Tag: Investment

Tax Carnival Ecstasy – December 17, 2013

Welcome to the December 17, 2013 edition of Tax Carnival Ecstasy. We start with some information on filing your taxes at the end of the year for the 2013 tax season. We have a TradeKing review from John Schmoll. And finally Mark Wang looks at assets that you can own that create passive income. Make sure to bookmark the carnival on social sites, like on Facebook, Tweet, and share with all your friends.

filing

Bill Smith presents Important Dates For Filing Your 2013 Tax Return Forms posted at 2011 Taxes, saying, “As the year comes to an end, it is important to start thinking about filing your 2013 taxes.”

A Granny Smith apple
A Granny Smith apple (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Bill Smith presents The TurboTax ItsDeductible App posted at 2010 Tax, saying, “Intuit Inc. announced on December 3, 2013 its new TurboTax ItsDeductible app, had become available for use on the iPhone.”

retirement

John Schmoll presents TradeKing Review: An Online Brokerage Worth Considering posted at Frugal Rules, saying, “Investing in the stock market is vital to building wealth and with the variety of options available of where to invest it can be confusing. Choosing a good brokerage that has good offering and low fees can be a great way to help grow your retirement portfolio and get your investing on the right foot.”

John Schmoll presents My Retirement Dream: to Keep Working! posted at Frugal Rules, saying, “Many want to follow the traditional retirement dream of working until 65 and then leaving the workforce completely. My retirement dream is different – to continue working. With frugal living and an aggressive investing strategy I believe many can pursue that dream and eventually work for yourself in retirement.”

taxes

Bill Smith presents IRS Forms To File Back Taxes posted at 2008 Taxes, saying, “Even if one is certain there are no mistakes in the forms when following federal tax procedures, a little shiver goes down a taxpayers spine at the very thought of a letter arriving from the IRS.”

Bill Smith presents How To Survive The Holidays posted at 2012 Taxes – Free Tax Filing Options, saying, “The holiday season can be fun yet challenging. Everyone wants to share in showing appreciation and love for those they love.”

Bill Smith presents Voting For Big Game’s Final Four In Last Days posted at 2014 Taxes, saying, “On Feb. 2, 2014, Intuit, the home company of TurboTax Canada, will make one small business a star in the biggest commercial game of the year.”

tips

Bill Smith presents Twitter IPO Vs. Facebook – FastSwings.com posted at FastSwings, saying, “At first glance, it would seem Twitter had no intentions of posting such a high IPO, but their current policy of growth says otherwise.”

Bill Smith presents Burger King Worldwide 2013 Third Quarter Results posted at FastSwings, saying, “Over the years, Burger King have been steadily going from strength to strength, so it comes as no surprise that the third quarter results are so impressive.”

Bill Smith presents Halliburton Profit Jumps 17% posted at FastSwings, saying, “Halliburton beat its earnings expectations with a seventeen percent profit jump this week, owing largely to its operations on a global scale”

Mark Wang presents Which assets produce passive income? posted at The Money MailThe Money Mail, saying, “When it comes to taxes, passive income assets can be completed as in how much they are taxed, how is the income treated and what accounts as income from tax purposes. Let us take a look at the various passive income producing assets in this article.”

Bill Smith presents How Secured Loans Can Help posted at Debt Consolidation, saying, “Consumers who need to rebuild their credit histories can take secured loans to start the process. A secured loan is an advance that a lender gives to a person who is willing to offer some type of collateral.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of tax carnival ecstasy using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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Tax Preperation For Real Estate Investing

Tax preparation in real estate investing can seem like tricky business. And why shouldn’t it? The U.S. Tax Code dwarfs the Bible, which at 773,000 words, written over thousands of years, is one of the largest documents known to man. How could anything associated with that system make any sense whatsoever? Nevertheless, you may find prepping for tax season with your real estate holdings easier than anticipated. The government allows a certain amount to be deducted for the interest associated with home ownership each year. That means whatever your final taxable income is, you can subtract the price of the interest paid in from that total, resulting in a lower tax liability, and for millions of American homeowners, a tax refund. But the concerns for tax preparation for real estate investing go a little further beyond this measure even.

When you are holding several properties, you are essentially acting as the landlord to those properties, and you can end up deducting more than one home from your final tax tally. The more you invest, the more you save, to an extent. In addition to this reality, you may also be available for credits or incentives for other actions associated with the house. One of the most obvious is that of the home remodel. If you are remodeling your home, then any monies that you spend on that remodel could also be eligible for a tax credit or deduction. Depending on the appliances you use – and whether they are Energy Star compliant – going right down to the construction of the home remodel itself, the government is there at tax season to reward you for strengthening the housing sector.

To prepare for the real estate investment tax season, make sure that you avoid payoffs as long as you can. Once interest is no longer being paid on the property, you are losing out on a big tax incentive. So even if you have the money upfront, you may wish to carry out payments over time. With the interest rates lower than they have ever been at a fixed level, the next year will probably be the best time to invest.

To take advantage you may want to get your taxes associated with all income assorted, and invest in open properties with the leftover holdings. Without the real estate investor, the market would surely die. And by investing, you give something back to the strength of your country’s economy. In return, the tax incentives are there to help reward you for doing so, but it is important that you do not try to cheat the system. Instead, play within its rules, and you will end up leading a much more rewarding life.

