tax breaks

5 Times Buying a Home With Cash Is Bad for Your Budget

Dan Rafter — Thu, 22 Jun 2017 08:30:16 +0000

Buying a home with cash is usually considered a smart financial move, if you can swing it. That's because taking out a mortgage loan to finance your home requires you to pay a ton of interest, even in today's low-interest rate environment. With cash, you don't have to worry about interest at all.

For example, let's say you take out a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage of $200,000 at an interest rate of 3.93 percent. You'll pay more than $140,000 in interest if you take the full three decades to pay back your loan. If you pay in cash, that $140,000 stays in your pocket.

What could possibly be the downside of paying this way? Here are a few possibilities.

1. When making an all-cash offer will deplete your savings

If you can afford to buy that $300,000 home with cash, that's great. But if that purchase leaves you with little or no money in your savings, it can put you in financial jeopardy.

It's important to have cash reserves to handle life's emergencies. What if you lose your job? You might wish you still had some of those savings available.

Remember, your investment in your home is largely illiquid. To access it, you'll have to sell your home or take out a home-equity loan or line of credit. Neither option is as appealing as having cash reserves on hand.

If you do have plenty of cash — but not enough to have funds leftover after buying a home — consider coming up with an extra-large down payment instead. This way, you can reduce your mortgage while keeping some cash on hand.

2. When your cash is earning you money

Are your cash savings earning you plenty of big returns? Then it might not make sense to take a big chunk of this money and invest it in a house. Yes, it's nice not to have to make a mortgage payment each month. But you'll have to determine if the return that your invested dollars are generating outweighs the savings in interest you'd get by avoiding a mortgage.

3. When you'll miss out on a tax break

Homeowners can deduct the amount of interest they pay on their mortgage loans each year. This tax break is more valuable during the earliest years of a mortgage, when homeowners are paying the most interest.

You'll have to determine how valuable this tax break is to you. If you do need to reduce your tax bill each year, using some of your cash to come up with a bigger down payment and then taking out a mortgage to finance the rest of your home purchase might make the most sense.

4. When your home's value might fall

There was a time when no one thought homes could lose value over a seven- or 10-year period. Then came 2007 and 2008, when home values suddenly plummeted.

There's a lesson here: There is no guarantee that your home will increase in value after you buy it. There's also no guarantee that it won't lose value.

The hope is that after buying your home in an all-cash offer, the property will become even more valuable. When it's time to sell, you'll earn a profit. But there is no guarantee that this will happen. And if you do have to sell your home at a loss one day, that money you invested in it will be lost.

5. When you'll miss out on great interest rates

Mortgage interest rates have risen, but they are still at historic lows. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey says that the average interest rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 3.89 percent as of June 8, 2017. The average rate on a 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 3.16 percent. Those are great rates.

Instead of investing a big chunk of your cash in a home, it might make more sense to take that same money and make a different investment that will generate bigger returns. You can then apply for a mortgage loan with the shortest possible term and enjoy interest rates that are still at near-historic lows.

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This article is from Dan Rafter of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Best Money Tips: 16 Tax Breaks That People Often Miss

Amy Lu — Mon, 23 Jan 2017 10:30:31 +0000

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best Money Tips Roundup! Today we found articles on often-overlooked tax breaks, packing tips from flight attendants, and signs your personal finances are in trouble.

5 Reasons Fall Is a Great Time to House Hunt

Mikey Rox — Mon, 12 Sep 2016 16:24:08 +0000

Spring and summer are prime seasons for buying and selling real estate. The weather is milder and more conducive for a move, and if you have kids, summer lets you settle into a new place before the little buggers head back to school. But while May to September are considered the best times of the year to buy a house, they aren't the only times. There's no need to stress or panic if you don't find what you're looking for before the end of summer, especially since fall is also a great time to house hunt. Here are five reasons why.

1. It's Easier to Negotiate With Sellers

Because spring and summer are the busiest seasons for real estate, some homes receive a ton of traffic, resulting in multiple offers from buyers. In some cases, multiple offers drive up the asking price of a property. This is good news for sellers, but not the best news for buyers looking to negotiate the price and get the best deal on a property.

The market typically slows down toward the end of summer and beginning of fall. Since there aren't as many people searching for properties around this time, this an excellent time to negotiate the price. Sellers who were unable to sell during the peak season might be willing to accept a lower price, which means you can get more house for your money. And if the seller is really motivated, you might negotiate additional incentives, such as a seller credit at closing that can go toward replacing the carpet, or the seller can pay all or a percentage of your closing costs to reduce your out-of-pocket expense.

