kiplinger's personal footballs recommends giving your mail carrier a gift card up to $20. the postal service won't allow them to accept cash. if you get daily newspaper deliver y, $10 to $30 is appropriate there. the same is suggested for each of your trash and recycling collecto collectors. if you live in a building with concierge, $25 to $100. >> we have teachers. i realized i'm quite cheap. they said for a babysitter, a month's pay. >> up to a month. >> your hair stylist. >> i took her a vase the other day. she probably wanted to chuck that thing at my head. >> where is the line? suddenly these tips are no longer to be nice, obligatory. >> you make your own line. >> he goes like three times a week. >> your barber is required. i think that's obligatory as long as you see him. >> i'm going to graduation. a piece of that. >> you practically paid for his college. >> exactly. >> we want to throw something at somebody we don't use the word chuck. we're not going to chuck it at them. >> sorry. >> next time i get mad. >> melissa. >> i'm not the world's best tipper. i wish i wer

joining us now is kevin mccormally, the chief content officer and senior vice president at kiplinger. he is here to offer year-end advice to viewers about tax policy. thank you so much for joining us. guest: thank you. i am happy to be here. host: let's start off with our viewers who are preparing our taxes. strategiesme top they should be thinking about? guest: we have three weeks to go. charitable contributions. if you itemize deductions, if you make them before december 31 or it is a check you put in the mail by december 31, you can deduct that on your 2016 return. gift, are planning a big put away your checkbook and look at your portfolio. say you bought stock 10 years ago for $1000 is worth $5,000 now, if you give that to a charity, you can deduct the full

she is a staff writer for kiplingers. it's good to have you with us. the tipping is something that's just in general a good thing to do. my husband and i always leave tips. but he's the big tipper. he says, well, you know, they're working for tip income. you should always be considerate. he goes over the 20%. do you suggest creating a tipping budget? you can tip too much if it gets you into debt. >> this time of year can get expensive anyway. it's good to have in your mind who needs a tip. and how much you should give to them. >> you wrote about the 16 people you believe should get tips. and we may not be able to get through the entire list. but the first one you list is the mail carrier. >> yeah. >> there are rules. >> that one i cash. you can give a gift worth up to $20. warm socks, a fruit basket. you don't want to put them in an awkward position. >> you said up to $20. is that the law? >> or $50 over the course of the year is the max. >> ur day care provider. the person you can't do without. >> yeah. a day care provider, you want to check the rules

kiplinger finance says there are apps that can do the work for you. >>> prosper daily is one of them. it's kind of like tinder, you can swipe left or right whether you recognize the charges. if you don't want it you can take steps to cancel it. they will cancel for you, trim and true bill will send to provider. they will sit on the phone or send certified mail if necessary. >>> also important to redefine on subscription contracts you understand the company's policy. i admit i magazines, fashion magazines for what. they automatically call. sometimes the next year is more than the previous year. >>> for 26 years a home in prince george's county has delighted visitors with its holiday lights and decorations. >> for the first time the home that gone dark. fred alderman says he's taking a break as he fights cancer. the 77-year-old says he doesn't have the energy to spend 400 hours it takes to put up the display. over the years he's seen visitors as far as france and austria stop by. he said it was a tough decision this year. >> neighbors stopped by one night and said i don't know what's wr

kiplinger finance says there are apps that will do the work for you. >> prosper daily, kind of like tinderipe left or right if you recognize or ac if you don't want it, can you take your own steps to canceling it. trim and true are cool they will cancel it for you. they will send an e-mail on the provider on your behalf asking them to cancel it. occasionally they will sit on the phone or send certified mail if necessary. >> it is also important to read the fine print on subscription contracts so you understand the company's cancellation policy. >>> surprised and blessed. that is how montgomery county salvation army captain said he felt after finding a rare coin in his red kettle bucket. >> take a look. someone with a heart of gold dropped this gold 24 carat canadian leaf coin into the lukt last weekend. it has a face value of $50 but listen to this. it may be worth as much as $1200. >> we were going through daily routine of counting all the dimes and nickels. when this came out we kind of stop and everybody kind of froze. >> wow, salvation army plans to sell it to a coin collector and use

