Tax Benefits for Education

Tax Benefits for Education

The IRS has a number of different tax credits that you can take to help pay for college tuition and expenses. The first is the Tuition and Fees deduction. This deduction reduces your taxable income up to $4,000 and is usually taken when a family does not qualify for the other tax credits available.

The American Opportunity Credit, this credit will pay for a student during the first four years of college. The credit was developed last year and expanded the Hope Credit. $1,000 or the $2,500 tax credit is refundable. Therefore, you can receive … Read more at 2010 Tax.

Tax Benefits for Education

The IRS has a number of different tax credits that you can take to help pay for college tuition and expenses. The first is the Tuition and Fees deduction. This deduction reduces your taxable income up to $4,000 and is usually taken when a family does not qualify for the other tax credits available.

The American Opportunity Credit, this credit will pay for a student during the first four years of college. The credit was developed last year and expanded the Hope Credit. $1,000 or the $2,500 tax credit is refundable. Therefore, you can receive a refund when you did not owe taxes during the year.

The Lifetime Learning Credit is available to older students including job training classes, undergraduate, and post-graduate coursework. The credit is for $2,000. There is an enhancement of an additional $2,000 if you reside in a Midwest disaster area. One of the fun changes to the tax code congress has given us.

The Hope Credit is for only the first two years of college is phased out after 2008 except for a Midwestern disaster area. Those attending college in this designated area can take up to $3,600 in tax credits to help pay for tuition and fees.

529 College Savings Plans have been expanded to include computer equipment and Internet access. Non of the credits can be claimed at the same time for the same student. And students cannot claim the credits if they are dependents of their parents for the year.

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First Time Home Buyers Credit

First Time Home Buyers Credit

There are home buyer tax credits available to first time homebuyers and long-term home owners who are moving residences. Some important facts about the credits will help you determine if you are eligible and how much you can claim.

Beginning in February of 2009 up until the end of April 2010, if you enter into a contract to purchase a home in the US the purchase could be qualified for a credit with the IRS. To be a first-time homebuyer, you could not have owned a primary residence for the past three years. This also … Read more at 2010 Tax.

First Time Home Buyers Credit

There are home buyer tax credits available to first time homebuyers and long-term home owners who are moving residences. Some important facts about the credits will help you determine if you are eligible and how much you can claim.

Beginning in February of 2009 up until the end of April 2010, if you enter into a contract to purchase a home in the US the purchase could be qualified for a credit with the IRS. To be a first-time homebuyer, you could not have owned a primary residence for the past three years. This also applies to your spouse.

Long-time homebuyers is a newer category that includes anyone that has lived in the same home for five years that is now purchasing a new primary residence. The credits are different for the two types of homebuyers, $8,000 for first time and $6,500 for long-term.

To claim the tax credit you have to file a paper return and attach the IRS Form 5405 to your return. Some additional documents will also need to be attached to provide proof of your home purchase during the required time period.

For the long-term home buyers, some proof of ownership is also needed. This could include a 1098 mortgage interest statement for the previous 5 years in which you lived in the home you sold. The credit is worth the extra paperwork, so get into contract prior to the deadline and receive a great tax credit on your 2009 tax return.

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What to Do With Your Taxes In Case You Can’t Pay Them?

What to Do With Your Taxes In Case You Can’t Pay Them?

The extension on filing your taxes is almost coming to an end. Is there anything you can do in case you can’t pay your taxes? It is important for you to pay whatever you can and do your return filing by the scheduled date. We discuss some additional steps here which might be helpful for you.

Credit Cards

The taxes can be charged on your MasterCard, American Express card, Discover card, or Visa card. Going in this direction, you can use one out of two sources mentioned below:… Read more at 2010 Tax.

What to Do With Your Taxes In Case You Can’t Pay Them?

The extension on filing your taxes is almost coming to an end. Is there anything you can do in case you can’t pay your taxes? It is important for you to pay whatever you can and do your return filing by the scheduled date. We discuss some additional steps here which might be helpful for you.

Credit Cards

The taxes can be charged on your MasterCard, American Express card, Discover card, or Visa card. Going in this direction, you can use one out of two sources mentioned below:

Official Payments Corporation

Pay tax by calling 1-800-2PAY-TAX (toll free: 1-800-272-9829)

Visit the web site: www.officialpayments.com

Link2Gov Corporation

Pay tax by calling 1-888-PAY-1040 (toll free: 1-888-729-1040)

Visit the web site: www.pay1040.com

In case you can’t pay using your credit card, then you can make an installment agreement, in which you can pay the balance in the form of monthly installments. There is also the option of reducing your tax amount by participating in a compromise program offered.

Form 9465 needs to be filled and attached with your return filing if you want the installment option of paying your taxes. For total taxes not exceeding $ 25,000 excluding interest and penalties and which can be paid within 5 years, the process of approval has been streamlined by the IRS. The proposed amount of monthly installment and the payment date should be specified correctly beforehand. You also must guarantee that the payments will be made.

