K I'll start

How long do I have to wait on 1099s before I file my taxes?

12/11/2008 4:22:14 PM

Two moons after the equinox.

12/11/2008 4:22:58 PM

you appear to be lost

this isn't chit chat

12/11/2008 4:27:25 PM

Oh shit, sry.

12/11/2008 4:38:37 PM

They don't have to mail them out until the end of January. Also if you don't get one, you are still responsible for putting the information on your 1040. You don't actually send the IRS the 1099, so it's not a big deal.

12/11/2008 5:43:11 PM

once you get all your forms, you can fill it out and file. just be sure you have them all or else you will have to file an amended return

12/11/2008 6:19:55 PM

i thought this thread is about legally avoid taxes.

12/11/2008 9:19:25 PM

at what point do your gambling winnings start to become less of a gray area and more of a "where the fuck did this money come from?" area

12/12/2008 1:41:28 AM

there is no gray area. you either have gambling income or you dont.

12/12/2008 10:40:55 AM

so who [else] is looking forward to that $7500 credit?

1/12/2009 11:11:42 PM

thatd be me.

1/12/2009 11:17:26 PM

^^^i would think that any money transfers under $10,000 would be more of a gray area. I have had friends that cashed out $5,000 at a time and didn't claim any of it and nothing was ever said.

I am no tax man though so this isn't advice at all.

1/12/2009 11:22:58 PM

the IRS doesn't go through your bank accounts looking for $5K transfers, now if your friends had gotten audited then the auditors would probably find the unaccounted for $5K...at that point I have no idea what would happen.

its a risk not to claim gambling winnings. how much of a risk depends on your personal situation.

1/12/2009 11:33:40 PM

^^^^I probably won't be getting in on the $7500 credit this year because if if the wife and I do buy, it'll be after we've already filed taxes. However, I am looking forward to the $1200 economic stimulus payment that we couldn't get last year.

1/13/2009 10:50:22 AM

http://lifehacker.com/5125304/get-your-tax-question-answered-free-this-month

1/13/2009 11:01:39 AM

Quote :

"^^^I probably won't be getting in on the $7500 credit this year because if if the wife and I do buy, it'll be after we've already filed taxes."

Quote :

"First-time home buyers who purchase a new home in 2009 before the July 1 cut-off can choose to file an amended 2008 return or request the credit on their 2009 tax return."

link.

1/13/2009 11:03:55 AM

I am eligible for the $7500 credit, but I don't think i will take it. yeah it would be nice, there is at least one high dollar item that I need to buy, and it would be an immense help. Interest free loan, yadda yadda yadda.... I just somehow can't bring myself to do it, because the extra $500 a year in the future might be nice?

Someone convince me why i should or should not get it please. I guess i could kinda see it if i were to invest the money, but i'm kinda apathetic towards that option for some reason.

1/13/2009 11:11:04 AM

that just makes no sense.

take the money, put it in a 3% SECU money market, you've got $225 per year in free money to spend. or get more ambitious and stick it somewhere else and go for more returns.

and you've got a larger rainy day fund if you ever need it. i see no reason to turn down the money

1/13/2009 11:18:41 AM

seriously, why would you not take an interest free loan?

I wish I had bought my house last year instead of 2005 so I'd be eligible.

1/13/2009 11:25:41 AM

Yeah I bank with SECU and did the math at 3% right before you posted that. I guess that is a good option. It just boils down to the fact that i don't NEED the money, and i am slightly averse to the idea of any loan, even one without interest, unless truly needed.

[Edited on January 13, 2009 at 11:34 AM. Reason : my rainy day fund COULD use a boost, so i will consider taking this credit to bolster that. ]

1/13/2009 11:31:32 AM

Not taking the $ would the dumb. The tax exemptions from your morgage interest will likely cover the $500 payback for the first handfull of years anyway.

1/13/2009 11:35:00 AM

Quote :

"It just boils down to the fact that i don't NEED the money"

maybe not now, but that might not always be the case.

1/13/2009 11:36:48 AM

OH SHIT I TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT THAT 7500 CREDIT

1/13/2009 11:42:57 AM

yeah im kinda pissed i closed no less than 11 days prior to the cutoff for getting the loan.

that'd be nice

1/13/2009 11:44:41 AM

So what are the eligibility requirements exactly on this $7500 loan?

