The Economic Impact of Income Taxes

In honor of the never ending debate on taxes, I thought I’d highlight the results of an older (but still applicable) study from the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy. As I’m sure you’re aware, there’s pressure in a number of states to reduce or abolish personal income taxes. In general, the argument in favor … Read more

IRS Whistleblower Program: Who Qualifies and How it Works

Big news this week: an IRS whistleblower earned $104 million in rewards for turning in tax cheats based on knowledge he gained as a Swiss banker. Pretty slick. If you know any tax evaders and want to doing something similar, read on… Note: Yes, I realize that it’s extremely unlikely that any of you will … Read more

Buying Savings Bonds With Your Tax Refund

Over the past few weeks I’ve mentioned (in passing) the ability to buy additional Series I Savings Bonds with your tax refund. In short, you can request up to $5k in I-Bonds (in $50 increments) with your tax refund. These are issued in paper form and are in addition to the $10k annual (electronic) purchase … Read more

Tax Consequences of Vanguard Mutual Fund Share Conversions

A reader recently wrote in to ask the following about Vanguard Admiral Share conversions: “We’re getting close to being able to convert our Vanguard mutual funds to Admiral Shares. We’re pretty excited about this, but I’m also a little worried. Are there any tax consequences that I should be aware of? I’d hate to get … Read more

How Mutual Fund Expense Ratios Work

The other day, while perusing the Bogleheads investing forum, I ran across a misunderstanding of how mutual fund expense ratios work. In short, someone was holding three different all-in-one mutual funds and was thinking of combining them all into one to avoid “avoid paying the expense ratios” on two of them. As it turns out, … Read more