What Does the “Bail Out” Mean for You?
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, signed October 3, 2008, includes more than $100 billion in tax breaks and various special provisions. A word of caution is in order…many of these provisions are extensions of previous ones due to expire or have been enacted only temporarily. For example, the basic deposit amount insured by the FDIC has been increased from $100,000...

The "411" on "529 Plans"
The new college-savings plans can help you save for your child’s education, but they’re not for everyone. For those unfamiliar with the term, 529 saving plans actually come in two forms: prepaid tuition plans and college-savings plans. Some state plans offer versions of both...

Multi State Tax Compliance
Nexus is defined as “a physical connection that subjects a taxpayer to the requirement of filing and paying tax”. In some cases when business transactions take place outside of the home state, the business has many times unknowingly established nexus. When establishing nexus the business may now be responsible for taxes within the state...

A New Form 990
Form 990, the tax return filed for non-profit organizations recently experienced many updates. The changes to the new form, effecting the 2008 tax year are intended to increase transparency of non-profit organizations, promote tax compliance and minimize the burden on filers...

Economic Stimulus Legislation Offers Tax Breaks to Businesses
In addition to providing tax rebate checks to individual taxpayers, the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, signed into law on February 13, 2008 created enhanced incentives for small businesses investing in qualifying property, including a return of the 50% bonus depreciation allowance and a doubling of the Section 179 expensing limit...

First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit ... or is it?
As part of a major housing bill, a temporary tax credit was signed into law in July of 2008 to provide an incentive to first-time homebuyers. This “credit” allows a taxpayer who is a first-time homebuyer a refundable credit equal to 10% of the purchase price of the residence, not to exceed $7,500 ($3,750 for a married person filing separately). This credit is applicable for homes purchased after...

Before Tapping into your Retirement Plan, Think Twice
We all know that saving for retirement should be our top priority, but there are times when you may have no other source of money to meet emergency expenses. Under certain circumstances as a plan participant, you may be able to turn to your retirement plan for a loan or a hardship withdrawal. Of course, this should be a last resort. Given the current state of our economy...

Financial Fitness - Summer/Fall 2008

To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, please note, any advice contained in this publication was not intended, or written, to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein. This publication is distributed with the understanding that the publisher and distributor are not providing legal, accounting or other professional advice and assume no liability whatsoever in conjunction with the information contained within this publication.