Tax Savings Tool at WhiteHouse.gov

The White House has launched a Tax Savings Tool at WhiteHouse.gov. This tool helps Americans know about and take advantage of the middle class tax refunds passed in the Recovery Act last year. With a few simple questions, the tool generates a printable checklist anyone can use to make sure they don't miss out on any of the benefits they may be owed. Give it a shot and make sure you are getting all of the tax breaks you get this year!

Going Green: Opting Out of Mailing Lists

Are you the victim of never-ending mailing solicitations that go straight to the shredder? Well, after a little research, I have found that many times the mailing lists come from the credit bureaus. Yep, you got it....the same people who sell you a credit report and score are also making money from the otherside by selling your information to marketing companies.

Experian has a detailed summary of how to opt out of annoying junk mail. Click here to call and get your name off the mailing list. Do yourself and the environment a favor!

First-Time Homebuyer Credit

First-Time Homebuyer Credit: Members of the Military and Certain Other Federal Employees.
The Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009, which was
signed into law on November 6, 2009, extends and expands the first-time
homebuyer credit allowed by previous Acts. The new law:

. Extends deadlines for purchasing and closing on a home.
. Authorizes the credit for long-time homeowners buying a replacement principal residence.
. Raises the income limitations for homeowners claiming the credit. Under the new law, an eligible taxpayer must buy, or enter into a binding contract to buy, a principal residence on or before April 30, 2010 and close on the home by June 30, 2010. For qualifying purchases in 2010, taxpayers have the option of claiming the credit on either their 2009 or 2010 return.

For the first time, long-time homeowners who buy a replacement principal residence may also claim a homebuyer credit of up to $6,500 (up to $3,250 for a married individual filing separately). They must have lived in the same principal residence for any five-consecutive year period during the eight-year period that ended on the date the replacement home is purchased.

People with higher incomes can now qualify for the credit. The new law raises the income limits for homes purchased after November 6, 2009. The credit phases out for individual taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) between $125,000 and $145,000 or between $225,000 and $245,000 for joint filers. The existing MAGI phase-outs of $75,000 to $95,000 or $150,000 to $170,000 for joint filers still apply to purchases on or before November 6, 2009.

Several new restrictions apply to homes purchased after November 6, 2009.
. Purchasers must attach a properly executed settlement statement to their return.
. No credit is available if the purchase price of the home exceeds $800,000.
. The purchaser must be at least 18 years old on the date of purchase. For a married couple, only one spouse must meet this age requirement.
. A dependent is not eligible for the credit.
. The new law gives the IRS broader authority to deny first-time homebuyer credit claims, without having to first audit a taxpayer's return. Known as math error authority, this authority applies, retroactively, to credits claimed on original and amended 2008 returns, as well as to claims yet to be filed.

Additionally, there are new benefits for members of the military and certain other federal employees:
. Members of the military and certain other federal employees serving outside
the U.S. have an extra year to buy a principal residence in the U.S. and qualify for the credit. Thus, an eligible taxpayer must buy, or enter into a binding contract to buy, a principal residence on or before April 30, 2011. If a binding contract is entered into by that date, the taxpayer has until June 30, 2011, to close on the purchase. Members of the uniformed services, members of the Foreign Service and employees of the intelligence community are eligible for this special rule. It applies to any individual (and, if married, the individual's spouse) who serves on qualified official extended duty service outside of the United States for at least 90 days during the period beginning after December 31, 2008, and ending before May 1, 2010.
. In many cases, the credit repayment (recapture) requirement is waived for members of the uniformed services, members of the Foreign Service and employees of the intelligence community. This relief applies where a home is sold or stops being the taxpayer's principal residence after December 31, 2008, in connection with government orders received by the individual (or the individual's spouse) for qualified official extended duty service. The
credit is still allowable even if this happens during the year of purchase. Qualified official extended duty is any period of extended duty while serving at a place of duty at least 50 miles away from the taxpayer's principal residence (whether inside or outside the U.S.) or while residing under government orders in government quarters. Extended duty is defined as any
period of duty pursuant to a call or order to such duty for a period in excess of 90 days or for an indefinite period.
Question and Answer

Q. Are both spouses required to be overseas for the requisite time period in order to qualify for the 2011 extension to claim the credit?
A. Only one spouse must be overseas on official extended duty for the requisite amount of time for either spouse to be eligible for the 2011 extension of time to purchase a principal residence and claim the credit.