2. There's Less Competition

A smaller pool of buyers also means less competition, so you can take your time and look for a property that's right for you and your family. When several buyers compete for the same property, there's a greater chance of the seller accepting another buyer's offer, or you can find yourself caught in the middle of a bidding war. There's the risk of falling in love with a house, only to be disappointed when you discover there are several other (maybe better) offers on the table. And when there's a lot of competition, there's a tendency to rush the buying process; you could end up purchasing a home and experiencing buyer's remorse later on.

3. You'll Experience a Shorter Wait to Benefit From Tax Breaks

One benefit of buying a home is the opportunity to take advantage of tax breaks. Homeowners can write off mortgage interest, private mortgage insurance premiums, and real estate property taxes, plus certain costs associated with getting the mortgage, such as discount points paid to a lender and loan origination fees. Self-employed people also can write off the square footage of a dedicated home office, as well as a percentage of utilities. All these expenses are written off when you file your tax return. The good thing about buying a home in the fall is that you don't have to wait as long to take advantage of these tax savings, which can trigger a bigger refund or a smaller tax bill.

4. Builders May Offer Additional Incentives

If you're thinking about purchasing a new-construction home, fall is one of the best times to house hunt because builders also experience a reduction in new home sales after summer. To spark interest, some builders offer incentives, such as a discount off the base price of certain models, or the builder may offer to pay all of a buyer's closing costs.

5. You'll Get More Attention From Your Realtor

Since the number of people looking for homes decreases in the fall, you can use this situation to your advantage and get more quality time with your realtor. During the spring and summer, your agent might juggle several clients simultaneously. Even if your agent is professional and looking out for your best interest, she isn't a robot. She might be unable to respond to calls or emails as quickly as you would like, and it can be difficult to coordinate your schedules for showings.

If you postpone house hunting until the fall, your real estate agent will likely have fewer clients. As a result, your agent can devote more time to your house hunting efforts. This includes searching and finding listings that are perfect for your family, coordinating showings, as well as answering your questions in a timely manner.

Have you searched for a home in the fall? Did you find it easier than other times of the year? Tell me about your home-searching experience in the comments below.

This article is from Mikey Rox of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

4 Reasons Millenials Should Invest in a Home

Dan Rafter — Fri, 05 Aug 2016 09:00:08 +0000

If you believe popular culture, most Millennials don't want to buy homes and would rather rent. But the numbers suggest otherwise. The National Association of Realtors found that in 2015, Millennials made up 35% of all homebuyers, up from 32% in 2014. No other age group represented a bigger percentage of buyers last year.

If you're a Millennial who wants to make the jump from renting to owning, congratulations: There are several reasons why owning a home is a smart financial move for younger buyers.

Owning a Home Is an Investment

No one can guarantee that the home you buy will have increased in value by the time you're ready to sell. But the odds are high that it will.

Just look at the most recent sales statistics released by the National Association of Realtors: The median existing-home price across the nation stood at $247,700 in June. That was up 4.8% from June of 2015, when that number stood at $236,300. This June marked the 52nd consecutive month that the median price rose.

Just remember that price increases, though possible, aren't guaranteed. Plenty of people who bought homes in 2005 and 2006, before the housing market began its crash in 2007, still owe more on their mortgage loans than what their homes are worth. Many of these homes still are worth less today than what they sold for back then.

Interest Rates Are Still Low

If you're like the vast majority of buyers, you'll need a mortgage loan to finance the purchase of a home. Borrowing mortgage money today, though, is affordable thanks to historically low mortgage interest rates.

According to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the average interest rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage loan stood at 3.45% for the week ending July 21. For a 15-year, fixed-rate loan, that rate stood at 2.75%. These low rates mean that your monthly mortgage payment will be lower than if rates were closer to the 5% range.

You Can Build Equity

Every time you make a monthly mortgage payment, and pay down your home loan's principal balance, you build equity in your home. Say your home is worth $200,000 and you owe $180,000 on your mortgage loan: You have $20,000 worth of equity.

You can borrow against this equity, in the form of home equity loans or home equity lines of credit, to fund major home improvements, pay down credit card debt, or even to help fund a child's college education. When you are renting, your monthly rent check disappears in your landlord's bank account.

