The IRS Deductions Blog

Archive for January, 2009

Question: Are Property Tax and Mortgage Interest compoundable ?

For California Resident :
The total Property Tax and Mortgage Interest is still below my Standard Deduction by end of 2008, Can I roll over my Property Tax and Mortgage Interest for 2009 ?

Answer: No. You can only deduct the what is paid in the current tax year. Mortgage Interest & Property Taxes are not the only two items that allow you to itemize. You can deduct out of pocket medical expenses (co-pays, prescription costs, prescription glasses/contacts, dental visits,) state & local taxes paid, donations to charity (by cash or check, keep your receipts,) unreimbursed employee expenses, and tax prep fees from the previous year. Go to www.irs.gov and check out tax topic 500 for more information.

http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc500.html

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Haiti contributions deductible for 2009 taxes

The Senate unanimously passed legislation Thursday that will allow taxpayers to deduct cash donations to Haiti earthquake relief on their 2009 tax returns instead of having to wait to file the claims next year.

Question: What is the proposed Standard Tax Deduction For 2009 head of household?

Answer: 2009 Tax Rates.
Standard Deduction
Single … $5,700 (add $1,400 for Blind/Elderly)
Married Filing Jointly … $11,400 (add $1,100 for Blind/Elderly)
Head of Household … $8,350 (add $1,400 for Blind/Elderly)
Married Filing Separately … $5,700 (add $1,100 for Blind/Elderly)
Dependent … Greater of $950 or sum of $300 and individual’s earned income

Personal Exemption
$3,650

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Itemized Deductions Handbook: For Individual Taxpayers (For Tax-Year 2010) $11.19 This Handbook is tailored to all individual taxpayers, as well as tax accountants and tax-preparers. It gives detailed explanations of what items are included as itemized deductions on IRS Form 1040, Schedule A., and what criteria need to be met for these items to be deductible. I.e. Statutory limits in terms of percentages, amounts set by congress, expiring and new provisions, and internal revenu…

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Beacon Hill Roll Call

Beacon Hill Roll Call has obtained the official list from the state treasurer’s office of the “per diem” travel, meals and lodging reimbursements collected by the 40 state senators in 2009.

Comparing auto insurance quotes is very important for getting the best deal out there. It can also be confusing because the numbers can vary so widely between competing auto insurance providers, and even depending on when you are looking for car insurance.

To give you an idea of the volatility of auto insurance, just look at the average yearly rate for a car insurance quote for the one-year period of February 2008 to February 2009:

February 2008 — $1828.00
March 2008 — $1838.00
April 2008 — $1871.00
May 2008 — $1896.00
June 2008 — $1913.00
July 2008 — $1951.00
August 2008 — $1944.00
September 2008 — $1952.00
October 2008 — $1982.00
November 2008 — $1968.00
December 2008 — $1905.00
January 2009 — $1908.00
February 2009 — $1888.00

Just taking that one variable into consideration for auto insurance costs gives you an idea of how much your car insurance quote can vary.

Break the average yearly auto insurance rate quote differences down to only January 2009 compared to February 2009 and you will find different states vary even more:

So taking these two variables – the month you receive an auto insurance quote and the state for the insured car — into account you can see great differences in automobile insurance quotes. When you start to consider the many other variables that will affect your auto insurance quote such as lifestyle changes, your credit history and your driving record, it’s easy to see why taking the time to compare auto insurance quotes before making your car insurance purchase is very important.

When you are comparing auto insurance quotes take the time to look at options beyond the lowest price. Some of these options include better customer support, discounts for coverage that you are looking for or maybe even something as simple as feeling more comfortable with one car insurance provider over another.

Saving money is important to everyone and auto insurance is a place where you find significant savings by taking your time, checking into your options and comparing auto insurance quotes from a number of car insurance providers before making a purchase decision.

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Changes to tax code could create confusion

The coming of a new year means the arrival of W-2 forms and the knowledge that federal income tax filings are due in three and a half months. But there also are a number of changes to the tax code that could create confusion.

Recovery: Money in Your Pocket – November 2009 (ASL, Captions & Voice Over)

There are a lot of great reasons for Canadians to buy right now. Low home prices and interest rates are the most obvious ones, but did you know about the First Time Home Buyers tax credit and the increase in the withdrawal ceiling on the RRSP Home Buyers Plan? The 2009 federal budget is making home ownership easier than ever.

Home prices and interest rates are dropping in most Canadian cities, making it a great time to buy from a basic financial standpoint – if you can own instead of rent for a comparable amount of money, why not? Lower home prices mean that you have more options and more buying power.

Interest rates have dropped along with home prices. Interest rates are what really determine what your home payment will be. Right now, you can get an interest rate for below 5%. This can bring your mortgage payment down hundreds of dollars a month.

The 2009 federal budget allows you to make more money tax-free. The tax free amount used to be $9,600; now it’s $10,320. The ceiling on the first two tax brackets has also risen. An income of up to $40,726 is only taxed 15%. The next bracket of 22% income taxation applies to incomes of up to $81,452.

Right now, the government is offering tax credit towards home renovation from $1000-10000, which ends up being around 15% cash back when you tally up your savings. Buy that fixer-upper and put some work into it, knowing that a good chunk will come back to you in tax savings.

The best deals by far come to the first time home buyers. The Canadian government has increased the amount that one can take from their Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) from $20,000 to $25,000. This is via the RRSP Home Buyers Plan (HBP). The bonus with using your RRSP is that while you have to pay back the money, you have 15 years to do so.

Canadians have a lot of great reasons to buy in the 2009-2010 season. Low rates, low prices and tax breaks are making Canada a great place to invest in real estate. If you’re a first time home buyer, the advantages are increased with the HBP. Prices will eventually start to climb again and those who have bought homes now will benefit from increases to equity as well as any improvements they have made.

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Laurentian Bank Offers Savers Some Practical Tools to Help Maximize Their Savings While Reducing Their Taxes

With only a few weeks remaining before the end of the RRSP season, now is the time to be thinking about tax returns. And when we are talking about taxes, we also need to be thinking RRSPs.

Recuperate all your Income tax money from the CRA – Tax Refund

Question: Does anybody have Affordable Health Care benefits for individuals and the entire family?

Are you or your family looking for affordable Premier Health Care Savings Plan with up to $2,000 Accident Coverage with only $100 Deductible(on or off the job at school or at play)You can go to any hospital emeigency room or doctor 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with no limit to the numbers of accidents. For more information call (414)763-9545 ask for Kiesha Cherry.And I will tell you more about the plan and what else comes with this Low-Cost savings plan.This paln is not Health Insurance because you can still have Insurance and then have the savings plan alongs with it.All you have to do is 3 easy steps just call me, then select 1 of the Plans.-Premier Savings Plan $52/mos&1time registration fee of $97 for a total of $149 for everyone you would like to include in the plan or the family and friend plan of $29/&$94 one time registration fee.Please feel free to call me and learn more about the plan.Thank You.

Answer: All this plan is doing for you is reducing the fees that are charged. Your health plan does this if it is a PPO plan already (and the fees are a part of the premium) or, you can easily do this on your own behalf. It’s stuff like this that makes the health agents that truly want to get you good benefits look bad. Buy a high deductible bare bones major medical plan before buying this. At least you will get something besides a reduced fee for your premium dollar!

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2009: Our year in review

It was a year of economic pain for Hancock and surrounding counties. But in the midst of that pain, there were signs of progress.

Low Cost Health Insurance Plans