Archive for Taxable Income
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→
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→
Never let it be said that these aren’t some interesting political times. Our federal government has been spending money faster than the printing presses can create it and the politicos have yet to figure out how they plan to pay for it all. Forget the debate of right or wrong on the spending, the fact is the bill will be coming due.
If you’d like to get an idea of what may be coming down the pipe for us, Bloomberg BusinessWeek had an interview with the President you really should read.
President Barack Obama said he is “agnostic” about raising taxes on households making less than $250,000 as part of a broad effort to rein in the budget deficit. Now that’s a new way to be wishy-washy with an answer.
Obama, in a Feb. 9 Oval Office interview, said that a presidential commission on the budget needs to consider all options for reducing the deficit, including tax increases and cuts in spending on entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare.
“The whole point of it is to make sure that all ideas are on the table,” the president said in the interview with Bloomberg BusinessWeek, which will appear on newsstands Friday. “So what I want to do is to be completely agnostic, in terms of solutions.”
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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→
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→
