SG Americas Securities LLC Reduces Position in Synaptics, Incorporated (SYNA)

SG Americas Securities LLC reduced its position in shares of Synaptics, Incorporated (NASDAQ:SYNA) by 35.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,062 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 10,281 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Synaptics worth $872,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in Synaptics by 2,792.0% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 356,784 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $14,250,000 after purchasing an additional 344,447 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Synaptics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $264,000. First Quadrant L P CA lifted its holdings in Synaptics by 671.1% during the 4th quarter. First Quadrant L P CA now owns 7,711 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 6,711 shares during the last quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Synaptics by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 241,753 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $9,656,000 after purchasing an additional 21,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aperio Group LLC lifted its holdings in Synaptics by 60.3% during the 4th quarter. Aperio Group LLC now owns 10,718 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 4,032 shares during the last quarter. 96.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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In other Synaptics news, Director Russell J. Knittel sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.45, for a total transaction of $651,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,543.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Nelson C. Chan sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.17, for a total value of $135,510.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,139,684.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,385 shares of company stock worth $1,965,037. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Synaptics stock opened at $42.38 on Monday. Synaptics, Incorporated has a one year low of $33.73 and a one year high of $64.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.50. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.92.

Synaptics (NASDAQ:SYNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 9th. The software maker reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.01. Synaptics had a positive return on equity of 11.99% and a negative net margin of 6.28%. The firm had revenue of $394.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $401.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. equities research analysts expect that Synaptics, Incorporated will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SYNA has been the subject of several research reports. Craig Hallum reissued a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 price target (up from $49.00) on shares of Synaptics in a report on Thursday, May 10th. Cowen set a $60.00 price target on Synaptics and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Synaptics from $59.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Synaptics in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Mizuho raised Synaptics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.73.

Synaptics Company Profile

Synaptics Incorporated develops, markets, and sells intuitive human interface solutions for electronic devices and products worldwide. The company offers its human interface products solutions for mobile product applications, including smartphones, tablets, and touchscreen applications, as well as mobile, handheld, wireless, and entertainment devices; notebook applications; and other personal computer (PC) product applications, such as keyboards, mice, and desktop product applications.

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4 ways the ECB is preventing an Italian rerun of the euro crisis �� for now

Italy��s likely new coalition government is spooking investors with its controversial spending plans and underlying euroskepticism.

But prospects for a return of the darkest days of the eurozone sovereign debt crisis seem low, say economists at Commerzbank, and that��s thanks in large part to the actions already undertaken by the European Central Bank. But the ECB, led by former Bank of Italy chief Mario Draghi, can��t paper over the cracks in the euro indefinitely.

While the antiestablishment 5 Star Movement and far-right League disagree on many issues, both are calling for expansionary spending that would ignore the European Union��s deficit rules, setting up a confrontation with Brussels and its eurozone partners.

That��s contributed to a selloff in Italy��s bond market that has accelerated the past two weeks, with the yield on the 10-year bond, known as the BTP TMBMKIT-10Y, +6.37% �hitting an intraday high of 2.555% Friday, the highest since August 2014. It had stood at 1.74% on May 3, according to Tradeweb. Yields rise as bond prices fall.

The premium demanded by investors to hold the Italian bond over the German 10-year bund TMBMKDE-10Y, -14.34% �went from around 1.26 percentage points in late April to more than 2.16 percentage points, representing the widest spread since 2014.

The euro EURUSD, -0.6569% �fell 0.9% versus the dollar this week, while Italy��s benchmark stock index, the FTSE MIB I945, -1.54% dropped 6.6% over the same period.

The Wall Street Journal reported that hedge funds have homed in on the perceived weakness, increasing bets against Italian bonds to levels not seen since the financial crisis.

Ralph Solveen, economist at Commerzbank in Frankfurt, outlined four ways the ECB��s actions are squelching the prospect of a return of a crisis, at least for now.