Do exercise caution, though, when borrowing against your home's equity. You will have to pay back whatever you borrow, in monthly installments. Don't add too much monthly debt to your expenses or you will feel the financial squeeze. And if you can't afford to make your monthly equity loan payments, you could lose your home to your lender.

You can boost your credit score: Your FICO credit score is a key number. Lenders rely on it to determine if you're a good lending risk. The higher your score, the more likely you are to qualify for loans and credit, and the lower the interest rate attached to these loans.

By paying your monthly mortgage payment on time each month, you'll steadily boost your credit score. Payment history makes up 35% of your FICO score.

Tax Breaks

Owning a home also comes with tax breaks each year. The interest you pay each year on your home is tax-deductible. This break pays off more in the earlier years of owning a home, because the majority of your mortgage payment at this time is interest.

Are you ready to move from renting to buying? What's holding you back?

This article is from Dan Rafter of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

How to Save Money on Child Care This Summer

Ashley Eneriz — Mon, 27 Jun 2016 09:00:11 +0000

School's out for the summer, and your kids are probably bouncing off the walls with excitement. However, not many jobs offer the same summer break perks, leaving you with the costly decision of finding summer child care.

Here are some solutions to try to save money on your child care costs this summer.

Swap With Someone Who Has a Summer Break

If one of your friends is a teacher or school administrator, then they probably have a good portion of the summer off. Ask a teacher or a stay-at-home mom friend who is willing to watch your children for a few hours a week in exchange for you watching their kids on the weekend. Since many teachers and stay-at-home moms will have to stay home with their children during the weekdays, they might enjoy a weekend break.

Just make sure that the agreement is benefiting both of you, instead of being a burden on one of you. One summer, my mom asked my neighbor to watch my sister and I. The neighbor had six children that stayed at home as is, so my sister and I were barely noticed. We had a blast hanging out with our friends, and the mom just kept her schedule as she always did. We even did chores and went to local home schooling conventions.

In exchange, my mom was able to give her money each week, and it ended up benefiting us all. The neighbor made a little bit of extra money, my mom paid less for child care, than she would have if she sent us to day camp, and my sister and I had a blast.

Try Working a Flex Schedule

Many times your employer can be more understanding of your need for a flexible schedule during the summer months. Try to work it out with your spouse's schedule so that there will always be someone available to stay home. For example, your spouse can go into work earlier and come home earlier, while you can go in later and work later hours. Perhaps you can even work the weekends so that you have two free days to watch your children during the week.

I have witnessed many couples do this successfully, and work it out so that their schedules overlap the majority of the time. You can then fill in the gaps with the use of a family member or a baby sitter. While this schedule will take planning and getting used to, remember it is only for a few months.

Of course, many people do not have flexible jobs, but it is worth looking into. Even if you can work from home one day a week or come in two hours later, that is time you do not have to pay for child care.

Look for a Tax Break

Take a look at your benefits to see if you have access to a dependent care flexible spending account. If so, you can use up to $5,000 in pre tax dollars to pay for child care expenses.

If your employer doesn't offer an FSA, you can claim the child care tax credit when you file taxes. This credit is good for $3,000 to $6,000 in expenses, depending on how many children you have.

Get the Most Out of Your Babysitter

A baby sitter might be a better deal for the summer, especially if you have more than one child. Be sure to do a background check and to find a sitter that will keep your kids engaged each day rather than parking them in front of the television.

When you are going through the hiring process, specify certain tasks/jobs you want done. Obviously it would be unfair to request they deep clean your home, but if they can manage light cleaning, simple dinner prep, grocery shopping, or the kids' laundry, that will take the stress off your shoulders. (See also: 9 Child Care Purchases You Should Never Skimp On)

Look Into Camp Scholarships

Ann Sheets, former national president of the American Camp Association said, "About 90% of resident camps and 89% of day camps offer scholarships."

Start your search today and apply to any camp you think your child would be eligible for. Don't forget to apply for higher-end camps too, since their scholarships might cover more than you think. Try to stay flexible with your camp dates. Not sure if a camp offers a scholarship? Just contact them and ask. You might have a better chance at qualifying for a scholarship if not many people know about it.

While kids live for summer vacation, it can be hard to deal with the costs. Most professionals will admit that their kids' summer plans look like a mismatched quilt. That is okay! Be creative and stay flexible, knowing that this is only a brief season.

What are your child care plans for the summer?

