Sean Mullaney's Blog, page 5

Retire on 72(t) Payments

Want to retire before age 59 ½? Have most of your wealth in traditional tax-deferred retirement accounts? Worried about the 10 percent early withdrawal penalty?  This post is for you! Picture it: You’re age 53, have $50,000 in a savings account, a paid-off home, and $2.5M in a 401(k). Including income taxes, you spend about […]

The Basis Isolation Backdoor Roth IRA

If you have basis in an IRA, you will want to read this post. Basis in an IRA creates all sorts of confusion, but it also presents a great planning opportunity for many of those still working. I refer to this opportunity as the Basis Isolation Backdoor Roth IRA.  Where Does IRA Basis Come From? […]

2024 Solo 401(k) Update

There are some new developments in the world of the Solo 401(k). Here are the highlights: New Solo 401(k) Employee Contributions Limit for 2024 The IRS announced that for 2024, the employee deferral limit for all 401(k)s, including Solo 401(k)s, will be $23,000.  Solo 401(k) Catch-Up Contributions Limit for 2024 The IRS also announced that […]

2024 IRA Contributions for Beginners

There are only three types of annual contributions to individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”). They are: This post discusses when a taxpayer can make one or more of these types of annual contributions. Let’s dispense with what we are not talking about. This post has nothing to do with annual contributions to employer retirement plans (401(k)s […]

2023 Year-End Tax Planning

It’s that time of year again. The air is crisp and my favorite football team is surging. That can only mean one thing when it comes to personal finance: time to start thinking about year-end tax planning. I’ll break it down with three categories: Urgent, Year-End Deadline, and Can Wait Till Next Year. I will […]

CampFI 2023 Presentation

Here are my presentation slides for my presentation delivered October 7, 2023 at CampFI Southwest. FI Tax Guy can be your financial planner! Find out more by visiting mullaneyfinancial.com Follow me on Twitter: @SeanMoneyandTax This post is for entertainment and educational purposes only. It does not constitute accounting, financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. Please consult with […]

Traditional Versus Roth 2023

The debate continues: what’s preferable, traditional retirement accounts or Roth retirement accounts? Fortunately, there are plenty of shades of gray in this debate. There’s no “right” answer, but I do believe that there are good insights that can help individuals make the right planning decisions for themselves. Traditional and Roth Retirement Basics Before we dive […]

It’s Not Too Late, California!

I’m glad that title intrigued you enough to stop on by. It’s not too late for most Californians to make a 2022 IRA contribution, a 2022 Roth IRA contribution, a 2022 HSA contribution, and/or do a 2022 Backdoor Roth IRA contribution.  You’re probably thinking “What the heck are you talking about? It’s the late summer […]

FI Tax Guy Nominated for a Plutus Award

I’m pleased to announce that FI Tax Guy has been nominated for the Best Tax-Focused Content Plutus Award at the upcoming 14th Annual Plutus Awards. The Plutus Awards honor personal finance independent media content creators. The award winners will be announced on September 22nd. This post is for entertainment and educational purposes only. It does […]

Traditional 401(k) Contributions Are Fine for Most Americans (Really!)

Yesterday I posted Time to Stop 401(k) Contributions?, arguing that as applied to many in the FI community, traditional deductible 401(k) contributions are fine. Today two very interesting pieces of content hit my radar. First, one of my favorite personal finance content creators, Clark Howard, is advocating for Roth contributions instead of traditional contributions for […]