Laguna Beach Homes can be one of the best investments you’ll ever make. But make sure that your Laguna Beach Homes For Sale and the tax requirements surrounding it have been met. For more details, visit our site.

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Talking About Capital Gains

Some Things To Be Aware Of Regarding Capital Gains And Losses

Many people are not aware of the fact that their capital assets are all the things they own and use for either investment or personal use purposes. This may include bonds and stocks held in a personal account, as well as household furnishings and their home itself. The difference between what one paid for a capital asset and what they sold it for is recognized as either a capital loss or a capital gain for them.

Let’s look at some facts about how a person’s income tax return might be affected by losses or by gains according to the IRS.

  1. Basically, a capital asset is everything a person uses for their investment, pleasure or personal issues.

  2. The difference between what a person sells their capital asset as opposed to what they paid for it is either a capital loss or a capital gain for them.

  3. All capital gains absolutely must be reported.

  4. Capital losses may not be deducted on personal use property, but only on investment property losses.

  5. It is either short term or long term that capital gains are classified as.

  6. If long term losses are exceeded by long term gains, the difference is then a net capital gain.

  7. Usually lower than the tax rates applied to other income are those applied to net capital gains.

  8. If exceeding any capital gains are in fact capital losses, it can and should be deducted from other income.

  9. Capital loss deductions can be carried over from one year to the next if in fact they exceed the yearly limit.

  10. It is important this year that all involved with these issues refer to and use Form 8949.

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How Big Is Your Pension Fund? Tips for the Future

Do you actively monitor your pension fund? Do you know how your pension plans are performing? Recent surveys suggest that at least two thirds of the population neither understand nor routinely monitor their pension plans. Part of the problem is that pension information is often confusing. But if the recent economic crisis has taught us anything, it’s that we need to pay much closer attention to how we are going to finance our futures.

It’s important to remember that pension plan investments are subject to market volatility and can go down as well as up. In a new US survey of baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, sixty percent admitted that in the last three years their homes, investments and retirement plans had all lost significant value and as a result they were planning to delay retirement. A quarter of the respondents said they didn’t see how they would ever be able to afford to retire. That concern is not unique to America, and governments worldwide are looking at making changes to pension legislation. France has already increased the retirement age and the UK is planning to follow suit in 2012. So what does this all mean to you?

In order to be able to grow your pension fund so that you can retire and live comfortably in your later years, you need to have a sound retirement savings strategy, routinely monitor your pension arrangements, use an annuity calculator to check what your income might be at retirement, and adjust your savings strategy accordingly. To secure your future, here are a few tips to consider.

Start early. The time to start saving for retirement is the day you enter the workforce. The beauty of compound interest is that the sooner you start the less you have to pay in to achieve the same retirement income. For example, if you were to invest £2,000 a year starting at age twenty-five and continue for eight years, then never invest another pound; you would actually end up with more money by age sixty-five than someone who invested the same amount of money annually, in the same plan, for thirty-two years, but didn’t start investing until age thirty-four.

Have a plan. As a general rule, you should be investing a percentage of your income equal to half your age. That means a twenty-four year old should be saving eleven percent of their income for retirement. It’s a good idea to consult a retirement planning expert to help you determine an investment strategy that will meet your future needs.

If possible, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. If your retirement savings are in a variety of government, occupational or private pension plans and other tax-free investment schemes, then if one plan or investment is not performing well or collapses, your entire retirement fund is not in jeopardy.

Avoid living beyond your means. Ideally, by the time you reach retirement age you want to be debt free. If you want to retire free of financial worries, make it a habit to live below your means. If you can afford a new car every three years, make it last for five or six years instead. Whatever you think you can afford to spend on big ticket items, spend less, and sock that money away in your retirement funds and investments.

And above all else, you should always know how big your pension fund is at any given time. Ensure your future by actively monitoring your retirement savings and regularly check a pension calculator to see what you need to invest to meet your own aspirations.

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Why are Roth IRA Accounts Online so Popular?

There are several reasons that the Roth IRA retirement option, whether online or not, is so popular, with some of the more notable reasons being flexibility, effectiveness and tax advantages, just to name three of the better-known aspects.  Roth IRA accounts are designed for the middle-class American, and they cater to this income bracket quite effectively.  These accounts have options for those with more capital to invest at one time, as well as plans for those with less, and finding the best options for a particular situation is relatively easy with the right help.

The Providers

Roth IRA accounts have been popular for some time, and rightfully so, but it is the information age, and those investment groups that have taken advantage of it, that have changed the perception of these excellent retirement plans.  Today, the best Roth IRA rates, terms, and investment options are never more than a mouse-click away, and with names like E-Trade, Ameriprise and T. Rowe Price behind them, finding the best Roth IRA providers is just as easy.

The Flexibility

The flexibility of the best Roth IRA strategies are also a contributing factor to their popularity, and these can include options ranging from stocks and commodities to real estate and mutual funds, depending on the particular situation.  This makes the need for proper guidance and education obvious, and the wrong choices can lead to less than stellar results, to say the least, and the best Roth IRA account is the one that is suited to the specific needs and resources of each person.

The Online Environment

The online environment not only makes managing an account much easier, it also allows investors to compare the various providers for the best rates and terms, just as anyone would do when investing in any venture, from penny stock brokers to major stock options.  The same tools used to find and research the accounts, and the options within them, are also some of the very outlets providing these services, with Zecco and E-Trade being two very good examples.

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