1/13/2009 11:47:04 AM

Quote :

"i don't NEED the money, and i am slightly averse to the idea of any loan, even one without interest, unless truly needed."

unless you're a big time baller, you might need the money SOMEDAY. I would suggest adding it to your rainy day fund, if nothing else. And hopefully your rainy day fund is in one of those money markets at the least, earning you 3% currently.

i'm about the farthest thing from a finance dude, but it looks like if you keep the money in there and don't touch the interest, you get something like $4200 in free moneys in the 3% interest http://www.calculatorweb.com/calculators/compoundcalc.shtml

^ I think ambrosias link covers it

1/13/2009 11:52:22 AM

^Well if you use the $7500 to make the $500 payments you'd end up with ~$2400 in interest, but if you get a refund every year anyways and just got 500 less every year you'd end up with the $4200 in interest.

1/13/2009 12:03:41 PM

yep

1/13/2009 12:18:48 PM

Quote :

"It just boils down to the fact that i don't NEED the money, and i am slightly averse to the idea of any loan, even one without interest, unless truly needed. "

You might as well set $20 or $100 bills on fire. You are declining free profit with this attitude--you could even do things with no risk.

[Edited on January 13, 2009 at 12:24 PM. Reason : not to mention inflation effectively adding to your returns.]

1/13/2009 12:22:28 PM

i bought my house in feb. it pisses me off that i don't qualify for the 7500.

1/13/2009 12:38:48 PM

Quote :

"i bought my house in feb. it pisses me off that i don't qualify for the 7500."

Dont you just love govt policies that only apply to a certain group? Its like they want to ecourage some resentment between citizens.

1/13/2009 1:35:36 PM

smath is just some schlub buying a house.

I am an AMERICAN HERO trying to save this ailing housing market.

1/13/2009 1:41:35 PM

Haha, yep.

The only reason I bought my house was to get us out of this damned recession.

1/13/2009 3:45:21 PM

OK, I hate to be the dumb one but wtf is this 750 credit?

1/13/2009 3:53:28 PM

basically if you got a home from roughly August->July09 (not sure on exact dates) they give you 10% of the home's value up to 7500. starting 2 years from now, you have to pay it back 500 at a time in taxes...gasp. basically an interest free loan with no payments for 2 years.

1/13/2009 3:59:23 PM

http://letmegooglethatforyou.com/?q=%247500+tax+credit

1/13/2009 4:06:36 PM

will there be an extension to that loan? I'd love to take advantage of that in 2010, when I have some money to buy a house.

1/13/2009 4:28:07 PM

^some of the stimulus bills floating around have included an extension and removal of the "first time home buyer" requirement

1/13/2009 5:02:27 PM

i say revoke it. i only want to waste ur tax money on me, not on you.

1/13/2009 5:08:32 PM

Quote :

"that just makes no sense. take the money, put it in a 3% SECU money market, you've got $225 per year in free money to spend. or get more ambitious and stick it somewhere else and go for more returns."

Coastal Federal Go Green checking...
5.01% APY.
But you do have to use the account (12 ATM transactions a month iirc) so you'd probably want to just open the account and use it as your primary checking with ~$7500 blocked off as "do not spend" money.

1/13/2009 5:35:07 PM

holy crap, 5%!!! the must use part of it would be annoying though. I assume moving money to/from SECU would be annoying too

1/13/2009 6:38:35 PM

Just switched to go green.

It's not 12 ATM uses, it's 12 card uses: online, as credit, as debit - doesn't matter.

[Edited on January 13, 2009 at 6:43 PM. Reason : but nothing really said it still counts if you use it as credit, so I called and asked]

1/13/2009 6:43:01 PM

^what happened if you don't use the card 12 times one month out of the year?

1/13/2009 6:48:08 PM

you only get like .61% that month

1/13/2009 6:50:23 PM

^^^ Yeah, that's correct. I worded that poorly. I meant to say debit card.

I'm pretty sure most people use their debit card far more than 12 times a month, so it usually isn't an issue.

1/13/2009 10:45:23 PM

Quote :

"I am eligible for the $7500 credit, but I don't think i will take it."

Not only is it an interest free loan, but by the time you pay back that first $500 it will be worth a lot less. $500 2011 dollars < $500 2009 dollars. do it.

1/14/2009 8:05:40 AM

I think I missed that credit by like 9 days :'(

1/14/2009 9:21:28 AM

anybody get their w2 yet?

1/14/2009 10:30:09 AM

ok so here is the real question:

Based on all the issues this year with Turbo Tax....which is the best to use?

Turbo Tax

Tax Cut

Tax Act


(*note I have used turbo tax for the last 5 years)

1/15/2009 8:06:16 AM

what are all these issues that you speak of?

1/15/2009 8:11:42 AM