Pay Day Loans Online Forum

MoneyTipsTax season is almost over. Have you filed your return yet, or are you still scrambling to beat the April 15 deadline for 2019? Don’t overlook these common tax deductions that could save you money. When you hurry through your tax return, you may miss valuable deductions that could produce a lower tax bill – or even more valuable tax credits that subtract dollar-for-dollar from your tax bill. (Deductions cut your tax bill in proportion…

Read More »

MoneyTipsIt is hard to beat the convenience of a credit card for purchases, but does that same convenience make it worth paying your taxes by credit card? It might, but that depends on several factors involving money and time. “Your credit card is usually a high-interest option, but it is an option,” explains Betterment Head of Tax Eric Bronnenkant. Before deciding whether to put your tax bill on plastic, consider the following: Fees…

Read More »

MoneyTipsContributing to a retirement account can be difficult for lower income households, but one can argue that it is even more important for those families to take advantage of all the retirement savings options that are possible. One of the lesser-known options applies directly to lower-income families – the credit for qualified retirement savings contributions, also known as the Saver’s Credit. Note that this program is a tax credit and not a deduction, meaning that the…

Read More »

MoneyTipsWouldn’t it be nice if you could deduct your credit card debt from your taxes? For most Americans, that’s just a dream that will never come true. However, some circumstances allow you to deduct some credit card debt – all related to using your card for business purposes. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act raised the standard deduction and eliminated or reduced certain itemized deductions as part of a tax simplification effort. It’s critical…

Read More »

MoneyTipsYou’ve completed your 2018 tax return, and you don’t like the results. How did you end up owing so much money? There’s nothing you can do about it now … or is there? While the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) made sweeping changes to the tax laws, it didn’t offer any retroactive means of affecting your taxes – but the TCJA did leave a tax adjustment method related to retirement accounts untouched. …

Read More »

MoneyTipsThe Dirty Dozen — a 1967 war movie starring Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, and Jim Brown, or a list of the top twelve tax scams as identified by the Internal Revenue Service? How about both? Each year, the IRS releases a list of the “Dirty Dozen” tax scams to watch out for during tax season. This year’s list, shown below, includes classic scams as well as some new twists. 1. Identity Theft – Tax…

Read More »

MoneyTipsCaring for an elderly relative can be rewarding, but incredibly difficult – as well as expensive. However, it may be possible to recoup some of the costs through income tax savings. There are two general approaches to tax savings on elder care costs – taking medical deductions that can be itemized and claiming a dependent care credit that can be subtracted directly from the taxes you owe. First, you must determine if your elderly…

Read More »

MoneyTipsThe Internal Revenue Service has plenty of ways to penalize you for mistakes on your tax return. Some of these potential penalties are so convoluted and complex that there may well be disagreement within the IRS on when they apply. However, most people accrue tax penalties for very simple mistakes. Below are some of the more common yet easily avoidable mistakes. Failing to File – Do you really think the IRS will forget about…

Read More »

MoneyTipsWhat two words cause the most panic to Americans? There are probably a hundred funny responses running through your mind right now, but we were thinking of a less humorous response: “IRS audit.” Your odds of avoiding an audit are usually pretty good. The IRS reviewed less than 1.1 million tax returns in fiscal year (FY) 2017, resulting in a low audit rate of 0.5%. Raising red flags in your return are likely to increase…

Read More »

MoneyTips By Eric Olsen, Executive Director, HELPS Nonprofit Law Firm At this time of year, creditors sometimes send out what is called a Form 1099-C. They email it to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and copy the person who owes them debt. The form tells the IRS that they, the company who is owed the debt, has tried (unsuccessfully) to collect and the unpaid debt is now “written off.” Seniors are often told by…

Read More »