This article is from Ashley Eneriz of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

8 Tax Tricks to Try if You're Stuck With Student Loans

Daniel Matthews — Mon, 04 Apr 2016 09:30:34 +0000

When you're buried in student loan debt, it doesn't seem fair to be paying taxes. That's why it's important to get as much as you can back with your tax returns. Take advantage of deductions and credits, and if you're fortunate enough to be able to do so, use your returns to pay down a big chunk of your debt. Here's what you should be looking for while filling out your return.

1. Deduct Interest Paid

You can deduct the interest you pay on your debt. At least this way you recoup some of what you spent.

You'll file the deduction as an adjustment to income. The maximum amount you can deduct is $2,500. If you've paid more than $600 in interest in the past year, you should receive form 1098-E from your lender. Box #1 will tell you how much interest you paid.

If you paid less than $600, you'll have to check records to see how much to deduct. There's an income ceiling — after you make $80,000 a year, you're exempt. See the IRS page on this topic.

Are you still in school? I recommend not deferring your interest payment. If you do defer, your lender simply tacks that interest onto the principal of your loan. Then, you end up paying interest on the interest.

2. Deduct Tuition and Fees

This deduction adjusts the amount of income on which you're taxed. It's good for up to $4,000 per year. If you're a dependent on someone else's tax return or you are married and filing separately, you don't qualify. Like the interest deduction, if you earn a certain amount, you're exempt. Also, if you want to claim either of the education tax credits (see "Stay in School" below), you can't claim the Tuition and Fees Deduction.

3. Get the Earned Income Tax Credit

If you qualify for it, get it. The EITC, or EIC, is for those of us with low income. Surprisingly, only about 80% of workers who qualify for the credit claim it. If you're married, don't file separately — this will disqualify you. If you're single, to get this credit you have to make less than $14,820 in a year. If you're married and/or have kids the qualification ceiling goes up.

4. Take on Freelance Work

Not only will freelancing earn you more money towards paying off your debt, you'll also be able to write off a number of expenses. These deductions include work materials, such as a laptop or tablet you use exclusively for freelance writing. You can write off meals and snacks you eat in the course of your workday. You can also write off expenses related directly and indirectly to the space you use for work. Yes it's a hassle, but make sure to document your expenses if you want to qualify for deductions.

5. Stay in School

Is graduation in sight but you're nervous about your post-graduate plans? You may want to stay in school. Here's the logic behind this: College students can be eligible for some great tax breaks:

American Opportunity Credit — Up to $2,500 for tuition, fees, books, and other equipment
Lifetime Learning Credit — Up to $2,000 for education-related expenses

You can only claim one of these credits. To get the American Opportunity Credit, you have to be at least a part-time student, and you can only claim it for the first four years of college. It's refundable by up to $1,000, meaning you could see that money go right back into your pocket.

The Lifetime Learning Credit applies to the student who wants to continue for more than four years, or go to graduate school.

Combined with the student loan interest deduction, tax credits can save you a nice chunk of change to apply towards paying off your loans. Work a freelance job at the same time, get the freelancer deductions, and now you're talking tax strategy. But know you can't make more than $80,000 a year to get the American Opportunity Credit, and no more than $60,000 to get the Lifetime Learning Credit.

6. Look Into the Business Deduction for Work-Related Education

Here's a scenario. You're a writer and you're going to school to get a degree in English with some sort of writing emphasis. On the side, you do freelance writing to make a little extra cash. You can deduct your education expenses.

Or, your employer can pay for your education and write it off on their taxes. Your degree has to go toward continuing in your employment field, and it can't be a degree toward meeting your employer's minimum educational requirements.

Even if you're on a leave of absence from work, you can still deduct educational expenses.

7. Paying for Child Care? The Child and Dependent Care Credit

You can get a credit of up to $3,000 for one child/dependent, or $6,000 for two children/dependents, per year. You have to be employed or seeking employment. If you're a full-time student, you qualify as being employed. Your income will determine your credit amount, but the nice thing is there is no income ceiling. You must provide your child care provider's information, as they must be a qualifying provider (not your spouse or one of your older kids). The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit is a nice boost, and combined with the other credits listed here, will definitely help you out come tax time.

