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Posted
Aug 17 2009, 02:27 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
 Is this an idea whose time has come? A new bill in the U.S. House would allow pet owners to deduct up to $3,500 for "qualified pet-care expenses" for household pets, including vet bills.
Would the so-called HAPPY (Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years) Act give pet owners a break they deserve? Would it encourage more people to adopt abandoned or neglected pets? Would we finally be able to list some dependents on our income tax return? (Others have attempted -- unsuccessfully -- to use their pets as deductions.)
Bing: New tax deductions
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Posted
Jun 17 2009, 08:53 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This devil's advocate post comes from Jim Wang at partner blog Bargaineering.
This devil's advocate post will cover something that's bound to elicit a lot of discussion: Here are four reasons why you shouldn't donate money to charity.
That's right. You read that correctly. I have four reasons why donating your hard-earned money to a charity is a bad idea, and chances are there is at least one reason here that you haven't even considered. If there was ever a devil's advocate post to end all devil's advocate posts (don't worry, it's not the last one), this would probably be it.
Americans are among the most charitable people in the world, donating $314 billion in 2007, according to the Philanthropy Journal. And despite a brutal economy, that dropped only 2% (or 5.7% after adjusting for inflation) to $307 billion in 2008.
In the face of that, I present to you four reasons why you shouldn't donate money to charity.
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Posted
Mar 10 2009, 06:08 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Jim Wang at partner blog Bargaineering.
Starting today, I'll be volunteering every Tuesday morning in the kitchen at the local Howard County Meals on Wheels facility. It's less than five miles away one-way, but I still wanted to research how to claim the driving mileage on my taxes to reduce my tax burden as much as possible.
At 10 miles a week and 52 weeks, we're looking at only 520 miles for the entire year. The deduction for 2008 was 14 cents a mile (IRS standard mileage rates), so we're talking a $72.80 deduction -- but every bit helps.
This is what you need to do to determine whether you can claim it and what you need to do to document it. (This is covered in IRS Publication 526.)
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Posted
Dec 04 2007, 01:32 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Giving to those who need our help -- rather than engaging in a debt-bound holiday spending spree -- has been a recent theme here. A U.S. government-sponsored weblog, Gov Gab, gives us another option: sending thoughts and gifts to our troops abroad and the injured and disabled who have returned home.
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Posted
Nov 23 2007, 03:33 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
It's one-stop shopping at Moolanomy if you're looking for " 22 money-maximizing moves ." Disclaimer: He's not a financial adviser, but he is a thirtysomething guy with a $200,000-plus investment portfolio, and his list of ideas to consider is comprehensive. It includes ways to reduce your 2007 taxes , such as buying business equipment, paying vendors before the end of the year, and increasing your 401(k) and IRA contributions . He also describes several creative approaches to charitable contributions . Did you ever think about donating your old car? It's time to use up your flexible spending account, he reminds us. Why not conduct annual reviews of your insurance coverage and asset allocation ? It's also a good time to use rewards from your credit card.
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Posted
Nov 12 2007, 12:18 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
In a Veterans Day salute to the nation's former and active-duty military personnel, journalist and "self-proclaimed tax geek" Kay Bell provides quick and comprehensive access to tax rules for military folks at her weblog, Don't Mess With Taxes . She includes a link to an extremely authoritative Bell article at bankrate.com spelling out special exemptions and deadlines for those serving in combat zones, tax relief for new soldiers, a special rule for calculating the Earned Income Tax Credit, and other information that will come in handy for military members and their families. She also gives an update on the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax (HEART) Act of 2007. She asks us all to "take at least a moment to think about the millions of veterans who served in the quest of peace and the difficult and often devastating jobs that they did -- and our active military personnel still do -- for us all."
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