National Capability Challenge - For Teachers & Students

The Department of the Treasury and the Department of Education are sponsoring the National Capability Challenge, an awards program for educators and students age 13 19 to encourage the teaching of personal finance. The goal is to get one million students to take the Challenge. High-scoring student will receive awards certificates and all participating educators will receive personalized awards certificates. Students must sign up for the Challenge at challenge.treas.gov by March 14, 2010. Additional information may be found at the National Financial Capability Challenge website.

The Big Purchase: Considering Buying a Home

So, I've been looking at purchasing a home this year. I've been saving for 5 years and recently I hired a financial planner to review my financial status and make the recommendation if I'm in a position to buy. Since this will be my first time home purchase, I thought I'd post ideas, tips and notes that I've found to be helpful as I search.

To start off, I've used the U.S. Deparment of Housing and Urban Development as a primary, non-biased source of information for this purchase. They have a great list of where to start when looking at buying a home. Click here to get the list and many other helpful ideas for first-time home buyers. Good luck to all you first-time home buyers out there and check back in for more tips and ideas!

Saying Goodbye to 2009 - The Year of Thieves

So, I've been wanting to write this post for a while, but I'll be honest....it's taken me a full 2 months to really begin to uncover all of what happened in 2009!! So, you might remember a blog post from September of last year telling about my unfortunate luck with my new MacBook being stolen at a church function. Well, that was after my iPod had been stolen from my desk at work in January! So here's the rest of the story....

While at home in TX for Thanksgiving, I received a call from a concerned roommate. She said my car had been vandalized and my airbags were stolen! That's right, someone (or a team of thieves) just happened to be in our neighborhood that night stealing airbags out of Honda Accords and mine was hit. They smashed in the back window, disabled the alarm system and ripped out the airbag. Fortunately, they were only going for the airbag and therefore, they didn't touch my coins, GPS or other valuables in the car. That took about a month to repair and get everything straightened out.

Then, I went home for Christmas (maybe the connection here is going home ;)). As I was on my mint.com account one day, I noticed two strange charges that I didn't remember making on Christmas Eve. Turns out, someone had stolen my credit card #, made their own, and then used it in CT to make 3 purchases, two of which passed through and charged my card! Yep, it says I bought $200 worth of groceries and $50 worth of gas on Christmas Eve in CT (the $200 at K-mart did not go through). I was able to call my credit card company quickly and get it straightened out.

Well, the point of the story it can happen to you at anytime, anywhere and with anyone. Hopefully, you won't have 4 things stolen in a year's time, but if you do here are some resources to help or to prevent it happening to you:

1. Immediately report the incident. Most of the time, the local cops will make a report and tell you the next steps.
2. If your credit cards or debit cards or anything with a financial institution is compromised, immediately call the company and explain to them the situation.
3. Check your credit reports and place a credit freeze on all three of your credit reports. I only placed a credit fraud alert on my credit reports, and I've recently found how flimsy these are. A freeze will freeze anyone (including you) out of your credit until you chose to remove it. It costs $10/report/pull, but your identity is worth at least $300k!!
4. Be more aware of your surroundings and your valuables. I have learned several hard lessons this year, but I now know that I can't set my laptop down even for a moment even in a church! At work, keep your things locked up and out of other's view. And of course, keep all your financial information locked away in a safe and password protected on your computer.

For these and other identity theft tips, check out the FTC's website on identity theft or John Sileo's blog.
Here's to a theft-free 2010!!!

A New Game in Town: New Rules for the Credit Card Industry

Last week, a new law took effect that overhauled the credit card system. These new rules are to increase consumer protection for credit card holders. These rules ban several harmfulpractices and require greater transparency in the disclosure of credit card accounts. It's time for the credit card companies to step up to the plate and do what is right for the consumer!

To learn more, check out the Federal Reserve's new website at
http://www.federalreserve.gov/creditcard/

Know your rights as a credit card user!