http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1825787-social-security-changes.html
this was the thread where spousal benefits were discussed.
I think this is probably the best thread to answer your question
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1967212-62-66-or-70-best-time-to-start-taking-social-security-p2.html
jym,
you may also want to sign up for this website- this is where you can run all the numbers and determine what is the best course of action for you.
https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/
Thanks, @menloparkmom . I think that other thread may have been the one I was thinking. Just attended a presentation about maximizing SS benefits put on by the local head of a nationwide nonprofit. We will meet with him. but essentially will wait til we are both at full retirement age and will look into the options of what to do when.
This http://f3eonline.org/ is the organization who gave the presentation today. I found it very helpful in explaining the Restricted Application, the âspousal pull-upâ, the problems with âdeemingâ if you elect before your full retirement age, etc.IF they have a presentation in other areas, it might be worth while. And theyâll run that calculator to determine the best time/strategy to file, for free.
I wasnât referring to the old 2016 âfile and suspendâ thread, as that option is long gone. I was surprised the guy today hadnt taken that out of his slide show. He mentioned it a few times, though of course noting it was no longer an option, and that there are now 3 basic sets of rules.
I looked on the connector site for my state.
The cheapest plan (bronze, HMO) is about $9600 oer year in premiums with a $2500 ind./$5000 family deductible and a max out of pocket of $7350/$14700. So worst case is $24,300 per year for two people.
A more expensive plan (silver HMO) runs about $19,000/year in premiums with a $1000/$2000 deductible and $5000/$10000 max out of pocket.
There doesnât appear to be co-insurance on these plans so Iâm not sure how you would ever hit max out of pocket unless you take a ton of drugs.
All these plans are HMO, which means zero out of network coverage. What happens if you are traveling?
Bottom line, for two people in their 50âs, a $2000-$2500/month budget seems prudent in my area. I assume they get more expensive as you get older.
Apologize for quoting myself on the 2018 tax estimates issue.
However, I discovered an online calculator that is quite detailed, and it replicates the calculation that I did by hand using the new rates and law changes, so it makes me feel confident that its not far off. If you have enough of the line by line information from your guesstimated 2018 1040 form, you can get a rather quick answer to what youâll be paying, and then can compare it to your projected withholding to see how youâll come out. As I stated, I project to be paying a couple percent less in federal tax than I would have under the previous tax structure, despite losing substantial deductions for state and local taxes, for the reasons stated in the quote above.
Hereâs the site. https://www.dinkytown.net/index.html
No claims other than it agrees with what I did in detail by hand.
My tax will be lower considerably. It will be the first time we donât pay AMT. Nothing to deduct, either.
My son understands the importance of contributing money to an IRA while heâs young, so he will have a good retirement. He had an internship last summer, and he received a stipend that was not taxed. He thought he didnât have to pay taxes on it, and it wouldnât count as income. He was trying to generate income for himself so we could contribute to a ROTH IRA for him, so he sold stock he just bought last year. Now I have looked it up and discovered he has to pay taxes on his income, plus I think he will have to pay a higher tax rate on the stock earnings, because he had it less than a year. He was trying to be so âcreativeâ to contribute to IRA, But he is learning some good life lessons.
Yes, one can only include earned income towards IRA, not gains from passive income. Itâs best to learn while the small âoopsâ are fairly inexpensive. 
@1214mom â you commented above that your son received a stipend that was not taxed. Is this common? I am new to stipends, but I thought I had read that 2017 stipends will be taxed at parentsâ marginal rate and 2018 stipends at the estate tax rate. Are some stipends not taxed at all?
@ct1417, I really donât know much about them either - sorry. Iâve only done enough research to find out he does need to pay taxes. I donât think itâs at parentâs rate, but I am not sure about that.
@1214mom --Sorry, my bad. I read your comment that he was not taxed to mean he would not be taxedâŠas opposed to your actual meaning that taxes were not withheld but are now due. Sorry for the confusion!
jym626 - You may be looking for this thread and this link about Social Security-
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20998052#Comment_20998052
http://www.annuities.pacificlife.com/public/salesmaterials/salesideas/23175.pdf
Hey, any of you that are contractors know a good tax program to use, to estimate your quarterly taxes to send in? My son is looking for a tax program that both deals with last years taxes (not a contractor then), and will estimate his upcoming quarterly taxes as a contractor.
Thanks!
TurboTax for Business. But itâs a little bit expense for a small contractor. I used to estimate myself.
Iâll definitely look into it. Thanks, @coolweather, that was quick!
Good news for some home equity loans:
Interesting, thanks, coolweather! Will look into that one also.