Taxes and Retirement

The Most Overlooked Tax Deductions You Can Claim This Year

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The folks at Turbo Tax have provided a list of the most overlooked deductions that may save you a few bucks when filing your tax return this year: 1. State sales taxes This write-off makes sense primarily for those who live in states that do not impose an income tax. You must choose between deducting [...]

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6 Things You Should Be Doing With Your 401K and Individual Retirement Accounts

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When the economy and stock markets tanked many people stopped contributing to their employer sponsored 401K or self managed IRA plans. However, with markets back up strongly and the economy improving, folks must not forget to restart or continue saving for their financial futures. This includes taking the following actions: 1. Start saving —Now! Why? [...]

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How Did Your Retirement Account Perform Last Year? Checking Performance Online at Fidelity or Vanguard

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With stock markets staging a strong recovery the average return on a tax advantaged retirement plan, like a 401(k) and IRA, was around 11% according to Morningstar. At this rate your money will double every 5 or so years thanks to compounding. But how did your retirement plan perform? And have you even checked? For [...]

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Debt Reduction: Repealing the Home Mortgage Interest Deduction, State and Local, Health Insurance and Retirement Tax Breaks

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To get a picture of the problem that lawmakers face, let’s look at a tale of two attitudes. Polls indicate that we as a nation are getting worried about the amount of debt we’re incurring as we prop up the American economy. TARP, Quantitative Easing, and corporate bailouts cost the country money and Americans are [...]

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2012 Payroll Tax Credit Holiday Extended Till Year End. Extensions For Unemployment Benefits and Medicare Payments Also Approved

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[Updated- 2012 Payroll Tax Credit Holiday, Unemployment Benefits and Medicare Doctor Payments Extended to Dec 31st] With House Republican support Congress has passed legislation extending the federal payroll tax holiday through the end of the year without demanding spending cuts to pay for it. This was a concession aimed at averting another repeat of their [...]

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Do I Need to File a Federal Income Tax Return? Maybe Not If You Meet These IRS Guidelines

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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recommends that all adults file a tax return. Obviously, the IRS wants to have everyone pay their taxes but it is also an important way for the government to ensure that it pays out subsidies, stimulus payments and tax credits to the groups that they were intended for. However filing [...]

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The Best Tax Software and Free Filing Options for E-filed Returns as Tax Filing Goes Primarily Online

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The IRS reported that nearly 70%, or  almost 99 million individuals, filed their federal income tax returns electronically during 2010, a 3 percent increase in the IRS e-file rate. This is up from about 30%, 10 years ago. At this rate by 2020, more than 95% of people will file electronic returns. Overall, the IRS [...]

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2011 Updates – Tax Brackets and Rates, Government (GS) and Military Pay Scales, 401K and IRA Limits and Stimulus Payments

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I have made a number of updates to popular topics on this site and in case you missed them, here is a quick recap with a link to the detailed information. 2011 Tax Rates and Brackets Following Bush-era Tax Cut Extensions With approval of a two-year extension to all the Bush-era tax cuts, the 2011 [...]

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2011 Business and Corporate Tax Rates with Small Business Jobs Act Tax Changes

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With the passing of the Bush-era tax cuts and small business jobs act tax provisions, a number of tax laws will come into effect this year. Here is a summary of the key tax changes and how your business and personal income taxes could be affected. 2011 Tax Rates The 2011 corporate tax rates are [...]

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Rental Property Tax Changes (Form 1099) and Foriegn Bank Accounts and Assets Disclosure Requirements

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Two new tax changes were implemented in recent legislation that may affect a number of tax payers filing 2010 returns in 2011. One affects landlords who now need to disclose all payments made above $600. The other affects people with certain assets outside the US, who now have to formally disclose foreign holdings (like bank [...]

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