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By Barry C. Picker, CPA/PFS, CFP Question: I hear from some people that I should never borrow money from my 401(k) plan, because the money in the plan ends up being double taxed. Is this [...]

by Barry C. Picker, CPA/PFS, CFP (the following is not to be taken too seriously)First, congratulations to the Baltimore Ravens on their Super Bowl victory.But the important question for those of [...]

by Barry C Picker, CPA/PFS, CFPChutzpah has been defined as the child who kills his parents and then pleads for mercy in Court because he’s an orphan.In a similar vein are the three [...]

by Zesha Auerbach, CPAForm 1099 is the form that payors of income use to inform you of the income paid to you. Most of the form 1099s you receive are fairly straightforward. You receive a 1099 [...]

By Barry C Picker, CPA/PFS, CFP   Section 72(t) of the Internal Revenue Code provides that there is a 10% additional tax for early withdrawals from a retirement plan. That section also [...]

 by Barry C Picker, CPA/PFS, CFPWhen an individual who clearly has a losing argument on the taxability of his retirement plan distribution goes to Tax Court anyway, maybe it’s because he [...]

I came up with the term “inoculated” a number of years ago. The term arose in a situation where someone was telling me about this “great new tax scheme.” It was clear from [...]

This Sunday’s The Ethicist column in the New York Times contains two questions and answers which, to me, each dealt with the same theme.   The first question involved whether a doctor should [...]

Guaranteeing Loans to a Company Owned by One’s IRA is a Prohibited Transaction       Sec. 408(e) of the Internal Revenue Code states that if an IRA engages in a prohibited [...]

A common debate among financial planners when discussing life insurance is whether one should buy term insurance or insurance that provides a cash value. Among the points of discussion on the [...]