Ask Liz Weston

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Liz Weston

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

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Today’s top story: 7 ways to manage Medicare drug costs. Also in the news: Prep for hiring your first employee with these 6 steps, how to have a retirement worth saving for, and how to buy and sell a house at the same time.

7 Ways to Manage Medicare Drug Costs
Medicare beneficiaries with pricey drugs can face high out-of-pocket costs. Here are some ways to lower the tab.

Ready to Hire Your First Employee? Prep With These 6 Steps
To hire successfully, business owners need to understand their finances, find professional support and more.

How to Have a Retirement Worth Saving For
A happy retirement isn’t all about money. Make a plan for health, social connection and day-to-day enjoyment.

How to Buy and Sell a House at the Same Time

Tuesday’s need-to-know money news

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Today’s top story: What 6 money pros wish they’d known about credit cards. Also in the news: A new episode of the Smart Money podcast with Michelle Singletary, 3 ways to thrive with teenage workers in a tight job market, and when it can be a good idea to co-sign for your young adult.

What 6 Money Pros Wish They’d Known About Credit Cards
These certified financial planners wish they’d gotten comfortable using credit cards earlier than they did.

Smart Money Podcast: Getting Ahead of Your Next Money Crisis With Michelle Singletary
An interview with the author of “What to do With Your Money When Crisis Hits”

3 Ways to Thrive With Teenage Workers in a Tight Job Market
Capitalize on off-hours, nurture fresh skills and embrace newness to make the most of young workers in your business.

When It Can Be a Good Idea to Co-Sign for Your Young Adult
A look at the pros and cons.

Q&A: Lowering credit limits

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Dear Liz: You recently answered a question about a woman who asked her credit card issuer to lower her credit limits. While it’s true that lowering your credit limit on a card can have a negative effect on your credit scores, it may be needed to leave credit room for new cards, as your total credit across cards vs. your annual income is considered. And of course your credit score won’t suffer when balances are paid down before the statement date.

Answer: Credit scoring formulas calculate your credit utilization based on the amount of credit you’re using on the day that the card issuer reports your account to the credit bureaus each month. That’s usually, but not always, the balance as of the statement closing date. Making a payment just before that date often lowers your credit utilization and can help your scores.

So yes, making a payment before the statement closing date can offset the negative impact of lowered limits. However, it would be rather foolish for an individual to request lower limits thinking that a credit card issuer might prefer them to have less credit. Typically, healthy credit limits are a sign you’re managing your credit well. Even if a credit card issuer might look askance at your available credit, you won’t know exactly where to draw that line. Credit card issuers have different policies on how they set credit limits, and they typically don’t broadcast how those decisions are made.

Q&A: Should you sell a house or let heirs deal with it? The taxes shake out differently

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Dear Liz: My mother, who will be 101 later this year, is leaving me real estate in her trust. The value of it is $4.5 million. She has other assets that will put her estate over $5 million when she passes. I currently have an offer from someone who wants to buy the real estate. Is it better for her to sell it now and reduce the value of her estate? She has never exercised the option for the one-time sale of her primary residence tax free. What are the tax implications if it remains in her estate until she passes?

Answer: There’s no such thing as a one-time option to sell a home tax free. Decades ago, homeowners could defer the recognition of taxable gain if they bought another house, and homeowners 55 and older could exclude as much as $125,000 of gain. That was a one-time deal, so perhaps that’s what you’re remembering.

Since 1998, however, taxpayers have been able to exempt as much as $250,000 of capital gains from the sale of their primary residence as long as they owned and lived in the home at least two of the prior five years. Taxpayers can use this exemption as often as every two years.

Clearly, your mom needs to find a source of good tax advice, such as a CPA or other tax professional. If you have the authority to act on your mother’s behalf through a power of attorney or legal conservatorship, then you should seek the tax pro’s advice as her fiduciary.

Under current law, if she retains the real estate it would get a “step up” to the current market value as of her death. That means all the appreciation that happened during her lifetime would never be taxed. If she sells now, on the other hand, she probably would owe a substantial capital gains tax bill, even if she uses the exclusion. The tax pro will calculate how much that’s likely to be.

That tax bill has to be weighed against the possibility that her estate could owe taxes. The current estate tax exemption limit is $11.7 million, an amount that will continue to be adjusted by inflation until 2025. In 2026, the limit is scheduled to revert to the 2011 level of $5 million plus inflation. President Biden has proposed lowering the limit to $3.5 million and modifying the step up, but those ideas face stiff opposition in Congress.

An estate planning attorney could discuss other options for reducing her estate if she’s still with us as 2025 approaches. The tax pro probably can provide referrals.

Thursday’s need-to-know money news

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Today’s top story: How digital estate planning can protect your online life. Also in the news: How to afford the summer of your dreams by building a budget, child tax credits start hitting US families’ bank accounts, and why you should negotiate your real estate agent’s commission in a hot market.

How Digital Estate Planning Can Protect Your Online Life
Name a digital executor and make sure you leave an inventory and login info so valuables and keepsakes aren’t lost.

Afford the Summer of Your Dreams by Building a Budget
To have fun in the sun without getting financially burned, set up a budget for now and later.

Child tax credit starts hitting US families’ bank accounts
Help arrives for parents.

Why You Should Negotiate Your Real Estate Agent’s Commission in a Hot Market
Taking advantage of a seller’s market.