The goal of this blog is to put tax information in an easier to understand format for US Taxpayers. Please verify all advice with that of a Tax expert or the IRS.
~Due Diligence Only~
Good news folks, it seems shoppers / consumers in the States of lower North America, may benefit from a sales tax holiday! It is getting close to back-to-school time, some nearer than others, so it appears that many States join in to help parents, and retailers get ready for school, and give them a day, weekend or longer to make purchases, without having to pay sales tax.
States who participate are likely to see increased sales figures, because sometimes just a few dollars in savings, can help a parent provide more for their students.
MA State Senators Michael Knapik, Stephen Brewer discuss holiday sales tax - YouTube
Published on Jul 23, 2014
State Senators Michael Knapik, R-Westfield and Stephen Brewer, D-Barre, speak on the Senate floor after a long debate over the sales tax holiday, which passed 28-9
The link to the chart which shows participating States is in the linked article at the top. If you want to pop this up real quick, the link is 2014 Sales Tax Holiday. There are only 17 States which participate, and some of them come and go. This would be a nice thing for other States to participate in.
"2014 Sales Tax Holiday
Beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday August 2, 2014, and ending at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday August 3, 2014, the State of Arkansas will hold its sales tax holiday allowing shoppers the opportunity to purchase certain School Supplies, School Art Supplies, School Instructional Materials, and clothing free of state and local sales or use tax.
All retailers are required to participate and may not charge tax on items that are legally tax-exempt during the Sales Tax Holiday."
Announcement from the I.R.S. June 11, 2014 (link above)
Now that the kiddos are out of school, there is that little relief that you no longer have to wait in long lines to drop the children off, but they will probably need oversight while you or your spouse work, or look for work.
Having to pay day care during the off-school months can hit an already tight budget hard. It will be a big help to at least receive tax credits for amounts paid during the 2014 tax year.
Summer daycare for dependents, which counts children under 13 years old, and any other Qualifying Dependent, who is your dependent or would be your dependent.
Perhaps your elderly father lives with you. You house him over 6 months of the year, you help him buy and attain medicine, take him to the doctor, help him with hygiene, etc. He would qualify as your dependent, except he receives gross income of more than $3,900.00; not enough to survive on, but too much to be rated as a dependent. If you have to take him to daycare, or hire someone to come to your home to watch him, those payments may be eligible for the Child & Dependent Care Credit.
Example 1: Say you have a 5 year old son, and a 16 year old son. You decide to pay your son to watch his younger brother during the summer, while you work, and your deadbeat husband "looks for work." This may be the best arrangement you can afford, but you would not be able to claim the Child & Dependent Care for those payments.
Example 2: Your deadbeat husband finally got run over by a reindeer, and lived, but he is just a vegetable. You have two dependent children, ages 4 and 7. Your payments made to a Qualifying Provider (who must give a SSN/or an EIN) for care while you work are probably eligible for the credit, because your Spouse is incapable of caring for the children.
Example 3: In order to take up the slack of having to pay for Child Care all summer, you enroll them in camp for two weeks solid, thinking that you can deduct the cost of the "Over Night" Camp as Child and/or Dependent Care. You would not be eligible for the credit in this case.
IRS.gov Child & Dependent Care Expenses - YouTube
. If you are counting on the Child and Dependent Care Credit for your 2014 taxes, make sure to follow all of the rules. Keep good records, and reciepts for all monies paid out. Good Luck, Happy Summer, and don't forget to sign up for Summer Reading Programs -2014.
Summer is right around the corner for most High School students in the U.S.
Many students will be working a job this summer for the very first time.
While most people have heard the term "Income Tax," or people ranting and raving about having to pay taxes, the IRS has information about what you can expect when it comes to your income and taxes.
Many young people will not even be required to file a tax return on monies earned, because that amount is often just a couple of hundred dollars. On the other hand, if the worker would like to get the Federal and State tax withholding returned, they may want to go ahead and file a tax return.
Although I am often angered by the way our tax, medicare and social security withholdings are spent or managed, I have always been taught that our method of taxation is a way that we can all pitch in for the big ticket items like roads, bridges and other infra-structure type things that we could never afford individually.
I think that corporations that call themselves American companies should required to pay their parts of this National plan, and let all of us equally enjoy the partnership of everyone involved pitching in.
