The Tax Professor Blog recently posted an entry discussing new IRS limits on mortgage interest deductions that would negatively affect some gay and lesbian couples. Check out the text of the entry below.
The TaxProf email discussion group has been abuzz lately about newly issued Chief Counsel Advisory 0911007 (Nov. 24, 2008; released Mar. 13, 2009), which held that the $1 million limitation on the deduction of mortgage interest on acquisition indebtedness under § 163(h)(3)(B) applies on a per-mortgage basis, rather than on a per-taxpayer basis. The ruling has enormous implications for both gay/lesbian and heterosexual couples who co-own their homes, particularly in states with high housing prices like California. Prior to the ruling, tax folks assumed that unmarried co-owners could each deduct mortgage interest on $1 million of acquisition indebtedness, thus permitting deduction of interest on one $2 million mortgage. The ruling appears contrary to the statute, as § 163(h)(4)(A)(i)(I) defines a qualified residence by reference to § 121, and Reg. § 1.121-2(a)(2) applies the $250,000 exclusion on a per-taxpayer basis in a co-owner situation.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Law Professor Who Advised Obama Says House AIG Bill May Be Unconstitutional
From ThePlumline.WhoRunsGov.com:
Laurence Tribe, who advised Obama during the campaign, [says] he’s leaning towards seeing the new House bill to tax back all the AIG bonuses as unconstitutional.
Tribe’s assertion could spell big trouble for the measure, because it could harden opposition within the Obama administration against the proposal at a time when Obama and his advisers are already expressing doubts about it.
Tribe had previously said that he thought the measure — which would slap a 90% tax on bonuses for executives whose family incomes exceed $250,000 — would pass constitutional muster. But now, after taking a closer look, he’s not so sure.
Tribe says the problem with the bill is that the Constitution forbids Congress from enacting a “bill of attainder,” which would essentially “legislate punishment of an identifiable class,” as he put it. Tribe noted that the Supreme Court had used that clause to slap down other laws.
Tribe says the main problem is that it’s hard to make the case that the law isn’t “punitive.”
“Its punitive intent is increasingly transparent,” Tribe says. “when you have Chuck Grassley calling on [executives] to commit suicide, and people responding to pitch fork sentiment, it’s hard to argue that this isn’t an attempt to punish an identifiable set of individuals who are the subject of understandable outrage.”
The whole point of opposing bills of attainder, Tribe says, is to prevent what some have called “trial by legislature.” Tribe concludes: “That’s the primary vulnerability.”
Friday, March 20, 2009
10 Ways to Market your Small Business for Under $200
Earlier in the week WatchMeFranchise.com, a blog sponsored by the Roni Deutch Tax Center®, posted an entry on 10 ways to market your business for under $200. Check out some of the tips below.
1. Business Cards
Despite what many think, business cards are actually quite affordable. There are hundreds of sites online with all kinds of sales and discounts; just make sure to find one that lets you upload your company logo. Then give these cards out to everyone you meet. The person you give your card to might not need your services right now, but at least they will have your contact information in the future.
2. Mailers
Try creating mailers or a monthly newsletter to send out to your clients on a regular basis with special offers or news. You want to make sure you stay in touch with your clients so that they do not forget about your store. Also, by offering free information in a newsletter you can help establish trust with your clients.
3. Create a Referral Program
By creating a referral program you can basically put your customers to work for you! By offering a small discount to current clients you can generate dozens of new clients with almost no direct cost to you.
4. Newspaper Ads
Try taking an ad out in your local newspaper or magazine. This is a great way to reach out to local customer opportunities, and support your community at the same time. If your area newspaper is too expensive, then you could try a discount publication such as the Penny Saver. Even better, you could even reach out to your local paper and offer to write a new article on a subject related to your business.
5. Online Presence
Having an online presence these days is pretty much essential for a small business. If you do not already have your own website, or a page on a corporate site, then you should definitely consider creating one. It does not need to be a big budget production, just a simple page with a picture and some contact info. Remember, having a website means that you can put the address on your business cards, letterhead, etc.
6. Submit to Google Maps
Once you have your store location, you can submit your address to Google maps. You do not even have to have a website to do this, although we recommend you do. This will make it so that customers searching in your area will find your store when they check Google Maps.
7. Networking Events
U.N. Panel says World Should Ditch the Dollar
From Reuters.com:
A U.N. panel will next week recommend that the world ditch the dollar as its reserve currency in favor of a shared basket of currencies, a member of the panel said on Wednesday, adding to pressure on the dollar.
Currency specialist Avinash Persaud, a member of the panel of experts, told a Reuters Funds Summit in Luxembourg that the proposal was to create something like the old Ecu, or European currency unit, that was a hard-traded, weighted basket.
Persaud, chairman of consultants Intelligence Capital and a former currency chief at JPMorgan, said the recommendation would be one of a number delivered to the United Nations on March 25 by the U.N. Commission of Experts on International Financial Reform.
"It is a good moment to move to a shared reserve currency," he said.
Central banks hold their reserves in a variety of currencies and gold, but the dollar has dominated as the most convincing store of value -- though its rate has wavered in recent years as the United States ran up huge twin budget and external deficits.
Some analysts said news of the U.N. panel's recommendation extended dollar losses because it fed into concerns about the future of the greenback as the main global reserve currency, raising the chances of central bank sales of dollar holdings.
"Speculation that major central banks would begin rebalancing their FX reserves has risen since the intensification of the dollar's slide between 2002 and mid-2008," CMC Markets said in a note.
Russia is also planning to propose the creation of a new reserve currency, to be issued by international financial institutions, at the April G20 meeting, according to the text of its proposals published on Monday.
Tempting the Tax Auditor
BankRate.com posted a wonderful article on tax auditing, and the way the IRS is re-thinking them in the struggling economy. You can find a snippet of the post below, but the full story can be found here.
Dear Taxpayer,
Some of the information that you provided to us does not agree with the information we received from other sources. -- The Internal Revenue Service.
You've just joined an elite club, one whose initiation ritual is an IRS audit. Unfortunately, you can't refuse membership -- and the dues could be astronomical.
When the IRS Reform and Restructuring Act was enacted in 1998, lawmakers ordered the agency to focus more on taxpayer rights instead of collection activities. Not surprisingly, the number of audits -- or examinations, as the agency prefers to call them -- dropped dramatically.
The first year of the kinder, gentler IRS, about one of every 79 tax returns were audited. By 2003, it was even easier for tax scofflaws; that year, according to IRS data, only one of every 150 individual taxpayers were audited.
But the tax times, they are a-changing.
More audit attention
IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman says he wants to balance his agency's enforcement and service responsibilities. To that end, he has announced programs designed to take into consideration the financial struggles that many taxpayers are encountering in today's economy.
But balance doesn't mean taxpayers are off the hook. The IRS has made it clear it intends to ramp up enforcement among three groups of taxpayers: high-net-worth individuals, U.S. businesses with international operations and large corporations.
Some of those higher-income individuals have been under the tax gun for more than a year as the IRS has been investigating accounts held by U.S. taxpayers in European tax-haven countries such as Liechtenstein and Switzerland. In its most recent effort to get information on accounts that tax investigators believe are used to shield income from U.S. taxes, federal prosecutors have filed a lawsuit against Swiss banking giant UBS to force it to waive the country's secrecy rules and release the American account holder information.
But the rich and big business aren't the only targets. Overall in fiscal year 2008 (Oct. 1, 2007 through Sept. 30, 2008), the IRS took a second look at almost 1.4 million returns. That's the highest number of audits since 1998.
There are anecdotal reports that the IRS is paying closer attention to returns that contain large mortgage interest deductions on Schedule A. And if you're a small business person, either as a partnership or a Schedule C filer reporting self-employment income on your personal tax return, make sure you take extra care with your returns.
Bonus Tax not the Answer, Some Say
From CNN.com:
The Senate is taking up a controversial bill that would impose a hefty tax on bonuses paid out by companies propped up by taxpayer money.
But, as outrageous as the bonuses may seem, critics of the bill say the tax code should never be used as punishment.
Lawmakers cried foul after it was revealed earlier this week that ailing insurance giant American International Group doled out $165 million in retention bonuses, after claiming more than $170 billion in bailout funds.
The House of Representatives on Thursday passed a measure that would tax individuals on any bonuses received in 2009 from companies getting $5 billion or more in money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. Bonuses for people with incomes over $250,000 would be taxed at a 90 percent rate.
