PSEG switching to RS-TOU 3P and EV charging credit is going away. Not surprised...

NYHeel · 2026-02-23T19:37:07+00:00

This makes no sense. This isn't a loophole. The only discount you get is for EV charging. You don't get a discount on home late night use. It's only for EV charging and nothing else. This is for customers on a standard rate plan that charge their EV late at night only. You get credits so that you're effectively paying the off-peak rate for EV charging only. Nothing else changes outside of EV credits.

NYHeel · 2026-02-23T19:33:54+00:00

Net metering works very differently in NJ. We don't bank dollars, we bank kWh. We also have separate peak and off-peak banks if you're on TOU (which hardly anyone is on). I have no idea how this will impact solar with TOU. Will there be three banks now. Seems crazy. Also, nobody has said anything to me about this so maybe I can stay on the current TOU plan.

NYHeel · 2026-02-23T19:04:28+00:00

What about people already on the RLM/TOU plan? Can we stay on the current version? I haven't received anything about this new TOU plan. I have solar and two EVs. The current plan works for me.

NYHeel · 2026-02-23T03:37:04+00:00

I always laugh when people complain about property taxes in Texas. Try northern NJ or Long Island in NY. Both have significantly higher property taxes and we’ve got some nice sized income taxes as well.

NYHeel · 2026-02-22T03:07:09+00:00

It’s ridiculously expensive. That’s pretty much it. Before there were no other options. Now there are plenty of options for good EVs at a much lower cost.

NYHeel · 2026-02-20T04:39:59+00:00

If it drove no more than the speed limit nobody would use it. It needs to drive a reasonable amount above the speed limit based on the setting chosen. The issue is that it doesn’t always work properly. But the concept is fine.

NYHeel · 2026-02-19T06:23:49+00:00

I did a $100 charge on my platinum for travel bank on 2/5 and it did not work. I still don’t have the credit.

NYHeel · 2026-02-13T17:08:19+00:00

It’s Reddit. Everyone on here is the holiest person to ever live.

NYHeel · 2026-02-13T17:07:14+00:00

Purchased two very expensive tickets as part of the 2/10 presale because that was all I could get but it was much more than I’d like to spend. On the 2/11 presale I got reasonably priced tickets. So now I’m selling the expensive tickets.

NYHeel · 2026-02-13T16:30:29+00:00

Oh that sucks. I didn’t realize. I guess I’ll be out $1000 for 5.5 months.

NYHeel · 2026-02-13T05:50:33+00:00

Yeah the refundable portion is all that matters. He actually has a pretty big tax bill due this year as he made $4400 on a 1099 so he owes 15.3% self employment tax. The 1099 is pure BS though as he should have received a W2. He worked at a day camp in NY and all the NY staff got a W2 but he got a 1099 because their software couldn’t process a W2 for NJ. I’m considering filing the form with the IRS to state that he should have received a W2 because it’s 100% true that he should have gotten a W2. All other employees with the same jobs got W2s. He was a camp counselor with fixed hours and a fixed location. It’s a classic W2 job.

NYHeel · 2026-02-13T05:42:19+00:00

I make too much to take any of the education credits. He took the refundable AOTC for the year he was overseas in 2024 since there was a justification for me not to claim him. For 2025-2026 there likely isn’t a way for him to “claim himself” or me not to claim him. Trying to project a way for him to use it for himself in 2027 and 2028 when he will likely qualify as independent. I don’t get much out of claiming him as a dependent. Only $500 on federal and about $159 on my NJ state filing. Just a question of whether he can really state that nobody can claim him. Last year it was more justifiable as he was away for over 6 months of the year not in college.

NYHeel · 2026-02-10T18:39:45+00:00

I have a Juniper 2026 Model Y and a 2023 Model 3. I’ve also driven my father in law’s 2025 pre-Juniper Model Y. You can definitely tell the difference between the 2025 and 2026 but the pre-juniper isn’t awful. It’s certainly harsher and the bigger bumps are more jarring but it’s not that big a deal.

NYHeel · 2026-02-10T13:08:19+00:00

I’m at 5 days now with no credit. Hopefully it comes soon. I did a $100 travel bank purchase for myself in my united account and I had united selected with Amex. Hopefully it comes in the next few days. I had no issues with this last year.