Remember the OMT

At the top of the list is the ECB��s Outright Monetary Transactions program. The OMT program was assembled after Draghi��s famous 2012 pledge to do ��whatever it takes�� to preserve the euro. Never used, OMT allows the ECB to make purchases of government bonds issued by eurozone countries in the secondary market once a government requests assistance.

Draghi��s pledge and the promise of the OMT program were credited six years ago with pulling Italian yields down from crisis levels that had seen the yield on two-year government paper TMBMKIT-02Y, +123.01% �spike above a fiscally unsustainable 7.5%.

To be sure, OMT isn��t without its flaws, Solveen notes. For one, emergency buying of Italian bonds on top of purchases already made as part of its separate quantitative-easing program could push ECB holdings above self-imposed limit on holdings of debt from any individual country, but it��s a safe bet that the ��ECB would not stop there,�� Solveen said, ��if this is what it takes.��

Second, as highlighted by economists Olivier Blanchard and Jeromin Zettelmeyr in a blog post for the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Access to the OMT program requires a government to strike an agreement with the ECB and EU authorities on an accompanying fiscal plan, which happens to be ��the opposite of what Italy��s new government has promised.��

��Unless the government were to change course, it would be forced to exit the euro, even if this is not the current plan,�� they wrote.

Lower eurozone interest rates

The ECB��s other bond-buying program, the one undertaken as part of QE and that is set to continue at ��30 billion a month through at least September, has dragged down government and corporate yields across the eurozone.

Read: In topsy-turvy Italian markets, sovereign debt now seen as riskier than corporate bonds

As a result, Solveen said, Italy��s debt-service costs should barely increase even as yields rise. That��s because the average yields are still far lower than the average outstanding coupon, he said, noting that Commerzbank��s forecasts already assumed the deficit would rise to 3% of gross domestic product this year and 3.5% in following years.

��Anchor investor��

As a result of the ECB��s purchases, only 32% of Italian government bonds are still held by foreign investors, Solveen noted, and only a third of those are held outside the eurozone. That compares with more than 40% before the sovereign debt crisis.

Now, the ECB and Bank of Italy hold almost a fifth of the bonds, significantly reducing, but not eliminating, the threat of investor flight (see chart below), he said.

Anchoring the yield curve

The ECB��s deposit rate stands at negative 0.4%, while its key lending rate stands at 0%. Rates wont�� rise soon, Solveen notes, and that��s curbing the rise of short-term bond yields. It also means Italy will be able to issue new bonds with low coupons, at least in the two-to-three-year maturity range, he said, which should also anchor long-end yields. And since the average duration of Italian bonds has risen significantly in recent years, Italy��s Treasury can shift its issuance back toward shorter-dater maturities if needed.

But it��s weakness at the short end of the yield curve��the line plotting yields across all debt maturities��that might be most troubling for investors right now.

��Strong selling pressure at the short end is noteworthy��, while there have been a few other such episodes since the start of QE, this is the strongest one,�� said Luca Cazzulani, deputy head of fixed income at UniCredit, in Milan (see chart below).

Test looms

An important near-term test looms Monday when the Treasury is due to sell 2-year zero-coupon notes and inflation-indexed BTPs.

The auction round ��will be closely watched and results are likely to drive BTPs more than usual,�� Cazzulani said, in a note. ��Considering the still fragile market environment, pressure ahead of the auction should not come as a surprise.��

Both auctions are smaller than usual, which should help keep supply pressures low, he said.

Solveen said that while the new government��s policies are unlikely to trigger a new sovereign debt crisis, the situation underlines the fundamental differences in economic policy thinking within the eurozone.

��The ECB��s very expansionary monetary policy and the resulting cyclical economic recovery can conceal this fact to some extent but, at the next recession at the latest, the difference could become very apparent again and prove a real test for the monetary union,�� he said.

Why do annuities have such a bad reputation?

