Finance Tips

Looking for a tax-advantaged college savings plan that has no age restrictions, no income phaseout limits, no residency requirements — and one you can use to pay for more than just tuition?

Consider the 529 savings plan, an increasingly popular way to save for higher-education expenses, which have more than tripled over the past two decades — with annual costs of more than $30,000 per year for the average private four-year college.1 Named after the section of the tax code that authorized them, 529 plans (also known as qualified state tuition programs) are now offered in almost every state.

Most people have heard about the original form of 529, the state-operated prepaid tuition plan, which allows you to purchase units of future tuition at today’s rates, with the plan assuming the responsibility of investing the funds to keep pace with inflation. It’s practically guaranteed that the cost of an equal number of units of education in the sponsoring state will be covered, regardless of investment performance or the rate of tuition increase. Of course, each state plan has a different mix of rules and restrictions. Prepaid tuition programs typically will pay future college tuition at any of the sponsoring state’s eligible colleges and universities (and some will pay an equal amount to private and out-of-state institutions). continue reading…

Usually, those who have credit difficulties or have past bankruptcies on their credit history need to resort to non-traditional lenders in order to obtain an unsecured loan. Sadly, there are some dangers that those applying for unsecured loans with non-traditional lenders run. However, if you are well informed prior to applying, you’ll be able to avoid these problems and obtain your unsecured loan.

The main perils consist on running into unscrupulous companies that will take your money and give nothing in return. These companies are easy to avoid by following some suggestions. However, there are legit companies that do offer unsecured loans but the terms on those loans are far from advantageous and can easily lead someone to default or bankruptcy if the borrower is not careful enough.

Legit And Illegitimate Online Lenders

In order to identify an illegitimate online lender there are a couple of things that you need to be aware of: Online lenders should not charge you money upfront for a loan because any fee can be included into the loan’s payments. Thus, if you are required to send money in order to close on a loan deal, you should at least doubt the legitimacy of the lender. There are however some online companies that offer access and comparisons of different lenders and those can lawfully charge a small fee. continue reading…

Tax reform measures are enacted frequently by Congress, which makes it hard for U.S. taxpayers to know which deductions are currently available to help lower their tax liability. In fact, the head of the IRS once said that millions of taxpayers overpay their taxes every year because they overlook one of the many key tax deductions that are available to them.

1. One of the most overlooked deductions is state and local sales taxes.
2. Taxpayers may be able to take deductions for student-loan interest, out-of-pocket charitable contributions, moving expenses to take a first job, the child care tax credit, new points on home refinancing, health insurance premiums, home mortgage interest, tax-preparation services, and contributions to a traditional IRA.

Of course, some tax deductions disappear as adjusted gross income increases. And some deductions are subject to sunset provisions, which your tax professional can help you navigate.

Another key deduction is unreimbursed medical and dental expenses. For medical and dental bills paid during the past year that weren’t covered by insurance, a household may be able to deduct the amount that is greater than 7.5% of its adjusted gross income when calculating income taxes. continue reading…

Is an individual taxpayer, you are subject to two tax systems, the regular income tax and the alternative minimum tax (AMT). You are liable for the larger, and only the larger, of the two taxes. The original purpose of the AMT was to ensure that taxpayers who were allowed special favorable treatment on certain tax items pay at least a minimum amount of tax on their economic income. As personal incomes tend to rise each year, more taxpayers have become subject to the AMT. This is primarily due to not indexing the AMT exemption for inflation (which reduces your exposure to the AMT) while your regular tax deductions and exemptions are indexed (increased) for inflation.

The AMT tax computation starts with your regular taxable income that is then increased for certain tax benefits (in the regular tax liability computation) called preferences and adjustments. These include certain itemized deductions, the standard deduction, personal exemptions, certain tax-exempt interest, and income related to exercising certain stock options. You then reduce the amount by the AMT exemption, which for some high-income taxpayers is phased-out. The AMT is then computed and, as previously stated, you pay the larger of the regular tax or the AMT. continue reading…

Obtaining finance after a bankruptcy process is rather complicated but if you know the credit and income requirements you’ll need to meet and what kind of loan and amount to require, you’ll increase your chances of getting approved. The amount issue is particularly important because the risk implied in the transaction grows exponentially as the amount increases and thus, chances of getting approved decrease.

Requesting a high amount loan will not contribute to getting approved. Instead, if you do your homework, maintain a good credit history for at least six months and apply for a moderate amount loan you’ll definitely increase your chances of getting approved for a loan after bankruptcy. However, there are many things you need to take into account in order to do so.

Loan Amount Limits

There is no particular loan limit that you’ll need to respect. Truth is that each loan type differs and your financial and credit circumstances will also determine the amount limit that you’ll be able to apply for without risking a decline. There are however some guidelines that mere logic dictates and you should consider.

Secured loans will let you apply for higher amounts without risking a decline because the limit is fixed by the value of the property. However, for unsecured loans you’ll only be able to request small amount loans never higher than a couple of thousands. You need to understand that the risk involved in lending to someone that has gone through a bankruptcy is too high for a lender to take a higher risk by lending more money. continue reading…