How Will the New Tax Law Affect You? While most of the new tax law has to do with reducing the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, some provisions relate to individual taxpayers. Before we get into the details, be aware that almost everything listed below sunsets after 2025, with the tax structure reverting to its current form in 2026, unless Congress acts between now and then. The corporate tax rate cut, however, does not sunset. Here are the highlights for our readership:  [...]

Medicare Launches Hospice Compare Website Patients looking for hospice care can now get help from Medicare’s website. The agency’s new Hospice Compare site allows patients to evaluate hospice providers according to several criteria. The site is a good start, but there is room for improvement, experts say. Medicare's comprehensive hospice benefit covers any care that is reasonable and necessary for easing the course of a terminal illness. Medicare launched the hospice compare [...]

Medicare's Part B Premium Will Be Unchanged in 2018, But Many Will Pay More The announcement of the 2018 Medicare premium is good news for some beneficiaries and bad news for many others. The good news is that the standard monthly Part B premium, which about 30 percent of Medicare beneficiaries pay, will again be $134 next year, unchanged from 2017. But most Medicare recipients pay a lower premium because they have been protected from any increase in premiums when Social Security benefits [...]

Social Security Beneficiaries Will Receive a 2 Percent Increase in 2018 In 2018, Social Security recipients will get their largest cost of living increase in benefits since 2012, but the additional income will likely be largely eaten up by higher Medicare Part B premiums. Cost of living increases are tied to the consumer price index, and an upturn in inflation rates and gas prices means recipients get a small boost in 2018, amounting to $27 a month for the typical retiree. The 2 percent [...]

How Can the Court Find That My Income for Child Support Is More than I Actually Earn? Thinking of taking a lower paying job or leaving your job to attempt to avoid child support? Think again. The Court does not just look at your current income on your pay stub or recent W-2 statement. The Court digs deeper than that. How much child support you owe depends on a parent’s ability to provide support, rather than looking at strict income numbers. A Judge or Support Magistrate has the power to [...]