A refund antipation loan or RAL is a method of receiving a Federal income tax refund sooner than it would come to the taxpayer from the IRS. Other common names for this type of transaction are: Fast Cash Refunds, Rapid Refunds, Express Money, and Instant Refunds.
All of these common names are misleading because they are not refunds; they are actually high interest loans.Taxpayers are paying high fees to borrow their own refund money. The IRS has become quite efficient …
Generally, cash or property that you receive as a gift or inheritance is not included in your income. Recipients of gifts do not need to declare them on their income tax return, regardless of the amount.
However, if a cash gift later produces income, such as dividends and capital gains, that income will be taxable and you will receive a 1099 form to indicate the taxable amount.
Donors can give cash gifts up to a certain amount each year without …
First, do a search of financial book titles by key words of interest (e.g., mutual funds, bankruptcy, life insurance) through an online book merchant such as Amazon.com. Read the description of the book’s contents and reviews by readers.
Some online merchants will also allow you to view the book covers, table of contents, and even a sample chapter. Of course, you can also walk into a book store and check out financial books in person.
Look at the publication date …
If you qualify for both credits, you can take both credits. You may also be able to claim the Child and Dependent Care Credit. Each of these tax credits has its own rules.
See IRS Publication 17 for general information on filing your taxes, Publication 596 for the Earned Income Tax Credit, Publication 972 for the Child Tax Credit, and Publication 503 for Child and Dependent Care Credit for information on who can deduct each type of credit. To receive …
The answer to this question depends on many personal factors including your age, your current portfolio holdings, your investment risk tolerance and financial goals, and how soon you might need to get back money from your invested assets. The younger you are, the more time is on your side to ride out the effects of stock market volatility.
A strong case for buying stocks can certainly be made. Historically, common stocks have outperformed all other investments over time periods of …
According to the Credit Card Smarts Calculator from Advantage Publications, a $1,000 debt on a credit card that has an 18% annual percentage rate (APR) repaid by making 4% minimum monthly payments will take 6 years to pay off and cost $1,465, including $465 in interest. This assumes that no additional charges are made. If you can pay 6% of the outstanding balance ($60 per month), you will cut the repayment time by two years and save $399 in interest.…
Certificates of deposit (CDs) require that money be kept in the account for a specific period of time to receive a specified return. CDs often require a larger initial investment than a savings account but yield a higher return. The longer the deposit length, the higher the interest rate will generally be because savers are keeping their money on deposit for a longer period of time. CDs are insured by the FDIC for up to $250,000, just like a passbook …
Financial institutions such as commercial banks, savings and loan associations, and credit unions offer the safest alternatives for savings. Government insurance programs such as FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) or NCUA (National Credit Union Association) guarantee the safety of deposits up to certain amounts (currently $250,000 per depositor). Savings accounts are very liquid and require a low or no minimum balance. However, the rate of return for passbook accounts is frequently below the rate of inflation, which results in a …
Veteran’s Administration (VA) loans are available to members of the armed forces, veterans, and their spouses. Loans are made for up to 100 percent of the home’s value. The home must be the borrower’s primary residence. Loans may be assumable. The veterans must have served 180 days in peacetime or 90 days in wartime, including recent Gulf and Iraq wars.
For more information about VA loan eligibility, see http://www.valoans.com/va_article?id=319.
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A Roth 401(k) is retirement savings option that became available in 2006. With Roth 401(k)s, companies can add an option to their 401(k) plan that enables employees to make after-tax contributions. The contribution limit for a Roth 401(k) is the same as the contribution limit for a regular 401(k). In 2017, the limit is $18,000 plus an extra $6,000 “catch up” amount for those who will be age 50 or older by the end of the year ($24,000 total).
If …
