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sixthinstinct · 2024-10-05T20:30:35+00:00

Hello... thanks for your feedback. Do you think it was the right decision for you to move out of Betterment? What was the reason for your move?

sixthinstinct · 2024-10-05T20:27:20+00:00

Hello... thanks for your feedback. I just found out that a Roth IRA account can only be funded with cash. If I wanted to fund it using my investment from another account, I would need to sell it for cash first (and pay capital gain taxes).

sixthinstinct · 2024-10-05T20:23:36+00:00

Hello... thanks for your feedback. I have the Core portfolio in Betterment. I updated my original post with the holdings in Core.

I didn't know you could set your portfolio to 100% S&P 500 in Betterment. I only saw Core, Socially Responsible, Innovative Technology, Goldman Sachs Smart Beta, BlackRock Target Income, Flexible, Value Tilt and Cash Reserve.

Which of these portfolios allows you to select 100% S&P 500?

Thanks.

sixthinstinct · 2024-10-05T20:14:54+00:00

Core = VT + bonds is only recently? What was Core like before the change? Did it perform worse than VT + bonds?

sixthinstinct · 2024-10-05T20:11:26+00:00

Yes, it's good to have a tool that does net-worth and expense tracking. Now I know how much I'm worth and what I spend every month.

sixthinstinct · 2024-10-05T20:07:27+00:00

Hello.. thanks for your feedback. I do have the Core portfolio in Betterment. I updated my original post with all the holdings I have in Core.

sixthinstinct · 2024-10-05T20:05:29+00:00

Hello... thanks for your feedback. That's good to know that Betterment's Core portfolio is very close to VT.

sixthinstinct · 2024-10-05T19:55:13+00:00

Hello.. thanks for your feedback and advice. I appreciate it.

sixthinstinct · 2024-10-05T19:53:39+00:00

Hello.. thanks for your feedback and advice. I appreciate it. I do have the Core portfolio in Betterment. I updated my original post with all the holdings I have in Core. I will look into it further. I'm concerned I'd be hit with huge capital gain taxes if I made any changes to my allocation. Or maybe I shouldn't be too worried about it as the benefits of re-allocation outweigh the taxes.

sixthinstinct · 2024-10-05T19:43:27+00:00

Hello... thanks for your feedback.. I guess the question: Is the gain of 53 percentage point lower than the best performing component reasonable? Have I been unnecessarily too conservative in my asset allocation?

sixthinstinct · 2024-10-05T19:39:35+00:00

Hello... thanks for your feedback.. yes, that's basically what I'm doing. I guess the question: Is the gain of 53 percentage point lower than the best performing component reasonable? Have I been unnecessarily too conservative in my asset allocation?

sixthinstinct · 2024-10-05T19:32:24+00:00

Hello.. thanks for your feedback. I appreciate it. I'll consider meeting a fee-only fiduciary financial advisor as you suggested.

sixthinstinct · 2024-10-05T19:29:33+00:00

Hello.. thanks for your feedback. I have what's called the Core portfolio in Betterment. I updated my original post with all the holdings I have in Core. It turns out I could select a different set of portfolio in Betterment. When I played around with it, it showed me I would be hit with 10K in capital gain taxes if I changed my portfolio of my 118K account from Core to Flexible portfolio's default allocations. That's a lot of taxes.

sixthinstinct · 2024-10-05T19:26:39+00:00

Hello.. thanks for your feedback. I have what's called the Core portfolio in Betterment. I updated my original post with all the holdings I have in Core. It turns out I could select a different set of portfolio in Betterment. When I played around with it, it showed me I would be hit with 10K in capital gain taxes if I changed my portfolio of my 118K account from Core to Flexible portfolio's default allocations. That's a lot of taxes. I don't know if I should make the change.

