The Federal Tax Credits Blog

Archive for May, 2010

Question: Deciding on how much to put down on my mortgage.?

Alright, here is the deal. My wife and I just committed to buy a home, have been financed, all of the good stuff. We have been able to put away about $20,000 over the last couple of years, and I am struggling to decide how much I should put down initially for the mortgage loan. The lender is requiring that we put $5,000, but we are considering more.

I have done some calculations and figured that the mortgage payments are not really going to drop very considerably by putting even our full savings down.

My question to all of you is, what would you do in our shoes? We want to spend some money furnishing the house and performing some upgrades. Are upgrades more important in a home or lessening the initial loan?

Yes, we are first time home buyers and are ECSTATIC about this “no strings attached” tax credit.

Answer: Unless you can put down 20% to avoid PMI or you get a better rate putting down more, put down as little as necessary to qualify for your loan.

New Mexico Startup Builder Tries To ‘Do It Right’

Albuquerque-based Abrazo Homes takes advantage of the market’s lower land prices to offer affordable houses.

Now that the tax credit is over, can I still buy a house?

Daw: Tax software so quick that missing something is easy

Readers register complaints after tax software makers admit to missing a tax reduction in 2009. But companies say users miss things, too.

Open for Questions: Higher Education

Question: Income tax: credit from another state?

Does anyone know exactly how to get this right? I work in NY and live in NJ. I only pay tax in NY. I have always used taxcut to claim tax paid in NY in the NJ tax. But this year things are looking suspcious…
1- what is the income I should use? Is it my state AGI or my state taxable income? More precisely, in my IT-2003 from NY, which field to use for that?
2-For the tax paid to the other state, I believe I simply use the box 17 on my W2 for NY.
3- Also, never before I had my W2 reporting NY and NJ with 2 diff values on box 16, state wages. This year I have such scenario, and was told it is because of my 401k. Well, same company, and always contributed to 401K before, so afraid last few years will have to be amended.
4- When entering my taxes on the W2 session of the software, I assume now I have to enter one line for each state, right?

Thanks.

Answer: You file a “resident” state income tax in New Jersey, and a “non-resident” state income tax in New York. This is the way you should have been filing all along.

I don’t know what tax software you use, but in Turbo Tax, the interview asks “did you earn money in any other state” and then it will guide you through the different state income tax forms (for a fee of course).

A magic word

WORCESTER – Want to send an e-mail, check a bank account balance and pay a credit card bill, all on a phone, without typing in all those often hard-to-remember passwords? There’s an app for that.

Federal Agents Raid Clinton, Iowa Business

Question: I’m a single parent – Any other benefits I can receive?

I’ve recently left my child’s father and am wanting to rent somewhere on my own. However with my financial situation this would be difficult. I was wondering if there is any other help available. i am working 16 hours a week and I already receive tax credits, child benefit and money from child’s father.
I’m living in England

Answer: You can get help from DSS, and food stamps, because of the short hours you work. You can apply for low income housing and also sec 8 housing, which they would base the rent on your income.

Study Points to Health Law’s Penalties

About one-third of employers subject to the new law may face tax penalties because they offer insurance that could be considered unaffordable to some employees, the study says.

Question: Which IRS form is used to claim energy tax credits for home improvements?

Where do I obtain a copy of the form?

Answer: 5695. Go to www.irs.gov

Helen, EA in PA

ZBB Energy Reports Third Quarter Results

MILWAUKEE, WI–(Marketwire – 05/18/10) – ZBB Energy Corporation (AMEX: ZBB – News ), a developer and manufacturer of distributed energy storage solutions, today reported results for its third quarter ending March 31, 2010. The Company filed its 10-Q for the third quarter on May 17, 2010. Sales during the 2010 third quarter were $188,780, a decrease of 14 percent compared to $219,853 during last …

What to Do with a Tax Refund