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July 31, 2026

Selling a House After Divorce: Capital Gains and the Ownership Clock

Guides › Home Sale Taxes Updated July 30, 2026. Quick answer (2026): Ownership and use periods carry across a transfer between spouses. The $500,000 cap needs a joint return and needs BOTH spouses to meet the use test, which is exactly what a spouse who moved out may fail. The filing-status question is worth an […]

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July 31, 2026

Rental Converted to Primary Residence: What the Exclusion Covers

Guides › Home Sale Taxes Updated July 30, 2026. Quick answer (2026): Moving into a former rental does not make the whole gain excludable. Section 121(b)(5) allocates gain to post-2008 rental years and that portion stays taxable, on top of depreciation recapture at up to 25%. The allocation above is where planning actually changes the […]

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July 31, 2026

Selling an Inherited Home: Stepped-Up Basis and Capital Gains

Selling to a sibling instead of the market? The buyout has its own arithmetic — the sibling buyout calculator computes each seller’s gain and the buyer’s blended basis, and a non-pro-rata distribution can sometimes do the whole thing with no sale at all. Not every inherited property behaves like a house — a timeshare can […]

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July 31, 2026

Downsizing in Retirement: Capital Gains Tax Calculator

Two questions this calculator gets asked constantly: is there an over-65 exemption? (no — the age break was repealed in 1997) and what if you sell before two years? (often a prorated exclusion that covers the whole gain). If a reverse mortgage is part of the picture: whether a surviving spouse can stay in the […]

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July 31, 2026

Home Sale Capital Gains Exclusion Calculator (Section 121)

Embed this calculator on your site Publishers, agents and bloggers: you can embed a compact version of this calculator free. Copy the code below into any page or post (it is self-contained — no external scripts, nothing loads from our servers). The only condition is that the “Powered by Clear Money Guide” credit link stays […]

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May 31, 2026

Average RIA Fees 2026: Investment Advisor & Portfolio Costs

Updated on July 3, 2026 Quick answer (2026): Average investment advisor fees and average RIA fees are usually quoted as an AUM percentage or annual planning dollar amount. Common comparison anchors are about 0.50%-1.00%+ per year for portfolio management, $2,500-$10,000+/year for flat annual planning, $200-$900/month for a retainer, and $200-$400/hour for hourly or project work. […]

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January 12, 2026

Average Flat Fee for Financial Advisor 2026: Costs & Scope

Comparing a flat-fee proposal? Use the flat-fee CFP® quote and verification guide to check credentials, Form ADV, written scope, response standards, and all-in annual dollars. If part of the portfolio is an annuity you already own If an annuity is already in the picture, the exit decision is mostly decided by two provisions and one […]

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October 20, 2025

Robo Advisor Fee Comparison 2026: Hybrid vs Fee-Only

Updated on June 30, 2026 Quick answer (2026): Fee-only, commission, robo-advice, robo advisors, and hybrid advisors differ by how they are paid, what tools they use, what planning scope they include, and where conflicts can appear. If you are comparing robo-advice vs hybrid advice, running a robo advisor fee comparison, or asking what is a […]

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October 10, 2025

Financial Advisor Hourly Rate 2026: Advisors by the Hour

Updated on July 3, 2026 Quick answer (2026): A typical financial advisor hourly rate is about $150-$250/hour for associate or analyst work, $250-$400/hour for a CFP lead planner, and $350-$500+/hour for senior tax, estate, business-owner, retirement-income, or equity-compensation planning. If you are comparing a financial planning hourly rate, financial advisor hourly rates, certified financial planner […]

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October 8, 2025

What Is an AUM Fee? Meaning, Rates and How It Is Billed in 2026

Updated on July 3, 2026 Quick answer (2026): AUM fee meaning: an AUM fee is an advisory fee charged as a percentage of the assets an advisor manages for you. If you are asking what is an AUM fee, it is the assets under management fee on the portfolio balance covered by the advisory agreement. […]

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October 8, 2025

Financial Advisor Project Pricing 2026: Fixed Fee Examples & Scripts

Updated July 3, 2026. ← Back to Advisor Fees hub Quick answer (2026): Financial advisor project pricing usually means a fixed fee financial advisor quote for a clearly defined planning scope, such as a second opinion, retirement plan, rollover review, RSU/tax question, or one-time planning project. It is not the same as a flat-fee annual […]

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