8. Get Free Tax Prep

All of this is a lot to take in, and doing your own taxes can be frustrating, especially if you're pressed for resources. Is there a community college in your area? Under the IRS VITA program, low to moderate-income Americans can get tax help from volunteers at community colleges and other locations. Of course there are qualifications you have to meet, and materials you have to bring. You qualify if:

You make $54,000 a year or less
You're elderly or incapable of preparing on your own taxes due to disability
You speak limited English

The IRS page on this topic will provide you with a tool for finding the closest VITA tax-preparer, and info on what to bring.

Happy tax prep!

Have you taken advantage of these tax breaks for students?

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This article is from Daniel Matthews of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

4 Tax Deductions New Homeowners Shouldn't Skip

Dan Rafter — Fri, 04 Mar 2016 10:30:43 +0000

You bought your first home this year. Even better, come tax day, owning a home can provide you with big financial rewards. That's because homeowners can claim several tax breaks that can shave thousands off your tax bill.

But they won't help you if you don't claim them. Here is a list of the most important tax breaks for homeowners. To claim these, you'll have to itemize your taxes using IRS Form 1014 and Schedule A. This means that you'll no longer be able to quickly fill out your income taxes with the 1040EZ form.

You'll find, though, that the extra work usually pays off with solid savings.

1. Mortgage Interest Deduction

When you first begin paying your mortgage, the bulk of your payments go toward interest, not the principal balance on your loan. The good news at tax time is that you can deduct the interest that you pay on your mortgage. These deductions can be sizable during your first years of owning a home.

There is a limit, though, on interest deductions. You can't claim mortgage interest payments if your home loan is more than $1 million, but fortunately, that's not something that most new owners will have to worry about.

Your lender will send you a Form 1098 each January. This form will list how much you paid in mortgage interest throughout the year. You then simply enter that number when filing your taxes.

2. Property Taxes

Depending on where you live, you might pay plenty in property taxes each year. Usually, you'll pay a portion of your yearly property taxes with each mortgage payment you make. You'll include extra dollars with your mortgage payment — in an amount determined by your lender — that your mortgage provider will then deposit in an escrow account. When your property taxes are due, your lender will pay them on your behalf from this account.

Fortunately, you can deduct your property taxes each year, too. If you have an escrow arrangement with your mortgage lender, the amount you pay in property taxes will also be listed in the Form 1098 that they will send you in January.

3. Points

Did you pay your lender points to reduce your interest rate? If so, you might be able to deduct their cost, too.

Buyers spend 1% of their home loan to buy a single point. Lenders allow buyers to purchase points as a way to lower their interest rate. The goal for buyers is to spend a bit upfront for a lower interest rate that guarantees them lower monthly payments for the life of their loan.

If you did pay points, the amount you paid will again be listed in the Form 1098 that your lender sends to you.

4. Private Mortgage Insurance

Homeowners don't like paying for private mortgage insurance. This is no surprise. This insurance doesn't protect homeowners at all. Instead, it protects your mortgage lender in case you stop making your monthly payments.

But you can deduct your private mortgage insurance premiums on your taxes, thanks to the new Protecting Americans From Tax Hikes Act of 2015. This recent piece of legislation preserves the deduction for private mortgage insurance for the 2015 and 2016 tax years.

You'll have to pay for private mortgage insurance if the down payment you provided was less than 20% of your new home's purchase price. You can drop private mortgage insurance on conventional loans not insured by the federal government once your loan-to-value ratio hits 80%.

Are you claiming all your real estate tax deductions?

This article is from Dan Rafter of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

5 Important Tax Changes for 2016

Dan Rafter — Tue, 19 Jan 2016 12:00:03 +0000

What comes with a new year? Changes to the federal tax code, of course. And 2016 is no exception.

These changes could mean big financial penalties if you don't have health insurance. Or they could bring you big savings if you happen to own a small business. Overall, the changes to the tax code that Congress enacted last year are beneficial to consumers, according to Dave Du, vice president of consumer advocacy at TaxAudit.com.

"With just days to go before the end of the year, Congress finally extended most of the tax breaks which were set to expire," Du said. "Some of these provisions — like the definition of racehorse as property — won't impact too many of us, but there's much good news for taxpayers this year."

One example? You can file later this year. The deadline for filing your income taxes this year is April 18 instead of April 15, thanks to something called Emancipation Day in Washington, D.C.

Here are five other big tax changes you should be prepared for this year.

1. A Climbing Health Insurance Penalty

One of the bigger changes to the tax code this year is actually a punitive one: An increase in the penalty for not having health insurance that meets the requirements of the Affordable Care Act.

