Skip to main content

What to Know About Flexible Spending Accounts at the End of Year

 

Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) are savings accounts reserved for out-of-pocket health care costs. They are offered through an employee benefit plan and allow you to use pretax dollars to pay for medical costs that insurance might not cover.

 

FSAs can save you money because they are funded with pretax dollars, but they are “use it or lose it,” meaning that if you don’t use the funds by the end of the year, they don’t roll over into the next. There is some flexibility, and employers may extend the deadline to use funds until March 15, but participants might want to aim for the end-of-year deadline to be safe. That means, by December, you should have a plan of how to maximize your FSA funds.

 

Not sure how to spend your remaining FSA dollars? FSA Store has thousands of items that are eligible, including first aid items, travel essentials, pain relief items, and much more.

 

To learn more about CapSouth Wealth Management and the services we provide, call our office at 800.929.1001 or visit our website at www.capsouthwm.com.

 

* This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax advice. We suggest that you discuss your specific tax issues with a qualified tax professional.

 

Tip adapted from TurboTax[i]

[i] https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/health-care/flexible-spending-accounts-a-once-a-year-tax-break/L8hwzKu7r

 

Investment advisory services are offered through CapSouth Partners, Inc., dba CapSouth Wealth Management, an independent registered Investment Advisory firm. Information provided by sources deemed to be reliable.  CapSouth does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information.  This material has been prepared for planning purposes only and is not intended as specific tax or legal advice.  Tax and legal laws are often complex and frequently change.  Please consult your tax or legal advisor to discuss your specific situation before making any decisions that may have tax or legal consequences.

 

This article contains external links to third party content (content hosted on sites unaffiliated with CapSouth Partners). The policies and procedures governing these third-party sites may differ from those effective on the CapSouth company website, as outlined in these Disclaimers. As such, CapSouth makes no representations whatsoever regarding any third-party content/sites that may be accessible directly or indirectly from the CapSouth website. Linking to these third-party sites in no way implies an endorsement or affiliation of any kind between CapSouth and any third party, including legal authorization to use any trademark, trade name, logo, or copyrighted materials belonging to either entity.

 

What If I Get Audited?

 

“Audit” is a word that can strike fear into the hearts of taxpayers.  However, the chances of an Internal Revenue Service audit aren’t that high. In 2017, the most recent statistics available, the IRS audited 0.5% of all individual tax returns.[i]

 

Being audited does not necessarily imply that the IRS suspects wrongdoing. The IRS says that an audit is just a formal review of a tax return to ensure information is being reported according to current tax law and to verify that the information itself is accurate.

 

The IRS selects returns for audit using three main methods.

 

Random Selection. Some returns are chosen at random based on the results of a statistical formula.

 

Information Matching. The IRS compares reports from payers – W-2 forms from employers, 1099 forms from banks and brokerages, and others – to the returns filed by taxpayers. Those that don’t match may be examined further.

 

Related Examinations. Some returns are selected for an audit because they involve issues or transactions with other taxpayers whose returns have been selected for examination.

 

There are a number of sound tax practices that may reduce the chances of an audit.

 

Provide Complete Information. Among the most commonly overlooked information is missing Social Security numbers – including those for any dependent children and ex-spouses.

 

Avoid Math Errors. When the IRS receives a return that contains math errors, it assesses the error and sends a notice without following its normal deficiency procedures.

 

Match Your Statements. The numbers on any W-2 and 1099 forms must match the returns to which they are tied. Those that don’t match may be flagged for an audit.

 

Don’t Repeat Mistakes. The IRS remembers those returns it has audited. It may check to make sure past errors aren’t repeated.

 

Keep Complete Records. This won’t reduce the chance of an audit, but it potentially may make it much easier to comply with IRS requests for documentation.

 

To learn more about CapSouth Wealth Management and the services we provide, visit our website at www.capsouthwm.com or call 800.929.1001.  Financial advisors in Dothan, AL, McDonough, GA and Charlotte, NC

 

For more info about the Internal Revenue Service, visit their website at https://www.irs.gov/

 

Investment advisory services are offered through CapSouth Partners, Inc., dba CapSouth Wealth Management, an independent registered Investment Advisory firm. Information provided by sources deemed to be reliable.  CapSouth does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information.  This material has been prepared for planning purposes only and is not intended as specific tax or legal advice.  Tax and legal laws are often complex and frequently change.  Please consult your tax or legal advisor to discuss your specific situation before making any decisions that may have tax or legal consequences.

