My Mind on Mortgages

If there is one thing I’ve learned over the years with regard to personal financial planning it’s that reviewing tax changes EARLY in the new year is important.  By the time December rolls around it is typically too late to make any meaningful changes to your tax bill for that year.  This will be especially [...]

The Oregonian’s Brent Hunsberger wrote a good article over the weekend outlining Oregon’s confusing property tax rules.  What makes things difficult for homeowners to understand is why their property taxes rise even when their home value declines.  Brent does a good job of explaining: “…tax bills will go up even though real market values declined [...]

I was recently asked by a real estate professional if I knew the tax implication of a homeowner having mortgage debt forgiven via a short sale or foreclosure.   At the time I did not but have since researched the issue and thought I would blog about it.  Keep in mind that I AM NOT [...]

I’ve recently received a few questions regarding the tax deductibility of mortgage insurance.  I blogged about this a while back to I thought I would re-post the link.  Click HERE.

If you were one of the many homeowner’s that refinanced in 2010 you are probably wondering if any of the costs associated with refinancing are deductible on your taxes.  You can download the IRS’s publication 936 that deals with home mortgage interest HERE.  Or, I have included some of the highlights below: Points: In general [...]

I thought I would re-post a post (can I say that?) I made back in August of 2008 concerning the tax implications of the  sale of a primary residence.  Most people know that a capital gains exclusion exists for those who meet the ownership & use tests up to $500,000 for joint filers ($250,000 for [...]

If you’re looking for an easy reference for some of the general and real estate related tax provisions in the 2010 & 2011 tax code I have put together THIS FORM.  Feel free to download it, print it off, share it with friends, or whatever else you can think of.  And if you have any [...]

I came across THIS VIDEO today and thought it offered a good concise summary of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010.  I am currently putting together a flier that highlights some of the general provisions of the 2011 tax code and will post it in the next week.

In case you’re wondering what is embedded in the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 here are the highlights thanks to the Financial Planning Assoication: HIGHLIGHTS Two-year extension of all current tax rates through 2012 Rates remain 10, 25, 28, 33, and 35 percent 2-year extension of reduced 0 or [...]

I was reading the WSJ this morning and came across THIS POST which references a report issued by the National League of Cities which shows property tax revenues declining for the first time in this recession.  It’s kind of interesting if you think about it.  Typically property taxes are based on the value of the [...]