Newsroom View

If you've had a toe in the stock market for more than a few years, you likely have grown increasingly giddy watching your profits pile up. But there's a flip side to the story: Eventually, you might need to share a lot of those gains with your partner.

If you've had a toe in the stock market for more than a few years, you likely have grown increasingly giddy watching your profits pile up. But there's a flip side to the story: Eventually, you might need to share a lot of those gains with your partner.

A possible third round of stimulus payments could come soon, with checks of up to $1,400 per eligible adult. But before the federal government issues those payments, it's worth reviewing how the first two rounds went.

The arrival of 2021, as welcome as it was, put a hard stop on most moves by Americans to lower their 2020 tax bills. The window for things like making charitable donations or taking capital losses to offset gains slammed shut on December 31.

But there are still a few things people can do now to cut last year’s taxes. Several involve contributions to retirement accounts, with deadlines as late as Oct. 15. Another could reduce penalties for filers behind on last year’s tax payments.

Retirement savers need to pay close attention to their income tax filings this year because of pandemic-related changes to rules for required withdrawals.

Even in normal times, the rules for mandatory minimum withdrawals can be confusing, and are even more so this year because of a mash-up of tax changes and virus relief programs. If you get things right, you can avoid paying unnecessary taxes, financial advisers say.

Christine Benz: Hi, I'm Christine Benz from Morningstar. We're in the thick of tax season. Joining me to discuss what should be on your radar as you ready your 2020 tax return is tax and IRA expert, Ed Slott. He's the author of a new book called The New Retirement Savings Bomb. Ed, thanks for being here.

In a recent column, you talked about the possible pitfalls in retirement of giving financial help to adult children and family members. My question: How do you say “no”? I think refusing a request is difficult for most parents.

IRA trusts may have lost some of their luster in the wake of the SECURE Act.

Under the act, long-term tax deferral is still permitted for certain IRA beneficiaries but others must empty the inherited account within 10 years. Beneficiaries of employer-sponsored qualified plans face the same new rules.

Ed Slott’s much-hyped new book, “The New Retirement Savings Time Bomb: How to Take Financial Control, Avoid Unnecessary Taxes, And Combat the Latest Threats to Your Retirement Savings,” was released today during a live, virtual a book launch party at 6 p.m. ET.

ED SLOTT IS THE CONSUMMATE tax nerd. The best way for him to relax? Read articles about tax law. “I wish I could say I had hobbies,” says Slott, who bills his firm, Ed Slott and Co., as “America’s IRA Experts.”