Running out of money in retirement is such a major concern that many workers fear it more than death itself. And while aggressively funding an IRA or 401(k) during your working years will help lower your risk of depleting your savings in your lifetime, it won't guarantee that you don't wind up strapped for cash when you're older.

An annuity, on the other hand, can help eliminate that risk. An annuity is a contract between you and an insurance company. With an annuity, you're essentially paying a lump sum of money in exchange for guaranteed payouts for life. Those payments might start right away or begin at some point in the future.

Sounds like a pretty good deal, right? Not necessarily.

While annuities are a smart investment in theory, there's a reason they tend to get a bad rap. For one thing, they can be awfully confusing and come with their own complicated tax rules and implications. Furthermore, annuities are only as good as the companies that issue them. If you buy an annuity and the insurance company behind it goes under, your so-called guaranteed income stream disappears.

But if there's one aspect of annuities that really drags their name through the mud, it's none other than fees. And that's something you need to be aware of before you buy.

What will your annuity cost you?

Let's be clear: Most investments come with fees in some shape or form. But annuities take that concept to a whole new level.

First of all, annuities are frequently (though not always) sold by pushy sales reps who land huge commissions for getting you to buy them. Those commissions can easily hit the 10% mark, and they're often built into the annuity's operating costs, which means that charge is passed along to you, the buyer.

Speaking of operating costs, it's not unheard of for annuities, particularly variable ones, to charge 3% to 4% in annual fees. Actively managed mutual funds, by contrast, might charge as little as half that amount. Granted, you're not getting guaranteed income for life with a mutual fund, but it's something to consider nonetheless.

Another thing to know about annuities is that they typically come with surrender charges, which means that if you attempt to back out of your contract, you'll be hit with a hefty fee there as well. That fee can be as high as 7% during the first year of your annuity, though it'll typically decline by about 1% annually during your surrender period until it goes away completely. That said, some annuities allow you to withdraw a small portion of your account value each year without facing a surrender charge, but that depends on the specifics of your contract.

So are all of those fees worth the guaranteed income? Part of it depends on how long you end up living. If you pass away sooner than expected, you may not end up recouping those fees, or your initial investment, for that matter.

Is an annuity right for you?

Despite their complexities and sizable fees, annuities can be a smart choice under some circumstances because unlike your IRA or 401(k), they essentially guarantee income for life, provided you pick the right insurer. That said, it generally pays to max out your retirement plan contributions before buying an annuity. But if you're sitting on extra cash and don't want to bear the risk of investing it on a long-term basis, an annuity might work out in your favor.

The same holds true if your health is fantastic and you have a strong family history of longevity. That's because the longer you live, the greater your chances of getting the most out of your annuity.

Related links:

�� Motley Fool Issues Rare Triple-Buy Alert

�� This Stock Could Be Like Buying Amazon in 1997

�� 7 of 8 People Are Clueless About This Trillion-Dollar Market

On the other hand, if you can't wrap your head around annuities enough to understand how they work, you may be better off putting your money elsewhere. Remember, annuities technically aren't risk-free, and if the idea of buying one doesn't sit well with you, that's reason enough to explore alternatives for establishing an income stream for life.

Six Flags (SIX) Holdings Reduced by Eaton Vance Management

Eaton Vance Management decreased its holdings in shares of Six Flags (NYSE:SIX) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,237 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,725 shares during the period. Eaton Vance Management’s holdings in Six Flags were worth $1,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Six Flags by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,621,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,208,000 after acquiring an additional 51,902 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial For Lutherans raised its position in shares of Six Flags by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial For Lutherans now owns 1,593,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,106,000 after acquiring an additional 29,180 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Six Flags by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,424,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,855,000 after acquiring an additional 13,180 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Six Flags by 132.4% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 785,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,305,000 after acquiring an additional 447,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Six Flags in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,415,000. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Six Flags opened at $64.11 on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six Flags has a twelve month low of $51.25 and a twelve month high of $70.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of -2.90, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.10 and a beta of 1.13.

