UTMA and UGMA are very similar. Both are uniform code proposals adopted by the individual states. Like other uniform codes (the uniform building code is a common one, for example) these work by proposing a common framework for states to use in order to prevent a hard to use patchwork of laws in each state.
The uniform code did not prevent one important variation. The UTMA or UGMA account comes under the control of the beneficiary when he reaches the age of maturity. However, that age varies from state to state. Typically, the beneficiary assumes control of the UGMA or UTMA at age 18 or 21.
The UTMA and UGMA are two different uniform codes, but they are more alike than they are different.
UTMA is the Uniform Transfer to Minors Act. People say, “ut-mah” when they talk about them.
UGMA is the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act.
When it comes to rollovers or transfers between 401k accounts and IRA accounts, one word makes a lot of difference.
A 401k rollover requires that 20 percent of the amount being rolled over be withheld for taxes, even though the account owner still has to deposit 100 percent of the amount within 60 days to avoid taxes and penalties.
A 401k transfer requires no withholding and moves the funds tax-free.
An IRA rollover gives the account owner 60 days to deposit any rolled over funds into a new IRA account. IRS rules limit each taxpayer to only one rollover per year.
An IRA transfer moves the money directly to a new qualified retirement plan account with no delays and with no one per year limits.
A trustee-to-trustee transfer occurs when you move funds from one qualified retirement plan custodian to another without ever having control of the money.
The April jobs report is due out from the U.S. Labor Department on Friday. While economic statistics typically have a temporary effect on Wall Street before being shoved aside by whatever bit of news or data arrives a few days later, the April jobs number could be a bigger deal than usual.
Recently, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged. Following the announcement, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke held the first ever Fed press conference in which he laid out the Fed’s view of the U.S. economy. He suggested that the economic recovery is slowing. He didn’t use the word fragile, but plenty of people heard it anyway. He also suggested that inflation was tame and that any uptick was dwarfed by the greater potential for a slowdown in growth.
Business spending has been measured, despite a tiny boom going on in Silicon Valley. Con
Today marks the first time the Federal Reserve will hold a press conference to go along with it’s decision on whether to change interest rates. Most observers expect the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged (basically at zero percent), so the real action will be in the details that emerge from the press conference where questions about how the economy is doing, what the Fed is doing, and how long they think those things will last, will take center stage.
In another change, the Federal Open Market Committee will also release the quarterly growth and inflation estimates that is uses to make its rate decisions today. U
Today is April 15th; taxes are due today.
Wait! Actually, tax day 2011 is actually on April 18th thanks to a Washington D.C. holiday being observed on April 15th.
That means all you slacker, procrastinators, and just plain still working on them taxpayers out there get a whole other weekend to work on your income taxes.
Don’t forget, you can also file for an extension. Everyone is permitted an automatic tax filing extension of six months by filling out and submitting Form 4868 – Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.
You still have to pay your taxes by April 15th. An extension to file is not the same as an extension to pay.
Wondering what happens if I don’t file my income taxes?
If you can’t pay your income taxes, you can ask the IRS for a payment plan. There is a fee for setting up a payment plan, however. If you
Financial advisors and other financial professionals throw around certain terms like everyone already knows what they mean. In some cases, they are right, and in other cases, most people only have a partial grasp on what exactly a certain financial term means. In many cases, knowing the full definition of a word or phrase makes all the difference.
Pre-tax dollars is a phrase that is often used in conjunction with retirement planning and 401k contributions. In fact, one of the benefits of a 401k plan is that contributions are made with pre-tax dollars. But, what is the definition of pre-tax dollars, anyway?
When an employee gets paid, there are numerous deductions that get taken out of their paycheck. These payroll deductions range from income tax withholding to FICA taxes to voluntary contributions for things like health insurance or cafeteria plans (Section 125 plans).
Some of the deductions from your paycheck, like federal tax withholding, are computed based on how much you are paid.
One topic that generates a lot of confusion in people’s personal finances is what is the difference between exempt and nonexempt employees?
There are actually a lot of nuances and pages of labor law that deal with the difference between nonexempt and exempt employees. However, the practical implications of what it means to be an exempt employee or non exempt employee are pretty straight forward.
Basically, it comes down to whether you have to be paid for overtime or whether you have to be paid the minimum wage.
The definition of exempt employee is one who is not subject to the minimum wage or overtime rules of the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA.
An FLSA exempt employee must fall into one of several categories to qualify as exempt. What determines exempt employee by labor law standards is what role the employee has in their job. A
Several major banks, including most of those deemed “too big to fail,” are set to raise their dividends and announce large stock repurchases after passing the latest Federal Reserve “stress test.”
Banks and financial institutions that have repaid their government bailout TARP funds and passed the stress test have been given the go-ahead by the Federal Reserve to make new capital-based decisions such as increasing their dividend payouts or doing share buybacks.
Shortly after the Fed’s announcement, the financial sector came alive with press releases about how the banking stocks would take advantage of the new allowances.
J.P. Morgan announced both a higher dividend and a share buyback, for example.
During the height of the banking crisis, most banks and financial stocks were forced to cut their dividends to minimal levels, or even to zero. Eliminati