<p>I forgot about the exemption. If you think the income will be below the exemption, it may reduce the tax.</p>
<p>Yes, if you fill out the right forms then amounts over $28k come out of your estate exemption. Itâs $5.4 million each for you and your spouse.</p>
<p>This amount could change in the future, of course. It used to be $1 million. </p>
<p>The gift limit is based on calendar year, so you could do December 31/January 1 gifts and get him $56k very quickly. </p>
<p>The banks will want to see some number of months of bank statements, and large deposits will have to be explained. A letter like DrGoogle did may be acceptable, but itâs a complication. 3-4 months ahead is probably enough, certainly not years. </p>
<p>IIRC, the kiddie tax on investment income only supplies to income over $2k in a year.</p>
<p>Donât forgetâŠyour State may want their share of your wealth, too, and it may differ from the Federal rate.</p>
<p><a href=âWhere Not To Die In 2014: The Changing Wealth Tax Landscapeâ>http://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleaebeling/2013/11/01/where-not-to-die-in-2014-the-changing-wealth-tax-landscape/</a></p>
<p>Granny, please tell us some good news! :D</p>
<p>I talked to a friend last night - she is younger than me but her H is 67. He was going to âcut backâ with his work at his company (he is owner), but he has had difficulty doing this - he goes in more hours than he agreed to and doesnât have any energy in the evenings to do anything social. They just had to pay Uncle Sam $20,000 more as a result of company profitability - he should have probably waited to start drawing SS until he got into âthe new grooveâ because it all went back to Uncle Sam. H is having a hard time slowing down because he continues to be fearful of âhaving enoughâ. </p>
<p>Wonât be our problem - H is only 4 months older than me. If he could retire today at age 58 he would!</p>
<p>58 is still too young in the retirement world. </p>
<p>Not if you have had chronic health issues. However for the most part, I do agree.</p>
<p>Years ago people would have the goal of 55, and some could actually do it. My dad had an opportunity to sell his business, and he died at age 63, so he had a couple of years of semi-retirement.</p>
<p>Many just cannot afford the insurance before Medicare kicks in as primary ins.</p>
<p>Depends on how much you have saved, the quality of life you envision, what your needs are, and a host of other factors. I know people working in their 80s and 90s as well as retirees who are young (40s, 50s, 60s, and many in their 70s). Having your financial needs taken care of while being able to enjoy activities you like on your own timetable for some time in your life is important to many of usâeach will find the balance that works for him/her.</p>
<p>SOS, what about ACA? My sister has chronic Heath problem too. I think sheâs paying $300 month.</p>
<p>An ACA plan for two people age 55 will run $10,000-$14000 a year or so, with a $5,000-$12,000 out of pocket max, so it will run around $20,000 if you hit the max.</p>
<p>If the two of you make over about $62,000 per year, you get no premium credit, you will pay the full amount.</p>
<p>âWhatâs everyoneâs opinion on âgiftingâ children some money when we are alive?â - We will probably help our kids with 1st house if we can. In 1985 MIL gifted us $10,000 (a lot of money back then! especially in her circumstances) for our first house. The bank required an official gift letter. It seems right to continue the pay-it-forward tradition. But shhhhh⊠donât tell our kids⊠in the meantime we will be having them repay us for some no-interest personal loans we did to them for college. </p>
<p>Rich, I have to ask my sister what she has because she uses her insurance for medical stuff. She doesnât have high deductible. Iâm taking her to colonoscopy soon so I know she doesnât have high deductible. She did comment how she will try to work under the income limit to get subsidy. But Iâll know more about her specific plans when I see her this weekend.</p>
<p>My father gifted me towards the end of his life the full amount for about 10 years. He also bought me 2 cars in my lifetime. I never wasted the gifted money (paying off the mortgage) and I ran both cars to the ground in mileage. I never wasted it and really appreciated it. The important part is I never expected it and some years he forgot to do it. Yes we could have gone without but it was nice. He was a very conservative person but giving. I always told him to keep it and spend it but I guess this was his way of really enjoying it. Never thought of that way before. Brings tears to my eyes.</p>
<p>We are starting our kids off with Roth IRAâs, letting the time value of money work in their favor.My parents gifted us which was a big help to grandchildren opportunities and college money. I was stay at home mom which also was great for our family - w/o the gift $$ we would have had to downsize on our home (built when we were DINKS - dual income no kids) or had me return to work, but I would have not been able to offer the time and guidance to kids - and my energy level at home would be greatly reduced - brain activity used up on the job. Who knows if I would have had as good an outcome with stage III cancer if I would have had work stresses too (even with my private disability policy).</p>
<p>A big plus for us is having very comprehensive LTC ins policies. That gives us peace of mind.</p>
<p>Now to make it the last 10 years until retirement.</p>
<p>We started both kidsâ ROTH IRAs as well. We have been giving our D money for rent and food while she looks for a job. We gave S a below market loan for his business, charging the minimum 40 basis pointsâ0.4% (4/10 of 1% interest) for up to a year so he can grow his business by buying more inventory.</p>
<p>We will likely figure out how to help the kids with down payments for places to live if they decide they want to buy but havenât figured out how we want to do this. We are puzzling it over. H and I have gotten some significant monetary gifts from family members and plan to pay it forward, either by helping fund down payments and/or future grandkidsâ educations.</p>
<p>Blue Cross in North Carolina has announced that the average price for their ACA plans will rise by over 13% for 2015. Yikes!!!</p>
<p>This is not encouraging for those of us who can foresee being on an ACA plan for 10 years or more.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the new hepC drug treatments that are priced at over $80,000 for a course of pills (price per pill - $1,000) are threatening to overwhelm Medicaid and other taxpayer funded programs such as VA and prison health care.</p>
<p>That sounds horrible.</p>
<p>I wouldnât freak out yet notrichenough. How old are you?</p>
<p>Harvoni is a cure. There is going to be competition. HepC can be incredibly costly to treat. The upfront costs of Harvoni may be high but the costs of treating hep c in the future should drop. </p>
<p>For full disclosure, I am long Gilead Sciences. ;)</p>
<p>Gilead also has Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) medicationsâpeople who take âiceâ or methamphetamine can develop PAH from a young age and need to take medication costing over $100,000/year for the rest of their lives! Yikes!</p>