There were some changes made to the tax law regarding energy efficient improvements to your home, as a part of the ARRA of 2009. This credit is known as the Nonbusiness Energy Property Credit, and it increased some of the tax credits you could receive for making energy efficient home improvements. The credit is available [...]
Posts under ‘2010 Tax year’
Capital Gains and Losses and Your Taxes
If you own taxable investment accounts, real estate, collectibles, or literally any item that can appreciate or depreciate in value, you’ve likely had to deal with capital gains or losses on your tax return. (Actually, only if you’ve sold the item.) But how much do you really know about capital gains and losses? The IRS [...]
The Lost Decade and What it Means
By now you’ve likely heard plenty about the “lost decade” in the stock market: On January 3, 2000, the S&P 500 index closed the day at 1,455.22, and on May 28, 2010, the index closed at 1,089.41 – for a negative return on the nearly 10 1/2 years… I’m sure you’ve noticed in your investment [...]
Don’t “Invent” Income!
Seems like a no-brainer – why would anyone want to “invent” income? That just means you’ll have to pay tax, right? Not always, especially if the income is for a minor and is only a relatively small amount – say, enough to qualify for the maximum Roth IRA contribution, for example. This is a follow-up [...]
Roth IRA Conversion Tax Payment Wrinkle
Some very clever folks have looked at the 2010 Roth IRA conversion facts, including the ability to spread the tax over tax years 2011 and 2012, and have discovered a unique situation… What would happen if I did the Roth conversion in 2010, elected to be taxed half in 2011 and half in 2012, but [...]
Tax Benefits for College
When faced with the high cost of college, you want to find and take advantage of every opportunity that you can to cut down on your out-of-pocket expenses, before you give in and take out loans. So after you’ve applied for all of the grants, scholarships, and other non-loan financial aid that you can, it’s [...]
Windfall Elimination Provision for Social Security
If you have worked in a job where your pay was subject to Social Security tax withholding, and also have worked in a job where Social Security tax is not withheld, such as for a government agency or an employer in another country, the pension you receive from the non-Social Security taxed job may cause [...]
Charitable Contributions From Your IRA – 2010 and Beyond
We discussed the IRA Charitable Contribution option some time ago in the post “Last Chance for Charitable Contributions from Your IRA”, and it’s possible from that article that you got the impression that you are no longer able to make charitable contributions with money from your IRA. Nothing could be further from the truth! You [...]
Economic Indicators – What’s Important to Watch?
You see them on the news, in the newspaper, on the internet. Not every day, but certainly it seems like a new one every week: Key Economic Indicators. There’s the CPI, GDP, and Unemployment. There’s also the Consumer Confidence Index and Leading Economic Index. What’s this all about? What do these numbers mean? And most [...]
Bankruptcy of the Social Security System, Bigfoot, and Other Myths
For most folks, the Social Security system and how it works is a mystery. Many believe that there is an account somewhere with your name on it, and you’ll get to draw funds from that account when you retire. Other folks will tell you that the system is bankrupt or nearly so. Still others will [...]
And if you've come here to learn about queuing waterfowl, I apologize for the confusion. You may want to discuss your question with Lester, my loyal watchduck and self-proclaimed "advisor's advisor".
