General Principles Flashcards
Qualified residence mortgage/equity loan INTEREST deductibility
interest paid on first $375k single/$750k MJF is deductible if used for buying, improving, building (1 million for OLD mortgages)
PITI (what, and calculation)
(Principal, Interest, Taxes, Insurance)/GROSS income should be less than 28%
529 plans=QTP
qualified tuition program
prepaid plan:
-generally doesn’t include room and board
if you cash out, earnings will be subject to tax and penalty
present interest even though owner retains control
Bankruptcy (ch7) examples of exempt property
- homestead
- limited amount of personal property and equity in motor vehicle
- wages due to head of family
- ERISA plans (like 401ks!)
- cash value of life insurance, annuity contracts, disability benefits
NOT cancellable- see other flashcard
college funding calculation
- cost of first year of college (find FV, “today’s dollar” needs to be inflated)
- use that as PMT for 4 yrs, (BEG) but inflation adjusted (find PV- lump sum needed at 18)
- use that as FV and see how much you need now (PV) or PMT
NPV and IRR (dollar-weighted)
when NPV is 0, interest rate is same as required rate of return (doesn’t evaluate actual profitability ($ amount), but just whether or not it gives you your required rate of return)
- positive NPV= investment earning more than req rate of return (greater the NPV, higher the return)N
- negative NPV= earning less than req rate of return- rethink about it!
NPV= discounts unequal cash flows at a required rate of return less the initial cost of an investment
IRR=Internal rate of return is the interest rate at which the net present value of all the cash flows (both positive and negative) from a project or investment equal zero. Internal rate of return is used to evaluate the attractiveness of a project or investment.
calculator positive/negative entries
positives: money is deposited into client’s checking account
negative: check written out of checking account (investment into stocks, IRAs, repair made to investment property, pension deposits made by employer (because distribution not taken yet)
Federal Reserve Board and monetary policy
- Reserve requirements
- Discount rate
- Open market operations
prime rates?
initial margin (Reg. T)
FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) determines monetary policy
- reserve requirement (banks must keep): increase it to tighten credit, reduce to loosen
- Discount rate (rate for banks to borrow): increased to tighten credit, lowered to loosen credit
- Open Market Operations (Repo and reverse-repo):
- Repo(repurchase)- Fed buys bond (securities) and gives them cash- loosen credit, expansionary/easy(interest can go down)
- Reverse repo- Fed sells securities to dealers- tighten credit. contractionary, tight money (interest can go up)
Prime rate is for banks to customers
Initial Margin required (set by Fed)- increase margin to tighten, decrease margin to loosen
cash equivalents
cash, checking, money market deposit acct, money market mutual fund, savings, CDs (short), laddered CD
(not mutual funds, stocks, annuities, life insurance cash values, collectibles for investment)
emergency fund can be invested in?
checking, govt money market acct, short maturity CD, savings acct, laddered CDs
529 (QTP)- present or future gift?
gift of present interest!
Coverdell -contribution rules
qualified expenses
$2000 per year per student (no more contributions after age 18, must be used before age 30)
the contribution is not deductible, parental asset, can be rolled over to family member (like 529)
qualified expenses:
-elementary and secondary also ok (tax-free)
-tuition, fees, academic tutoring, special needs services, books, supplies, other equipment needed for school
-room and board, uniforms, transportation, after-school programs, computer equipment for school
NOT covered- intramural sports equipment
what’s a “time deposit”
CDs!- insured by FDIC
divorce step-up
No step up in basis applies in a divorce related transfer.
ex: stock with basis of $5000 and FMV of $1 mil is transferred in divorce- the receiving spouses’s basis is $5000!
economic indicators
analyzed because they “anticipate” economy
some important ones:
initial claims for unemployment, new manufacturing orders, new private housing units, stock prices (S&P500), index of consumer expectations
lottery- taxation
if option to take lump sum or annuity, full value must be included in gross income even if annuity taken.
BUT within 60 day window and at least 10 yr annuity payout taken, then payouts are taxable as received