The Lifetime Planner allows you to enter information about assets you currently own as well as assets that you intend to acquire in the future ("planned assets"). While the process for entering both types of assets is similar, the actual screens may vary depending on the type of asset and whether you plan to sell it.
- If you have an asset you intend to sell at a later date (for example, your home), select the corresponding asset account or planned asset and click Sales Info.
- Select an account or planned asset and click Loans to tell Quicken about loans associated it.
Select an account or planned asset and click Expenses to tell Quicken about any expenses associated with it; for example, property taxes and home owner's insurance fees associated with your home, or registration and license fees associated with your car.
- Select an asset or planned asset and click Income to tell the Lifetime Planner about any income associated with it (for example, if you rent all or part of your home). By default, the Lifetime Planner taxes the gain at the average tax rate you set in the Average Tax Rate dialog.
- Select a planned asset and click Choose Accts to tell the Lifetime Planner how you intend to pay for it.
- Tips about monitoring available funds for a special purchase
If you've told the Lifetime Planner that you intend to purchase something using funds from a specific account, you can see how much you've saved toward that purchase in the Event Status snapshot on the Lifetime Planner page of the Planning tab.
If you choose general expenses to buy the asset, the Event Status snapshot won't be able to display this information; the Lifetime Planner won't know how much of the funds meant to cover general expenses are meant intended for the purchase of your planned asset. However, you can view monthly savings targets for your expenses in the Monthly Savings Target snapshot on the Lifetime Planner page of the Planning tab.
- Tips about entering the purchase price and expected growth rate
- Purchase price: how much you want to spend on your asset. Make your best guess. If the future asset is to be a home and you think you'll want one comparable to your current home, enter the current value of your home. (The Planner tracks the value of future assets using today's dollars.) If you don't know the value of your home, check in the real estate listings for the price of comparable homes in your neighborhood.
- Expected growth rate:
- If you enter a rate less than inflation, the home's value will decline in the future relative to its value today. Effectively, it will be easier to buy the same home in the future.
- If you enter a rate equal to inflation, the future value will remain the same in today's dollars. It will be no harder or easier to buy than it is today.
- If you enter a rate greater than inflation, the same home will be harder to buy in the future.
- Tips about entering type of asset and plans to sell information
An asset is something you are willing to sell to finance your plan, something that produces income for you, or something that can serve as collateral (sometimes all three). Assets do not have a ready market like investments do; it may take months or years to sell them. If you are basing your plan on selling or receiving income from an asset, make sure you estimate that amount realistically.
- This asset is a house: If you track your asset in Quicken using a House account, the Lifetime Planner will be able to detect that it is a house and will select this choice for you.
- This house is or will be my primary residence: Click to tell the Lifetime Planner whether or not it is your primary residence. This has tax implications if you sell, as you will see on the next page.
- I do not plan to sell this asset or I plan to sell this asset on: Tell the Lifetime Planner whether you intend to sell the asset, and if you do, when.
- If you don't intend to sell the asset, click Done.
- If you do intend to sell the asset, click Next.
- If you think you may sell the asset but don't know when, select I do not plan to sell this asset.
- Tips about entering the cost of improvements, tax rate on gain, and tax exemption
This screen and the individual options on it may or may not appear depending on the choices you made for Type of asset and future plans to sell (above).
- Cost of improvements: Certain improvements to your asset (like home improvements that permanently increase the home's value) affect its tax basis.
- Tax rate on gain: Enter the expected tax rate on the gain.
If the asset is not your primary residence, click Done.
If the asset is your primary residence:
- Use exemption, Exemption amount, and Filing jointly: Normally, when you sell an asset for a profit you are taxed on the gain, which is the amount of gain from the sale of a home that must be reported as income on your income taxes. The realized gain is the selling price minus the purchase price, minus selling expenses, minus improvements plus any gains carried forward to this home.
