Local Industry Experts will be on hand to discuss options so that you can afford to stay in your home given the state of today’s economy. Find out why foreclosure is not the only option. Stay in your home. Lower mortgage payments may be possible.
Bring your questions to Panera and let’s have a discussion. And while you’ll there, try out some of the tasty catering treats we will have on hand.
Presented by Jeffrey Schweitzer of Northeast Financial Strategies Inc., Amy Abrams of Century 21 O’Neil Associates, Brian Schwartz of Omega Mortgage and Andrew Cornell of Liberty Mutual Insurance.
Credit cards are fan easy way to make purchases and also get rewards. Many a times in order to get rewards such as cash back which are the most common, you tend to overuse your credit cards. At such times you are likely to mount up a high amount of credit card debt. In order to come out of such situations, you need to consider some credit card debt negotiation tips. Although when talking about credit card rewards the most common ones that come to your mind are cash back, airline miles and so on, however, there are some cards available in the market which enables you to earn rewards that you can use for investments including account of Roth IRA. There are specific cards available that offer you Roth IRA accounts. Some distinct advantages offered by these cards are:
These cards are affiliated to specific brokerage firms and as a result of this they try hard to maintain a good record by providing top class customer service. This is because there is more on the line than just your credit card account.
The percentage of rewards you will receive will be typically higher than the 1% available with standard credit cards.
This way of increasing contributions to your Roth IRA account is “pain free”.
However, if you don’t want to take on these cards there are alternate ways in which you can bolster your Roth IRA contribution. Instead of using some specific cards you can use any cash back credit cards to earn money and then deposit this amount to your Roth IRA account. You can maximize your earnings on credit cards in the following ways.
Use a number of credit cards – There are a number of cash back credit cards which gives you up to 5% return on certain types of spending but 1% or less on the other types. These are usually the best ones. In order to maximize such cash backs you can use different credit cards to purchase the categories the give a higher cash back offer.
Use credit card for work related expenses- There are options in which you can work out arrangements with your employer in order to get reimbursed for your work related expenses when you are using your own credit card instead of the company credit card. You have to submit the credit card statements or the receipts to your employer for reimbursement. This is beneficial for you as you get to keep the cash back on the particular spending.
Thus, if you’re interested in assembling money that you can save in the Roth IRA account, you can certainly use the cash back credit cards in the ways mentioned above. However, don’t misuse them or overuse them as accumulated credit card debt can ruin your financial future.
This is a guest post by Christina Jones, a financial content writer associated with Oak View Law Group. She has also been contributing to many personal finance blogs as a guest columnist since long.
Daylight saving time in the United States was first observed in 1918. Most areas of the United States currently observe daylight saving time, with the exceptions being the states of Arizona and Hawaii along with Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands.
From 1987 to 2006, daylight saving time in the United States began on the first Sunday of April and ended on the last Sunday of October. The time was adjusted at 2:00 AM (0200) local time (as it still is done now).
Since 2007, daylight saving time starts on the second Sunday of March and ends on the first Sunday of November, with all time changes taking place at 2:00 AM (0200) local time. In 2011, daylight saving time began on March 13 and ended on November 6; in 2012, it will begin on March 11 and end on November 4; in 2013, it will begin on March 10 and end on November.
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced a major expansion of its “Fresh Start” initiative to help struggling taxpayers by taking steps to provide new penalty relief to the unemployed and making Installment Agreements available to more people.
Under the new Fresh Start provisions, part of a broader effort started at the IRS in 2008, certain taxpayers who have been unemployed for 30 days or longer will be able to avoid failure-to-pay penalties. In addition, the IRS is doubling the dollar threshold for taxpayers eligible for Installment Agreements to help more people qualify for the program.
“We have an obligation to work with taxpayers who are struggling to make ends meet,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. ”This new approach makes sense for taxpayers and for the nation’s tax system, and it’s part of a wider effort we have underway to help struggling taxpayers.”
Penalty Relief
The IRS announced plans for new penalty relief for the unemployed on failure-to-pay penalties, which are one of the biggest factors a financially distressed taxpayer faces on a tax bill.
To assist those most in need, a six-month grace period on failure-to-pay penalties will be made available to certain wage earners and self-employed individuals. The request for an extension of time to pay will result in relief from the failure to pay penalty for tax year 2011 only if the tax, interest and any other penalties are fully paid by Oct. 15, 2012.
The penalty relief will be available to two categories of taxpayers:
Wage earners who have been unemployed at least 30 consecutive days during 2011 or in 2012 up to the April 17 deadline for filing a federal tax return this year. Self-employed individuals who experienced a 25 percent or greater reduction in business income in 2011 due to the economy. This penalty relief is subject to income limits. A taxpayer’s income must not exceed $200,000 if he or she files as married filing jointly or not exceed $100,000 if he or she files as single or head of household. This penalty relief is also restricted to taxpayers whose calendar year 2011 balance due does not exceed $50,000.
Taxpayers meeting the eligibility criteria will need to complete a new Form 1127A to seek the 2011 penalty relief. The new form is available on IRS.gov.
