Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Saturday, October 18th, 2008
If the IRS has its way, we will all be filing our returns electronically within five years. Electronic filing –the system that zaps your tax information almost instantly to IRS computers over telephone wires –is now available nationwide. The government hype is enormous: electronic filing is convenient, accurate, and quick. ...
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Saturday, October 18th, 2008
Tax software does away with the tedious calculations and math errors that can make April so taxing. It also lets you experiment with different combinations of depreciation, expensing, and Keogh or IRA contributions to save the most tax. Preparing your return electronically lets you correct your return in seconds if ...
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Thursday, October 16th, 2008
Knowing the tax law is only half the battle. Your tax planning will pay off only if you know how to present the results to the IRS. Observing the correct mechanics for filing your tax return will speed up your refund, save you interest and penalties, and keep you out ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, October 14th, 2008
Americans are up in arms against property taxes. In recent years, California, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, and Oregon, to name a few, have been swept up in anti-property tax sentiment. And little wonder: property taxes have risen by as much as 37% a year since 1989. You do not have ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Sunday, October 12th, 2008
You can’t do serious tax planning unless you take state and local taxes into account, too. States and municipalities, forced by Congress to shoulder more and more of the burden of social programs, have been hiking levies dramatically in recent years. The result? State and local taxes can no longer ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Sunday, October 12th, 2008
Here' s the last batch of our 32 Fool Proof Tax Saving Strategies.
26. Don’t forget about the exclusion from taxes on the sale of your home. In the past, many home sellers felt trapped by the IRS because they knew that if they didn’t buy another home costing as ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Saturday, October 11th, 2008
20. Consider tax-exempt securities. Income from municipal bonds is free from federal taxes. Better still, invest in municipal bonds issued in your own state and you can save state and perhaps local taxes as well as federal taxes. Focus on after-tax yield when comparing the returns on different income ...
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, October 10th, 2008
13. Paid your nest egg with a retirement savings plan. With Social Security benefits being increasingly taxed, you can rely on them less and less for your retirement. If you are an employee, your best single tax-slashing move is to contribute the maximum to an employer-sponsored 401(k) savings plan. Your ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Thursday, October 9th, 2008
7. Defer taxes. Certain kind of investments let you postpone paying taxes on earnings to a later year, when you maybe on earnings to a later year, when you may be in a lower bracket. One sure advantage of tax federal is tax-free compounding. Series EE U.S. savings bonds ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, October 8th, 2008
IF it’s October then it must be the time for corporate types to swap suits for lederhosen and indulge in the annual ritual of consuming copious amounts of beer accompanied by the sounds of raucous German brass bands—and all in the cause of celebrating the Oktoberfest which is now considered ...
Posted in Uncategorized | 27 Comments »