Common wisdom suggests that in planning for the tax bill for a long term capital gain using a flat 15% rate for the estimated federal tax liability is sufficient. The authors examine and illustrate that the interaction between the alternative minimum tax (AMT), the level of ordinary income, and...

The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman for federal issues. The tax implications of this law has been that same-sex couples who were legally married in their state are treated as single taxpayers for federal tax purposes. However, the...

Many employers have increased the default contribution rates in their retirement plans, generating higher employee savings. However, a large fraction of employers are reluctant to default employees into savings rates that are high enough to leave those employees adequately prepared for...

Despite the successes of automatic enrollment (AE) in raising participation, a significant share of 401(k) enrollees remain at-risk for retirement insecurity. We assert that this risk may be shaped by an employee's initial decision to either confirm enrollment at the default rate or to...

Many companies and policymakers would like to reduce retirement savings gaps between ethnicities, gender, and income bands. Choice architecture, such as automatic enrollment, is one tool to help reduce such gaps. Yet not all employers want automatic features. This raises the question whether...