How You Can Get a 14% Effective Tax Rate Like Mitt Romney and Other Super-Rich Americans

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GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his wife paid a 14% effective income tax rate in 2010 on nearly $22 million of income. Given the marginal federal income tax rate for anyone making over $35,350 (single) or $70,700 (married) is higher than 15%, it is pretty clear that the Romney’s are paying way below what [...]

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Using Your Roth IRA as an Emergency Fund

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Have you considered using your Roth IRA as an emergency fund? In this era of tight budgets, a lot of people are finding it difficult (if not impossible), to save for retirement and maintain an emergency fund. Because of this, it’s become trendy to recommend using your Roth IRA as a sort of de-facto emergency [...]

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2012 Food Stamp (SNAP) Income Eligibility Levels, Deductions and Benefit Allotment Payments

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The Federal Food Stamp Program is now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Eligibility for SNAP depends on things like the number of people in your household, income, and resources (cash, bank accounts, etc…). Income includes money earned from work. It also includes benefits like Social Security and unemployment. The following table shows [...]

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2011 Average 401K and IRA Returns And 2012 Performance Outlook

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I recently received my 2011 401(k) performance statement and was disappointed to see a -3.2% performance for the year. This is especially the case after my 2010 return of 13.5%. Because my 401k is pretty diversified, the S&P 500 is a good proxy for the level of returns I should be getting. In 2011, the [...]

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Pick Your Correct Tax Filing Status To Minimize Taxes

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Selecting your tax filing status is one of the first key steps in filing your federal tax return. Choosing the right status is extremely important because it can affect your filing requirements, standard deduction and eligibility for certain tax credits/deductions. In certain situations picking an incorrect filing status can make the difference between paying taxes [...]

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2012 Simple IRA and SEP IRA Contribution Limits – Small Business Retirement Plans

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The IRS has released 2012 contribution limits and updated eligibility rules for two of the most popular small business retirement plans : the SEP IRA and Simple IRA. SEP IRA A SEP is a popular and widely used retirement plan management approach because it provides self employed owners or small business owners with a few [...]

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2012 vs 2011 Savers Tax Credit To Offset IRA and 401(k) Retirement Plan Contributions

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Despite tough economic times, you should not lose sight of your longer term retirement savings. This is where the savers credit can help you to keep contributing towards a retirement plans without undue financial stress. The saver’s credit, also known as the retirement savings contributions credit, helps offset part of the first $2,000 workers voluntarily [...]

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Should You File a Tax Return or File a Tax Extension?

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In these economically tough times you might not have enough money to pay your entire tax bill when due. Inside your head, you scream, “I need more time!” But wait–the IRS offers a 6-month deadline extension! You ask yourself, “Should I file a tax return or file a tax extension?” It’s better to prepare and [...]

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2012 Maximum Employee and Employer 401K Contribution Limits and Catch-up Amounts

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I recently received a few questions regarding 401k retirement plans and contribution limits. The first thing to understand is that there are two main types of contributions that go into these plans. One is your contribution, or elective deferral, and the other is your employers, or matching, contribution. Secondly there are four annual contribution limits [...]

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2012 Tax Filing Deadline Dates – When You Can File 2011 Tax Returns and Get Your Refund

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Generally you can file your 2011 tax return on January 1st 2012. But if, like most tax payers, you file an electronic return (e-file) you can only submit your return to the IRS in mid to late January. For most people this time frame is sufficient since it takes a few weeks to receive employer [...]

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2012 Medicare Part B Monthly Premiums By Income Levels And Tax Filing Status

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2012 Medicare Part B monthly premium rates that cover hospitals plus physician and outpatient expenses, are shown in the following table (by individual and joint filers) and reflect the 2012 COLA increase. The standard Medicare Part B monthly premium ($99.90) for existing beneficiaries reflects a $3.50 increase over the 2011 “harmless” premium of $96.40. New [...]

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