Micah Fraim, a Roanoke, Virginia-based Certified Public Accountant, said that for the 2015 tax year — those are the taxes you'll be filing by April 18 — filers will have to pay a penalty of $325 for every uninsured adult and $162.50 for every uninsured dependent child, or 2% of your taxable income — whichever number is greater.

That's a significant increase. For the 2014 tax year, those numbers stood at $95 and $47.50, or 1% of your taxable income. "And in 2016, it gets even worse," Friedman said.

For the 2016 tax year — the taxes you will file by April of 2017 — the penalty for not having insurance rises to $695 per adult and $347.50 per child, or 2.5% of your income. The message is clear: If you don't have acceptable health insurance, it's time to get it. (See also: Avoid These 5 Costly Health Insurance Mistakes)

2. New Health Insurance Forms

You can also expect to receive a new form or two in the mail relating to health insurance. If you've purchased health insurance through the federal government's Health Insurance Marketplace, you'll receive Form 1095-A. This isn't a change — the government began mailing this form out for the 2014 tax year.

But there are two new health insurance forms for the 2015 tax year. Form 1095-B is a statement from your health insurance company verifying that you and other members of your household have insurance coverage that meets the requirements of the Affordable Care Act. This form is only sent to taxpayers who get their insurance from somewhere other than the Health Insurance Marketplace, such as from their employer. Form 1095-C is a statement from your employer that provides details about your employer-sponsored health benefits.

Many taxpayers will receive both 1095-B and 1095-C, of course. The key fact to realize? You probably won't have to do anything with these forms, said Andrew Oswalt, Certified Public Account for Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based TaxACT.

"The new forms could be confusing because most people will think they have to do something with them," Oswalt said. "The reality is, they'll simply need to mark a checkbox on their Form 1040 when filing and keep the forms 1095-B and 1095-C for their records."

3. A Tax Break for Small Business Owners

Priyanka Prakash, finance specialist at loan-search service FitBiz Loans, said that small business owners need to be aware of Section 179 of the tax code — a new tax law that lets them deduct up to $500,000 of qualifying equipment on their tax returns.

To qualify for this deduction, the equipment must be used primarily for business purposes, Prakash said. The equipment must also have been put into use during the 2015 calendar year.

"This covers a wide range of equipment, from computers to furniture to business vehicles," Prakash said.

Prakash gives this example: If a business purchases office equipment worth $100,000, it can then deduct that entire purchase amount on its taxes. If the business has a tax rate of 30%, Section 179 will save it $30,000 in taxes. Previously, business owners could only deduct a small amount every year based on the life of the equipment.

"Section 179 saves small businesses a lot of money," Prakash said.

4. A Break for College Students

Tom Wheelwright, a Certified Public Account and author of Tax-Free Wealth, said that the 2015 tax year brought an important break for college students who are filing their own taxes or parents who claim these students as dependents.

Congress made permanent the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which gives college students a credit of $2,500 per year for college tuition, fees, and course materials. Parents can claim the exemption for their college-age students as long as they claim these students as dependents on their income taxes.

5. A Boon for Heads of Household

The standard deduction is set to rise — a bit — for heads of households. The standard deductions that most taxpayers can claim in 2016 haven't risen for single taxpayers or married couples filing jointly or separately. Blame that on low inflation.

But the standard deduction for taxpayers filing as the head of their households is going up a bit, rising $50 for 2016. That brings that standard deduction up to $9,300 in 2016.

Are you ready for tax time this year?

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This article is from Dan Rafter of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

6 Ways to Put Your 2011 Payroll Tax Break to Work

Darwins Money — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 13:00:10 +0000

With Congress and President Obama having put their stamp of approval on the 2011 tax deal, a major component of the legislation affecting virtually all working Americans is a change to the payroll tax. Historically, employees were subject to a tax of 6.2% of earnings up to a cap, which is $106,800 for 2011. In order to help stimulate the economy and achieve a compromise on tax breaks, this payroll tax has been reduced to 4.2% for 2011, effectively giving everyone a 2% raise on their first $106,800 earned (so a full 2% raise for most of us!). With this new-found bonus for 2011, are you going to just let it melt into your budget and spend it blindly (which is what the government intended) or strategically allocate this money to a specific objective or cause?

