2009 Tax Deductions for Donations to Haiti
February 8, 2010 | 
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Tax payers who make a charitable donation towards Haitian earthquake victims this year can write it off on their 2009 return this spring, instead of waiting until they file their 2010 returns. Congress signed this special provision into law to encourage Americans to help the Haitian victims.
Donations must be in the form of cash contributions to an organization providing relief to Haiti. Contributions made via cell phone do qualify, the phone bill will meet the IRS’s record keeping requirement. You must make your donation by the end of February to be eligible for the deduction in 2009.
A similar law was passed in 2005 for donations to the Indian Ocean tsunami.
Submitted by Tammy Schneider
Questions:
tammy.schneider@glassjacobson.com
9 Things to Know About The EITC
February 5, 2010 | Subscribe to our RSS Feed
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is very easy to overlook, but could be a huge boost to taxpayers adversely affected by the hard economic times. Here are 9 things you need to know about this valuable credit:
- Just because you didn’t qualify last year, doesn’t mean you won’t this year. As your financial, marital or parental situations change from year-to-year, you should review the EITC eligibility rules to determine whether you qualify.
- If you qualify, it could be worth up to $5,657 this year. EITC not only reduces the federal tax you owe, but could result in a refund. New EITC provisions mean more money for larger families.
- If you qualify, you must file a federal income tax return and specifically claim the credit in order to get it – even if you are not otherwise required to file.
- Your filing status cannot be Married Filing Separately.
- You must have a valid Social Security Number. You, your spouse – if filing a joint return – and any qualifying child listed on Schedule EIC must have a valid SSN issued by the Social Security Administration.
- You must have earned income.
- Married couples and single people without kids may qualify. If you do not have qualifying children, you must also meet the age and residency requirements as well as dependency rules.
- Special rules apply to members of the U.S. Armed Forces in combat zones. Members of the military can elect to include their nontaxable combat pay in earned income for the EITC. If you make this election, the combat pay remains nontaxable.
- It’s easy to determine whether you qualify. The EITC Assistant, an interactive tool available on IRS.gov, removes the guesswork from eligibility rules. Just answer a few simple questions to find out if you qualify and estimate the amount of your EITC.
Submitted by Sam Cohen
Questions?
5 Reasons For Direct Deposit- #1 is Faster Refund!
February 4, 2010 | Subscribe to our RSS Feed
If you want to get your refund as quickly as possible, have the IRS deposit your refund directly into your bank account. By choosing Direct Deposit, you can get your refund much sooner than if you chose to have a paper check mailed to you.
A couple more benefits:
1. Security Thousands of paper checks are returned to the IRS by the U.S. Post Office every year as undeliverable mail. Direct Deposit eliminates the possibility you won’t receive your check and prevents your refund from being stolen.
2. Convenience The money goes directly into your bank account.
3. Ease When you’re preparing your return, simply follow the instructions on your return.
4. Options You can also deposit your refund into multiple accounts. With the split refund option, taxpayers can divide their refunds among as many as three checking or savings accounts and up to three different U.S. financial institutions.
Submitted by Sam Cohen
Questions: