tax efficient

Do you efile? If you do then you already know about many of the advantages that efiling has over the “traditional” paper method of filing a tax return. If not, maybe you don’t know about the benefits of electronically filing your tax return. Maybe you’re like a friend of mine who refused to get a [...]

As the year is winding down, you may be considering some ways to lesson your 2009 tax burden. Should you take advantage of the federal tax credits Congress has provided certain energy efficiency expenditures? Well, maybe. This post is intended to help you understand these tax credits of energy expenditures and decide if they are [...]

Filing an unfiled tax return or even multiple years of unfiled tax returns isn’t as big of a deal as you may believe. Even if you cannot pay the taxes that are owed with the return it isn’t that big of a deal. It is a big deal if you keep waiting longer and longer [...]

We are inevitably going to be divided into two groups — the people who can’t live without their gadgets, and those who believe that the saturation of gadgets in our everyday lives has simply made things more complicated. However, we can all agree that there is a place in our lives for the gadgets which [...]

The first-time home buyer tax credit extension cleared a hurdle in the Senate today with a 98-0 vote, and it could be a done deal if approved by the House this week. All over the U.S., there is an increasingly heated argument over the benefits of the First Time Home Buyers Credit and this extension. [...]

With the recent stock market crash, many people are understandably wary about investing. Concerns about the volatility of the stock market, and the prospect of losses during downturn, have convinced many that stock investing is not for them. However, “safer” investments like cash and bonds may not provide the needed returns for your portfolio to [...]

Everyone knows that healthy personal finances requires debt reduction. However, paying down debt can become discouraging when you have a great deal of it, from a variety of sources. Paying a little bit extra every month on each of your debts doesn’t seem to make a dent, thanks to high interest charges. Instead, you can [...]

We hear a lot about diversifying across asset classes — owning stocks, bonds, real estate, etc. We also hear a lot about diversifying within asset classes — owning mutual funds of hundreds of stocks rather than owning a few individual stocks. But there’s another, lesser-known form of diversification from which you could benefit: Tax diversification.

Photo [...]

The Cash for Clunkers Bill (aka. Gas Guzzler Rebate) entitles you to a $3,500 or $4,500 credit for trading a drivable car made within the last 25 years, with a combined city/highway fuel economy rating of 18 mpg or less to a new higher fuel efficiency car. If the mileage improvement is 4 mpg or [...]

In this Ask the Expert with Larry Swedroe article, Randy is wondering if it’s time to go back into the high yield corporate market. However, he’s concerned that the recent market rally may be just a bear market rally. Here’s the question from Randy:
Is it safe to enter into the high yield corporate market yet, [...]