Most Democrats supported the bill, while Republicans were sharply divided.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said the bill was necessitated by the poor judgment shown by firms receiving bailout money.
First-Time Homebuyers Have Several Options to Maximize New Tax Credit
The IRS released a new press release recently, discussing tax options for first-time homebuyers. Check out the text of the release below.
As part of the Treasury Department’s consumer outreach effort and with the April 15 individual tax filing deadline approaching, the Internal Revenue Service today began a concerted effort to educate taxpayers about additional options at their disposal to claim the new $8,000 first-time homebuyer credit for 2009 home purchases. For people who recently purchased a home or are considering buying in the next few months, there are several different ways that they can get this tax credit even if they’ve already filed their tax return.
The Treasury Department encourages taxpayers to explore these options to maximize their credit and get their money back as fast as possible.
“The new credit can get money in the pockets of first-time homebuyers quickly,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “For people who recently purchased a home or are considering buying in the next few months, there are several different ways that they can get this tax credit even if they’ve already filed their tax return.”
First-time homebuyers represent a significant portion of existing single-family home sales. The expansion in the first-time homebuyer credit will make it easier for first-time homebuyers to enter the housing market this year.
Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, qualifying taxpayers who purchase a home before Dec. 1 receive up to $8,000, or $4,000 for married individuals filing separately. People can claim the credit either on their 2008 tax returns due April 15 or on their 2009 tax returns next year.
The filing options to consider are:
File an extension. Taxpayers who haven’t yet filed their 2008 returns but are buying a home soon can request a six-month extension to October 15. This step would be faster than waiting until next year to claim it on the 2009 tax return. Even with an extension, taxpayers could still file electronically, receiving their refund in as few as 10 days with direct deposit.
File now, amend later. Taxpayers due a sizable refund for their 2008 tax return but who also are considering buying a house in the next few months can file their return now and claim the credit later. Taxpayers would file their 2008 tax forms as usual, then follow up with an amended return later this year to claim the homebuyer credit.
Amend the 2008 tax return. Taxpayers buying a home in the near future who have already filed their 2008 tax return can consider filing an amended tax return. The amended tax return will allow them to claim the homebuyer credit on the 2008 return without waiting until next year to claim it on the 2009 return.
Claim the credit in 2009 rather than 2008. For some taxpayers, it may make more financial sense to wait and claim the homebuyer credit next year when they file the 2009 tax return rather than claiming it now on the 2008 tax return. This could benefit taxpayers who might qualify for a higher credit on the 2009 tax return. This could include people who have less income in 2009 than 2008 because of factors such as a job loss or drop in investment income.
The IRS reminds taxpayers the amount of the credit begins to phase out for taxpayers whose modified adjusted gross income is more than $75,000, or $150,000 for joint filers. Taxpayers can claim 10 percent of the purchase price up to $8,000, or $4,000 for married individuals filing separately.
What’s Brewing Next for the Tea Party Movement?
From Pajamasmedia.com:
The American tea party movement bears more resemblance to a rolling block party than a unified organized movement or cause. And that’s precisely why I love it. These people are nice. They’re smart. They come from all walks of life. And they’re sincere. I’ve met hard-hat wearing construction managers, accountants, schoolteachers, the unemployed, retirees, and even the nicest anarchist couple who are worried about their kids’ futures.
And the numbers of protests and protesters continue to stagger, from the consistent low hundreds to the thousands — in all types of political and meteorological climates.
But I’m wondering what’s next for this two-month-old movement, born of outrage and concern at what is arguably a very sudden and very abrupt left turn in America’s moral and economic direction.
Before discussing the future of the movement, we have to make an attempt to understand and demystify it.
Contrary to more than a few conspiracy theories being floated in the left-wing blogosphere, and counter to modern media mythmaking, the American tea party movement is a very un-A.C.O.R.N.-like, decentralized, non-Rick Santelli endorsed outpouring of conservative values and libertarian ideals. I’ve witnessed no one in Indian or Revolutionary War costumes. No Rush Limbaugh grabbing the bullhorn to utter the F-word (failure). I’ve seen very little in the way of actual tea.
In fact, all the tea partyers I’ve met think astroturfing is some sort of Arena League football penalty, rather than a term for grassroots political organizing conducted by some committee of dirty tricks. It’s ridiculous to think the GOP could Astroturf these events, because that would require a coherent message, credible leadership, and a nimble organizational and technological infrastructure.
