Charitable Giving Information

Salvation Army Donations Value

Question: Can I use my furniture donation as a tax deduction?

I have been trying to sell my 8-yr old used bedroom furniture and it’s not going. I am thinking of just donating it to the Salvation Army. Can this be used as a tax deduction? On their site, it says the normal value of full bedroom sets is $250-$1,000, and I am asking $600. What is the procedure? Is this worth it?

Answer: Certainly. You would go by thrift shop value. When you donate it, ask for a donation receipt with the donated value, to use for preparing your income taxes. Anything that gets the taxes down is definitely worth it!

Man Steals Salvation Army Kettle & Assaults Ringer, Woods Update + More

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Tax Planning India

As the name suggests ELSS (equity linked savings scheme), invests primarily in equity shares of companies. As per financial regulations, the scheme Fund manager has to invest 80% of the total amount in the equity shares and the remaining 20% per cent can be invested in other instruments like bonds, debentures, government securities and others. When you invest in ELSS your money is locked for a period of three years (minimum). Once you invest in tax saver funds you cannot withdraw the amount for three years, this acts as a blessing in disguise as tax saving funds generally yield high returns during a 3year period. The common man is basically afraid of investing his money in equity shares as he is afraid of loosing money. But a look at the recent past shows that investors who have invested in tax saver funds have never lost out on their money, rather tax saver funds have been the front runners in terms of returns to investors. A small illustration will clarify comprehensions.

If you make an investment of Rs 1,00,000/ ( 1 lac), then under section 80c this complete amount is deducted from your gross income for that particular year. If your annual income puts you in the highest tax paying zone, i.e -34%, then the investment of Rs 1,00,000/ will ensure that you get an annual tax deduction of Rs, 34,000/. So logically speaking you invest Rs 66,000/ considering the deduction. Assuming that the Mutual Fund declares an annual dividend of 10% then your total return on Rs 66,000 is [(10,000/66000)* 100] = 15.15%. This particular dividend earned is also tax-free, hence more profit. Another profitable venture out of this investment is that after a period of 3 years the capital gain that you obtain out of the investment is also tax-free. This is what makes ELSS the most attractive investment for those who have the appetite for moderate risk. However, prior to making an investment selecting a good fund house based on its reputation and track record is important. Elss are considered to be the best tax saving mutual funds in India.

ELSS is a good option to save tax and generate long term capital gains. These gains are obtained from the equity market only if you are investing in a long time horizon. Adding money in a disciplined manner creates a good corpus. The basic confusion that the average investor could have is that they consider Equity Mutual Funds and ELSS to be the same, which in true sense isn’t correct. Normal equity funds could be purchased today and disposed off tomorrow. Incase of ELSS there is a compulsory 3 year lock in period. As per the rules related to long-term capital gains, profit from equity MFs after one year becomes tax-free. As per latest sources the top 5 ELSS schemes are 1) Principal Personal Tax-saver, 2) DSP ML Tax Saver Fund, 3) Taurus Libra Taxshield, 4) Lotus India Tax Plan, 5) Franklin India Tax Shield ( FIT). Going by the current volatile market trends and with the current fiscal year approaching an end, investing in a good ELSS fund is a clever option to save taxes.

About the Author:

Investment and Financial Planner for a leading Mutual Fund House in India. To read more about tax saving with ELSS click here.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Elss – Secret of Tax Saving With Mutual Fund Investments

Tax Planning in India

Charitable Giving Recession

Question: How has the Credit Crunch and Recession effected people giving to charity?

Are people becoming less charitable? Have you seen any examples?

Answer: I can't say I've seen any examples although I'm sure that people will donate less in terms of physical cash. That said there are many other ways that people can give to charity like donating their time or old clothes/books etc so perhaps many people will seek to do that as an alternative.

Also if times are hard people will probably visit charity shops more and as such save themselves a lot of money - I like to think that they'll then feel the need to give something back by doing something like what i've mentioned above.