kiplinger,a note, kevin mccormally wrote a piece that identifies .3 tax deductions that you cannot affordoverlook. he goes through each of these text inductions on kiplinger.com. bob is calling in from philadelphia. caller: good morning. thank you to c-span for taking my call. kevin, i am 55, careening towards retirement. i just have a basic question about my 401(k) if i can. what is the latest i can put additional money for 2016? is tax-deductible? guest: i think it is 18,000 this year. the limit changes each year. i take that back because you are over 50, that is where the catch-up kicks in. you can do 23,000 adoptable. that has to be a payroll reduction. you cannot just put cash into the 401(k). it has to be in your paycheck or your employer. you have the advantage since you are working that you don't have to take money out. generally you have to take deductions -- distributions five 70.5. until youstpone actually retire if you're still working. wisconsin, youm are on. caller: i have a question. my husband who had a stroke had stocks for many years. he has no paperwork. we got a check

kiplinger chief content officer and senior vice president kevin quarterly will offer end-of-the-year advice on federal tax questions. be sure to watch c-span's " washington journal," beginning at 7:00 a.m. eastern saturday morning. join the discussion. the first of three votes finished in the senate, moving forward to fund the federal government past midnight tonight. later, final passage expected. only needs a simple majority. it would extend funding to april. it includes funding for michigan's water system. -- flint, michigan's water system. measure dealing with water projects. you can what -- you can follow the senate on c-span 2. earlier today, president-elect .as in grand rapids, michigan he is visiting states he won bang in the presidential race. he spoke for about an hour. ♪ >> i am here tonight for one main reason. to say thank you to the people of michigan. incredible. and pounded the pavement, organized your fellow citizens and propelled to victory a grassroots movement, actually -- which actually -- they world -- we don't have to just say the country -- the world has ever

kiplinger,a note, kevin mccormally wrote a piece that identifies .3 tax deductions that you cannot afford to overlook. he goes through each of these text inductions on kiplinger.com. bob is calling in from philadelphia. caller: good morning. thank you to c-span for taking my call. kevin, i am 55, careening towards retirement. i just have a basic question about my 401(k) if i can. what is the latest i can put additional money for 2016? is tax-deductible? guest: i think it is 18,000 this year. the limit changes each year. i take that back because you are over 50, that is where the catch-up kicks in. you can do 23,000 adoptable. that has to be a payroll reduction. you cannot just put cash into the 401(k). it has to be in your paycheck or your employer. you have the advantage since you are working that you don't have to take money out. generally you have to take deductions -- distributions five 70.5. until youstpone actually retire if you're still working. wisconsin, youm are on. caller: i have a question. my husband who had a stroke had stocks for many years. he has no paperwork. we got a ch

and are indulging because it's topical and fun, when all is said and done, the shopping season, kiplingeraid the money is going to be one of the best in a decade. >> well, i think it's one of the best in a decade for online, no question that's growing a lot. no indication brick and mortar keeping up with this stuff. what did you just get? something that is online. neil: good point. >> we'll have to see, and the perennial losers in the brick-and-mortar business that keep dragging it down, sears, k-mart, that part of the picture is doing well. neil: bob, thank you very much. i want to get on amazon fulfillment center, adam shapiro. the goal is that they can get goods within an hour or two hours. you are very proud of yourself for doing this, but i might point out though you met the one hour guarantee and beat it nine minutes, it was cutting it close, it wasn't amazon that screwed up, it was you guys because they didn't have macadamia. there was controversy that people thought i was ordering pistachio but i was not, what happened? >> well, blame the producer always, right? it's never talent'

and kiplinger's kevin mcormley. be sure to watch c-span's "washington journal." join the discussion. >>> next, the house oversight hearing on classification rules for government documents. witnesses testify on the government's track record for declassifying information and how the process can become more efficient. this is just over two hours. [ room noise ] >>> good morning. the committee on oversight and government reform legislation to order. without objection the chair is authorized to declare a recess at any time. we have an important hearing this morning, examining the cost of overclassification on transparency and security. sunlight is said to be the best disinfectant. without knowing what our government is doing, we can't ensure it is operating efficiently and effectively. it's also important to remember that the american people pay for the federal government. the federal government works for the american people. it's not the other way around. and so it is, you would think, logical to make sure that we are as open and transparent and accessible as possibl

and kiplinger's kevin mcormley. be sure to watch c-span's "washington journal." join the discussion. >>> next, the house oversight hearing on classification rules for government documents. witnesses testify on the government's track record for declassifying information and how the process can become more efficient. this is just over two hours. [ room noise ] >>> good morning. the committee on oversight and government reform legislation to order. without objection the chair is authorized to declare a recess at any time. we have an important hearing this morning, examining the cost of overclassification on transparency and security. sunlight is said to be the best disinfectant. without knowing what our government is doing, we can't ensure it is operating efficiently and effectively. it's also important to remember that the american people pay for the federal government. the federal government works for the american people. it's not the other way around. and so it is, you would think, logical to make sure that we are as open and transparent and accessible as possibl