Dollars & Sense Blog

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Tax Reform and Charitable Giving

When the tax system was reformed in 2017 in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, there was much concern about the effect the changes would have on charitable giving. First, the rough doubling of the standard deduction meant that far fewer taxpayers would be itemizing, and without itemizing there is no tax benefit at all for the charitable gift. Second, the top marginal tax rate was reduced slightly, which meant that the net tax benefit for the wealthiest taxpayers would go down.

Check your Beneficiary Designations

Jeffrey and Margaret were in their 20s when they met in a park and began dating. They moved to Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, living together while Margaret waitressed and Jeffrey got a job at Proctor and Gamble. In 1987, Jeffrey signed up for P&G’s profit sharing and savings program. He listed Margaret as his beneficiary, stating that she was a “cohabitor.”

Limited RMD Relief

Once upon a time, distributions from an inherited IRA could be spread over the beneficiary’s lifetime. For young beneficiaries, the RMDs might be small enough that the inherited IRA would continue to grow handsomely. This changed with passage of the SECURE Act. In general, subject to important exceptions, the assets of an inherited IRA must be distributed to the beneficiary over ten years.

Heartland Bank Announces the 2024 Zearing Scholarship Recipients

In 1991, Delyte K. and Robert I. Zearing established a trust to be held by Heartland Bank and Trust Company in Princeton, Illinois, for the purpose of maintaining a perpetual education fund to be used for scholarships for selected students from Bureau County to attend the University of Illinois.

Heather Wilkinson Rejoins Heartland Bank as a Mortgage Banker

Heartland Bank and Trust Company proudly welcomes back Heather Wilkinson as a mortgage banker. Wilkinson has almost 20 years of banking and mortgage lending experience and will be located at Heartland Bank’s Aurora branch at 1575 Ogden Ave.