For an installment agreement, a fee of $ 43 is charged by the IRS. On unpaid taxes, there will be an interest as well as a late payment charge. Normally 0.5 percent per month on unpaid tax is charged as late payment penalty but it is not fixed. This rate may be reduced to 0.25 percent for any month while your installment agreement is applicable and you file your returns on time taking your extensions into consideration. You may need to pay up to a maximum of 25 percent of penalty for late payment.

If you fail to file your returns by the due date after taking an extension, will result in a late payment charge being levied upon you. This charge is normally around 5 percent of the total unpaid tax per month. You may have to pay a maximum of 25 percent of penalty charges in case of failure to file your returns or pay taxes on time.

Summary

Even if you lack funds, the IRS expects you to adhere to the rules. You should file your returns on time by any means. If you’ve filed, the IRS will take care of the payment issues. You don’t worry. Remember that the majority of Americans face the same problem.

Using Tax Credit To Save For Retirement

Using Tax Credit To Save For Retirement

The reasons why Americans are not efficient at saving for retirement is not unknown. To rectify this scenario, the government has come up with tax credit offers.

As baby boomers enter retirement, social security is likely to go under siege. Luckily, a lot of baby boomers have invested considerable sums in 401ks and IRAs. Even than, a sad fact remains that people refrain from putting in their best efforts where retirement is concerned. The American Government is focusing on encouraging taxpayers to save a considerable amount for retirement and using the tax credits … Read more at 2010 Tax.

Using Tax Credit To Save For Retirement

The reasons why Americans are not efficient at saving for retirement is not unknown. To rectify this scenario, the government has come up with tax credit offers.

As baby boomers enter retirement, social security is likely to go under siege. Luckily, a lot of baby boomers have invested considerable sums in 401ks and IRAs. Even than, a sad fact remains that people refrain from putting in their best efforts where retirement is concerned. The American Government is focusing on encouraging taxpayers to save a considerable amount for retirement and using the tax credits strategy to accomplish this goal.

The tax credit being discussed here is the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit. Those who are eligible for it would be entitled to a credit of $1000 in case of singles and $2000 in case of joint filing. Those individuals who contribute to 401ks and retirement vehicles are eligible for this tax credit. The amount of credit you are entitled for would depend on your income and contribution.

The following categories of people are eligible to claim the retirement savings tax credit:

  1. Individual taxpayers who earn $25,000 or less.
  2. Individual taxpayers who are head members of their homes and have an income of $37,500 or less.
  3. Married couples with a total income of $50,000 or less and filing jointly.

Some small restrictions apply to the eligibility for claiming tax credits. To begin with, only those who are 18 or more of age are eligible to apply for tax credits. Full time students are outside the gamut of tax credits. Also, a second dependent is not allowed to claim you as a dependent on their tax returns.

It is a significant fact that the aforementioned tax credit is over and above other tax advantages you acquire from investing in a retirement account. For example, in the context of a 401k, though you can pound in pre-tax income, it eats into your gross income for the tax year. Once the taxpayer has calculated their taxes, they can deduct another $1000 on account of the tax credit. In other words, it doesn’t take a lot to save up for your retirement.

The Federal Government is strongly urging taxpayers to save money for retirement period. With the tax credit by the government in place, that shouldn’t be a difficult task for individuals either.

Selecting between Standard & Itemized Deductions

Selecting between Standard & Itemized Deductions

Filing a tax return annually is an important part of your business activity. But as you prepare your tax return, there is one question that may pop up a lot. And that is whether you should itemize your deductions or prefer to go with the standard deduction that the IRS generally provides to its tax payers.

Theoretically tax deductions are considered a very simple component of the tax reporting system. But ask someone who prepares his tax return himself and you will learn it’s not as simple as it is usually considered to … Read more at 2010 Tax.

Selecting between Standard & Itemized Deductions

Filing a tax return annually is an important part of your business activity. But as you prepare your tax return, there is one question that may pop up a lot. And that is whether you should itemize your deductions or prefer to go with the standard deduction that the IRS generally provides to its tax payers.

Theoretically tax deductions are considered a very simple component of the tax reporting system. But ask someone who prepares his tax return himself and you will learn it’s not as simple as it is usually considered to be. To add to your worries is the lengthy and complicated tax forms. Keeping those complexities in mind it is often wise to just rely on the standard deduction given by the IRS. Or you could decide to go for itemized deductions. So, it’s important to find which deduction system will work best for you.

The standard deduction does not require any calculations or supporting documents and thus is the easiest way to go. You only need to calculate your annual gross income and then submit the calculated amount for your classification. The amount of taxable income differs based on your filing status. The eligible filing status’ are single, married (filing jointly or separately) or Head of Household. To qualify for head of household you have to be single and the primary or sole source of income for a household that includes qualifying dependants.

People may ridicule your decision to take the standard deduction. The fact is that with some types of tax issues, the standard deduction may not be the most suitable option. For people who have fairly simple financial transactions with a limited number of deductions, the standard deduction is usually the perfect choice. For example, if you are an employee of a company with an income of $50,000, you rent your home and don’t have any major medical bills; you are definitely a person more suited for the standard deduction. And whether an itemized deduction will work for you or not may not be clear to you unless you attempt to itemize your deductions in a rough draft of your tax return.

