Last year, millions of taxpayers never responded to letters from the Internal Revenue Service requesting that they authenticate their identity before the IRS can release their federal income tax refunds, according to a new blog by the National Taxpayer Advocate.

How much money is needed for your everyday expenses in retirement? How much money do you need to travel and for other discretionary expenses? What is the rate of inflation? How much do you wish to leave the kids? To accomplish that goal – what type of investment returns do you need? How much financial risks are you willing to accept? These questions and some other thoughts follow in the WSJ article below written by Glenn Ruffenbach and published on Monday, November 7, 2022.

We all complain about the crazy and sometimes foolish behavior of the Internal Revenue Service. But, other taxing entities such as states, school districts and municipalities can be just as bad. These other taxing entities have no qualms in spending $100 to collect $10 in extra taxes. They are also quick to charge interest and penalties on anything and everything.

If one of these notices comes your way, please check immediately with your tax advisor. This piece of mail is not to be ignored.

Self-directed IRAs are not for the faint of heart. There are many ways for a seemingly innocent misstep to “blow-up” your IRA, causing your retirement funds to be taxed along with some BIG penalties and interest.

Many people including me want to make things hard. Because, if it isn’t hard, it is not worth doing. That old adage too often doesn’t carry its own weight.