Political donations aren't tax deductible?

Man, thank goodness I didn't shell out those 10G's I was planning on sending to Obama! haha .... j/k of course. But seriously, i had no idea you couldn't write them off. I bet you used to be able to, but like always, someone (or a bunch of someones) ruined it for all of us.

It's surely not the end of the world, and def. shouldn't be one of the top reasons to donate to a cause, but it did get me thinking. Esp. considering i was just about to donate for the first time ever to a campaign! (can you guess whose?) I would have just slapped it right into my "contributions" folder at home, an added it to next year's tax #'s.

I guess it's good that I subscribe to Money Magazine then ;) Their brief, and to the point, write up on this caught my eager eyes on my daily commute in this morning. It was titled, "Funding Your Candidate" (June, pg23) and shared 3 things to keep in mind:

1) You can give only so much. There are actually caps on how much you can donate - imagine that! Here are the limits each person can donate for 2008 (they are adjusted every 2 years for inflation):

• $2,300 per candidate, per primary
• $2,300 per candidate, per general election
• $28,500 to a national party
• $10,000 per state or local party
• $5,000 per political action committee (PAC)
• UNLIMITED donations to a 527 - some sort of candidate lobby group...maybe this is why i hear of people donating $100,000 here, $200,000 there?

2) Your info will go public. W-O-W, never saw that one coming! (i'm being serious there...although to some of you it will probably come across sarcastic. haha) Apparently there were some reforms after Watergate, and every time you make a contribution, you ALSO have to provide the following:

• your name
• your job
• your employer
• your address

Now, if your total donations are UNDER $200, then your info will just stay w/ the campaign. BUT, and a very interesting one indeed, if your contributions go OVER $200, your info then gets forwarded to the FEC, who then posts it on their website - FEC.gov !!! And then there is ANOTHER then, where it THEN gets picked up by sites like OpenSecrets.org, and FundRace.org who put them in searchable databases! Please excuse another one - W-O-W!

3) No Federal tax deductions for any contribution. We already covered this one, but Money does a good job of pointing another option out for those deductible-hungry citizens. And that is to donate the said money to a charity that your candidate supports. This way, you help them out, the charity out, and yourself out ;)

So, what will i be doing with this new found information? I'm gonna donate directly to my man Obama. As I've mentioned, I've never once done so in my lifetime, and since my budget only allows for amounts UNDER $200, I won't have to get freaked out about my info all over the net.

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Operation Tax Rebate - SUCCESS!

I salute you, Government, and take back all those dirty little words I've said about you. And as soon as this bad boy clears, it's off to the race tracks i go! haha...j/k. you know very well i am MUCH too frugal/nerdy to do something as exhilarating as that.

It'll be partying with the other greenbacks in my Emergency Fund.

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No sign of my rebate check yet...

Maybe i'll use this imaginary $600 to buy some imaginary cookies and unicorns? haha

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UPDATE: According to msnbc.com, the "00 to 20" ones will be deposited in the bank BY Friday, May 2nd ... likely story ;) For other ss's, check out the latest round of dates.

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Wesley Snipes gets 3 year jail sentence

This has been all over the news lately, but it wasn't until i saw DINK's post that i put two and two together, and realized how this fits in to personal finance (yes, i'm a little slow). You can check out his post for the gritty details - i just wanted to offer one piece of advice:

Mr. Snipes - Please do not forget to pay your taxes next year. Thanks, U.S. Gov't.

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Rebate checks to hit the stands on Monday!

800,000 Rebate checks are going out on Monday (April 28th), hooray!

According to money.cnn.com:

"The federal government, eager to boost the flagging economy, will start distributing special tax rebates on Monday - five days earlier than expected, the Treasury Department said Thursday."

All in all, 130 MILLION tax filers will receive a rebate check this year! According to this new change, i should be getting mine MONDAY. How about you?

It's all dependent on your last 2 digits of your social, and how you filed. You can visit the IRS page for more details, but keep in mind you'll be getting it sooner w/ these new changes. OPAH!

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ps: check out the Q&A i had w/ my accountant for more info on these rebates.

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Filing taxes TODAY??? Who are you, Superman?