Increase Your 401(k) Contribution

This is what I'm doing. I went into my 401(k) account first thing and immediately increased my contribution by 2%. Since we were making do with my take-home pay last year, I figured by automatically directing the extra 2% right to my retirement account, we wouldn't even notice the difference. Who knows, if I get a decent raise this year, maybe I won't even have to back it down again in 2012 when the 2% break expires.

Build Your Emergency Fund

With so few people having a sizable emergency fund for layoffs or life events, it's worth considering shifting some extra funds into a dedicated emergency fund account (for more, see "Figuring the Size of your Emergency Fund").

Pay Down Debt

Allocating an additional 2% monthly to existing high-interest debt may be a better use of your funds than any other options presented, especially if you're talking about credit card debt with an interest rate over 20%.

Give It Back

Many people are frustrated with the constant government giveaways and don't feel they actually deserve or need this tax break. As a result, they're giving the money away. For instance, some professors started a website that allows "the rich" to give back tax deductions in the name of job creation at Give It Back for Jobs. If that's not your fancy, surely there's a local cause or favorite charity where you could direct an equivalent amount from your payroll tax break.

College Savings

With young children, setting aside just a few thousand dollars a year goes a long way in helping to offset the costs of college. Presently, the most popular option is the 529 plan (see this 529 plan article on the benefits of the pre-paid tuition vs. self-directed investment options).

Invest in Your Home with Green Upgrades

Perhaps you've been putting off that new energy-efficient front door or replacing a few windows. Well, part of the 2011 tax deal is also an extension of some portions of the energy tax credit. While the credits aren't as attractive as they were in 2009 and 2010, you can still save a few hundred dollars on an energy upgrade for your home and realize the longer-term benefits of lower costs moving forward.

What are you going to do with your 2% raise?

This article is from Darwins Money of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Last-Minute Business Tax Deductions for 2010

Scott Allen — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 17:19:23 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/money/article/last-minute-business-tax-...

It’s the end of the year, and you’re already thinking about 2011. If you’re looking at your first-quarter cash flow, one thing you can do to improve it is to minimize your 2010 tax bill (or maximize your refund). There are still several things you can do before the end of the year to claim deductions or take advantage of tax rules that are ending this year. Some may require spending a little money, while others are more a matter of timing.

Buy now, deduct now, and pay later.

“Deduct charged expenses. Both cash and accrual basis taxpayers can charge expenses on a credit card and deduct them in the year charged, regardless of when paid.”

Macy Story
Tax Manager, BKHM CPA

If you’re planning any big-ticket purchases…

“It would be advantageous from a tax standpoint to buy any large fixed asset purchases by December 31, 2010 as opposed to January 1, 2011 because there are currently special bonus depreciation rules enacted for 2010 that allow an expense for 50% of the purchase.”

Brian Schlang, CPA
Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra, LLP

And if one of them is a car...

“Maximize auto depreciation for 2010 purchases. If you buy a new car and place it in service before the end of 2010, your first year depreciation deduction will be $11,060. If you wait until 2011 (assuming Congress doesn't extend the bonus depreciation deduction and the 2011 first year depreciation cap is the same as for 2010), your first year depreciation deduction would be only $3,060.”

David Kostmayer, CPA
Barrett & Kostmayer, PLLC

Do you have business property that you’ve held for more than a year and are considering liquidating?

“Due to the presumed expiration of the Bush Tax Cuts, you should review your investments and clean house as the Capital Gains rate increases to 25% from 15% as of January 1, 2011. Along with this change, the reduced tax rate treatment for some dividends also increases in a like manner. So, if you have investments that you are looking at changing up, do it before the end of the year to save some on the tax front.”

Eric M. Anderson, CPA
www.ema-cpa.com

Do you develop software? You‘re entitled to a little extra credit.

“Assuming Congress extends the R&D Tax Credit, 2010 is not limited by AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax). In your industry, identify what you've spent on any software development projects, whether for in-house use, or for providing value-add to your client base. These costs could include the salaries for your in-house coders, or the invoice dollars spent on outside developers. The R&D Credit reduces your tax liability approximately 7 cents for every dollar spent on these innovative efforts.”

Brian Lefever
VP of Operations, Titan Armor

Was this your first year in business, or are you considering starting a new venture soon?

“The Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 temporarily increases the amount of start-up expenditures entrepreneurs can deduct from their taxes for this year from $5,000 to $10,000 (with a phase-out threshold of $60,000 in expenditures), offering an immediate incentive for someone with a new business idea to invest in starting up a new small business today. ”

Michael Kaplanidis, CPA
Managing Director and Founder, Water Street Associates

And finally some food for thought, especially if you’re expecting 2011 to be significantly better than 2010...