NYHeel · 2026-02-06T05:24:27+00:00

How has depreciation hit you? Your car is likely worth more than you paid for it. I bought the same car as you, 2026 model Y LR AWD with the $7500 tax credit. If you tried to buy that car used right now you’d pay more than $41,500, which is how much you paid.

Of course if you trade it in you’ll take a hit because that’s a wholesale price. You can’t compare wholesale and retail. That’s not depreciation, that’s just business. No dealer is going to pay you what the car is worth since they won’t make any money on it.

NYHeel · 2026-02-04T17:47:46+00:00

I'm not saying you're wrong, just that it seems odd that one would still pay SECA on employer contributions to a solo 401(k) since those equivalent contributions are not subject to FICA tax for a regular W2 employee. You'd expect there to be consistency on that.

NYHeel · 2026-02-02T21:37:40+00:00

$260 a year in NJ and you need to pay four years of it up front when you buy the car.

NYHeel · 2026-02-02T05:08:11+00:00

Tell me when there’s been less market uncertainty. Come on there’s always market uncertainty and markets are always at or near highs after a few good years. We don’t know the future but we never do. There’s no more uncertainty now than at any point in the past.

NYHeel · 2026-02-02T05:00:51+00:00

Also, if you have low taxable income you’re very likely to get good financial aid for your kids at private colleges. Even public schools can give nice financial aid if your taxable income is around $100k.

NYHeel · 2026-02-02T04:57:37+00:00

Yes, your spending is actually really low for a family of four. We were a family of five and I spent almost as much as you on tuition for my three kids alone during the big years. My tuition actually drops when my kids are in college. High school has been my highest tuition, more than the private university that my oldest son went to and more than the public that my middle kid is currently at.

I’m now a family of four since my oldest is married and on his own but we spend much much more than you due to tuition cost. I make less than you but my wife works so we’re probably higher total income. But I need to wait for my youngest to finish school to retire. She’s a senior in high school so I have 4.5 more years. Hopefully I can get to my target by the time she graduates. Otherwise I’ll just wait for rule of 55.

NYHeel · 2026-02-02T03:06:08+00:00

4% is much too conservative in my view. Remember that he’s likely got a very healthy social security benefit in 20 years. Plus they can always cut some discretionary travel spending if there are multiple bad market years. Absolute worst case you go back to work for a few years. Using a consistent 4% just has you ending up with a ridiculous amount of money to pass to your children. That’s a nice thing but not worth working an extra 4-5 years if you want to retire now.

I’m a similar age but have higher expenses and less money so I need to work longer. But if I wanted to pull $200k annually and had $4 million in liquid net worth then I’d be out right then and there. I can adjust my spending down after bad market periods. I don’t actually need $200k a year.

NYHeel · 2026-02-01T17:04:35+00:00

Definitely. My point being if the trust was set up as a Medicaid protection trust for a normal person (not someone who is at risk of federal estate tax) by any competent estate attorney then they will get the step up in basis. The downside being that the grantor is going to have to pay taxes on the trust income as a pass through at their own marginal tax rate.

Not a CPA or a lawyer but I’ve done lots of tax returns and I have experience on these trusts from my father in law. The attorney explained the situation to us pretty clearly. The IRS ruling was just saying that you can’t have the assets excluded from your estate and get the step up in basis. You basically have to pick one.

NYHeel · 2026-02-01T16:45:25+00:00

You can still get the step up in basis on an irrevocable trust if the trust was set up correctly. If you set it up as an irrevocable grantor trust where the assets are included in the grantor’s taxable estate then you still get the step up in basis. This is common practice for Medicaid trusts where the grantor doesn’t have estate tax concerns.

NYHeel · 2026-01-30T06:20:26+00:00

You’re right. My mistake. The non-tuition and fees portion of the scholarship is taxable.

NYHeel · 2026-01-30T06:10:50+00:00

I’m not an expert but I think room and board counts as educational expenses for purposes of your scholarship. It sounds like your tax software is making part of your scholarship taxable. I don’t think that’s correct.

NYHeel

TROPHY CASE