First Round of Contest Winners

As I explained in this blog entry yesterday, I have launched a new interactive contest to help promote using technology to manage your finances. I am giving away dozens of prizes including books, iTunes gift cards, and one Apple iPad grand prize. For more information on how to enter, check out this blog post.

Earlier today I selected the first round of winners, who will all receive a complimentary copy of my book (The Tax Lady’s Guide to Beating the IRS). If you are one of the winners listed below, be sure to check either your FaceBook inbox, or direct messages on Twitter, for more information on claiming your prize. You can also continue entering daily for the grand prize that will be given out after the weeklong contest concludes.

FaceBook:

Joanne Stanton

Laura Griggs

John Berchielli

Twitter:

Superfrugalette

lilmonkey1959

MoneyMatters

CashMoneyLife

annedoggett

MiFeis

OneFrugalGirl

Tax Tips for the Stock Investor

Just before the weekend, one of my favorite blogs (TheWildInvestor.com) posted a blog entry with a list of helpful tax tips for stock investors, and even mentioned my book for further information. Check out a snippet of the entry below.

With the U.S tax deadline right around the corner (April 15), many people are looking for various deductions and other tax relief to help lower their taxes. If you have ever paid taxes on your gains from the stock market, then you probably know how demoralizing it can be. On the flip side, reporting losses aren’t always bad.

Some tax tips for the average stock investor:

Because you can’t distinguish your stock trading as a business expense there are not many deductions that can be made.

Capital Gains - The IRS considers short-term to be less than one year and long-term to be one year plus. Obviously the government would like you to hold onto your investments for longer, so it is no surprise that you will have to pay higher taxes on gains made on a stock you sold within a year. This can range from 15-35%. Gains made on stocks after a year are taxed a maximum of 15%.

If you are holding onto mutual funds, even if you didn’t sell, you may still have to pay capital gains tax if the fund itself sold off some of its holdings. Another reason to hate mutual funds.

Capital Losses - As bad as losses may seem they can actually bring you some tax relief. In the case you have more losses than gains, you can take $3,000 of losses against other types of income.

Special Accounts - Contributing to your IRA or 401k can reduce your taxable income and give you tax-deferred growth, where you’ll only pay tax when you take money out. For the most part, you do not need to pay tax on interests and dividends on Roth IRAs. Some other accounts to take advantage of are health saving accounts and 529 plans.

As you can see, Uncle Sam would prefer for you to hold onto your investments longer. While there are not too many tax breaks for the average investor, you as a whole might be qualified for some breaks you never knew. To learn more, you can check out Roni Deutch’s book, The Tax Lady’s Guide to Beating the IRS and Saving Big Bucks on Your Taxes.

Tax Season -- Great Reminder to Consult with Professionals.

After sending out a few copies of my new book to fellow bloggers and tax professionals, Jennifer Sawday, of California Estate Planning Blog, posted an entry on her blog about the book and about seeking professional help with taxes. Thanks, Jennifer!

Tax season has fully descended upon all Americans. (Also, Girl Scout cookies as well. Girl Scout cookies are much more palatable!)

I received a complimentary copy of Roni Lynn Deutch's book, The Tax Lady's Guide to Beating the IRS and Saving Big Bucks on Your Taxes… It's a great book and very easy to read. Reading books like Roni's makes you aware of the value of hiring a tax professional to assist you with your taxes, tax planning and representation in case of an audit or other issues involving the IRS or local tax authorities. It also brings home the point that you should consider consulting with and later hiring a professional to assist you with other endeavors as well.

Be sure to do your homework on any important issue facing your family whether it be taxes, estate planning, financial advice and other such matters. Do your reading, Internet research and then consult with professionals as well to make sure you are taking the right steps to protect yourself and your loved ones.

When you decide to consult with a professional, ask at the outset if there will be a consultation fee and how much so you can be prepared. Some professionals do not charge a fee, will waive the fee or have reasonable fee depending on the nature of the consultation. Professionals have nothing to give you other than their time and with their time comes their knowledge, insight and wisdom that is often invaluable.

Receiving Roni's book and reading it reminded me to share this important point with our blog readers.

Save Big Bucks on your Taxes

For those of you who do not already know, I am releasing my first book on the 15^th of the month, The Tax Lady’s Guide to Beating the IRS and Saving Big Bucks on your Taxes. To coincide with the release, we have launched a new website TaxLadyBook.com, where you can find tons of information about the book and upcoming media appearances. You can also download a free digital copy of the first chapter. So be sure to check out the link below, and check out my book when it hits stores later this month!