Latest posts
-
The Mutual Fund Capital Gains Distribution Trap — Fix It in 5 Minutes
A mutual fund can pass capital gains to its shareholders even in a year when the fund’s value fell, and the tax bill arrives in a taxable account whether or not you sold anything. The good news is that the fix is quick. A few checks, which take about five minutes, tell you whether a…
-
401k Vesting Cliff: Plan Your 2026 Job Move Around the Match
A 401k vesting cliff can decide how much of your employer match you keep when you change jobs. This post explains how a 401k vesting cliff works, where to find your own vesting date, what a reported example of a person weighing a move looks like, and the steps that turn it into a plan.…
-
The Roth 401(k) Match Tax Surprise Has Two Completely Different Versions
A Roth 401(k) match comes in two versions. Choosing Roth for your own 401(k) contributions does not by itself decide how your employer’s match is treated. SECURE 2.0 let employers offer Roth treatment for matching contributions, so there are now two versions of a match: the traditional pre-tax version and the optional Roth version. The…
-
401(k) True-Up: How to Get Your Full Match If You Front-Load or Leave Mid-Year
Annual match is the focus of this guide. If you contribute most of your 401(k) limit early in the year, a plan that matches each paycheck can stop matching once your contributions stop. A “true-up” is the plan feature that fixes that after year-end. Whether you keep a true-up after you leave depends on how…
-
YNAB Free Trial: A 34-Day Test Plan Before You Pay
A budgeting app is worth paying for only if the method sticks for you, and the YNAB free trial is the cleanest way to find out. This post lays out what YNAB (You Need A Budget) publishes about itself, how its method works, and a week-by-week plan for using the 34-day YNAB free trial to…
-
Why the IRS Estimator Told You to Enter a Number in the Wrong Box
If the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator suggests an amount for Step 3 of the W-4 and you have no dependents or credits in mind, it can look like it is pointing you to the wrong box. It is not. The IRS explains in its own FAQ that Step 3 is a flexible entry that the…
-
W-4 Step 2 Checkbox Versus Worksheet — Which Costs You More
Step 2 of Form W-4 applies if you hold more than one job or your spouse works. The 2026 form gives three ways to handle it, and the title asks which costs you more. The form doesn’t put a dollar amount on that. What the IRS does say is when each option is accurate and…
-
Safe Harbor Rule Underpayment Penalty — 2026’s Hidden Risk
The estimated-tax underpayment penalty is one of the more avoidable tax costs, because the IRS publishes exact payment targets that keep you clear of it. The title mentions a hidden risk for 2026, and the practical one is that the IRS underpayment interest rate for the fourth quarter of 2026 is 7% a year, compounded…
-
Self-Employment Tax on Freelance Income: Calculate It and Price It In
Self-employment tax on freelance income is the single biggest tax surprise for people who leave a paycheck behind, and it’s also one of the easiest to plan for once you know the formula. Everything about it fits on one page: a rate, a base, a cap and a deduction. This post walks through the calculation…
-
The Same-Day Conversion Trick Behind the $47,500 Roth Move
The title’s $47,500 is simple arithmetic: the 2026 annual additions limit of $72,000 minus the $24,500 employee deferral limit leaves $47,500 of room for other contributions if your employer adds nothing. A mega backdoor Roth is a way to use that room by making after-tax 401(k) contributions and converting them to Roth money. The conversion…