Meyers Wealth Management

01/09/2026

Just added the QCD limits to this. It's not intended as a comprehensive "cheat sheet" for taxes -- just a reminder of a handful of particularly important thresholds and limits.

[Just a heads-up — this is mostly a placeholder for now — we are going to add more detail, including historic numbers so trends and changes are more clear. And there are some changes wh…

12/04/2025

Watch out for SCAMS. This e-mail just came in -- looks pretty legit! But note the address from which it was sent. And -- this is very important -- the link in the body of the message does NOT take you to the SSA.

NEVER NEVER click on a link in an e-mail. Depending on your computer/tablet/etc, you may be able to "hover" or right-click -- and see where the link will really take you -- and it may NOT be what the text says. They could have had a fake link in there which *looked* like it was going to "ssa.gov" but still got routed elsewhere. In this case, they didn't even do that.

If you get e-mail from your bank, credit card, brokerage, Social Security, etc -- instead of clicking on any link in that e-mail, just go to your web browser and type in a known address directly.

Unfortunately, scammers are getting better and better at making fake e-mails and even entire fake websites to trick you into giving them your credentials. Please be careful out there.

11/14/2025

Various tax issues are adjusted annually for inflation, usually in fixed-sized chunks (ie. nearest $500, etc). The IRS has just published updates for 2026. Here are some of the most important ones: Standard Deductions, IRA and 401k contribution limits, and Gift Tax Annual Exclusions

This page is a work in progress. But we don't want it to be a comprehensive tax page. Just a quick reference for some of the most frequently needed items for planning purposes. Please let us know if you have any suggestions.

[Just a heads-up — this is mostly a placeholder for now — we are going to add more detail, including historic numbers so trends and changes are more clear. And there are some changes wh…

10/25/2025

SS COLA for 2026 is out -- 2.8%, and the amount of earnings on which one may pay SS taxes in 2026 will be $184,500, up from $176,100 in 2025.

More details here -- including our own computation of the SS COLA with details from the BLS -- the actual CPI-W used for the computation. Each year's computation cannot be finalized until the September CPI-W is released.

The BLS released the CPI-W for September 2025 a couple of days ago. This allows the Social Security administration to compute the COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) which will apply to Social Securit…

10/25/2025

The BLS released the CPI-W for September 2025 a couple of days ago. This allows the Social Security administration to compute the COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) which will apply to Social Security benefits in 2026. The COLA for an upcoming year is based on the changes to the CPI-W over the three overlapping 12 month periods ending in July, August, and September of a given year....

The BLS released the CPI-W for September 2025 a couple of days ago. This allows the Social Security administration to compute the COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) which will apply to Social Securit…

10/13/2025

Your Mileage May Vary -- and Oct 2025 update (mainly about 529->Roth rollovers)

You need to be aware that state income tax laws often vary significantly from federal income tax laws. One item which notably has come up very recently is the new 529->Roth IRA rollover created by Secure Act 2.0. If you follow the rules, you may roll money from a 529 into a Roth IRA -- free of federal income taxes and penalties.

Note that just because the federal government changed tax rules -- it isn't always the case that your state's tax rules will follow. We have a blog post which is an ongoing work in progress -- we add new items to it periodically. Today, we've added the 529->Roth rule -- and the fact that California is not playing along. Your Mileage May Vary.

Thanks, as always, for any feedback or additions we can make.
And, of course, this is not specific tax advice. This is general information. See your accountant or EA or tax preparer if you have questions about your own taxes.

THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS. PLEASE BE PATIENT. AND PLEASE CONTRIBUTE IF YOU KNOW OF MORE EXAMPLES! Most of us are subject to several set of tax rules (income and otherwise!). The biggest two, howev…

07/31/2025

Perhaps you saw the headline on the White House's press release: "No Tax on Social Security is a Reality in the One Big Beautiful Bill" Or maybe you saw the e-mail that the Social Security Administration released (at the best of new head, political appointee Frank Bisignano) which claimed "The new law includes a provision that eliminates federal income taxes on Social Security benefits for most beneficiaries"....

Perhaps you saw the headline on the White House’s press release: “No Tax on Social Security is a Reality in the One Big Beautiful Bill” Or maybe you saw the e-mail that the Social…

07/03/2025

THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS. PLEASE BE PATIENT. AND PLEASE CONTRIBUTE IF YOU KNOW OF MORE EXAMPLES! Most of us are subject to several set of tax rules (income and otherwise!). The biggest two, however, are the Federal Income Tax -- and, if you live in one of the states which taxes income (which is most of them) -- your State Income Tax....

THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS. PLEASE BE PATIENT. AND PLEASE CONTRIBUTE IF YOU KNOW OF MORE EXAMPLES! Most of us are subject to several set of tax rules (income and otherwise!). The biggest two, howev…

06/05/2025

Inspired by a great post by Cody Garrett, I've dug up an article I'd originally put on my website back in 2009 and added it back to my current website's blog. It's about UGMA, UTMA and 529 accounts. At one time, it was, by far, the most frequently read article on my website, but it got lost with a website conversion a couple of years ago. I hope you find it helpful, and would love to hear feedback and if you have any questions.

The following post first appeared on Meyers Wealth Management’s pre-blog “News and Notes” section — back in October 2009. It is reproduced here all these years laters as muc…

12/16/2024

Don’t mess around. Get a proper will done. On paper. Review beneficiary designations on all accounts and assets which allow them. Consider a trust. But bottom line: don’t mess around. Work with a professional.

Why the written word is still the final word in estate planning.

09/16/2024

What should my portfolio look like? How should I invest this money?

It depends on you goals, time horizon, risk profile, cash flow needs, and tax management…

And also on your other assets and exposures…

Don’t pay any attention to anyone suggests a stock or a fund without discussing all the rest of those things with you first.

What’s the money /for/? And how does it fit into your financial life?

08/09/2024

To expand a little on the brief post from the other day -- the decision to make Roth conversions -- just as the decision whether to use your traditional vs your Roth accounts (IRA and 401k, etc) -- comes down to one thing -- taxes. Not if, but when.

“Arbitrage” is what we call it when one takes advantage of a difference in prices between two markets. Traditionally, it means buying a security in one market at a low price while simul…