I just talked w/ two friends that are sending out their taxes TODAY! aka April the 14th, aka the DAY BEFORE THEY'RE DUE.

What is going on with everyone? Are people not as afraid of the Gov't as I am? Man, seriously you all have balls. Big Huge ones. Either that or you're super cool and don't take crap from anyone. (in which case, how can i be like you?)

Maybe i never really paid attention, or cared even, but this really surprises me. Does laziness play a part in this? I always have to get it done early (like in Feb), esp if i'm getting money back. Even a fellow PF blogger, Mapgirl, just recently sent hers in - but at least she knows what she's doing.

Anyways, just thought i'd share...maybe next year i'll wait to the last minute so i can be a member of the Cool Club.

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Uncle Sam suuuure likes my money.

As i'm sure i've mentioned before, i have a pretty unique workplace. Not only is the work itself freakin' awesome, but our benefits are simply incredible. One of the *best* ones are what i like to call the "good mood bonus!"

Good Mood Bonus: (n.) A sizable chunk of money your boss hands out to each and everyone at the company when he's in a helluva good mood! Bonus not to reflect profits, project completion, nor work performance... simply random.

How BAD A$$ is that? I was given a cool $1k for just "being" :) This isn't the first time my widened eyes have seen this, but it IS the first time i've sensed the evil lurking of Uncle Sam around so quickly. It's funny how every time i get my hands on some dollah dollah bills, that good for nothing beast snatches a handful of it before my very own eyes. I honestly believe the gov't enjoys being Debbie Downer. He's like our money shadow...wherever your money goes, he goes!

Although i'm not exactly sure how our accounting handles these extra "lump sums" of money, i am fairly certain they treat them as simply that. Extra "lump sums" on top of our regularly salary. Instead of the $3125 (gross) bi-weekly check i'd normally get, it magically turns into $4125 (gross) for that paycheck only; the next check turns back to $3125. So although this extra $ is still taxed, i'm thinking it's taxed as "salary money" instead of "bonus money"? At least that's how it was sorta-kinda explained to me by a senior here.

At any rate, that evil uncle took out a chunk of my $1k, and spit the rest back at me. I'm not totally complaining here, don't get me wrong. FREE money is FREE money, no matter how you slice it up. I just find the whole experience a bit interesting when it comes to the tax side of things ;)

So, out of the original $1k, how much do you think i got back from it after all taxes, ss, 401k withdrawals, etc? A chunkity chunk of $467.47! haha...all i have to say is, MAN that guy is good.

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i forgot to mention what i'll be doing w/ this extra money: straiiiiiiiiiiight into my Emergency Fund!

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Is the IRS serious?

The IRS is spending $42 MILLION to inform us that the rebate checks will soon arrive!

Direct quote from MSNBC.com:

"The notices are going out this month to an estimated 130 million households who filed returns for the 2006 tax year, at a cost $41.8 million..."

I'm not the smartest man around, but there has gotta be a cheaper way to alert everyone right? I'm racking my brain to come up w/ an idea myself, but crazily enough i can't! haha..... i know posting it online, such as the MSNBC site, as well as in newspapers is a start, but not everyone reads the news. Next i thought about emails, but how would they have ours? They COULD get it off of our tax returns, but not everyone posts it. Plus, not everyone uses email, particularly the elderly. What about calling around using one of those automated messages like those annoying car warranty people? Nevermind, that's stupid cuz we'd hang up anyways even if they DID have our #.

So perhaps sending out a letter IS the most effective way, and i'm just a sucker for statistical headlines? All i know is that it just sounds really freakin' C-R-A-Z-Y!

*more info the the rebates here.

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The 411 on Bush's Tax Rebates.

Why good morning my fellow pf'ers! Is it me, or does it seem like this week's going to be one helluva good time? Whatever the case, i wish you all nothing but great financial success this week :)

Speaking of which, I've received some great news regarding Bush's famous $600/$1200 tax rebates. There's been a lot of myths and unanswered questions around town about them, especially amongst the PF blogosphere, and I hadn't quite grasped the situation entirely until this weekend. My accountant shot out an email on it, and then since i'm a curious little J., I asked her a few questions to clarify these circulating myths. I'm always cautious of "free" money, so hopefully this helps you out as much as it did me. Here's what we got (summarized):

Most people who pay taxes, or earn at least $3,000, AND file an '07 federal income tax return before April 15th, 2008 will receive this stimulus package rebate. The most you can receive is $600 for individuals, and $1,200 for couples (w/ an additional $300 per child). If you're single and make more than 75k (couples 150k or more) you will receive smaller checks. If you make more than 87k (couples 175k), unfortunately you will not receive a rebate.

