To alleviate some of the challenges that arise when funds are left unspent in qualified tuition plans, typically called Sec. 529 plans, once the beneficiary has completed their education, a new rule allows limited rollovers from 529 plans to Roth IRAs. This has also created new wrinkles for families with multiple children who have already started or even completed their educations.

WASHINGTON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Internal Revenue Service plans to allow taxpayers to submit all documents and correspondence to the agency digitally for the 2024 tax filing season and will convert all paper tax returns to digital documents by the 2025 season, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.

The initiative, part of a decade-long, $60 billion program to modernize systems and improve tax enforcement, will allow taxpayers to digitally submit all correspondence, non-tax forms and responses to IRS notices, the Treasury said.

Many retirees have seen their Social Security benefits increase in 2023 due to a cost-of-living adjustment that was higher than in past years. Further increases are expected for 2024. While more benefits are welcome, they could mean more income taxes on those benefits for some recipients.

 

The Social Security Administration (SSA) estimates that more than half of recipient families owe federal income taxes on their benefits. Recipients who have significant income from other sources are particularly at risk. Here's what you need to know about the taxation of Social Security benefits.

If you or a loved one needs long-term care (LTC) services, there are insurance products that can help cover the cost. As an additional incentive, qualified LTC policies deliver some tax advantages. For LTC policies, "qualified" means that a policy is offered by an insurance company licensed in your state and includes certain federal tax benefits. Here are some common questions about LTC insurance and its federal income tax effects.

In early March, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank unexpectedly collapsed. They became the second and third largest bank failures in U.S. history, respectively. The largest collapse involved Washington Mutual in 2008, precipitating the Great Recession. (See "Two Banks Collapse in One Week" at right.)

The recent regional bank failures have caused many individual depositors and business owners to question whether their accounts will be protected by the FDIC and what they should do if their banks fail.