Some High School students may want to look into the opportunities available during the Summer, with the U.S. Government.** Today I received an announcement of several opportunities for those interested in Interning with the E.P.A. (Environmental Protection Agency). These are well paid positions, and help young and disadvantaged youth get a foot in the door.
Finding & Applying for Jobs with the U.S. Government - YouTube
**USAJOBS - EPA Biologist Scholarship program ATF Internships - One of the best things about applying with JOBS.Gov is that once you enter all of your information onto the site, you simply sign up for a feed of the type of jobs you are looking for, and apply. Of course, as your work history changes you will need to update. Good Luck out there!
This blog post goes out to fellow citizens living under the U.S. Tax Code.
March 31st 2014 - Open Enrollment Ends
Something that I have always appreciated about taxes is that anyone can argue about Democrats and Republicans, greed, sexual orientation, minimum wage, Benghazi and the Keystone Pipeline, but it is tax law changes from year to year that tell the true story of what is going on in Washington D.C. I love knowing tax law and code changes, because those are historic registers for what each Executive Branch, Judicial Branch and Legislative Branch allowed or made happen during their own tenures in office. There are not many people I know who have followed the tax laws for more than forty years, but all of us can attest to what has occurred and how over the last thirty years, the middle class has been overwhelmed with the burden of our fair and equitable system. Just like the Holy Roman Empire (I still hear the repeated phrase of my World History professor; 'It was not Holy, It was not Roman, and it was not an Empire.") America was only a fair and equitable system for a miniscule period of time. As soon as Europeans made landfall in America, there was a systematic program of genocide and the grabbing of all resources by a handful of people. There have been years that have been good to the Middle Class tax-wise, but since the creation of the Alternative Minimum Tax (I have argued and fussed for its repeal for decades...), the Middle Class has been doomed. It was during that time that Presidents and Congress empowered the rights of Corporate Welfare over that of living breathing human beings. The Affordable Care Act termed by everyone as "ObamaCare" was a project/law in the making for quite a few years. Because of all the political wrangling it has turned into a Clown-Car Circus of confusion and misinformation. For the purpose of this blog post, my political opinion is Switzerland. Not political, but what the tax law changes and ACA have to do with U.S. Taxpayers, and the importance of getting good information and assistance before it is too late. The following are links to "The Affordable Care Act" - IRS website.http://www.irs.gov/uac/Affordable-Care-Act-Tax-Provisions-Home
If you follow the above link to the IRS Website, you can go to the Healthcare.gov link from there or I have copied the link here: HealthCare.gov
Open Enrollment for the Health Insurance Marketplace: The open enrollment period to purchase health care coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace for 2014 began Oct. 1, 2013 and runs through March 31, 2014. When you get health insurance through the marketplace, you may be able to get advance payments of the premium tax credit that will immediately help lower your monthly premium. Learn more at HealthCare.gov.
Premium Tax Credit: If you get insurance through the Marketplace, you may be eligible to claim the premium tax credit. You can elect to have advance payments of the tax credit sent directly to your insurer during 2014, or wait to claim the credit when you file your tax return in 2015. If you choose to have advance payments sent to your insurer, you will have to reconcile the payments on your 2014 tax return, which will be filed in 2015. If you’re already receiving advance payments of the credit, you need do nothing at this time unless you have a change in circumstance. Learn More.
Change in Circumstances: If you're receiving advance payments of the premium tax credit to help pay for your insurance coverage, you should report life changes, such as income, marital status or family size changes, to your marketplace. Reporting changes will help to make sure you are getting the proper amount of advance payments.
Individual Shared Responsibility Payment: Starting January 2014, you and your family must have health care coverage, have an exemption from coverage, or make a payment when you file your 2014 tax return in 2015. Most people already have qualifying health care coverage and will not need to do anything more than maintain that coverage throughout 2014. Learn More.
Depending on where you live, you may be getting very bad, disjointed or terrible information regarding the Affordable Care Act. That information can cost you big at tax time and this is why I am joining with the IRS and Healthcare.gov to beg you to find out the facts about ACA before you make an expensive mistake based on the lies of politicians and actors. State Health Departments across the U.S., where the State did accept the Medicaid Expansion have received funding and JOBS to help citizens get information, and all of the help they need to enroll.