- If the asset you're selling is your principal residence, you can usually exempt up to $250,000 ($500,000 if married and filing a joint return) of gain realized. You must have owned and occupied your principal residence for at least two of the five years prior to any sale or exchange to take full advantage of the exclusion. If you fail to meet this requirement due to unforeseen circumstances (such as a change in employment) you are only able to exclude a fraction of either the $250,000 or $500,000 amount. The exclusion may be used once every two years.
- Under current laws you are taxed on any realized gain that cannot be excluded under the IRS rules for sales of homes after May 6, 1997. By default, the Lifetime Planner taxes the gain at the average tax rate you set in the Average Tax Rate dialog.
- The Lifetime Planner does not cover all cases of the above exclusion. Refer to IRS Publication 17 for complete details.
- Tips about entering the use of proceeds from selling this asset
These options will not appear if you selected I do not plan to sell this asset on a prior screen.
- I will use some or all of the proceeds to purchase another home: If you are planning to purchase another home within the same calendar year, the Lifetime Planner assumes the entire gain from the sale of your home will be realized, less IRS exclusions, and taxed. Whatever money is left after paying off mortgages and taxes will be applied to your next home purchase.
- I will invest the proceeds: If you have not entered the purchase of another home within the same calendar year, the Lifetime Planner assumes the entire gain from the sale of your home will be realized and taxed. Whatever money is left after paying off mortgages and taxes will be invested in your taxable investment portfolio.
If you sell your home, or any asset, at a loss, the Lifetime Planner withdraws money from your taxable portfolio to cover it.
- Tips about entering loan information
- Click New to add a future loan or select an existing loan, or select an existing loan and click Edit to change the information about it. Loan accounts where you lend money to others cannot be entered. For more information on setting up loans, see Set up a loan.
- For more information on working with loan information in the Lifetime Planner, see Enter information about current loans.
- Planned loans tab: Click this if you intend to take out a loan on your asset in the future (for example, a home equity loan). Don't include leases in this dialog. Leases should be added in the Living Expenses or Special Expenses dialogs.
- Tips about entering expenses associated with assets
A home is a primary residence that you own. Home mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs are a large portion of your overall living expenses. Over time the value of your home may appreciate, which will add to your net worth. In addition, as you pay off your mortgage, your net worth also increases.
You can take advantage of your home equity if you sell or refinance your home. If you don't sell or refinance your home as you grow older, your mortgage payments (as a fixed expense) may become a smaller portion of your expenses in relation to expenses affected by inflation.
When filling out this section, don't duplicate include expenses that are part of your living expenses (such as rent or credit card payments).
- How much tax do you pay on this asset? Remember that property taxes generally increase with property values.
- New: Click to add an expense related to your asset. You can also select an existing asset and click Edit to change the information about it. Fill in the requested information, clicking Next as necessary. As you fill in the information, keep these tips in mind:
- Amount from loans or Monthly savings target area: Tell the Lifetime Planner if you intend to pay for this expense using loans or an amount you save every month. If you have a monthly savings target for this expense you can view your progress in the Monthly Savings Target snapshot on the Lifetime Planner page of the Planning tab.
- By default, the Lifetime Planner assumes that you will fund expenses using general funds such as checking or savings accounts, and that you haven't yet saved any money. Click Choose accounts if you intend to pay for the expense from a specific account (for example, you have a special savings account for home repair funds), or if you have already saved a set amount for the expense.
- Tips about entering income associated with assets
- Currency tips
The Lifetime Planner supports only U.S. currency. If you use non-U.S. currency accounts, their balances will be converted to U.S. dollars for planning. All currency amounts that you enter in the Lifetime Planner should be in U.S. dollars. If you have a multicurrency Quicken file and are not using U.S. dollars as your home currency, you will need to have U.S. dollars in your currency list with a current exchange rate.
- General tips
For general information on filling out the Lifetime Planner, see the
Tips topic.
- See also the general discussion of Assets.
Return to Get started with the Lifetime Planner.