tax free

I recently heard an interesting discussion on Dave Ramsey’s radio show about the length of time you need to live in a home in order for it to make sense going through the process and expense of purchasing it. It’s a rare occasion that I disagree with Dave Ramsey, but in this instance, I [...]

April 15 looms on the horizon. There may be any number of reasons that you are not prepared to file a tax return, from not having your dividend statements back, to waiting to get a home buyer tax credit, to straightforward procrastination. No matter your reasons, you can actually file for an extension. Any taxpayer [...]

iPhones are often criticized as expensive and ostentatious. Why buy a smart phone when you can make calls from a $10 pay as you go phone? It may seem like a waste of money, but used properly an iPhone can be a powerful tool in your personal finance arsenal. Here is just a small sampling of [...]

To help you make the most of your 2009 taxes, here are some tax tips to help you organize, prepare, and take advantage of the available tax deductions and tax credits for 2009 tax year. Instead of trying to compile my own list, I reached out to a few personal finance bloggers to share their [...]

Economies develop and move forward under almost any conditions. Mankind can adapt, survive and even make a living in the totalitarian economies of Chavez and Castro to the laissez-faire, free market economies of Canada and Hong Kong. In a manner of speaking, free market is alive and well wherever people live. Sometimes it is a [...]

Prior to 2010, individuals were permitted to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA under the tax law for Roth IRA conversion.  There were only two stipulations that governs the conversion: (1) you have to pay taxes on the converted money and (2) you must be within the income limit which determined your eligibility [...]

The contribution limit for IRA did not change for 2010. Like 2009, the maximum you may contribute to your Traditional and Roth IRAs combined is $5,000. If you are 50 years and older, your contribution limit is $6,000 (due to $1,000 catch-up contribution allowance). Note this is a per individual limit and as a married [...]

Many Americans find themselves in quite the situation financially these days.  Their situation is nothing short of bondage.  They are completely trapped because of years of borrowing money to finance a lifestyle that was unattainable without debt.  They aren’t the only guilty party.  The government has encouraged it and the banking system was more than [...]

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 [...]

The year’s end is quickly approaching, and with it rests the spending deadline of flexible spending accounts (FSAs). What is an FSA? A flexible spending account is an account that employees can use to cover out-of-pocket medical expenses completely tax-free. FSAs are built as employees make equal, recurring contributions from their paychecks to the account.
Why [...]