No, the tea parties reflect the greatest characteristics of Americana: passion, resourcefulness, respect, pitching-in, and commitment to our founding principles. They could just as easily turn into barn raisings or quilting bees.
Taxing Bonuses
We are all angry about the AIG bonuses, rightfully so. By offering large bonuses to AIG leadership, we are rewarding gross incompetence. “You utterly destroyed this company. Nice job, here’s your stack of cash.”
What can be done about it now, though? A handful of lawmakers have suggested taxing these bonuses at an enormously high rate. Ok, that will effectively give the money back to the government. But this is using taxes to punish people. And that is not the purpose of taxes.
Taxes are paid to create revenue streams for operating government bodies. The tax code is not an alternative to jail time, nor should it be. This will create a dangerous precedent. What’s next? Drug dealers can avoid prosecution by paying a higher tax rate?
Bailed Out Companies Owed IRS Millions
News broke this week that at least 13 companies receiving TARP funds owe a combined total of $220 million in unpaid federal taxes. Frankly, since these companies were running into the ground, this is not really surprising. And, since 40 million individual taxpayers owe the IRS, these corporations are in good company. Where it gets a little trickier, however is that each company who accepted TARP funds signed contracts stating that they did NOT have unpaid taxes.
We are left with two possibilities.
1. These executives were even more out of touch with their companies’ functioning than we previously thought. That they truly did not know they owed the IRS millions of dollars. Ignorance, evidently, is bliss!
2. If these executives were not ignorant of their companies’ enormous debts to the government, then this is outright criminal. They signed their names, took billions of dollars in aid, all the while defrauding the government and American taxpayers.
Which is worse? Incompetence or dishonesty?
And where in this were their lawyers? As an attorney and a business owner, I certainly wouldn’t sign anything that hadn’t been reviewed by my attorney. It is just good common sense: read the contract before you sign it. But clearly, common sense is not so common anymore.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Dingell Unveils Plan to Tax AIG Bonuses
From Detnews.com:
Rep. John Dingell on Tuesday joined a growing list of lawmakers proposing legislation to recover the controversial bonuses paid to employees of insurance giant AIG.
Dingell, D-Dearborn, introduced a bill that he said would tax at a 95 percent rate any bonuses paid to any employees of companies receiving federal money from the Wall Street bailout fund.
"It is unconscionable that companies dependent upon the largesse of the federal government for their very existence should in turn pay the very employees partially responsible for our current calamity such irresponsibly exorbitant bonuses," Dingell said in a written statement.
On Monday, Rep. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, introduced his own bill, which would add a 60 percent surtax to the bonuses. Peters' staff said the surtax, plus federal income taxes and state and local taxes, would account for nearly 100 percent of the bonuses.
Gimme My Money
Jean Chatzky, host of “Oprah and Friends” radio, wrote up a blog on the tax advice I recently offered on her show. You can find the full post and other great posts on her financial blog, here.
This morning, tax expert Roni Deutch was a guest on my radio show. First, I need to know what that woman eats for breakfast. She is a bundle of energy on a subject that puts way too many people to sleep. But she made a really important point about tax refunds. If you’re among the Americans who receives one each and every year — and tax refunds have been running, on average, about $2400 for the past few years — or even if you simply got one last year, I want you to think about changing your withholding. Here’s why: When you get a tax refund, that means you’ve been giving the government an interest-free loan.
As if that weren’t bad enough, this year some states have intimated they aren’t going to be giving you your money back — at least not right away. Kansas. Arizona. California. All have delayed the processing of tax refunds, again YOUR money, as a solution to their cash flow problems. And in other states, including New York, where governments have said this is not happening, we have started to see some anecdotal reports that refunds are slowing down.
Taxing health benefits: A read-my-lips moment for Obama?
From The Minnpost.com:
What is a campaign promise? And how seriously do we expect them to be kept?
If, during your campaign for president, you criticize one your opponent's ideas, really, really rail against it, advertise against it, successfully convince the public that it's a reason to vote against your opponent, and you win, are you obliged to fight against that idea? To refuse to sign it into law? To rule it "off the table?"
OK, let's get down to cases. We're talking about President Obama, and about the idea of eliminating the tax-exempt status of employer-paid health insurance.
During the campaign, the elimination of this very significant tax benefit was a key part of John McCain's health care proposal. (McCain wanted to use it to offset the creation a big tax credit that would be available to every individual or family to use in buying health insurance.)
Tax Havens Not Safe Havens
Earlier in the week the Reason.com blog posted an article on the recent tax haven controversy, and expressed how they feel tax havens are never “safe havens.” You can find a snippet of the post below, but the full story can be read here.
Things are bad all over. Writers for The Wall Street Journal have retreated to their international gold- and lead-lined bunkers, from which they are writing articles in defense of tax havens. The usual suspects Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Bryon Dorgan (D-N.D.), and Max Baucus (D-Mont.), plus Treasury officials, are trying to snag tax money from some American companies that are incorporated and operate outside the United States. As things currently stand, these companies can defer U.S. taxes on money earned overseas until it is brought into the United States.
This is the government equivalent of scrounging in the couch cushions for change...at someone else's house. But hey, they need the money, right? That part at least sort of makes sense, although it will discourage certain useful kinds of reinvestment in firms that function abroad and have other negative consequences for people who really need financial privacy in the face of corrupt and kleptocratic governments. But then there's this:
In addition to charges of tax evasion, some members of Congress—echoing European politicians including France's President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown—have even tried to scapegoat the low-tax jurisdictions as somehow being responsible for the global recession. They are demanding that the G-20 countries come up with action proposals against them at their meeting next month.
Doctor pleads guilty to hiding $3M from IRS
The business partner of a key witness in the federal investigation of corruption under former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has pleaded guilty to hiding $3 million in income from tax collectors.
Dr. Robert Weinstein of Northbrook, Ill., admitted Tuesday in a signed plea agreement that he and political fundraiser Stuart Levine siphoned $6 million out of a charity and that he didn't report the money to the Internal Revenue Service.
Levine was the government's star witness at the trial of political fixer Tony Rezko, and he's already admitted his part in the scheme.
Rezko was convicted of shaking down businesses seeking state contracts for campaign contributions.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
IRS Seeks to Recover $227 Million in Unpaid Taxes From Stanford
A financer from Texas is in big trouble with the IRS, and they are doing all they can to recover the money he owes. Check out the story below, thanks to Bloomberg.
Investors in R. Allen Stanford’s Antiguan bank may have to get in line behind the Internal Revenue Service as they seek to recover money from the alleged swindler.
The IRS asked a judge to let it continue to seek at least $226.6 million in back taxes from Stanford, the Texas financier accused of running an $8 billion Ponzi scheme.
The motion was filed on March 13 in the U.S. District Court in Dallas, where a court-appointed receiver is sorting out claims for more than $1 billion in assets frozen in customer accounts and in gold coins and bullion seized last month.
“The IRS shall file a fairly significant claim against R. Allen Stanford,” agency lawyer Manuel Lena Jr. wrote in the so- called motion to intervene in the case brought against Stanford by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Stanford’s federal tax bill has swelled to twice the amount previously reported as penalties and interest piled up, and it may grow further because Stanford hasn’t filed his 2007 tax return, Lena said in the court filing.
Ralph Janvey, the court-appointed receiver, will file his response in court today, answering more than 45 groups of investors that have requested permission to join the SEC’s case against Stanford and his companies.
Six Ways to Fund IRS Payments
From CNBC.com:
If you're like millions of other small-business owners across the country, your business has practically fallen off a cliff in the past few months.
For some owners, there's even more bad news. A decline in business means that revenue you were relying on to fund a payment to the Internal Revenue Service April 15 won't be there when you need it.
The good news is that if you find yourself in that nail-biting situation, you may have at least six ways to free up money to pay the IRS.
1. 'Borrow' from the government
"You can ask the IRS for a payment plan," says Buz Aaron, CPA, senior tax manager at Braver PC in Newton, Mass., "and the government will allow you to apply for, in effect, a loan from it."
There is, of course, a downside to borrowing from the IRS. "Interest rates on IRS installment loans range from 7 (percent) to 12 percent," says Michael T. Hanley, CPA, managing partner at Merl & Hanley LLP in Smithtown, N.Y. "It varies based on the prime rate." You'll also have to pay a "user fee" that ranges from $43 to $105 depending on your financial condition.
