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MoneyTipsIt is easy to lump deductions, credits, and exemptions into the same basket of tax-saving mechanisms, but they are distinctly different. One new major difference is that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) has done away with personal exemptions for the tax years 2018-2025, so you won’t be able to use exemptions for a while. Here are the simplified differences: What They Reduce – Deductions and exemptions both reduce your taxable…

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MoneyTipsTo paraphrase the old adage, there are only three absolutes in life: death, taxes, and the rise of scams during tax season. A major tax scam since 2013 involves phone calls by fictional IRS agents that demand immediate payment for alleged tax debts, threatening lawsuits or even jail time to those who refused to comply. The more sophisticated version of this includes spoofing a legitimate IRS phone number to fool caller-ID systems. The callers also…

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MoneyTips Early Birds Should Be Careful Have you been waiting patiently to file your taxes? If so, you’re in luck. The 2019 tax season is now underway. January 28, 2019, was the first day that the IRS would accept tax returns for the 2018 tax year, either electronic or paper copies. (You can mail in paper copies at any time, but they won’t be processed until the tax season kickoff date set by the…

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MoneyTipsWhen your identity is stolen, you have so many potential issues to deal with — changing passwords, closing accounts, dealing with fraudulent charges, and placing fraud alerts with the credit reporting agencies — that you may forget about potential tax fraud. Armed with your personal information, identity thieves can file a fraudulent tax return in your name and receive a refund before you realize your information has been compromised. Sometimes taxpayers are unaware of the breach…

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MoneyTipsTax filing season is upon us. Soon you will be filing your paperwork and perhaps receiving a nice check — unless thieves file a return in your name first and falsely claim your refund. Unfortunately, if a thief has your Social Security number and other relevant information, tax identity theft is very hard to prevent. Greg McBride, Chief Financial Analyst for Bankrate.com, notes that “somebody could have your Social Security number and they could have…

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MoneyTips While many deductions were cut or modified with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017, most tax credits were retained. Tax credits are more powerful than tax deductions because they directly subtract from your tax bill (deductions only reduce taxable income). Refundable tax credits are even better, since refunds can be greater than your tax bill. Explains Betterment Head of Tax Eric Bronnenkant, “Credits are, in general, more valuable than deductions,…

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MoneyTipsPreparing a tax return is not most people’s idea of a good time. As a result, we tend to procrastinate and wait until the last minute to file our returns. However, there are good reasons to start preparing your tax return as soon as you have all the necessary documents: 1. Reduce the Chance of Tax Identity Theft and Fraud – By filing as early as possible, you can reduce the chances of a thief…

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MoneyTips If you’re a furloughed government employee or other worker sidelined by the shutdown – or worse, working without a paycheck – you’re probably at risk of missing payments or racking up large credit card bills. How do you keep your credit score from dropping as a result? On-time payments are one of the most influential factors in your credit score, so let’s start there. Hopefully, you have an emergency fund to…

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MoneyTips Are you ready to cut your tax bill as much as possible? Consider these thirteen ways to keep your contributions to Uncle Sam as low as possible. 1. Filing Status – Are you filing under the correct status? It’s usually best for couples to file jointly, but married couples filing separate returns could keep individual incomes below phase-out levels for certain deductions. 2. Itemize Deductions – There are fewer deductions and…

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A new progress report card released by safety advocates with the Denver Streets Partnership awarded Denver an overall “C“ grade for the City and County of Denver’s progress on the Vision Zero Action Plan designed to improve the safety of Denver’s streets. The progress report card looked at Denver’s 2018 infrastructure goals in eight categories and found that, while Denver met its goals for miles of bike lanes constructed and operational improvements at major intersections,…

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