is the benefit! I’ll be paying nothing via qualified dividends and long-term capital gains taxes!

The political climate around changing capital gains taxes is terrible. The regulations should change — they need to stop benefiting the wealthy. Warren Buffett has frequently complained about this tax code inconsistency, and suggested that it unfairly rewards the wealthy. I think he knows a thing or two about investing, too! Until then, and as a low-income earner, I need to use this system to my advantage to reduce my tax liability and increase earnings.

Filed Under: Make Money Tagged With: Capital, Dividend, dividends, gains, Income, invest, Investments, stock, Stock Market, taxes, Warren Buffett

Destroy The 40-Hour Workweek

By Frugaling 57 Comments

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workweek posture picture
It’s time to destroy the 40-hour workweek. Photo: Joe Loong/Flickr

Our American economy needs you to work nothing less than 40 hours per week. The message is simple: earn more, collect belongings, and don’t stop until you retire/die. Unless you meet this expectation, be prepared to be called lazy and unproductive — stuck in the unfortunate world of lower and middle incomes. And if you’re not doing something that makes more money than your neighbor, you ought to think about changing careers.

McMansions, vehicles, and stores grow. In turn, our consumption escalates. We need more to fill our bigger homes; otherwise, they feel empty. Meanwhile, our wallets are stripped and we maintain this cycle of work and near poverty — just getting by. Despite going through a horrific “great recession” over the last few years, companies have continued to report record revenue and profits. The business world is clearly benefiting from our workweek and continued spend.

This current system is predicated on infinite growth. If you’re not continually benefiting from pay raises and getting promoted, you’re not doing it right. Since the Industrial Revolution, we haven’t stopped to seriously question what we’ve created and amassed. Like worker zombies, it’s hard not to see the countless hours we put into companies — all so that we reach financial independence.

Steel Mills Pittsburgh PA Workweek
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the steel boom. Clouds of ash engulfed the city continually.

Unfortunately, infinite growth has two awful consequences: unstable population and climate change. The world population was about 300 million in 1000 AD. The Industrial Revolution sparked atmospheric population increases. Now, the U.S. alone has around 300 million citizens. There are over 7 billion people on the planet, and that number is rapidly increasing.

As we developed more efficient means to produce and manufacture goods, fossil fuel use increased and never stopped. The delicate balance of carbon dioxide in the air shifted and it devastated our climate. We are suffering from an inescapable greenhouse gas effect where the temperature of Earth rises and natural disasters worsen. Even when faced with this dire news, we make a societal shrug and continue to pump out record amounts of oil and coal to feed growth.

The market demands this. If you watch the stock market, you’ll see investors and institutions pressure companies for constant revenue growth. Stagnation is likened to the death of a company — maintenance isn’t enough. We have a myopic economic policy of long-term instability for short-term riches. Profits over people is a rewarded mantra on Wall Street, and it leads to absurd business practices that hurt their employees and our environment further.

We live in a world where the Koch brothers are lobbying to tax alternative energy sources, Microsoft stock (MSFT) increases when they announce thousands in job cuts, and corporate executives are paid, on average, 350-to-1 for regular employees. Incontrovertible evidence suggests that we are causing irreparable harm to our environment, while we maintain this status quo.

It’s time to break out of this cyclical destruction. We need to find another method to contribute to society in a positive manner — one that doesn’t cause harm to future generations and massive environmental diaspora.

It may all start with reducing our workweek, because the 40-hour schedule is destructive:

“The eight-hour workday developed during the industrial revolution in Britain in the 19th century, as a respite for factory workers who were being exploited with 14- or 16-hour workdays.

As technologies and methods advanced, workers in all industries became able to produce much more value in a shorter amount of time. You’d think this would lead to shorter workdays.

But the 8-hour workday is too profitable for big business, not because of the amount of work people get done in eight hours (the average office worker gets less than three hours of actual work done in 8 hours) but because it makes for such a purchase-happy public. Keeping free time scarce means people pay a lot more for convenience, gratification, and any other relief they can buy. It keeps them watching television, and its commercials. It keeps them unambitious outside of work.”