Six Flags (NYSE:SIX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 24th. The company reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of ($0.79) by $0.05. Six Flags had a negative return on equity of 31.58% and a net margin of 19.38%. The company had revenue of $128.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $118.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.63) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.6% on a year-over-year basis. equities research analysts forecast that Six Flags will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.87%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 30th. Six Flags’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 146.48%.

In related news, VP Lance C. Balk sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.67, for a total transaction of $6,567,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 15,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,033,514.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 5.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Investment Research raised Six Flags from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $77.00 target price for the company in a research report on Saturday, February 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Six Flags in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Macquarie increased their target price on Six Flags from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 26th. B. Riley increased their target price on Six Flags from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 26th. Finally, ValuEngine raised Six Flags from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Six Flags presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $69.55.

Six Flags Profile

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation owns and operates regional theme and water parks under the Six Flags brand name. The company's parks offer various thrill rides, water attractions, themed areas, concerts and shows, restaurants, game venues, and retail outlets. It owns and operates 20 parks, including 17 parks in the United States; 2 parks in Mexico; and 1 park in Montreal, Canada.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SIX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Six Flags (NYSE:SIX).

Short-Sighted Margin Concerns Create An Opportunity In Alibaba Stock

MKM Partners recently released a bullish note on Alibaba (BABA) stock with a Street-high $280 price target, implying more than 40% upside from current levels. We largely agree with MKM's bull thesis on Alibaba, and further believe that near-term margin concerns are unnecessarily short-sighted, while big picture investors would be wise to focus on the company's accelerating top-line growth narrative.

Overall, we feel that BABA stock remains materially undervalued below $200. Given peer valuations and intrinsic earnings growth potential, we believe that BABA stock can easily rally to and above $230 this year, while also maintaining the view that prices above $250 are achievable.

BABA data by YCharts

As MKM Partners shrewdly points out, BABA stock has been held down recently by margin concerns. We highlighted this in our most recent article about Alibaba. In that article, we noted that the company is investing big into new-growth expansion markets (like global retail, AI, and cloud computing), and that these investments are weighing heavily on profits in the near-term. But such near-term investments are also powering an increasingly robust top-line growth narrative with improving longevity.

As such, we concluded that Alibaba was astutely following in the footsteps of Amazon (AMZN), Netflix (NFLX), and other hyper-growth tech giants. That means sacrificing near-term margins for long-term profit growth (investors would be wise to read this article, which astutely outlines that this strategy has somewhat become the norm today). Thus, the bear thesis centered around near-term margin compression seemed unnecessarily short-sighted to us. Eventually, growth-related investments will peel back, and margins will ramp up on a significantly larger revenue base. At that point in time, earnings will soar much like they have and will continue to do so at Amazon and Netflix.

AMZN EPS Diluted (NYSE:TTM) data by YCharts

Thus, the most important thing at Alibaba right now is revenue growth, because if revenue growth remains robust, then that means the company's big investments are paying off.

Fortunately, Alibaba's revenue growth not only remains robust, but is actually accelerating across the board. Total revenue growth last quarter was 61%, versus 56% the prior quarter and 60% in the year ago quarter. Core commerce revenue growth was 62% last quarter, versus 57% the prior quarter and 47% in the year ago quarter. Cloud computing growth was 103% last quarter, versus 104% last quarter and 103% in the year ago quarter. Digital media and entertainment growth was 34% last quarter, versus 33% the prior quarter (year ago quarter doesn't offer good comparable). Active consumer growth on the company's China commerce platforms was 22% last quarter, versus 16% last quarter and 7% in the year ago quarter.

Thus, across the board, Alibaba's revenue growth trajectory is actually improving. The only place it is slowing down is in Cloud Computing. That slow-down is by merely 1 percentage point and revenues are still more than doubling year-over-year. Everywhere else, from Core Commerce to Digital Media to user growth, Alibaba's growth rates are getting bigger.

