Each year, the IRS produces a list of tax scams that they have uncovered – which they call the Dirty Dozen. Unfortunately, this Dirty Dozen doesn’t star Lee Marvin (or any of the others), and it’s nowhere near as much fun to help you while away a Sunday afternoon. No, these are illegal activities that you need to be aware of, because you can be caught off-guard by some of these, as they can be quite sophisticated, appearing to be legitimate and above-board. As with all situations, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. The list below is copied in toto from IRS’ Notice IR-2010-32. Return Preparer Fraud Dishonest return preparers can cause trouble for taxpayers who fall victim to their ploys. Such preparers derive financial gain by skimming a portion of their clients’ refunds, charging inflated fees for return preparation services and attracting new clients […]
August, 2010:
Tax Credits for Home Improvement
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 for improvements made during the calendar years 2009 and 2010 – after that the credit will revert to the old rules (unless another change is made to the law). Here are seven things that the IRS wants you to know about the Nonbusiness Energy Property Credit, as written about in the IRS Summertime Tax Tip 2010-16: The new law increases the credit rate to 30% of the cost of all qualifying improvements and raises the maximum credit limit to $1,500 claimed for 2009 and 2010. The credit applies to improvements such as adding insulation, energy-efficient […]
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Medicare supplements versus Medicare Advantage plans
As efforts to improve the Medicare insurance system progress, it seems that the confusion only gets worse. In any given city across the U.S. there are literally dozens of insurance companies offering a hundreds of different policies to supplement, or replace the original Medicare plan. For most seniors, reaching the age of sixty five means having to confront this monster and make decisions that will greatly influence your wealth, your health and your well being. One of the decisions to be made is; “Do you need a Medicare supplement or a Medicare Advantage Plan?” Let’s take a look at some of the differences. Medicare Supplements Medicare Supplement policies are designed to cover the “gaps” in coverage left by original Medicare. These gaps include deductibles, coinsurance, co pays and extended hospital stays to name just a few. Supplement policies are sold by dozens of companies across the country and prior to […]
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What Does A Fidelity Target Date (Freedom) Fund Invest In?
Note from Jim: I’m on vacation this week – hope you enjoy the following post from my friend and colleague, Roger Wohlner, CFP® who writes at the blog Chicago Financial Planner. Roger operates his Fee-Only financial planning practice out of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Fidelity is one of the largest providers of 401(k) plans and like many fund company platforms it is common for their plan sponsor clients to offer several or all of Fidelity’s Target Date funds known as the Fidelity Freedom funds. These funds have target dates from 2005 every five years out to 2050 with an even shorter-term Retirement Income fund. The premise behind these and other Target Date funds is that a plan participant will choose a fund with a date close to when he or she might retire, invest their contributions and let the fund manager do the rest. The funds typically lighten up on equity […]
Sterling Raskie, MSFS, CFP®, ChFC®
The latest in our Owner’s Manual series, A 401(k) Owner’s Manual, was published in January 2020 and is available on 
A Medicare Owner’s Manual, is updated with 2020 facts and figures. This manual is available on 
Social Security for the Suddenly Single can be found on Amazon at 
Sterling’s first book, Lose Weight Save Money, can be 
An IRA Owner’s Manual, 2nd Edition is available for purchase on Amazon. Click the link to choose the 
Jim’s book – A Social Security Owner’s Manual, is now available on Amazon. Click this link for the 
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”.