The idea of changing this age-old work life is gaining popularity. In Sweden, government offices are attempting a shift to a 6-hour workday:

“Municipal staff in Gothenburg will act as guinea pigs in a proposed push for six-hour workdays with full pay, with hopes that it will cut down on sick leave, boost efficiency, and ultimately save Sweden money.”

See, the Swedes understand that by cutting back, their employees will be more productive with their time and suffer from less burnout. Even in capitalistic America, the founders of Google are beginning to advocate for reductions in our workweek. In the following video, the tech titans are advocating for this change for a more productive future.

There’s a tragic irony about this whole problem: we developed technologies, vehicles, and our massive global economy to increase productivity. But who’s really benefited from these changes except a select few? Most workers are working more than ever, despite record productivity and profitability. We haven’t invented and invested in a technology that truly eased our workweeks.

The system is broken and skewed. We have an opportunity to respect our fellow humans and environment — for generations to come. Perhaps it’s time to shift forward, and evolve towards empathy and positive economic models. Perhaps it’s time to emphasize healthy companies over exorbitant profits. Infinite growth is not sustainable on a planet with finite resources. Let’s throwaway these antiquated economic ideals.

Filed Under: Social Justice Tagged With: 40-hour, climate change, Compensation, environment, Industrial Revolution, Pay, Population, Recession, Salary, Stock Market, Wall Street, Work, workweek

Prepare For Your Biggest Tax Deduction

By Frugaling 1 Comment

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2014 Tax deductions preparation
My chicken scratch as I calculate and prepare my taxes for 2014

I owe how much?!

I used to love filing taxes. There was a generous reward and refund each year. As my income sources changed, so did the tax benefits. Nowadays, with the “business” of Frugaling and various self-employment taxes that result, the tax refunds have ended.

Last year’s tax filing led to a nearly $1,000 payment to federal government. That was the first time I ever owed money. I was a significant budgetary hit.

This year is shaping up to be another rough payment. I believe our tax system is flawed, but I want to do my part — my fair share. But there are various ways to ease that burden. I’m already beginning to prepare and save.

Accounting for 2014 taxation

Self-employment taxes

Based on everything from 2013’s taxes, there will be a steep tax for my business income. My business income — from Frugaling.org — is considered self-employment, and is taxed as such. Essentially, it is paid tax free (medicare, medicaid, and social security taxes are not withheld initially) by companies and then I must report the income to the federal government. This year, I’ve estimated my total earnings to better save for the payment.

Tax deductions and credits

Along with business income preparation, I’m looking at current education expenses with a critical eye. Despite being a graduate student with an assistantship (aka, “job”), there are various student fees that aren’t covered.

With tuition and fee inflation/increases, this total will soon reach nearly $5,000 per year for my doctoral education. Thankfully, the federal government subtracts this value from my income — considered a tax deduction for the adjusted gross income (AGI).

Investment contributions

The last piece is where I’m spending increasing time: retirement accounts. I’ll be able to significantly reduce my tax burden this way.

Before this year, I had a near-dormant IRA that was underfunded forever. Unfortunately, I didn’t understand the traditional IRA contribution benefits. I deposited $1,000 into a Roth IRA, which doesn’t benefit from the contribution.

The best thing I could’ve done would be to open a traditional IRA — seek a contribution deduction and retirement savings contributions credit. Now I know! Since then, I’ve deposited about $1,000 into a traditional IRA, which will will net me $1,000 in deductions to income, and an estimated $100 in contribution credits. That will seriously reduce my tax burden and get me saving faster.

Preparation pays off in the end

I spent the last 6 hours calculating how to reduce my tax liability (legally — come on people!). Based on my initial calculations, I’ll save about $2,000 on my final tax payment by contributing more to my traditional IRA, realizing all business deductions and expenses, and saving everything I can. That’s about $333 of savings per hour! Not too shabby.