She also mentioned that in order to receive a stimulus payment in 2008, you must file your '07 tax return by April 15, 2008. That's all you have to do! No extra paperwork or anything. Here are now the questions i had for her, as well as her answers (also summarized):

1) Are these basically "future advances" on next year's tax refunds? NO, they are not future advances.
2) Will we be taxed on these? No.
3) If so, are we forced to accept them or can we turn them down? You can turn it down, but only if you receive it via check and choose not to cash it. If you picked direct deposit when you filed your taxes, then this rebate will also be direct deposited into the same account and thus you cannot turn it down. Either way you'd basically be losing out on money as they are not taxed, and do not harm you.
4) Are these one-time rebates, or yearly rebates? Yes, they are one time rebates.

Soooo, there you have it! Straight from a CPA's mouth :) I hope this helps you as much as it helps me. Perhaps now I can actually get excited for this "free" money! he he... As always, please contact a professional if you're seeking professional advice. I am not a professional, merely a blogger trying to learn more.

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2 quickies today.

#1) The IRS is freaking FAST fast FAST! My state and federal taxes were literally JUST sent in online (Last Thursday), and I already got both direct deposited into my account! Seriously, how tight is that? This is the first tax return i've done since buying our house, and i am totally LOVING home ownership right now :)

Federal: $3,036: The timing is impeccable. My Emergency Fund was down to $105 this week (from $3500+ last month due to our crazy Heloc freezing), so i welcome this sum with wide open arms :) I'll be updating my net worth and Sexy Goals in the next few days, and now i'm sexcited!

State: $849: Yeee-haw! Another pile which should hopefully make it into my Emergency Fund this week.

#2) I am revising this site a bit, as you can probably tell, so i huge sorry in advance if i delete comments, feeds, or anything else that can possibly happen. My goal of writing one post a week day is still alive though, so don't you worry about that my good friends. I hope you like the changes!

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Do you tackle your own taxes?

I'm now clear for the year! Is it weird that i actually enjoy getting everything organized and then waiting to see how much i won?! haha...There's just something about recapping the entire last year and having an overall look at how well/worse you did compared to previous years. The fact that we're "forced" to do it also plays a part i suppose as it's not like we can just skip a year ;)

The only part i really can't stand is when you're patiently waiting for all the w2's, 1099's, and all other sorts of forms to roll into the mailbox. It's frustrating when you're waiting for that very last piece to the puzzle, and it somehow takes that company an entire month after all the others to send it in! arghhhh...

At any rate, i finally had mine done and i'm getting back almost $4,000!!! I gotta tell you, i'm pretty damn ecstatic too. This is the largest return i've EVER received.

I also forgot to mention that i use a CPA to do my dirty work. is that bad? does everyone else around the finance bloggeroo do it themselves? I feel like mine "finds" ways to get me more back each year, so the money i pay her is recouped. Over the past 4 years using her, it's cost me a total of $700.00 ($195, $195, $155, and $155 respectfully). Wow, that actually looks like a lot seeing it that way!

I can definitely see the benefits of filing your own:
- saving $150+ each year
- learning HOW to do it
- filing at your own leisure.

But, for me, the negatives win over:
- messing up
- not catching ways to save more & giving the gov't MY money.
- and going to jail

That last one is pretty ridiculous, but it IS indeed a fear i have. Going to jail when you didn't knowingly do anything bad! *shiver*. Granted there are some shady CPA's out there, but i trust mine pretty well and so far so good all around.

Who knows though, perhaps i shall read all about this stuff so next year i can do it my self. I'm interested in seeing how many PF'ers out there actually file their own? I guess there's no harm in at least trying it first, and then shooting it over to my CPA for review right? I'll put it on my list of "things i should probably do, but don't feel like doing" this year.

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