All Posts Tagged With: "taxes"
Let’s Make Military Incomes Tax-Free
The past few weeks have seen battles on two fronts, the fight to take Iraq and the debate in Washington regarding how best — if at all — to cut taxes.
Allow me to confess that I am one of those opposed to tax-relief for the rich, my thinking being that our gilded elite have [...]
Will Is The Way To Preserve Your Property
If it were possible, there’s little doubt that we would each opt for immortality, vitality, and endless good health if such choices were available. We would most likely agree with Clarence Darrow, the defense attorney at the Scopes trial, who explained in his autobiography that “I shall no doubt act as others do at the [...]
10Sep2008 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Smart Growth Equals More Congestion, Bigger Tax Bills
“Smart Growth” is here, a collection of proposals, guidelines, and goals that will ultimately make homebuying less feasible and commuting more difficult. And that’s the good news.
The essential idea behind various “Smart Growth” initiatives is to move zoning decisions from local communities to Washington.
This is necessary, it’s alleged, because we have too much [...]
Adjustments At Closing
Question: We are selling our home and have prepaid our property taxes through June — two months from now. How do we get this money back?
Answer: A sale agreement should contain a clause that deals with “adjustments.” The prepaid property tax, for example, should be a credit to you at closing and [...]
Why Does Closing Cost So Much?
Closing is expensive for several reasons.
First, state transfer taxes are typically based on the sale price of the property or the amount of mortgage debt. These tend to be very large sums, so even a small percentage can be a lot of money.
Second, payment for many services occurs at closing — title insurance, legal services, [...]
What Is A Mortgage Lender Escrow Account?
When homes are bought with 80 percent or more financing from a single lender, the lender generally requires the borrower to make monthly payments to a lender “escrow” (trust) account.
The purpose of the lender escrow account is to accumulate money to assure that the borrower’s property taxes and property insurance are paid (and thus reduce [...]
Can I deduct moving costs?
In some cases, yes. If your new job site is at least 50 miles further than the old one (that is, if you current work is 5 miles from home, the new workplace would have to be 55 miles from your old home), and if you work at least 39 weeks during the first year [...]
28Aug2008 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
What Is The Passive Loss Exception?
It may be possible to write off up to $25,000 in passive real estate losses from your general income under certain conditions.
The ability to write-off passive real estate losses is limited. Generally, if your adjusted gross income is more than $100,000 per year, you typically lose the ability to write off $1 in passive [...]
Active Versus Passive Investors
In general terms, an “active” investor can use real estate losses to offset income from other (non-real estate) sources.
There are two basic tests to determine if an individual is an “active” realty investor. Is 50 percent of your time devoted to real estate activities? Do you spend at least 750 hours a year working [...]
Who can help with tax questions?
While you can get general information from books, newspapers, magazines, and online sources, the age of automated tax preparation software is here. These programs make tax preparation fairly easy for most filers.
If you have complex situations and tax returns, then there is no substitute for trained tax professionals. Good sources of tax advice include:
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