The Federal Tax Credits Blog

Posts Tagged ‘environment’

Question: Accounting (Sales Taxes Payable) Missing 2 Numbers & I have All Proper Transactions Listed?

Goodwin Auto Supply does not segregate sales and sales taxes at the time of sale. The register total for March 16 is $13,944. All sales are subject to a 5% sales tax. Compute sales taxes payable, and make the entry to record sales taxes payable and sales. (Round your answers to 0 decimal places. For multiple debit/credit entries, list accounts in order of magnitude.)

March 16 DEBIT CASH $13,944
………………….CREDIT SALES $13,247(incorrect!
CREDIT SALES TAXES PAYABLE $697 (incorrect!)
The only thing incorrect is the 2 numbers. What am I doing wrong?

Answer: If the register total is $13,944 and sales tax is 5%, then $13,944 must be 105% . Therefore, sales must be 100/105 x 13,944 = $13,280. Similarly, sales tax is 5/105 x 13,944 = $664. Alternatively, you could work out sales tax by 13,944 – 13,280 = $664.

To Sell a Home Right Now, You Have to Be Competitive From the Start

In this July 15, 2010 photo, a “For Sale,” sign is displayed outside a home in Springfield, Ill. Since the tax credit deadline passed at the end of April, housing has started to falter.

Credit Card Trickery! Don’t get caught in the traps, check your statements!

Question: What Are Some Pros and Cons of Different Organizations that Assist With Purchasing Renewable Energy Credits?

There are two organizations that I have been considering: 1) LiveNeutral (www.liveneutral.org); and 2) Native Energy (www.nativeenergy.com).

Some issues that I am considering are: 1) non-profit vs. for-profit; 2) credits purchased from the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) vs. credits created from renewable energy sources; 3) “imaginary” market vs. real-world projects; and 4) managed by educational institution vs. managed by Native American organization. Please feel free to suggest additional criteria.

Also, if there is another organization that you think I should consider, please let me know, and please provide your reasoning for the suggestion.

Thanks!

Answer: There is a table from the Dept. of Energy that compares various vendors and their costs. See:

http://www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/markets/certificates.shtml?page=1

In effect, you are donating money to fund alternative energy sources (wind, solar, hydro, biogas) that subsequently feed into the nat’l power grid.

Since you are donating money, you might as well get a charitable deducation on your income taxes. The nativeenergy.com site won’t give a definitive answer on this question, but suggests you can do it.

So go with a group which is a charitable non-profit organization that clearly states donations are tax deductible. Look at your yearly electricity bills, multiply kilowatt hours by 2 cents and donate that much.

Unlike the carbon offset credits that are often nebulous and sometimes outright fraudulent, renewable Energy Credits (RECs) trace back to definite generating capacity that can be (and usually are) audited to make sure they are above board. (The US gov’t buys RECs, so any egregious fraud tends to get uncovered quickly.)

I think you are taking the right approach to renewable energy, and these projects will stand the test of time regardless of how the global warming issue pans out.

Despite all the bashing of the US, the graph at:

http://www.eea.europa.eu/pressroom/newsreleases/GHG2006-en

shows how the EU-25 don’t come close to meeting their Kyoto promises.

The non-Kyoto country, the US, in 2006 DECREASED CO2 emissions in by 1.4%.

I guess that signing Kyoto and then reneging somehow makes countries feel noble and good about themselves. But buying RECs that actually do something doesn’t count.

UPDATE:Obama Highlights Efforts To Unleash Private-Sector Growth

UPDATE:Obama Highlights Efforts To Unleash Private-Sector Growth

Gains from an integrated market for tradable renewable energy credits [An article from: Ecological Economics] $8.95 This digital document is a journal article from Ecological Economics, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Description: Decoupling the environmental attributes of renewable energy (RE) generation from the physical unit of energy is an innovative mecha…

Law 270.6 – Lecture 9 – Resource Alternatives: Renewable Energy – The Technologies

Question: Filing married for first time, husband in Army, i worked only 2 months from oct – dec 08, bought a house and?

a rv. bought the house in july 08, the rv in dec 08. im a german national and didnt have a ssn until august, then started working in oct-dec, i only paid 68 cent in state taxes haha. husbands fed taxes withheld were 1843.42, he claims 0. we got married in 07 but couldnt file together as i had no social yet. we paid 333.86 in county taxes for the house and 3427.18 in interest in 2008. we already know what we are getting back in state taxes for him, we assume i might have to pay. we also bought a new car in april/may 08, purchased on army post. we have made some home improvements (tile in dining room, patio in back, porch in front) have the receipt. what about the first time home owner credit for 7500? our 10% would be way over that so we would get the 7500 so..any estimates on how much we would get back in fed taxes or in general? thank you to whoever will answer

Answer: you are definitely going to want to talk to a professional. you have several different issues to talk about….

first: you could have filed married for 2007. you would have filed a paper return, but it would have given you a higher standard deduction. all you would have had to do is put ‘applied for’ in the part that asks for your ssn. i suggest you go back and amend the 2007 return and file married filing joint.

second: the house and the RV will prove advantageous for you this tax season. it will give you the opportunity to itemize which could be very good for you. buying the new car could help too, but a tax professional will know exactly what works for your situation.

third: the home improvements won’t be of any use until you guys sell your house. definitely keep your receipts because it will help if and when you sell the house.

In order to give you an accurate answer on what you would get back you would have to give us WAY more information… but I strongly suggest you ask around and find a tax preparer that you can go to and talk to them about all this.

if you don’t feel you can afford something like that you can always look into TurboTax. Its very easy to use and guarantees the highest refund you could get, legally. This website offers 20% off Turbo Tax. http://turbotax.intuit.com/affiliate/intuitrefer

Good Luck!!

IBM to get nearly $8M tax rebate for 600 NC jobs

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – An IBM Corp. subsidiary will hire 600 workers at its North Carolina campus over the next two years and could get a tax rebate of nearly $8 million while paying wages below the local average.

New Car Buyer’s Deduction

Question: Information on new tax energy credit for new home in Indiana.?

Answer: Contact your local or sate government official. They’ll be able to direct you to the appropriate department. State or local tax office may be able to help, also.

Northwestern Energy Scam Alert

NorthWestern Energy says it learned Friday of a scam that implicates the utility and warns its customers to be aware of such illegal schemes.

The impact of residential energy conservation standards on credit markets …

ASPs can help save utilities money while reducing day-to-day headaches.(Information Tecnnology): An article from: Bulletin (Northwest Public Power Association) $5.95 This digital document is an article from Bulletin (Northwest Public Power Association), published by Northwest Public Power Association on August 1, 2004. The length of the article is 1599 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with…

Property tax incentives for alternative energy devices (Research and information series) …

Information about Energy Efficiency Tax Credits for Homeowners.

Question: Tax credit for selling your SUV?

On ABC news the other night Charley commented something about a tax credit for people who have large vehicles with a 18mgp or less that buy newer more fuel efficient cars!

I have searched the internet but cannot find anymore information on the subject.

Where can I find out more details?

Answer: A credit like that has been mentioned/proposed informally, but nothing exists on the federal level at this time.

Congressional leaders address oil spill, health care, other pressing issues

Amidst the hustle and bustle of their legislative schedules, local representatives in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives took some time last Thursday to sit down with Gazette-Journal reporters in their Washington, D.C., offices to take a look at some of the issues that are not only hotly contested in the nation’s capital, but are also close to the hearts and minds of many at home.

Salt Lake City Deserves Clean Air (v2)