 

This article contains external links to third party content (content hosted on sites unaffiliated with CapSouth Partners). The policies and procedures governing these third-party sites may differ from those effective on the CapSouth company website, as outlined in these Disclaimers. As such, CapSouth makes no representations whatsoever regarding any third-party content/sites that may be accessible directly or indirectly from the CapSouth website. Linking to these third-party sites in no way implies an endorsement or affiliation of any kind between CapSouth and any third party, including legal authorization to use any trademark, trade name, logo, or copyrighted materials belonging to either entity.

[i] https://www.irs.gov/statistics/enforcement-examinations

Your Changing Definition of Risk in Retirement

 

During your accumulation years, you may have categorized your risk as “conservative,” “moderate,” or “aggressive,” and that guided how your portfolio was built. Maybe you concerned yourself with trying to find the “best-performing funds.”

 

What occurs with many retirees is a change in mindset – it’s less about finding the “best-performing fund” and more about consistent performance. It may be less about a risk continuum – that stretches from conservative to aggressive – and more about balancing the objectives of maximizing your income and sustaining it for a lifetime.

 

You may even find yourself willing to forgo return potential for steady income.

 

A change in your mindset may drive changes in how you shape your portfolio and the investments you choose to fill it.

 

Let’s examine how this might look at an individual level.

 

Still Believe. During your working years, you understood the short-term volatility of the stock market, but accepted it for its growth potential over longer time periods. You’re now in retirement and still believe in that concept. In fact, you know stocks remain important to your financial strategy over a 30-year or more retirement period.

 

But you’ve also come to understand that withdrawals from your investment portfolio have the potential to accelerate the depletion of your assets when investment values are declining. How you define your risk tolerance may not have changed, but you understand the new risks introduced by retirement. Consequently, it’s not so much about managing your exposure to stocks but considering new strategies that adapt to this new landscape.

 

Shift the Risk. For instance, it may mean that you hold more cash than you ever did when you were earning a paycheck. It also may mean that you consider investments that shift the risk of market uncertainty to another party, such as an insurance company. Many retirees choose annuities for just that reason.

 

The march of time affords us ever-changing perspectives on life, and that is never more true than during retirement.

 

The guarantees of an annuity contract depend on the issuing company’s claims-paying ability. Annuities have contract limitations, fees, and charges, including account and administrative fees, underlying investment management fees, mortality and expense fees, and charges for optional benefits. Most annuities have surrender fees that are usually highest if you take out the money in the initial years of the annuity contract. Withdrawals and income payments are normally taxed as ordinary income. If a withdrawal is made prior to age 59½, a 10% federal income tax penalty may apply (unless an exception applies).

 

To further discuss the level of risk that is suitable for you and your plan, contact a CapSouth advisor at 800.929.1001 or visit our website at https://capsouthwm.com/contact/

 

Investment advisory services are offered through CapSouth Partners, Inc., dba CapSouth Wealth Management, an independent registered Investment Advisory firm. Information provided by sources deemed to be reliable.  CapSouth does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information.  This material has been prepared for planning purposes only and is not intended as specific tax or legal advice.  Tax and legal laws are often complex and frequently change.  Please consult your tax or legal advisor to discuss your specific situation before making any decisions that may have tax or legal consequences.

 

This article contains external links to third party content (content hosted on sites unaffiliated with CapSouth Partners). The policies and procedures governing these third-party sites may differ from those effective on the CapSouth company website, as outlined in these Disclaimers. As such, CapSouth makes no representations whatsoever regarding any third-party content/sites that may be accessible directly or indirectly from the CapSouth website. Linking to these third-party sites in no way implies an endorsement or affiliation of any kind between CapSouth and any third party, including legal authorization to use any trademark, trade name, logo, or copyrighted materials belonging to either entity.

Help us keep you informed!

Let us do the work and keep you updated! Sign up for the CapSouth financial updates.

You have Successfully Subscribed!