Senior Discounts even for those not senior citizens

Senior Discounts even for those not senior citizens By CBN Did you know that many of the places you shop offer senior discounts? Some start at age 50, others at 55, 60, 62 or 65. Now that many more seniors will live into their 90’s, it could mean 30 to 40 years of getting 5%,10%,15% or more in discounts. The discount list applies to nearly everything from dining, groceries, travel (hotel, flights & car rentals), apparel, retail shops, vacation activities and entertainment, and your cell phone. To take advantage of the discounts simply ask before you order or buy. A few examples include Kroger, Publix, Outback Steakhouse, IHOP, Applebee’s, Chick-Fil-A, Subway, Kohl’s, Regal & AMC theaters, or a lifetime pass for visits to U.S. National Parks. Do a Google search for senior discounts to see an extensive list of establishments offering discounts. Reducing Taxes on Social Security Benefits Roth IRA account withdrawals in retirement typically are not a taxable event and will not contribute to make your Social Security benefit taxable nor increase your Medicare premiums for Part B or prescription drug coverage. Converting your Traditional IRA or 401(k) to a Roth IRA may result in future tax free withdrawals while keeping your income below certain taxable thresholds when receiving social security benefits. Of course you need to compare the future tax savings before making a taxable conversion to a Roth to determine whether it makes sense for you. Do note you can do partial Roth conversions over several years to avoid being bumped into a higher marginal tax bracket and reducing the tax impact when doing the conversion. Consult your tax advisor for your specific situation. The Charitable IRA is another option to consider when reducing the impact of taxes on social security benefits or Medicare premiums. This charitable rollover vehicle allows taxpayers 70-1/2 and over to exclude from income their required minimum distributions taken from their Traditional IRA. To qualify the distribution check must be made payable by the IRA financial institution to a qualified 501(c)(3) charity. IRA payments to a Donor Advised Fund do NOT qualify as a Charitable IRA rollover option for the exclusion from income benefit. 2015 Update - Charitable IRA Rollover The House passed H.R. 644 – the America Gives More Act of 2015 – by a vote of 279 to 137. This bill would make permanent the IRA charitable rollover, the deduction for conservation easements, and the deduction for gifts of food inventory. At this time, it is unclear when the Senate will take up H.R. 644. Donor Advised Fund or Private Foundation: Disqualified Persons and Self-Dealing Generally, the definition of a disqualified person for both PF and DAF purposes includes, but is not limited to, the donor and family members of the donor. While the definitions may be similar, the rules apply to PFs and DAFs differently. Nearly all direct or indirect transactions between a PF and a disqualified person are prohibited as acts of self-dealing. Reasonable and necessary compensation to a disqualified person is not self-dealing. This permits a PF to employ the donor or family members of the donor, provided that the compensation is reasonable under a fair market value standard. DAFs do not have a similar exception and are prohibited from paying any salary to disqualified persons, even if it is reasonable and necessary. Next week: Investments. Secure Your Future If you are like many people, you have watched your investments fluctuate with the markets. There isn’t much security in knowing that your future can be tossed around like the wind. You might be wondering if there is any way to create true security for you and your loved ones. The good news is that with a charitable gift annuity, you can receive fixed payments that never change with payments made to you or your loved ones for life. Contact CBN Planned Giving for more information. Charitable Tax Reference and Deduction Calculator Gift Law Pro is a complete charitable giving and tax information service. The Gift Law Calculator is a planned gifts calculator for determining charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust rates, payments and tax savings. Either can be found at  www.CBNLegacy.org website. Select For Advisors from menu. Request our free Will and Trust Guide Kit by e-mail to Frank.Nico@CBN.org Create a Legacy Please let us know if you have considered CBN for a Legacy planned gift. We want to personally thank you and let you know how much we appreciate your support. Your gift will help CBN continue its mission to impact the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. “A charitable bequest or beneficiary form designation are excellent ways to create a lasting legacy.” Your legacy gift supports the CBN Family of Ministries through mass media, primarily television broadcasts and digital media, and humanitarian projects: The 700 Club and other CBN TV programs worldwide, CBN News, CBN prayer centers, Superbook animated Bible series, Orphan's Promise, CBN Israel, U.S. and international humanitarian and disaster relief aid through CBN International and more. The Leave A Legacy estate planning presentation by attorney Suzanne Pennington can be viewed at www.CBNLegacy.org  ·        Frank T. Nico, CAP® ChFC® CASL® If you have a question or would like more information please e-mail me at Frank.Nico@CBN.org or call our toll free number at 1-800-333-2373.

Tax-Free Sale

Howard and Lynn were age 55 when they purchased some land outside of town. They thought it would be a good investment that they could later sell for a higher price.

Over the years, development from town has moved toward the property and their land is now next to a large commercial store. They now rent the property to the commercial store for overflow parking.

Howard: We have owned this property for over 10 years. It has been a good investment and increased in value. We have received just enough rental income in the last few years to pay the taxes. However, we now would like to sell.

Lynn: It would be nice if we could sell without paying a large tax. Our tax advisor has told us that if we were to sell, there would be a large capital gains tax. We also could use some tax deductions this year.

The good news is that Howard and Lynn were able to create a special trust called a charitable remainder unitrust and receive three very nice benefits.

• Bypass capital gain
• Increase income
• Charitable deduction

Howard: We are delighted with our unitrust. With our unitrust, we saved about $36,000 in capital gains tax and almost $18,000 in income taxes. That is over $54,000 in tax savings!

Lynn: Plus, we increased our income. The land was producing almost no income before. Now, we receive over $12,000 in income each year. This increased income is one of my favorite parts of the plan.

*Please note: The name and image above is representative of a typical donor and may or may not be an actual donor to our organization. Since your unitrust benefits may be different, you may want to click here to view a color example of your benefits.