There's also a process you must follow. "A lot of people say, 'I can't pay what I owe, so I'm not going to file my tax return,'" Hanley explains. "But the best option is to let the IRS know you can't pay. If you do that, the IRS will make a lot of concessions. A lot of times they'll stop assessing penalties from the day you've filed for the payment plan. Or maybe they'll fix the interest rate. So the best course is to be up front and work with the IRS."
If you owe $25,000 or less, you can request a payment plan online at IRS.gov through Form 9464, called an Online Payment Agreement. If you owe more than $25,000, you must print, complete and mail forms 9465 and 433-F.
73 AIG Bonuses Hit Million-Dollar Mark
Just months after getting bailed out by American taxpayers, AIG has once again made headlines by giving out millions of dollars in bonuses to their executives, many of which are no longer working for the company. CBSnews.com has posted an interesting article on the outrage sparked by these huge bonuses, and what President Obama and Congress are planning to do about it. Check out a portion of the article below.
Troubled insurance giant American International Group paid bonuses of $1 million or more to 73 employees, including 11 who no longer work for the company, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday.
Cuomo subpoenaed information from AIG on Monday to determine whether the payments made over the past weekend constitute fraud under state law. He says contracts written in March 2008 guaranteed employees 100 percent of their 2007 pay for 2008, regardless of their performance.
President Barack Obama and Washington lawmakers have blasted AIG for paying more than $160 million in bonuses to employees of its Financial Products division, the unit primarily responsible for the meltdown that led to a federal bailout of the company, while the company has received billions in taxpayer bailout funds.
Cuomo said AIG mailed the bonus checks Friday.
The company and some federal regulators have said it was obligated by contract to make the payments. Cuomo said the bonuses might have been fraudulent if AIG officials knew the company couldn't afford them.
"You could argue if the taxpayers didn't bail out AIG, those contracts wouldn't be worth the paper it's printed on," he said Monday.
There was no immediate AIG comment following Cuomo's disclosure Tuesday of the bonus amounts. Cuomo did not release the names of the recipients.
11 Tax Tips for Homeowners and Buyers
From TheChigaco77.com:
Tax season is looming and homeowners everywhere should know the opportunities available to them for tax breaks and incentives. This info is also valuable for potential home buyers so they are aware of what expenses are deductible and the ins and outs of new tax laws, since there are so many nowadays! Thanks President Obama!
So here’s the skinny and how to save yourself some dough…and hopefully headaches. As always, if you need assistance, please contact your friendly and professional tax adviser.
1. Deduct the interest you pay on your home loan on your tax return. A mortgage interest deduction reduces your taxable income. And because your mortgage payments for the first few years are heavily comprised of interest, they are almost entirely deductible.
2. Deduct property taxes and points you paid to lower your loan’s interest rate. The IRS offsets the expense of your state and local property taxes by allowing you to deduct those fees from your itemized income tax return. You may also get a tax benefit if you paid points at closing to lower your mortgage interest rate.
3. Take advantage of new laws in this challenging market. Look into new tax laws that may allow new homebuyers to get an $8,000 tax credit, short-sellers to escape penalty for forgiven mortgage debt, and homeowners to contest property taxes in a struggling market. Note, the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers is not immediately available. You must file your taxes to receive this credit and it’s only good on purchases from Jan. 1, 2009 to Dec. 31, 2009.
4. Request a property tax reassessment if your home’s market value has declined. If your property value is significantly lower now than when you bought it, show proof of your home’s current market value and recent comparable sales in your neighborhood to your local tax assessor for a tax adjustment. Your real estate agent can provide you these values through comparable properties (often called comps) that have recently sold or are currently on the market. For a good barometer on how far back to research, most lenders will only accept appraisals based on 3 months prior activity since the housing market is currently so volatile.
5. Research past and proposed assessments that may apply to your home. Understanding property taxes and assessments in your area will give you a more accurate homeownership cost, as well as help you predict and control your monthly expenses.
6. Get a reliable estimate of your property tax bill. Don’t rely on the old tax data passed down from your home’s previous owners. Depending on the circumstances of the sale, your tax bill can differ from their bill. (Now living in Cook county, we all know this is easier said than done because our taxes are paid in arrears, or more put more simply, a year late).
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