Charitable giving

Personal Tax Planning 2009

Make Work Pay
There are a lot of misconceptions going around regarding the new Making Work Pay credit. In order to benefit fully, it is important to understand how you can take advantage of the credit. The most common myth is that the credit will be delivered to qualifying taxpayers through the mail, similarly to the stimulus check last year. However, it is actually distributed through a taxpayer’s check in the form of a reduced tax rate. Because of this, it is your job to check you paychecks and make sure the amount is being added (note that you may need to adjust your withholding to reflect the change).

The First Time Homebuyer Credit
A lot of people are talking about the federal government’s credit for people to purchase a home in the 2009 tax year. However, it is important to remember that the credit is only available to first time homebuyers. To be more specific, the IRS defines a new homebuyer as a person who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase. The IRS also specifies that you need to purchase the home between January 1 to December 31, 2009. For more information, check out the IRS’ press release titled “First-Time Homebuyers Have Several Options to Maximize New Tax Credit.”

Energy Conservation Credit
For those of you hoping to upgrade some of your appliances this year, the IRS is giving you even more incentive to go “green.” If you make an energy efficient upgrade to your home—such as installing double-paned windows or buying an approved washer and dryer—you can take a deduction for up to $1,500. However, you must divide the deduction between the 2009 and 2010 tax years, so you will only be able to claim $750 this year. Please note that according to EnergyStar.gov, “geothermal heat pumps, solar water heaters, solar panels, fuel cells, and small wind energy systems… are not subject to this cap.”

Automobile Breaks
Although many hybrid vehicle tax credits are beginning to expire, there are plenty of new ones being announced. The IRS just released new information on the new tax credits being made possible by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The credits apply to low speed electric vehicles, as well as cars with at least four wheels that draw propulsion using a rechargeable battery. Depending on the height and weight of the vehicle the value of the credit can range from $2,500 to $15,000.

Flood Victims
The IRS unveiled some new tax law changes to assist flood victims this year. One big win for flood victims was the removal of some loss limitations. Whereas in 2008, flood victims could only claim a certain amount of losses, now they can deduct the entire amount. However, it is important to remember that this full amount can only claimed by taxpayers who itemize their deductions. Another less popular tax law change affects individuals who helped victims displaced from their homes. According to the IRS these charitable taxpayers can claim an additional exemption of $500 for each displaced individual they help, with a maximum of $2,000.

Unemployment
With more and more Americans losing their jobs, changes have also been made to the way unemployment benefits are taxed. The key to benefiting from these new changes is by knowing exactly what you are entitled to. According to the newest changes to the tax law, the first $2,400 worth of unemployment benefits is income tax free. Therefore, you could expect an increase on each check you receive by around $25. Additionally, 20 more days have been added to the duration of unemployment.

About the Author:

The Tax Lady Roni Deutch and her law firm Roni Lynn Deutch, A Professional Tax Corporation have been helping taxpayers across the nation find IRS tax relief for over seventeen years. The firm has experienced tax lawyers who can fight IRS tax liens on your behalf.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Your Guide to 2009 Tax Planning

Tax Savings Strategies – Personal Financial Planning Seminar

Charitable Giving Political Party

Question: Since it is Christmas, the “season of giving”, which political party would you say is the most self-centered?

By “self-centered” I mean that the people in the party think mainly of themselves and don’t care about others, be they homeless, dis-advantaged, unemployed, or poor. Which is the least charitable party? Please if possible give examples. Thanks!

Answer: I think the fundamentalist conservatives who are masquerading as "republicans" are the most self-serving.

Will Huckabee replace the 8.5 million he stole from Medicaid to give to "The Lord's Ranch"?

Will he take back what he said about taking money from the Log Cabin Republicans but not supporting their ideals?

It's pretty obvious that these small-town church-mafia types would ruin our country just to perpetuate their extreme ideals.

Anti-BNP Raise Money for Hate Politics under Childrens Charity Cloak