That is a sure-fire sign that yesterday's big investments are yielding materially positive return, and turning into today's big growth. Because of this, we remain confident that, just as yesterday's big investments are fueling today's big growth, today's big investments will fuel tomorrow's big growth. That is why we are bullish on management's guide for revenues to grow in excess of 60% this year, versus 58% last year.

From this perspective, we aren't terribly concerned that near-term margins are in retreat. As stated earlier, eventually, Alibaba's commerce and cloud businesses will scale, management will peel back investments, margin growth will come back into the picture, and profits will head significantly higher in a hurry.

This positive long-term growth outlook is not priced into shares at current levels. Alibaba stock trades at just 30x forward earnings for what the Street sees at 30%-plus earnings growth over the next 5 years. That means that BABA stock sports a PEG (price-to-earnings/growth) ratio of under 1, while the stock market average PEG is 1. That makes no sense considering Alibaba's earnings growth is projected to be twice as big as the market's earnings growth (~30% versus ~15%).

BABA PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts

Moreover, Alibaba's earnings ramp over the next several years is expected to closely resemble Netflix and Amazon's earnings ramp over the next several years, as all three companies will benefit from the rewards of lower investment on a huge revenue base. Despite those similar growth trajectories, BABA stock trades at just 30-times forward earnings, versus triple digit multiples for NFLX and AMZN.

BABA Annual EPS Estimates data by YCharts BABA PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts

Because of these valuation discrepancies, we feel that BABA stock could easily get to $230 by the end of the year, and further feel that $250-plus price targets for this year are reasonable.

The market-average forward earnings multiple is 16. Growth stocks trade around 20-times forward earnings. The class of Facebook (FB), Alphabet (GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), and NVIDIA (NVDA) trade between 25- and 30-times forward earnings. Alibaba is growing revenue faster than the average stock, faster than the average growth stock, and faster than Facebook, NVIDIA, and Alphabet.

As such, we believe that BABA stock easily deserves a FB/NVDA/GOOG multiple in the 25-30 range. A 27.5-times forward multiple on next year's consensus earnings estimate of $8.56 implies a year-end price target of over $230.

We also realistically see BABA deserving a multiple north of 30, given its bigger revenue growth. In that scenario, BABA stock could reasonably trade north of $250 by the end of the year (30 multiple on $8.56).

BABA Annual EPS Estimates data by YCharts FB PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts BABA Revenue (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts

Overall, we feel that Alibaba is a case of discounted valuation converging on a big growth company. That discounted valuation is the result of reasonable, but short-sighted, concerns related to near-term margin compression. Eventually, those concerns will blow over, and BABA's valuation will normalize. At that point in time, BABA stock will explode higher.

Disclosure: I am/we are long BABA, FB, GOOG, AMZN.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

If You Itemize Your Deductions, It's Time For A Checkup On Your Taxes

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image shutterstock size-large wp-image-1093255799&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/1093255799/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;640&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; Shutterstock

Did you itemize your deductions on a Schedule A last year? If so, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) encourages you to&a;nbsp;do a quick checkup on your taxes. By plugging your current tax data into the withholding calculator on the IRS website, you can do a &q;paycheck checkup&q; and avoid any nasty surprises at year end.

Why the need for the checkup? There have been&a;nbsp;many changes as a result of tax reform. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was signed into law in 2017, mostly took effect for individual taxpayers beginning in the 2018 tax year. Significant changes to itemized deductions could affect your tax bill. Those changes include new tax rates, limits on the deductions for state and local taxes (SALT taxes), a cap on the amount that you can borrow for purposes of the home mortgage interest (you can find additional information about re-fis &l;a href=&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2018/02/22/irs-issues-guidance-for-deducting-home-equity-loan-interest-under-the-new-tax-law/#20376d1b6453&q;&g;here&l;/a&g;), and exclusions for certain kinds of job-related expenses (like the home office deduction - more &l;a href=&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2018/04/26/for-many-taxpayers-tax-reform-means-no-more-home-office-deduction/#5217d5ae6995&q;&g;here&l;/a&g;).

