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Posted
Jul 28 2009, 09:33 AM
by
Teresa Mears
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
The first back-to-school tax-free holidays start this weekend, enabling residents of participating states to buy school clothing, supplies, books, and other goods free of local and state sales taxes. That's a savings of roughly 6% to 9% in most areas. Some states set a cap on how much individual items can cost to be included. Some states even allow computer purchases tax-free during the holiday.
But the economic hard times for state and local governments mean that several states, including Florida and Maryland as well as the District of Columbia, aren't having the tax-free days this year. Massachusetts, which also decided not to do a sales tax holiday this year, estimated the state lost $14.9 million in revenue last year, The Associated Press reported.
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Posted
Jun 19 2009, 05:28 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller.
The 2009 economic-stimulus package is perhaps best known for the stimulus payments many will receive in 2009 and 2010. But the stimulus bill has other very significant tax savings for those who want to take advantage of the opportunity.
One of those opportunities is a generous tax credit for energy-efficient home improvements. Whether it's new doors and windows, insulation, a roof, or even a solar water heater, you can earn a tax credit of up to 30% of the cost of the improvements.
As with any tax credit, you need to make sure in advance whether the home improvement will qualify. For example, not all Energy Star-rated products qualify for the tax credit. To get you started, here is a summary of home improvements covered in the 2009 stimulus package. This information comes from the Energy Star Web site, which has a wealth of information on the available tax breaks for energy-efficient home improvements.
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Posted
Jun 15 2009, 11:12 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
The rules have changed for the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit contained in the federal government's massive economic stimulus plan.
Qualifying homebuyers can now use the anticipated credit to secure a loan to help pay closing costs and enhance their down payment, then pay it off after they file their 2009 (or amended 2008) tax return. How handy is that? In fact, in some states, people can leverage the tax credit to buy a home without using one dime of their own money for a down payment.
Wow. That seems great. Rather than having to save for a house, you can use this bailout from the government to close the deal even before the tax credit is deposited in your checking account. The rule changes "should really help stimulate home sales!" "FFB" at Free From Broke predicted.
But haven't we learned that buying a home without saving first is a bad idea?
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Posted
Oct 03 2008, 02:46 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Doesn't this sound like something from David Letterman -- "Top 10 tax sweeteners in the bailout bill"? But this is no joke. It's a partial list of the pork included in the $700 billion Wall Street bailout Congress approved today. The list was prepared by the nonpartisan budget watchdog Taxpayers for Common Sense. This explains why the once-brief bailout plan expanded to 451 pages. Senators added about $150 billion in tax breaks to overcome resistance to the bill. It worked, but it's prompted howls of complaint. "I believe there was even a tax cut for poodles who earn money in dog shows," wrote Jazz Shaw at The Moderate Voice. (That was a joke.) Who benefits from all of these tax breaks? Here are a few examples:
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Posted
Aug 01 2008, 03:24 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Kay Bell at Don't Mess With Taxes has the skinny on an event we're unfamiliar with (we live Montana, where every day is a sales tax holiday): Many states are waiving sales tax on purchases of school supplies, computers and clothing this weekend or later this month. Often, the holiday applies to local sales tax as well. The celebration doesn't stop there. During the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving, South Carolina is waiving sales tax when people buy handguns, shotguns and rifles. And another round of tax-free days is coming up for energy-efficient appliances and other products in a few states.
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Posted
Dec 27 2007, 12:47 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Dan at Money Myths congratulates Congress for sparing 21 million Americans from having to begin paying the dreaded alternative minimum tax -- or so-called "awfully mean tax" -- but asks: Why did this take so long? By waiting until six days before Christmas to act, Congress made life difficult for the IRS. If you've been used to filing your taxes in January and getting a refund, you may have to wait an extra month before the IRS can begin processing tax returns. And that, Dan calculates, can cause some pain.
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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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