Investment and Finance

No. You cannot make a contribution to a "traditional" IRA in the year you reach 70 1/2. However- you can make a contribution to a Roth IRA. Of course you must have earned income and the same rules that limit Roth IRAs and traditional IRAs apply. For additional details contact a local CPA.

Yes. Taxable alimony payments qualify as compensation for purposes of making an IRA contribution. You are subject to the same IRA contribution limitations as one who is working.

Interest that is earned on these savings bonds is taxed to the child, even if the parent paid for the bonds.
The interest earned will be taxable to the child when the bond is redeemed unless an election was made to report the income annually. When the bond is redeemed, the child will receive a 1099-INT form at the end of the year.
This will tell you the amount of interest to report on your child's tax return. If the interest was reported annually over the years, then you will need to separately identify and subtract the previously reported income on Schedule B of the tax return.
Please speak with a local CPA about how to report this and other savings bonds you may not have cashed in yet.

Treasury bills are short term U.S. obligations of a year or less ( 4 weeks, 13 weeks, 26 weeks and 52 weeks). A Treasury Bond has a maturity of over 10 years. Treasury notes have a maturity of 2, 5 or 10 years,

Employers can contribute up to a quarter of the salaries that each employee earns (25%)up to an annual maximum limit. For 2017, that maximum will be $54,000, up $1,000 from its 2016 level. That's the first rise in the SEP IRA limit since 2015,
For self-employed. the 25% refers to the self-employed worker's "net earnings" from the business. The net result of the math is that the 25% limitation on "net earnings" works out to 20% of your adjusted profit after the self-employment tax adjustment

Long term rates apply to gains from the sale of capital assets such as stock that you held for MORE than one year.
Long-term gains and qualified dividends are taxed at;
0% if taxable income falls in the 10% or 15% marginal tax brackets 15% if taxable income falls in the 25%, 28%, 33%, or 35% marginal tax brackets 20% if taxable income falls in the 39.6% marginal tax bracket 25% on Depreciation Recapture 28% on Collectibles 28% on qualified small business stock after exclusion

Short term capital gains are taxed at ordinary income rates.
However, you can offset short term capital gains with long term and short term capital losses and any capital losses carried over from previous years that you did not use.

First $1,000 = no tax
Next $1,000 taxed at child's rate
Amounts over $2,000 taxed at parents marginal rate

If your tax bracket = 10% or 15%, the Short Term Capital Gain is taxed at ordinary income rates, Long Term Capital Gains and Qualifying Dividends tax rate = 0%
If tax bracket = greater than 15%, the Short Term CG taxed at ordinary rates Long Term CG and Qualifying Dividends tax rate = 15%
For 2013: ATRA, extends the current capital gains and dividends rates on income at or below $400,000 (individual filers), $425,000 (heads of households), and $450,000 (married filing jointly) for tax years beginning after December 31, 2012.
For income in excess of $400,000 (individual filers), $425,000 (heads of households) and $450,000 (married filing jointly), the rate for both capital gains and dividends is 20 percent. .