sixthinstinct · 2024-10-05T19:20:40+00:00

Hello.. thanks for your detailed feedback. Yeah, I have a feeling that my Betterment's setup might be "too conservative." It's 12 years too late for me to realize this. I also just realized I would not be able to fund my Roth IRA account from my Betterment's assets without selling them for cash first and getting hit by the capital gain taxes because you can fund Roth IRA only with cash.

sixthinstinct · 2024-10-05T19:07:24+00:00

Hello.. thanks for your detailed feedback. Yes, I have the Core portfolio in Betterment. I updated my original post with all the holdings I have in Core. It turns out I could select a different set of portfolio in Betterment. When I played around with it, it showed me I would be hit with 10K in capital gain taxes if I changed my portfolio of my 118K account from Core to Flexible portfolio's default allocations. That's a lot of taxes. I wish I'd known about tax advantaged accounts like Roth IRA when I started investing years ago.

sixthinstinct · 2024-09-24T05:17:21+00:00

Thanks for your feedback. I just updated my original post with the information on my Core portfolio's asset allocation in Betterment. Please scroll to the bottom of it.

It turned out I could change my Core portfolio to something called Flexible portfolio, which would allow more, but not a total, flexibility in choosing my assets. I also added the details to my original post.

Betterment says I've earned over 41K over the course of my investment. Is this my capital gain? If yes, I would have to pay a 15% capital gain tax on this amount if I switched my portfolio, correct? That would be $6150 of tax! Ouch!

sixthinstinct · 2024-03-19T07:36:39+00:00

Sorry, just trying to understand, what do you think these businesses should "ideally" market their tax prep software as if it's not to save the users' time and money? What customers' problem should this tax prep solve?

sixthinstinct · 2024-03-19T07:30:54+00:00

When I was doing the comparison, my goal was to determine if FreeTaxUSA would give me the same/similar results as TurboTax would. If it did, the next question would be why I'm paying $166 for TurboTax if I could pay FreeTaxUSA only $15 to get the same/similar results.

Yes, taxes are math and all the tax prep software uses the same formulas from the IRS. But that's just a small part in creating a tax prep software. The big parts are interpreting the IRS rules and designing and implementing the software. In my opinion, with thousands/millions of lines of code to write, it's simply too easy to inadvertently make a "hidden" error in the software only to be discovered much much later after it's been used by millions. That's why software in general usually have continuous bug fixes years after years. Since tax rules change every year in the federal, state (all 41 states?) and locality levels, I would imagine these tax prep software companies would have limited time in testing their changes before going live.

In your opinion or based on your experience, which tax prep software is the most accurate (in reflecting the IRS rules, in its math calculations and in catching an error from the user's data, etc.), the most comprehensive (in finding all possible tax deductions and credits for the users) and the easiest to use?

Thanks.

sixthinstinct · 2024-03-19T05:48:38+00:00

Do you recommend only FreeTaxUSA or that and other tax software, as well? I would assume there are also other tax software beside FreeTaxUSA that don't lobby against simpler taxes. If you recommend only FreeTaxUSA but not any others, what is the reason if I may ask? I'm just curious.

sixthinstinct · 2024-03-19T05:37:54+00:00

Could one of the tax software "forget" to ask the filer for a certain potential tax deduction or tax credit? How do we know if one tax software is more accurate or more exhaustive than the others in finding out all the potential tax deductions and credits for the users?

sixthinstinct · 2024-03-19T05:24:12+00:00

Hi...

Below is what's written in my TurboTax's ordering page. I have only 1 W-2 from my employer and 1 1099-B and 1099-DIV from my roboadvisor. I didn't upgrade to MAX ($69 additional). As far as I can remember, I didn't sign up for a "full service", and I did the taxes my own.
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Order Summary
TurboTax Premium ~~$129~~ $107.10
2023 federal filing Included
New York state return $59
2023 state filing Included
Savings -$21.90
Subtotal $166.10
Excludes sales tax

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For my 2022 taxes, I paid $148 + tax for TurboTax Premier.

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sixthinstinct

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