Q&A

Q&A: Ins and outs of HELOCs

February 14, 2023 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: We have a home equity line of credit through our credit union. I have been paying it down very aggressively and it will be paid off in two months. That is our only debt. I was considering leaving a small ($100) balance. It would cost $7.50 a year to have the loan available but we would have immediate access to $200,000 with no paperwork, etc. Your thoughts?

Answer: Contact your credit union and ask if it’s necessary to maintain a balance to keep the line of credit open, because typically that’s not the case.

You should know, however, that HELOCs typically have two phases: a five- to 10-year “draw” period, during which you can borrow and repay the line much as you would a credit card, followed by a repayment period of 10 to 20 years during which you pay down any amount still owed. You normally can’t draw out additional money during the repayment period.

If your HELOC is nearing its repayment phase, you can replace it with a new HELOC that you leave open and unused for emergencies. Closing costs often range from 2% to 5% of the loan amount, although some lenders discount those fees.

Q&A: Taxes on a deceased spouse’s assets

February 6, 2023 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: My dear friend’s husband just passed away and she is immediately selling off all his antiques through an auctioneer. Sales should net well over $100,000 this calendar year. Is there any way to offset the tax hit she will take on this? This will be on top of selling the house in the same calendar year.

Answer: Previous columns have discussed the favorable “step up” in tax basis that happens when someone dies.

Their assets, including at least half of a jointly-owned home, typically get updated to the current market value for tax purposes. Appreciation that occurred during the deceased’s lifetime is never taxed. In community property states, both halves of jointly-owned assets usually get this step up.

The auction shouldn’t generate much if any tax bill unless the antiques jump significantly in value between the date of his death and the date of the sale.

The same is true of the home sale if the friend lives in a community property state. If not, she may have potentially taxable appreciation on her half of the property. If the sale occurs within two years after the year her husband died, though, she can exclude up to $500,000 of home sale profits from her income. Otherwise she can exclude up to $250,000.

Your friend should consult a qualified tax pro who can review her specific situation and offer individualized advice.

Q&A: What’s the best way to save for education? A 529 plan or I bonds?

February 6, 2023 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: Please write a comparison of 529 college savings plans versus using I bonds for education. I had given baby gifts of 529 funds to grandkids before they had their first birthdays. But due to market volatility, this year I matched those with I bond funding for the kids. The oldest is now 6, so there is time to get past penalty issues for withdrawals should they use these for education, as I hope they will.

Answer: As mentioned in previous columns, 529 college savings plans are a flexible, tax-advantaged way to save for education costs.

Money can be used tax free for private kindergarten through 12th grade tuition as well as qualifying college expenses. Plus, up to $35,000 of leftover funds can be rolled over into a Roth IRA.

Accounts owned by parents have minimal impact on financial aid, and accounts owned by grandparents aren’t included in federal financial aid calculations at all.

College savings plans typically offer an array of investment options, including age-weighted funds that get more conservative over time. The ability to invest the money means you have a good shot at generating inflation-beating returns over time, but you also have to deal with some ups and downs in the markets.

I bonds — technically, I Series Savings Bonds — have advantages as well.

These are government-issued bonds, so you can’t lose your principal, and they are designed to help investors keep up with inflation. I bonds earn a fixed rate for the 30-year life of the bond, which is currently 0.4%, plus a semiannual variable rate pegged to inflation (currently 3.24%).

The composite rate formula for I bonds issued from November 2022 through April 2023 is 6.89%. In the previous 6 month period, bonds paid 9.62%.

The interest is added every six months to the bond’s value, rather than paid out, so bond owners can defer federal taxes until the bond is cashed in. (I bonds are exempt from state and local taxation.) And the interest can be tax free if the bond proceeds are used to pay for certain higher education costs.

Getting that tax-free treatment is somewhat complicated, however.

First, the bonds would need to be owned by the parents rather than you or the grandkids. Qualifying college expenses must have been incurred by the bond’s owner, the owner’s spouse or a dependent listed on the owner’s federal tax return.

There’s an age restriction too: The bond owner must have been at least 24 before the bonds were issued. The ability to get the exclusion ends if modified adjusted gross income is above certain limits (in 2022, it was $100,800 for singles or $158,650 for married couples filing jointly).

I bonds have other restrictions. No withdrawals are allowed in the first year of ownership. Any withdrawals made within the first five years trigger a loss of three months’ worth of interest income.

People can buy $10,000 of electronic I bonds each year, plus they can use their tax refunds to purchase an additional $5,000 of paper I bonds.

I bonds are certainly a reasonable alternative for college savings, but the various restrictions on their purchase and use may make 529 college savings plans a better option for many families.

Q&A: Are you trying for a perfect credit score? Maybe you don’t need to

January 30, 2023 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: My credit score fluctuates between 799 and 815. It used to be 850. I always pay my bills in full and on time, and keep the credit utilization low. The only comment I can find about why my credit score isn’t higher is that I lack a loan. I don’t owe any money and see no need to get a loan, so is there anything I can do to get the score back closer to 850?

Answer: Possibly, but there’s really no point in having a “perfect” credit score.

Most credit score formulas use a 300-to-850 scale. By the time your scores are in the mid-700 range, you’re typically getting the best rates and terms from lenders. Also, scores change all the time and vary according to the formula used. Even if you could achieve an 850 with one type of score, you might not achieve it with another score or keep that high number for long.

You typically need an installment loan such as a mortgage or car loan to get scores closer to 850. Borrowing money just to improve scores can make sense if you’re just starting out or trying to fix battered credit, but not in your situation.

If you’re determined to get higher scores, consider using even less of your available credit. Top scorers typically use less than 10% of the credit limits on their cards. The balance that matters for credit scoring calculations is typically your statement balance, so one way to reduce utilization can be making a payment right before the statement closes. Just be sure to pay off any remaining balance before the due date so that you don’t incur late fees.

Q&A: Surviving spouse’s home gains

January 30, 2023 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: If a surviving spouse is selling the couple’s longtime home, are there any special provisions on the long-term capital gains?

Answer: When one spouse dies, their half of the home gets a new value for tax purposes. The value is “stepped up” to the current market value, so that the appreciation that happened on that half of the property is no longer taxable. In community property states, both halves of the property get this step up.

Let’s say a couple bought a home for $100,000 and that it was worth $250,000 when the first spouse died. In most states, the tax basis — what’s subtracted from the net sales price to determine potentially taxable capital gains — would rise from the original $100,000 to $175,000. The surviving spouse’s basis would remain at $50,000 while the deceased’s half would be stepped up to $125,000 (one half of the current $250,000 value). If the home was sold for $250,000, there would be $75,000 of potentially taxable capital gain.

In community property states — Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin — the home’s basis would get a double step-up to $250,000. If the home was sold for $250,000, there would be no potentially taxable capital gain.

Even if there is a gain from the sale, a single person can exclude up to $250,000 of home sale capital gains from their income as long as they owned and lived in the home at least two of the previous five years. Couples can exclude up to $500,000. However, widows and widowers who sell their homes within two years of their spouse’s death can take the full $500,000 exclusion.