The Federal Tax Credits Blog

Archive for April, 2008

Question: 667 Fico score, chances of being approved for mortgage?

My credit score is 667 and I make approximately $23,000/year. I am looking to buy a house in foreclosure in Indiana for approximately $40,000-$60,000. What are the chances I’d be approved for a mortgage based on my Fico score and income?

Due to my low income, if approved for a mortgage, I would qualify for down payment assistance and an interest free loan up to 20% of the home cost, as well as the tax credit on next year’s taxes so I’m hoping I have a shot at getting approved.

By the way, I have found several houses in this price range that I’m interested in.

Answer: Your score is good, but as you indicated the loan is not based solely on your FICO. Different types of loans have different requirements, Conventional, FHA, VA etc. They will look at who you owe, how much you owe, how much you pay out each month. Taking your income, minus your current monthly pay out and 30% of what’s left over is considered affordable average standard (what you can afford to pay on a mortgage) Take in consideration, home insurance and taxes when figuring the bills you will pay out with a mortgage. Your FICA and risk factor based on these figures will also help the bank or financial institution set your interest rate as well. Good Luck!

Answers to mail that runneth over

By Michelle Singletary The Washington Post Throughout the year, I receive hundreds of e-mails and questions by way of my regular online discussion from people hoping for an answer to their most pressing personal finance issues. I can’t possibly answer every one.

$8,000 in YOUR Pocket and Down Payment Assistance

Hot water is normally used in households for cooking, cleaning, bathing, and room heating. Hot water or steam has various uses in industries and large scale water heating systems are used there. Hot water heating is a process wherein an outside energy source is used to heat waiter above its normal temperature.

Most heating systems use fossil fuels like natural gas, LPG, Oil as the energy source. Nowadays, renewable or alternative energy sources like solar energy, heat pumps, water recycling and geothermal heating are also being used with a combination of backup systems supplied by traditional forms of energy.

Most heating systems in New Zealand both in commercial and housing arena consist of hot water cylinders which may use various forms of energy. The hot water cylinder is normally placed upright and is of a cylindrical shape. It is kept on a raised area or a platform at a short distance from the floor.

The inner reservoir of the Hot Water Cylinder is the main part of a water heater. Copper containers are considered the best. The next thing that is important is the type of heating element that is used. The second most important feature is the type of heating component.

It is very important that Hot water cylinders be maintained properly. They should be properly installed to avoid any safety hazards. The valves must be tested once in a year. Sediment that is collected at the bottom of the hot water cylinder should be drained out.

Solar water heating systems are built using solar panels that are fitted in the roof. They collect heat from the sun and it is used to heat the water in the hot water cylinder. A solar hot water cylinders, works all year around and brings down the energy bills by a considerable amount. It works out cheaper and cost effective in the long run.

Most houses use Low pressure hot water cylinders built using copper. These cylinders as the name suggests can withstand only a limited amount of pressure and use a valve and tank system to reduce the pressure. Nowadays, these are being replaced by steel cylinders or a mains pressure cylinder.

The online hot water cylinder shop has various choices and there are a lot of good deals available online. It is one of the largest hot water cylinder suppliers in New Zealand. Their main office is located in Auckland.

Sun heats up energy savings for residents

Solar collector panels are mounted on the roof where the first solar water heater system was installed in Frisco by (left) master plumber and solar supervisor Richard Kirk Woolheater and (right) solar technician Tim Culver.

Solar Water Heating for San Miguel Fire Department – Fox6

Where technological advancement is flourishing day by day everywhere, then why should the educational institutes be neglected! Starting from the schools to the collages everywhere people are encircled with technical development.

When people were managing the educational institutions earlier, things were based on manual support. Manpower was so strong that time that everything was managed well by the human labor. In the schools and collages where students come in bulk, data related to them were all managed by the HR department. Lots of calculation, lots of complexities used to be there for handling and managing everything. The work that could have been accomplished in few hours used to take longer time which in turn used to cause delay in other processes.

With the Introduction of HRMS Software:

The human resource management system software when came into existence helped the administration of the educational institutes in various ways. Earlier the students used to mark their presence with the help of their supervisors which used to consume unnecessary amount of time. Along with that, the problem of proxies was always there. Students used to cheat the supervisors in marking the presence.

The HRMS software introduced the Time Attendance System that used to mark the presence automatically. It helped in reducing the proxies among students and also it saved the time in an unconditional manner.

Before the introduction of the HRMS software, all the calculations used to be taken care of by the HR executives in the institution. Remembering all the data was tough, also when staffs wanted the details like pay slips, leave details etc. it was not feasible for the department to take action immediately, because there is something which is not within human being’s limit.

But due to the Payroll Software, the laborious work of the HR department got minimized a lot. This payroll software is efficient enough to store the leave details, arranging the shift of the lectures, replacement of teachers etc. Now, students sitting in the examination hall do not have to wait for the substitute invigilator, if the allotted invigilator is not at work. Payroll software is there to take all the tensions and replace the vacate position with the correct one.

Generating the salary structure was a concern earlier as it requires lot of calculations. It also includes the leave deductions and tax calculations. All these things have been made easy by the HRMS software based payroll software. Salary slips and tax details related to an individual now can be easily generated whether the person is at school or in a corporate while using the Payroll software.

What HRMS Software is?

HRMS software is based on face recognition technology. It does not require any human touch for providing the service. The software needs the computer for its installation and the time attendance system, that helps in marking the presence along with the payroll software that helps in generating the salary or other details related to an individual. The technology relieves the people from buddy punching and accommodated with a huge electronic storage facility. Thus it eliminates the earlier limitations. Since it follows the electronic process therefore saves time as well as other resources. Not only in educational field but also these software can be used in other premises that deals with time and money, for better management purpose.

Thus, introduction of face recognition system helps in saving a good amount of time of the staffs in their busy schedule and also reduce the complexities of their work.

Public school teacher salaries take center stage

Local taxpayers are pressuring state lawmakers to ban teacher strikes.

Educational Tax Credits

Question: is turbo tax set up to handle the 8000 tax credit?

I am wondering if I should just submit my taxes by paper form instead of turbo tax next spring. Also, should I hire a tax person so this does not get messed up? I can already see it now in that I use turbo which I love and the irs denies my credit.

Answer: Turbo tax and all other reputable tax preparing software will have this available.

It is done by completing IRS form 5405 as part of your return.

The credit is NOT a deduction so it is pretty simple to calculate. It is $8000 directly to you. If you owe $2000 you will get $6000 refund. If you are already getting a $2000 refund, you will get a $10000 return. Providing you qualify for the full benefit. There are income limitations as well as you can’t have owned a home within 3 years and you must close by 12/1/2009

Question: Whar is the likelyhood that the $8,000 dollar first time buyer tax credit will be extended?

Kathleen- bite me!!!!

Answer: I expect that it will be extended.

The housing market is very poor right now. It will get much worse if that $8000 tax credit is not extended.

New year, old worries for U.S. stocks

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks closed out 2009 with the best performance in six years, but monthly employment figures in the first week of the new year will keep investors focused on what is likely …

Home Buyer Tax Credit Extended – Los Angeles