Archive for Other Individual Tax Issues
Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010
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On March 23, President Obama signed the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.” With the next installment on March 30 he signed the companion “Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.” Together, these two acts represent the biggest change in how the US finances healthcare since Medicare was created back in 1965. Politics aside, It’s truly monumental legislation. Just as President Harry Truman gave us the “Fair Deal,” now Joe Biden — as he commented when he thought he was off mic — has given us the “Big *^@*#*@ Deal.”
Healthcare reform has been an intensely political process. Not one single Republican voted for the law in either the House or the Senate. And polls show that Americans are overwhelmingly confused and concerned. They don’t know just what the new law does, and they don’t know how much it’s going to cost. That’s no surprise considering the actual texts of the bills runs over 2,500 pages. I wonder if there is actually any single person who understands it all, not likely.
So that we can begin to digest all these new law changes let’s start with a brief time-line summary. Since much of the new law kicks in at different times understanding what happens when is step one. Read More→
Ten Facts about Mortgage Debt Forgiveness
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Yes, the economy is periodically showing some signs of improvement but it is clear the country has a long slow up hill climb ahead before most of us feel the worst is behind us. This is particularly true for families still struggling with what to do with their real estate mortgages when the value of their property is no where close to what they owe on it.
In these situations more and more property owners are finding it makes more sense to take the hit to their credit reports and walk away from the offending property and let the mortgage holder deal with the loss. Setting aside the ethical discussion surrounding this, if you do have mortgage debt forgiven you walk into a whole new complex tax arena. If you’re not careful and plan appropriately
If your mortgage debt is partly or entirely forgiven during tax years 2007 through 2012, you may be able to claim special tax relief and exclude the debt forgiven from your income. Here are 10 facts you should know about Mortgage Debt Forgiveness and what may happen to you tax-wise. Read More→
Where is my federal tax refund?
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While we can all debate the wisdom of having paid or withheld enough taxes to be receiving a refund, the fact is when we do get a federal tax refund it sure is nice to have it arrive.
The Internal Revenue Service has been kind enough to offer a schedule of when you can generally expect your 2009 tax refund based on your filing date. The schedule covers your filing of your refund tax return all the way through the extended due date of October 15, 2010.
To review the refund timing chart or print your own copy use the following link. Read More→
Fuel for Tax Rate Increases – The Capital Gain Tax Debate
Posted by: | CommentsWith the recent release of some IRS statistics that the 400 highest-earning U.S. households reported an average of $345 million in income in 2007, up 31 percent from a year earlier and the average tax rate for these households fell to the lowest in almost 20 years you can imagine the political hay that may be made.
Each household in the top 400 of earners paid an average tax rate of 16.6 percent, the lowest since the agency began tracking the data in 1992, the Internal Revenue Service statistics show. Their average effective tax rate was about half the 29.4 percent in 1993.
Here is but one example of the rhetoric already hitting. A quote posted at Bloomberg.com attributed to Chuck Marr, director of federal tax policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has him saying, “two long-term trends: that income at the very top has exploded and their taxes have been cut dramatically.” It is no secret that this research group openly supports increasing tax rates so a statistic such as this is made to order for their agenda. Read More→
Do you have to file a tax return?
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It’s that season of the year, that dreaded one following the holiday season… Tax Season. Every year about this time we begin to get lots of calls and emails from students, retirees, etc. all asking, “Do I need to file a tax return this year?”
Well, besides just income level there are plenty of reasons why you may need — or even want to — to file a tax return.
You must file a tax return if your income is above a certain level. The amount varies depending on filing status, age and the type of income you receive. Here are the general guidelines. Read More→
Watch out for Haiti earthquake charity scams
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As we all look for ways to offer support for the earthquake victims in Haiti we must also be careful not to be scammed in our efforts to help. The FBI and other agencies are now warning that there are also those who are looking for opportunities set up scams surrounding the latest disaster relief efforts.
You should be highly skeptical of any unsolicited appeals you may receive or find on the Internet. Even if it appears legitimate, you should only contribute when you have made the call to the charity. If you are contributing via the Internet do not click on a link taking you to a charitable organization’s site, it could be a counterfeit site. Only contribute via the Internet if you yourself type in the Web address and go directly to the site. Even then, only contribute if it is a secure site. Make sure the Web address starts with “https” and not just “http.”
One month after Hurricane Katrina, the FBI said it was suspicious of most of the 4,600 Web sites soliciting money on behalf of those victims. Within an hour of the World Trade Center attacks, scam sites popped up on the Web according to ScamBusters.org (you can trust the information at Scambusters.org, they are a long-time client of ours).
So, before you make your contribution please take a few minutes to careful check the charity. To help, here are links to a couple of articles specifically about this.
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IRS to simplify, or try too, taxpayer notices
Posted by: | CommentsIf you’ve ever received a letter or notice from the IRS you know first-hand how confusing and confounding the information presented can be. All this while it has generally been my experience that the IRS really is not trying to confuse things with 
how they structure their correspondence — quite the opposite actually. The IRS really is doing what it can wrestling with implementing wildly complex tax laws created not by their doing, but by the doing of our legislators in Washington — while at the same time trying to be clear and concise to the taxpayer.
To this dilemma there just may be a little hope on the horizon. Read More→
Want your home buyer tax credit? I hope you are patient.
Posted by: | CommentsFor all of you that are eligible for the home buyer tax credit this filing season I have some news from the IRS administrative front. Don’t expect your tax refunds to come quickly. Oh, and you won’t be able to file your federal income tax return electronically either. And make sure you have all your closing paperwork at your fingertips.
The Internal Revenue Service today (Jan 15, 2010) released the new form that eligible
home buyers need to claim the first-time homebuyer credit this tax season and announced processing of those tax returns will begin in mid-February. The IRS also announced new documentation requirements to deter fraud related to the first-time home buyer credit.
The new form and instructions follow major changes in November to the home buyer credit by the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009. The new law extended the credit to a broader range of home purchasers and added new documentation requirements to deter fraud and ensure taxpayers properly claim the credit. Read as… more paper work and yet again more paper work. Read More→
Finally, some sanity on taxing unemployment insurance benefits
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Well, partial sanity for one year anyway. The American Recover and Reinvestment Act of 2009 give a one-year exclusion for unemployment benefits you receive, up to a point.
For 2009 only, you can receive up to $2,400 of unemployment insurance benefits free of tax. There are none of the usual limitations based on your gross income with this provision.
Another important note, the $2,400 is per person and does not automatically double on a jointly filed tax return. For example, if you receive $5,000 of unemployment benefits and your spouse receives $500 you can exclude only $2,900. That is your full $2,400 and $500 of your spouse’s benefits.
It has never made any sense to me that unemployment benefits are taxed by our federal government. Essentially it is the feds deciding to effectively reduce your benefits by taking back part of your payments, possibly a significant portion. My personal opinion, it is kicking someone when they’re down. Bad form. Since this is just a one year change lets hope it may be the start of some sanity in Washington that just might lead to some permanent tax relief for the unemployed.
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Cash for Clunkers, Taxable?
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In June 2009 President Obama signed the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act of 2009 (how much caffeine had they had when they came up with that name?), commonly referred to as “Cash for Clunkers.” Auto dealers that signed up for this voluntary program received vouchers for qualifying trade-ins on the purchase off new cars where the fuel efficiency of the new car is better than the fuel efficiency of the clunker. The vouchers were for $3,500 or $4,500 depending on the how much you stepped up in fuel efficiency and they were treated as part of your down payment on your purchase. This applied for the period of Jul 1, 2009 until November 1, 2009. Read More→