The failure-to-pay penalty is generally half of 1 percent per month with an upper limit of 25 percent. Under this new relief, taxpayers can avoid that penalty until Oct. 15, 2012, which is six months beyond this year’s filing deadline. However, the IRS is still legally required to charge interest on unpaid back taxes and does not have the authority to waive this charge, which is currently 3 percent on an annual basis.
Even with the new penalty relief becoming available, the IRS strongly encourages taxpayers to file their returns on time by April 17 or file for an extension. Failure-to-file penalties applied to unpaid taxes remain in effect and are generally 5 percent per month, also with a 25 percent cap.
Installment Agreements
The Fresh Start provisions also mean that more taxpayers will have the ability to use streamlined installment agreements to catch up on back taxes.
The IRS announced today that, effective immediately, the threshold for using an installment agreement without having to supply the IRS with a financial statement has been raised from $25,000 to $50,000. This is a significant reduction in taxpayer burden.
Taxpayers who owe up to $50,000 in back taxes will now be able to enter into a streamlined agreement with the IRS that stretches the payment out over a series of months or years. The maximum term for streamlined installment agreements has also been raised to 72 months from the current 60-month maximum.
Taxpayers seeking installment agreements exceeding $50,000 will still need to supply the IRS with a Collection Information Statement (Form 433-A or Form 433-F). Taxpayers may also pay down their balance due to $50,000 or less to take advantage of this payment option.
An installment agreement is an option for those who cannot pay their entire tax bills by the due date. Penalties are reduced, although interest continues to accrue on the outstanding balance. In order to qualify for the new expanded streamlined installment agreement, a taxpayer must agree to monthly direct debit payments.
Taxpayers can set up an installment agreement with the IRS by going to the On-line Payment Agreement (OPA) page on IRS.gov and following the instructions. These changes supplement a number of efforts to help struggling taxpayers, including the “Fresh Start” program announced last year. The initiative includes a variety of changes to help individuals and businesses pay back taxes more easily and with less burden, including the issuance of fewer tax liens.
“Our goal is to help people meet their obligations and get back on their feet financially,” Shulman said.
Input from the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council and the IRS National Taxpayer Advocate’s office contributed to the formulation of Fresh Start.
Offers in Compromise
Under the first round of Fresh Start, the IRS expanded a new streamlined Offer in Compromise (OIC) program to cover a larger group of struggling taxpayers. An offer-in-compromise is an agreement between a taxpayer and the IRS that settles the taxpayer’s tax liabilities for less than the full amount owed.
The IRS recognizes that many taxpayers are still struggling to pay their bills so the agency has been working to put in place more common-sense changes to the OIC program to more closely reflect real-world situations.
For example, the IRS has more flexibility with financial analysis for determining reasonable collection potential for distressed taxpayers.
Generally, an offer will not be accepted if the IRS believes that the liability can be paid in full as a lump sum or through a payment agreement. The IRS looks at the taxpayer’s income and assets to make a determination regarding the taxpayer’s ability to pay.
Details on IRS Collection and Other Information
A series of eight short videos are available to familiarize taxpayers and practitioners with the IRS collection process. The series “Owe Taxes? Understanding IRS Collection Efforts”, is available on the IRS website, www.irs.gov.
The IRS website has a variety of other online resources available to help taxpayers meet their payment obligations:
IR-2011-20: IRS Announces New Effort to Help Struggling Taxpayers Get a Fresh Start; Major Changes Made to Lien Process
Each year, millions of taxpayers choose whether to take the standard deduction or to itemize their deductions. The following seven facts from the IRS can help you choose the method that gives you the lowest tax.
Qualifying expenses – Whether to itemize deductions on your tax return depends on how much you spent on certain expenses last year. If the total amount you spent on qualifying medical care, mortgage interest, taxes, charitable contributions, casualty losses and miscellaneous deductions is more than your standard deduction, you can usually benefit by itemizing.
Standard deduction amounts -Your standard deduction is based on your filing status and is subject to inflation adjustments each year. For 2011, the amounts are:
Single $5,800
Married Filing Jointly $11,600
Head of Household $8,500
Married Filing Separately $5,800
Qualifying Widow(er) $11,600
Some taxpayers have different standard deductions – The standard deduction amount depends on your filing status, whether you are 65 or older or blind and whether another taxpayer can claim an exemption for you. If any of these apply, use the Standard Deduction Worksheet on the back of Form 1040EZ, or in the 1040A or 1040 instructions.
Limited itemized deductions – Your itemized deductions are no longer limited because of your adjusted gross income.
Married filing separately – When a married couple files separate returns and one spouse itemizes deductions, the other spouse cannot claim the standard deduction and therefore must itemize to claim their allowable deductions.
Some taxpayers are not eligible for the standard deduction – They include nonresident aliens, dual-status aliens and individuals who file returns for periods of less than 12 months due to a change in accounting periods.
Forms to use – The standard deduction can be taken on Forms 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ. To itemize your deductions, use Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, and Schedule A, Itemized Deductions.
For help in figuring out the details on which way is more beneficial for you, please do not hesitate to contact our office.
