Monthly Tips

Monthly Tips

March 2024

 

TIP 1 Bills In Circulation

Quick money trivia to stun your friends – Which denomination of US currency has the greatest circulation?

If you thought the $1 bill, you would have been correct, until 2017. That was the year that $100 bills became the new leader. In fact, according to fed data the number of $100 bills in circulation has more than tripled in the last 20 years, while $1 bills in circulation has only grown by 78%.

Interested in how much that $100 from 20 years ago could buy today given the recent inflation? Check out this CPI calculator from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  You need $166.53 today to purchase what $100 could get you in 2004.

https://gstrustco.com/solutions-services/your-digital-estate/

 

TIP 2 Products For Aging

We all grow old, but we may not want to acknowledge we’re getting older. However, there are benefits to getting older too, and not just experience. Many products are built specifically to make life easier for older Americans. Some of these products are so nice, people may wonder why they waited until they are older to acquire them in the first place. Read about some of these products in our latest blog: Solutions We May Not Know To Look For.

https://gstrustco.com/solutions-services/solo-agers/

 

TIP 3 Venmo Tax Concerns

As tax filing season is upon us, some of us may be wondering what happened to the new rules regarding 1099-K forms. Congress was concerned that income from those who sell online was not being properly reported, and ordered that anyone facilitating more than $600 of such payments would have to file a 1099-K for it.

As it turns out, the IRS doesn’t have the resources to process the additional 30 million forms implied by the change. They have used their authority to delay the change of reporting to anything over $600 by platforms, leaving in place the old standard of $20,000 and 200 transactions that would likely demonstrate someone as a business user. For the 2024 tax year, however, the threshold drops to $5,000.  On a federal level if you haven’t worried in the past, you likely don’t need to worry now. On a state level, some are still imposing smaller limits. For New Jersey, its $1000.

If you have received income you need to pay taxes on it in any event, regardless of the reporting requirements, but it’s nice to know that a mix-up in using the technology and classifying transactions won’t cause a headache if you don’t use the platforms for that purpose.

https://gstrustco.com/solutions-services/boomers-beyond/

 

TIP 4 Tax Scams

Be extra careful for email phishing scams, and IRS impersonators on the phone as we get closer to the filing deadline, or even if you’ve already filed. Someone may pretend to be following up a filing, so you’re not in the clear just because you hit submit. Last month the head of the FTC, Lina Khan, provided this reminder:

“A reminder that nobody from @FTC will ever give you a badge number, ask you to confirm your Social Security number, ask how much money you have in your bank account, transfer you to a CIA agent, or send you texts out of the blue.”

Similar advice for the IRS. Always remember in regard to your taxes, that the IRS will not call and demand immediate payment, or request payment via a credit or debit card or gift card, or threaten to bring in police or other agencies to arrest you for not paying.

https://gstrustco.com/assets/Garden-State-WYW.pdf