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2017 Tax Deadline: April 18th
For you procrastinators, there is some good news regarding taxes this year: the tax filing deadline has been moved back to April 18th because the 15th falls on a Saturday and Monday the 17th is a holiday in the District of Columbia. However, you should not wait until the bitter end.

Even if you have to pay, we recommend submitting your return a week in advance just to avoid any possible issues. If you are due a refund, why wait? Get your money now! If you have more questions about tax brackets or other important numbers, please check out our website.

IRA/Roth IRA Contributions
Don’t rob from your future self. Make a payment to your future security. As with taxes, you also have until April 18th to make contributions into your IRA or Roth IRA. (But don’t wait that long or you risk missing the deadline!) Remember that IRA contributions lower your current taxes. They make sense if you are in a high tax bracket now and you will be in a lower one at retirement.

Roth contributions do not lower your current taxes, but they do grow tax free. If you are currently in a low tax bracket and will be in a higher one at retirement, or if you are a long way from retirement, then Roth contributions may be the best option for you.

You can contribute $5,500 total per person to an IRA or Roth. If you are over age 50, you can make a catch-up contribution of $1,000 for a total of $6,500 per year.

If you are eligible for a 401(k) through work and if your income exceeds a certain amount, your ability to deduct IRA contributions or make Roth contributions may be limited. Please consult with your CPA or check out our website to get more information regarding the phase-out limits.

Tax Forms
All of the tax forms have been mailed out, including the delayed tax reporting on non-retirement accounts. We are sorry (especially to the accountants) that the IRS has allowed delays in order for reporting companies to provide more accurate information.

If you still haven’t seen your tax forms, log in to your myStreetscape account and download the forms under the documents section. If you do not have a login, go to www.mystreetscape.com and click “register.” Then follow the prompts to create an account. You can use the same myStreetscape login to go paperless for the future.

In April, myStreetscape is being renamed to Wealthscape. You will be able to use the same login credentials after the transition.

Qualified Charitable Distributions
We’ve had several questions, from clients and accountants, regarding Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD) that were sent directly to charities.
A quick recap: If you are over 70 ½ years old, a QCD allows you to donate part or all of your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) to a charity and avoid paying tax on it.

The 1099-R’s sent by National Financial Services (NFS) show the total amount of distributions and are not reduced by the amount of the QCD. So, the tax preparer should reduce the amount reported on the 1099 by the amount of the QCD to come up with the taxable amount of IRA distributions.

The QCD should NOT be included as an itemized deduction. The potential benefit of the QCD is to remove the IRA distribution from your income, which may lessen the amount of Social Security subject to tax or help you avoid Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). Smedley Financial does not give tax advice. Please consult a qualified CPA to get additional detail.

Source: http://www.smedleyfinancial.com/financial/2017-key-numbers.php. Tax advice is not provided by Securities America representatives; therefore it is important to coordinate with your tax advisor regarding your specific situation.

SFS