(You can see what Schedule A might look like &l;a href=&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2017/12/20/what-your-itemized-deductions-on-schedule-a-will-look-like-after-tax-reform/#260500156334&q;&g;here&l;/a&g; and you can find the new tax rates for 2018 - and more about adjustments to deductions and credits - &l;a href=&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2018/03/07/new-irs-announces-2018-tax-rates-standard-deductions-exemption-amounts-and-more/&q;&g;here&l;/a&g;.)

In addition, the new law affects the way that sole proprietors and pass-through entities are taxed. Depending on your income level and occupation, some of your income might be subject to a deduction of up to 20% of business-related income (more on that &l;a href=&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2018/01/18/what-the-tax-deduction-for-pass-through-businesses-looks-like-in-chart-form/#72681b3a4a0f&q;&g;here&l;/a&g;).

The IRS released new withholding tables in January of 2018 (you can see them &l;a href=&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2018/01/11/irs-releases-new-2018-withholding-tables-to-reflect-tax-law-changes/#56615a873767&q;&g;here&l;/a&g;), and employers were instructed to use the 2018 withholding tables as soon as possible, but not later than February 15, 2018. But that doesn&s;t mean that you&s;re necessarily where you need to be when it comes to withholding. Remember that your employer only has access to certain of your tax information, such as your income and your form W-4. Your employer may not know about pieces of financial information - like which of your itemized deductions are affected by the new law or whether it&s;s more beneficial to take the standard deduction now - that affect your tax bill.

You should complete a &q;paycheck checkup&q; as early as possible so that you can adjust your withholding now, if necessary. If you wait to make a change, you&s;ll have a decision to make. Since the year is near half over, you&s;ll need to make changes to your subsequent paychecks in order to equalize withholding for the year; if you don&s;t make those changes, you could end up with an unexpected tax bill or penalty at tax time in 2019.

You can find the new withholding calculator on the IRS website &l;a href=&q;https://www.irs.gov/individuals/irs-withholding-calculator&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;here&l;/a&g;. To use the calculator, you&s;ll need your most recent pay stub from work, as well as a completed copy of your 2017 tax return. For more on using the new withholding calculator, click &l;a href=&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2018/02/28/irs-releases-updated-withholding-calculator-and-form-w-4-for-2018/#cc3ec00722ab&q;&g;here&l;/a&g;.

Remember, the new withholding rates will not affect your 2017 tax return (the one you filed in 2018). However, having a completed 2017 tax return is helpful when using the new withholding calculator. If you don&s;t have your 2017 tax return, because, for example, you&s;re on &l;a href=&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2018/04/09/if-youre-not-yet-ready-to-file-your-tax-return-in-2018-heres-how-to-get-an-extension/#373568052f00&q;&g;an extension&l;/a&g;, you can refer to your 2016 tax return but the results may not be as accurate.

It&s;s important to understand that the withholding calculator does not request personally-identifiable information, such as your name, Social Security number, address or bank account numbers. Also, the IRS does not save or record the information entered on the calculator. Watch out for tax scams and as always, remember that the IRS does not send emails related to the withholding calculator or other tax information.

If you need to make a change to your withholding, you&s;ll do so using a form W-4. You don&s;t send the form W-4 to the IRS: You submit it to your employer. Your employer will adjust your withholding accordingly. For more on how to figure out your form W-4 under the new law, click &l;a href=&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2018/02/28/figuring-out-your-form-w-4-under-the-new-tax-law-how-many-allowances-should-you-claim-in-2018/#67dd3f1335fd&q;&g;here&l;/a&g;.&l;/p&g;