Posts Tagged ‘income tax’

  • Death and Taxes

    taxes picture

     

    I think you know what I mean. Its inevitable. But I guess I  anticipate the tax portion of this phrase with  utmost dread every year. April 15, or some day real close  when the government comes a calling and tells me to pay up.  God I hate it. and I always pay. Oh I know what  some you are thinking… you  always get money back.  How come I don’t. Well because I basically don’t want to give the government the use of my money interest free all year-long. That what it is. They take it out of my paycheck send it in and then those spend happy bureaucrats use it all year-long without so much as a thank you let alone any interest on it. Where’s the fairness in that?

    No, I’ll take my chances in taking as many exemptions as I can to get as much cash as I can in my paycheck. I’ll pay  up once a year and the penalty. But in the meantime I am using the money for me and my family. But ideally I should zero out, no refund, no penalty. I’m working on that.

    But regardless,you can’t escape. But the good news is, if you are a home  owner and borrowed money to purchase the home ,the mortgage interest is deductible. That, along with any property taxes that you pay. Pray to God that our leaders in Washington stop trying to eliminate these deductions from the average homeowner. That fact that we are almost 18 trillion dollars in debt as a country, leaves little doubt that they will continue to come up with  creative  waves of separating you from your hard-earned money.

    It really is a war. Us fighting to keep it, and them fighting to take it. And even death won’t free you from the tax man. Your  federal estate is taxable over 5.4 million dollars and in some states like Pa. the inheritance tax can be as high as 20%.

    Because of the terrible economic situation that has occurred since the crash of 2007-2008, many folks have found themselves owing money to the Federal government when they thought they were out of the woods and on the way back to stability. Let me give you some examples.

    1. Selling your home short. This is where you received the okay from your lender to sell your home for less than what you owe. Up until the  end of 2013, there was no income tax due on debt forgiveness by a lender for  an owner occupied single family home.  This exclusion  expired at the end of 2013 and Congress has shown no interest in extending this provision. So if you sell underwater in 2014 you may owe a big fat tax bill to Uncle Sam. The only way to escape this is to file Bankruptcy or be declared “Insolvent” by the IRS. There is a difference. Talk to a lawyer and an accountant about these alternatives.

    2. Forgiveness on credit card debt. This is similar to the above scenario except there has never been an exclusion. I have met several folks who have worked long and hard to rearrange credit card debt only to receive a 1099 C from the credit card company indicating that the debt is forgiven but now report it to the IRS as income.

    It really is a shame that folks are trying hard to work out some equitable solution to pay their bills and find out that the hole is some cases is deeper.

    Because of situations I mentioned, it is getting harder and harder  to reestablish oneself for the possible purchase of  a home, let alone pay off debt. But there is hope. Did you know that you can buy a house and get a mortgage after a discharged bankruptcy. Also if you lost a home to foreclosure, yes you can buy another house after a period of time. There are some  new credit caveats for sure, but it is possible. If you are in a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy your time frame is even quicker. Chapter 13 is when you are actually making payments to a creditor under court supervision.

    Look, we all have problems. Some are financial, some are medical, some are emotional. But I am one of those guys that feels if you recognize your limitations and mistakes and are willing to keep on plugging for you and your family, then don’t give up the dream. That’s why I’m here, to discuss the options and give you some advice. Those experts that I can suggest you meet with will help you, not for free, but they won’t break the bank for you again.You owe it to yourself and those you love. But you have to take the initiative. Call me and get started. 6107372310. The first meeting with me is on the house. Click here for some additional 2013 tax tips.

  • Tax Rules Encourage Short Sales Sooner, Rather than Later

    I settled on a short sale a couple of days ago. To say that it was a challenge is somewhat of an understatement. We began this sale back in July of 2011. I had the buyer, and I knew the listing agent on the other side very well and I trusted her. She has metal, and is a very calm and organized individual. Me, after 34 years in the business I have been accused of being somewhat of a hot head at times. But I knew my buyer very well and he wanted the house since he grew up in it and he was dying to get in and refurbish the old family homestead. Offer, agreement, appraisal, loss mitigation department, another appraisal, HUD approval, buyer’s mortgage approval, city inspection, sellers lender final approval, HUD settlement sheet 5 days before settlement, communicate with sellers lender in Arizona, last minute change of paperwork, redo settlement sheet, and on and on. Went in at 1030AM, left at 530PM. Buyer’s driver’s license said he was a “Sr” Another addendum. I am ready at this point to “call down the thunder” as Wyatt Earp told Ike Clanton when he had had enough. But the good news is we did settle.
    And the good news especially for the sellers is that because they settled this year they are going to avoid any income tax on the debt forgiveness from their lender. I guess there really isn’t any bad news.

    Another fine article by Dona DeZube will explain the details of the program. Please read on. If after you read the article and you want to get out there and take a look at some things, click on the link on the right that says “Lehigh Valley Pennsylvania Home Purchase” and email me at samruta@yahoo.com, or give me a call at 610-737-2310. Mortgage rates at 3.75% is what I would almost call free money.

    Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

    Copyright 2012 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

  • Down payment gift a leg up to home ownership, but know tax rules

     

    Every body is scrambling for ways to come up with cash. Well there are ways to get that down payment for the dream house. Here again the folks from the National Association of Realtors give some great advice but also issue some warning of the tax man cometh. Thanks to Dona DeZube for some great info.

    Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

    Copyright 2012 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

    There is just a plethora of information available on what’s out there for you. I’ll do my best to get it to you as fast as I can. Again if you have any questions give me a call or email me at samruta@yahoo.com. Remember its Spring Time. You know the way the weather has been lately, it really is Spring Time.