“Normally tax professionals recommend that, to defer paying taxes, you claim whatever business deductions you can before the end of the current year and defer whatever income you can to the following year. However, 2011 is likely to see a tax increase, particularly for high-income taxpayers. Therefore, it's possible that a deduction claimed in 2011 will be more beneficial (save more tax) than the same deduction claimed in 2010.”

Jan Zobel EA
www.JanZtax.com

As you can see, some of these options could potentially save you thousands of dollars by acting before the end of the year — not just accelerating a year of cash flow, but in actual savings. These are provided here for educational purposes — a starting point for a conversation with your CFO, CPA, and tax attorney. Keep in mind that tax planning and tax preparation are two different things. If you’ve only hired your CPA to do your tax preparation, don’t expect them to get overly creative. Have a separate conversation with them about some of these options you may want to explore — the sooner, the better.

For more tax-break information, check out our articles on New Tax Breaks for the Swift and 31 Small Business Tax Deductions.

This article is from Scott Allen of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

The Economic Stimulus Bill: Will The Heavy Debt Be Worth It?

Silicon Valley Blogger — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:16:09 +0000

In recent weeks, I've gotten into some great discussions with people about the stimulus bill that was cobbled together by Congress last week. At one point, one of the proposed versions of the package grew to a staggering $900 billion until it was wrestled back to a relatively trimmer $800 billion. I suppose we should thank our wonderful leaders that they were somehow able to spare us the additional debt.

A lot of people are still preoccupied about where their stimulus check is, but let's look at the big picture for the moment. Now that the stimulus package details have been released, I've found many people weighing in on both sides of the debate: is the plan justified?

The Hotly Debated Economic Stimulus Bill

Some of the arguments and concerns I've read have been swirling around these points:

We need to spend for the short term. Spending is expected to take us out of the hole we're in. Many students of Keynesian economics and past history will vouch for the effectivity of this approach.
We'll be in deep debt as a nation for many generations. We are sacrificing our future and our children's future to speed up the economy's recovery. Many personal finance enthusiasts maintain this concern, as many of us are debt averse.
We need to define "stimulus". What kind of spending should this bill contain? There seems to be spending provisions here that should be part of a different kind of budget (e.g. could some of these proposals turn into "pork")? Many students of politics know that this bill can be a magnet for determined lobbyists who can spin a tale of "stimulus" into any cause they drum up.

How Effective Is This Stimulus Plan?

The hefty economic stimulus package is jampacked with provisions that try to please everyone. According to this CNN report, the big "winners" (whose piece of the stimulus pie grew larger by the final version) were in the areas of transportation, health and science whose allocations were in the multi-billions. As for us regular people, we'll be awaiting tax cuts to the tune of $400 per individual or $800 per family.

Issues With The Tax Cuts

Do you wonder whether this bill will be effective enough to resuscitate our crippled economy? Will there even be enough consumer spending done at all? Tax breaks and tax deductions are nice, but the question remains whether the general population will actually be putting that extra money to good use. Here are just a couple of scenarios that can potentially deflate the consumer spending goals of this stimulus plan. What if:

We spend the stimulus money on the wrong things. Apparently, the first wave of stimulus checks didn't really achieve its desired effect. The spending was misplaced, with reports surfacing that consumers where using the money on imports. So let's see how that works: we borrow money from foreign interests, from which we get funding for our economic stimulus checks. Then we turn around and spend the bucks on things manufactured abroad. A vicious cycle if I ever saw one.

We bank our tax credits. What if people collectively take a step towards self-preservation, and decide instead, to keep and save the money they receive from the government? Then any economic stimulation won't be coming from the consumers and those tax cuts will be for naught.

Issues With Government Spending

Well, we can at least expect that there's going to be some serious guaranteed government-funded spending. We can count on the majority of the package that's dedicated to national spending to hopefully get us out of the doldrums. Just please don't let the rumors be true that multi-millions will be going to green golf carts for government officials or to save the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse (a noble cause for a different budget).

Our debt load has ballooned to an astonishing 1.5 trillion in just a year if you add up Bush's bailous and TARP funds to Obama's bill. Maybe we should enjoy our tax cuts now while we can, because we'll be paying the financial piper for a good long while.

This article is from Silicon Valley Blogger of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

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