Itemizing your deductions means categorization of every possible deduction. Itemizing of deductions always works best if your financial transactions involve a significant number and volume of tax deductions. For example, if you own a home which entitles you to deduct your mortgage interest and your medical bills are stupendous, you would certainly be better off if you itemize your deductions. In reality, there is no ideal condition or situation where itemizing your deductions is the only option. The example quoted above aims at giving you an idea of the situation where you can itemize your deduction.

In nutshell, if your financial transactions are simple, the standard deduction may be your best choice while in the case of a complicated financial life, itemizing your deductions may optimize your tax return.

So, when your deductions are figured out, the next thing is to find out the taxable income. In order to get your net taxable income, you will have to subtract these deductions from your adjusted gross income. The tax is then determined using the tax tables.

How to Acquire a Federal Income Tax Refund

How to Acquire a Federal Income Tax Refund

‘You are entitled to an income tax refund’ – these are words that would be music for any taxpayer’s ears. A taxpayer enjoys a federal income tax refund if the amount of the pending payable tax is smaller than the total of the refundable tax credits claimed and withholding paid. A lot of individual taxpayers can obtain federal income tax returns through earned Income credit, as refund of overpayment of tax for one or several years. However, not every taxpayer is happy with the concept of a large income tax refund. … Read more at 2010 Tax.

How to Acquire a Federal Income Tax Refund

‘You are entitled to an income tax refund’ – these are words that would be music for any taxpayer’s ears. A taxpayer enjoys a federal income tax refund if the amount of the pending payable tax is smaller than the total of the refundable tax credits claimed and withholding paid. A lot of individual taxpayers can obtain federal income tax returns through earned Income credit, as refund of overpayment of tax for one or several years. However, not every taxpayer is happy with the concept of a large income tax refund. This is because income tax refund is looked upon as money borrowed by the Government and repaid, minus the interest. Some others look at income tax refund as a savings strategy, being happy to get income tax refunds every year. It should always be kept in mind that it is worse to owe money to the Government than to get IRS tax refunds.

Quite a few options are available when putting a tax refund in the taxpayer’s hands. Refund anticipation loans, standard paper filing, electronic filing with direct deposit, rapid tax refunds are the choices and the first and the last in the list are the most preferred choices by taxpayers.

Since we are in an advanced computer age, with an added bonus called the internet, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has fast reacted to the advantages of electronic filing. Thanks to the great inventions mentioned above, filing income tax returns, making tax refunds and amount due to the IRS have picked up considerable speed. Let us take a moment to review the varied IRS refund options, and the specific advantages each one has for the individual taxpayer.

The most common and familiar method of filing, the standard paper filing, is gradually becoming obsolete. It probably would not take very long for this ancient system of paper filing to be completely obliterated and the electronic tax filing methods to emerge as worthy substitutes. In case you happen to be one of the very few Americans who still rely on the method of paper filing, you would need to wait for around six weeks to receive your tax refunds. The speed that the internet has made the six week wait a considerably long time to obtain tax refunds.

Comparatively, the electronic method of filing federal income tax return, which is gaining fast popularity at the expense of the old paper filing system, brings you the tax returns in around 10-14 days. This is, of course, much less time than the six weeks required for paper filings to bring returns. What’s better, electronic filing does not involve any extra fees, and one can choose to file tax returns through several local public access facilities.

On the other hand, the refund anticipation loan works a little differently. The refund anticipation loan requires administration by a tax professional through a well-established connection with a financial and lending institution. A number of excellent options are available, as well as the number of qualified and competent tax professionals to help you file your income tax returns, though the taxpayer is entitled to shell out a loan fee or a nominal interest fee in lieu of obtaining the refund anticipation loan. A number of restrictions apply on the receipt of a refund application loan, some of which affect some individuals. For example, those who owe back tax, back child support, liens and judgment etc. do not qualify for the refund anticipation loan. Usually it so happens that individuals opting for the refund application loan receive earned income credit and have their income tax refunds reach up to thousands of dollars. All it takes for the refund anticipation loan to be processed is three hours and reaches the taxpayer within late afternoon, as long as everything goes according to plan.

Since the bank product providers charge higher interest rates and the tax preparers charge higher processing fees, it eats into the money obtained by the taxpayer; however, many of these taxpayers take the extra expenses in their stride as all they want is a quick tax refund. This phenomenon only goes to prove once again that our modern society thrives on the operation of instant gratification. Individuals who opt for electronic filing of tax returns and make the choice of having the amount deposited directly get their work done in not more than 10-15 days. It’s a common belief that two weeks is a pretty good turnaround time for many taxpayers, but usually the time taken for the return is inversely proportional to the amount of the federal income tax refund.

It might appear to be yet another strategy for the system to make money out of the poor; since normally it is the poor who are associated with the earned income credit tax refunds, which, especially in cases of families having two or three dependant members, could be considerably large. It is wise to avoid refund loans as much as possible. They involve high costs. It is a good idea to wait for your federal income tax refund so that the whole of it is for you to keep to yourself.