Q. I am a U.S. citizen but I plan to relocate to my home country for a few years. I do not own a home in New Jersey and won’t have any income in the state. My bank and brokerage accounts will have my cousin’s New Jersey address., which is the address on my driver’s licence. Will I owe capital gains from sale of my primary home in my home country? — Planning A. It sounds like even though you’re a citizen, you were born in another country. It also sounds like you wish to maintain your U.S. citizenship but temporarily cut your relationship to the state of New Jersey. What we have here is a problem with “domicile” and “residency,” said Bernie Kiely, a certified financial planner and certified pu
Q. My wife is 65 and I’m 68. We are thinking about moving and retiring to New Jersey from New York. Our pensions total $96,000. Our Social Security totals $55,000. We both have 401(k)s but we’re not touching them until age 72. Do we qualify for the pension exclusion? And if we have a mortgage and property taxes, will this bring our income down for the exclusion? — Trying to decide A. Congrats on your pending retirement. The New Jersey pension exclusion is a benefit meant to keep more retirees in the state. For 2019, if you were a New Jersey resident, your taxable federal income would be $117,750, said Bernie Kiely, a certified financial planner and certified public accountant with Kiely Capi
Stimulus payments from the coronavirus relief package are starting to land in Americans’ bank accounts, giving much-needed financial help to families. Married couples who earn less than $150,000 will get $2,400, while singles will get $1,200 if they earn less than $75,000. Singles who earn between $75,000 and $99,000 will get a partial payment, as will married couples who earn between $150,000 and $198,000. Parents with children age 16 and under will get an additional $500 per child, while older children who are claimed as dependents on someone else’s return will not get a stimulus payment. Now that people are starting to see their money, they have been asking two important questions. Here a
Q. My wife and I are both older than 65 and we each receive a federal civil service pension. My pension is higher than the $100,000 cutoff for the pension exclusion. My wife’s pension is $40,000 so we plan to file separately this year. How is our interest income divided between our two returns? We have some Certificates of Deposit (CDs) in each of our names and some are joint. We also have savings bonds in her name but I actually bought them. What do we do? — Married taxpayer A. This is a common question for those who want to switch their filing status. For starters, New Jersey tax law says you must use the same filing status on your New Jersey tax return as you do for federal purposes. “If