It’s difficult to save money from the tax man. Preparation and prevention doesn’t necessarily feel as important as making more money, but without taking serious action, you won’t be saving much. There’s no sense working like a dog and not being able to take advantage of the tax code.

Filed Under: Save Money Tagged With: Credits, Deductions, Education Credits, federal, Income, Investments, Self-Employment, Stock Market, tax, taxes

Riskiest Place For Money: Mattress, Bank, Or Stock Market?

By Frugaling 10 Comments

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Cash counting machine 20s

Over the last year, I developed a budget, started making more money than ever, and used credit cards to hack travel costs. I’m more motivated than ever to save money. Using this tactful budgeting and planning, I now have a surplus of savings! After years of bleeding red to student loan debt, it feels deeply satisfying to see the positive, green numbers.

Now that a little nugget of savings has developed, I’m realizing a different anxiety. There are various market actions that can negate your savings plans, and it’s important to protect against them. It seems like every place I look, there are risks for your nascent savings. Today, I wanted to spend some time explaining a few of the risks that await your new wealth.

Under the mattress?

Pros. The classic paranoid and/or privacy-minded decision is to just stick your extra savings under your bed. My late-grandmother seemed to be deeply concerned about her possible access to funds — likely influenced by the Great Depression — and she would constantly have funds hidden away around the house. I thought this was rather bizarre, but appreciated her desire for some amount of cash in case of emergencies. Most importantly, you are not exposed to stock market risks or banking fees.

Cons. Sticking your little nest egg in a little home safe or inside your mattress comes with some risks, too. Not only is your money literally exposed to the elements (i.e., fire, flood, or other natural disasters), but saving your money at home may be put your household at risk for burglars. Lastly, this decision makes you completely vulnerable to inflation (which is a serious long-term concern), you don’t appreciate from interest, or gain stock market exposure that averages about 7-10% per year.

In the bank account?

Pros. Take your paychecks, bonuses, and side income and leave it in your bank account. This could not be easier, and you don’t need to spend any more time deliberating and considering financial decisions. Although, if your money is deposited into checking account, I’d recommend transferring funds to a high-yield, online savings account. You don’t bear any of the stock market risks and there isn’t any risk of loss. All checking and savings accounts are insured through a government organization called the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). The deposit insurance covers each account up to $250,000.

Cons. Even if you’re using a high-yield checking and savings account, you’re likely receiving less than about 1% interest. Inflation is a nasty, hidden force that can eviscerate your savings. For the month of April 2014, inflation in America was about 2.0%. Effectively, just holding it in a bank account will cost you 2% or more if inflation becomes worse.

In the stock market?

Benjamin Franklin Quote Personal FinancePros. Benjamin Franklin really said it best, “A penny saved is a penny earned.” Now that I have some savings, I’d like to make the most of it. I want to send my dollars out to work for me. I opened a couple financial accounts, one of which is an E*TRADE brokerage account. With low transaction fees and commission-free ETFs, this was an easy decision. I’ll be making about 7-10% per year, and attempt to invest in high dividend stocks. This method defeats inflation and puts it to work, as I build a little savings.

Cons. Of all the methods mentioned, this is definitely the riskiest. Investing is not free from thievery and scum; hell, I’d prefer a burglar sometimes, as they do less damage. The Dow Jones fell over 50% during the most recent bubble and crash. (Interested in getting an in-depth understanding of the crash? I highly recommend reading The Big Short by Michael Lewis.) Most investors were decimated by the stock market’s movement, which was caused by bubbling housing prices, credit default swaps, and a variety of predatory practices by big banks. By joining this arena, I’m exposed to criminals on the grandest scale.

There’s no perfect, safe place to store and build a savings. Every option contains risks, and it’s important to consider each and every one of them to make the smartest decision for yourself. For me, I’m taking risks and putting my money in the market. I’m young and looking to put my money to work as fast as possible. 

Filed Under: Save Money Tagged With: Accounts, Checking, Income, invest, investing, money, Save, savings, Stock Market

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