The question nobody ever asks is: is all the mortgage interest my bank form 1098s shows deductible? You are allowed to deduct mortgage interest if: 1. You took out your mortgages on first and second homes before October 13, 1987 – these mortgages are grandfathered into the rules and you can deduct all your interest. 2. You took out your mortgages on first and second homes after October 13, 1987 and you have $1,000,000 or less in regular mortgage and $100,000 or less in home equity debt (where you borrowed money and did not put the money into the house and did not refinance) you can deduct all your interest on these mortgage loans. You have to have the mortgages secured by the properties plus make all the payments in 1. and 2. to get the deduction. 3. If you refinance these mortgages, the additional money you take out may not be ‘acquisition indebtedness’, which means it could be considered personal loans and the interest on that part of the mortgage not deductible. If you don’t have home equity debt $100,000 of the additional mortgage refinanced can still be deducted, but the rest can’t. You will have to allocate the interest between deductible [...]
Tax Musings of a Burbank CPA: Tax Withholding Still Controversial After 70 Years
This year marks the one hundreth anniversary of the Federal Income Tax, and it also marks the seventieth anniversary of federal income tax withholding. See this article by Bruce Bartlett in The New York Times: http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/22/tax-withholding-still-controversial-after-70-years/?_r=0 Just remember that overwithholding by the federal government results in a tax refund of our own money when we file our taxes, and we are so glad to get that money back (an interest free loan to the IRS for most of the year!) The best tax planning strategy is to owe taxes to the IRS when you file and don’t pay the dreaded underpayment penalty (meaning you only pay in enough tax to avoid the penalty and you keep the float.) This takes more planning but long term you can come out ahead. For financial, accounting and tax musings, You can count on us to count for you! email: bstonercpa@sbcglobal.net phone: 818-317-6035 Website: www.briantstonercpa.com https://twitter.com/bstonercpa
Musings of a Burbank CPA: What to Do When Calling the Help Line Doesn’t Help
Have you ever called a help line and at the end of the call had a bigger problem than before you called? Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon. Navigating the help line process can be a challenge for anyone’s patience. Here are a couple of tips you can try to make the process a little less painful. Repeat Business If you get someone that does a good job of solving your problem, ask them if you can contact them directly. You will begin to establish a rapport, and you’ll have an inside ally you can turn to. They’ll also begin to know your issues, the product you’re calling about, and how you use it. Fly First Class Sometimes, it’s just worth it to pay for a higher level of access. You can check that out yourself, or you may have expert vendors you can tap to access their higher-level resources. By paying for a higher level of service, you can get priority service and access to more highly trained personnel. Learn the Language How you communicate your request to the help line personnel can make all the difference in the world when it comes to saving time. To speed up the process, [...]