Year-end Tax Planning | Mortgage Rates & New Team Members

Year-end Tax Planning: The holidays are nearly upon us, so talk of pumpkins, Halloween costumes, and Christmas shopping dominate our general year-end planning. Around the office, however, the conversation is about year-end tax planning. While that might sound less thrilling, completing it sooner rather than later and giving some thought to it will set you up for the following year. Here are some easy steps to move your yearend planning forward:

Send an email to your CPA and copy us. In the email, communicate that you would like to look at your paystubs to ensure that your tax projections YTD are adjusted. Be sure you attach your paystubs to that email!
Copying us on the email will allow us to help with any further documentation or advising your CPA regarding your current financial plan and projection.
Other documentation your CPA may request is: income summaries, bank interest summaries, employer stock summaries, and realized gain/loss summaries.

Your CPA can compare YTD activity to your 2022 return and help you avoid tax “surprises.” Communication is key!

We can introduce you to a skilled, trusted CPA if you are searching for one. Don’t hesitate to reach out today with any other questions regarding your situation regarding year-end tax planning.

The Impact of Mortgage Rates: You’ve heard a lot about interest rates in recent years. The interest rates impact the housing market, and how the housing market is doing is one indicator of the economy’s health. (You can read more below about the current state of interest rates.) We found this graph a helpful and stark illustration of the impact of higher interest rates:

Business Briefing

Interest Rates: Long-term interest rates surged Tuesday to the highest level since the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007, chipping away at hopes that the Federal Reserve’s inflation-fighting campaign to raise rates won’t trigger a recession. The yields on the 10-year Treasury note climbed 0.119 percentage points to 4.801%. Mortgage rates, which loosely follow Treasury yields, also rose. The average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage climbed to 7.72% on Tuesday. The 30-year fixed rate started the year with a drop to about 6% but rose steadily over the summer. (The Wall Street Journal)
Job Openings Rise: U.S. job openings rose unexpectedly to 9.6 million in August, up from 8.9 million in July, the Labor Department reported last week. Economists had expected variances to come in at 8.9 million again. The number of layoffs and people quitting remained essentially unchanged. It was the first increase in job openings in three months. The data indicated that the job market remains strong despite the Federal Reserve’s aggressive campaign to raise interest rates to slow the economy and bring inflation down to its 2% target. (The Associated Press)
Student Loan Payments: Student loan payments officially resumed Sunday for more than 28 million borrowers after a pause of more than three years that started as a way to give people economic relief during the coronavirus pandemic. A recent survey revealed only 22% planned to restart payment on the loans, with some borrowers reportedly planning to refuse payments in a “student debt strike.” President Biden released an “on-ramp” repayment plan that will let borrowers miss payments with reduced consequences for the next year, although borrowers will start seeing interest add up.

Welcome to the team!:

We have an exciting piece of news to share with you today. Compass Ion Advisors welcomes Mark Manning as a new advisor to the firm. Mark is a well-established advisor with nearly 30 years of industry experience. Mark will work from his long-term office in Chadds Ford, PA, and is joined by Tyler Burns, CFP®. Tyler will help provide financial planning advice as well as operational support.

After several years of searching, Mark chose Compass Ion Advisors as the right environment for his business. Mark’s previous RIA was acquired by a national firm shortly after they joined. It was a move that limited their freedom as advisors and lowered the quality of their support.

In Mark Manning’s words: “Having joined Compass Ion, our clients now have the best of both worlds. We can protect our independence and once again provide unbiased investment advice, and we gain better support from a cohesive team of financial professionals that provide collaboration and continuity.”

Matt Kane, President, and partner, added, “We’re thrilled to add the Manning team as they bring a tremendous amount of expertise to the firm and a certain brand of relational depth with their many clients that fundamentally aligns with who we are. Please join us in extending our congratulations along with a warm welcome to our community of clients and advisors.”