Jan

26

How soon we forget.

The government plans to send many of us checks so we can go out and spend this money and put it back into the economy. What is this money they will be sending us? It is an advance on your “anticipated” income tax return for fiscal year 2008 earnings.

This would not be the same concept as getting a payday loan how???

Why major media does not tell you this is beyond me. Why our government does not tell you this is beyond me.

So…I am telling you. Here is how this Government Stimulus Package is going to work (and this is the same as the last time they did this). We will assume for the sake of our example that the government will send you a check for $500.

If you will be getting a $1000 tax refund when filing your 2008 income tax return you will only be getting back $500, as Uncle Sam already fronted you the first $500.

If you will be getting back a $200 tax refund when filing your 2008 income tax return then you actually owe the government $300.

The key to dealing with this rebate is knowing in advance if you will owe the government or if they owe you when you file your tax return next year on this years earnings. If you know you are getting a refund from your tax return you can consider this payment up front. If you typically owe the government money at tax filing time then you might be best to take this money and put it in the bank as all they are doing is floating you a loan that you will need to pay back in one lump sum!

Dec

19

This one is currently near and dear to me. You might qualify to deduct up to $4,000 you paid for yourself or one of your dependents. Being able to take this deduction is based upon your adjusted gross income (AGI). You do not have to itemize to take this deduction.
Here is the link to the IRS page for details on this deduction.
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/ch06.html

Dec

16

If you live in the following states and are not claming this deduction you are losing money. 

- Alaska
- New Hampshire
- Tennessee
- Florida
- South Dakota
- Washington
- Nevada
- Texas
- Wyoming

If you live in a state that has an income tax The IRS allows you to either deduct the higher of your state/local income taxes or your state/local sales taxes. You can only choose one to deduct.

Here is the url to the IRS calulator. http://apps.irs.gov/app/stdc/stdc.html (note: as of this writing on 12/16/2007 the current year is not available).

You do not want to miss this deduction. For example, if you made between $50,000 - $60,000 with 4 deductions and live in Casper Wyoming you would be losing out on a $739.00 deduction (using the 2006 year)

Feb

20

All the tax forms in an Excel spreadsheet. This free (actually consider it dontationware) package is meticulous, updated every year, and has been around for years. Click on excel tax forms to download.

Feb

19

Do not forget to get your telephone tax credit when filing your taxes this year . We no longer need to pay the 3% federal telephone excise tax that helped to pay for our involvement in the Spanish-American war of 1898.

You are eligibile for a rebate for taxes you paid on long-distance service from Feb 28th, 2003 and Aug 1st 2006. No, you will not need to dig out your old phone bills to get the rebate.

Your rebate is based on your total number of exemptions as follows:

1 exemption = $30.00

2 exemptions = $40.00

3  exemptions = $50.00

4 or more exemptions = $50.00

 

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