Archive for September, 2008

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Getting Organized and Staying Organized

Wednesday, September 10th, 2008

What do project management, teaching, running a business and running a family have in common?  Organization skills.  Do you think it is by coincidence that projects get completed, buildings get built, the kids are clean, dressed, fed and off for school?  How about that everything you will need for a class is explained for you on the first day?  That’s right, you can thank organization.

Moms, project managers, teachers and businessmen know that you have to have your own house literally in shape before you can tackle the outside world.  If you are a little rusty in these areas, it is time to get profitable by improving your organization game.  In fact, find a parent who has a special needs child if you want to see a master in organization skills!

Got a calendar?  If not, get one.  I am not talking about Outlook or a computer reminder.  I am talking about a good old fashioned paper one with months and days and room to write inside the squares. 

Start writing down upcoming events and schedules for your activities (pick up kids from soccer), the kids activities (drop kids off at soccer), your business plans (meeting with sales team noon on Friday), everything that is going to cut into your time should be written down. 

If you are comfortable with cell phone calendar reminders or Blackberry reminders, great.  But it doesn’t work if you listen to the reminder “beep”, turn it off and don’t act on it!

Your garage or dayroom a mess?  Time to start throwing stuff out a la “Clean Sweep” and put whatever you still need (and hopefully it won’t be much) in boxes or shelves so you can actually find it.  The rule of thumb though is if it isn’t a financial document you need to save for 3-7 years and you haven’t looked at it in 2 years, you really should trash it or sell it.

How do I stay organized?  When I receive mail I throw out junk and anything that isn’t a bill or a birthday/anniversary/friendship card.  I try to save the cards only a little bit after the holiday unless they are something special (like the entire family and the neighborhood signed it or something like that).  How many pictures of your kids do you really need?  If you have a lot of duplicates, think of giving the dupes away and maybe only keeping one set of dupes for each kid.  You can always make more or scan the pictures later on.

Before I go to bed each night I review with the family what the next day’s activities and schedule will be and we work out conflicts (Mom is taking Arianna to the doctor so Dad has to pick up Jacob, things like that).  You should be doing the same thing.  Carry this thought process over to your business and you will be very profitable and playing your “O” – for “organized” –  game.

Kim Greenblatt

 

Learn with Kim Greenblatt’s blog, profitable, to be organized and stay organized.

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How To Be A Tax Student In Tax Class

Tuesday, September 9th, 2008

With tax classes starting up, I see all types of students who come with all sorts of expectations in what they want out of learning how to be a tax professional. By tax professional, I mean certified in doing Federal income tax forms (basic ones at any rate) and California ones. Some students come in with an open mind, some come in with an open hand and expect to get certified without any work. After the first one or two sessions there is usually some dropping out and thinning of the herd. The reasons vary from the work or the fact that they really didn’t want to learn how to prepare taxes.

The best way to prepare how to do taxes is to have a little familiarity with money, if nothing else. Skills required are patience, fondness with working with numbers, ability to work with people and enjoying mind numbing details and boring laws. If you can stomach all of that you are home free. Expect that some parts of the class will be easier for you than others. If you are use to doing your own research with the Federal government and all the respective state tax authorities, you are already ahead of the game. Depending on where you take the class, the next obstacle is learning the software, which, if you have a good teacher, shouldn’t be a problem.

Bring blank paper, pens and pencils and a cheap calculator. They are available at places like the 99 cents store or Dollar Tree for a dollar. Can’t go wrong with that and the math tends to be simple addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. You will learn about appropriate rounding in tax class. Depending on what state you are in, there will be different requirements for passing. For my money, in order to be a profitable tax professional, make sure you take a class from somebody where you actually get to do tax returns. There is a lot more to tax preparation than multiple choice or true false answers. When you are interviewing a client to get information, you need to know the correct question to ask and not expect a test formatted answer!

A couple of other tips – if the instructor doesn’t want to answer a particular questions right away, that is normal. It may be out of scope for what he or she is trying to teach and believe me, there is a lot of information that has to be covered in each session. Wait for the break and ask the teacher than.

Plan on making a commitment. You will not be allowed to miss many classes and information builds upon itself so if you miss class 3, you will need to make it up somewhere else because class 4 may have information in it that you won’t understand.

Have faith in yourself and expect to spend time and effort and you will pass your tax class. Hey, I wasn’t always a tax professional, businessman, manager and teacher. I also still consider myself a student learning something new all the time. When it comes to tax law, to be be closed to learning isn’t very profitable (or smart).

Kim Greenblatt

You are learning from Kim Greenblatt’s blog, profitable, how to be a tax student in tax class.

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Kim’s EMF – Emergency Medical Fund

Monday, September 8th, 2008

Take five minutes now. I want you to answer a question for yourself.
Do you have money saved up in case you have a medical emergency? If you were to slip and break your arm and somebody has to pick up the kids, get them home or take care of your parents or a special needs loved one, do you have emergency cash available?

Separate from your insurance, you should have cash put aside for some basics that people don’t think about:

Medical Deductible – They range from $5 (if you are lucky) to $100 (average these days) to whatever it is on the plan you have. Don’t always count on credit cards to get it covered. Make sure you get a receipt for any deductibles you pay if you use cash.

Prescriptions – Pain killers, antibiotics, and whatever else – figure $20-200 depending on what has happened to you and your medical coverage.

Parking – Hospital parking runs from free to $15 in some cities.

Food – Relatives who visit need to be fed and watered (hi kids) and snack machines, cafeteria meals are easier to do when everything is up in the air then worrying about brown bagging it to the hospital.

Phone Cards – Some hospitals don’t give you outgoing phone service, you should plan for it accordingly by having some phone cards for $20 in case you don’t have your cell phone with you when you are checked into the hospital or it is damaged or separated from you. Watch the hours that they don’t expire right away or have a relative buy a phone card and bring it to you the day you check into the hospital. Remember also cell phones aren’t normally allowed in a hospital.

This is just a start – you can figure regionally for what the cost might be for you. Figure the neighborhood of $200 – $1000 depending on what city that you live in and what kind of medical coverage that you have. Keep it in your checking account and accessible by your ATM card.

I know it is weird locking up money like that but trust me, when you are in pain, and there are a million other things going on you need to take care of, you will be glad that you had some cash saved up. Insurance, if you have the coverage, will kick in, but it doesn’t always cover all of the little things that you need to have taken care of when you check into a hospital.

Kim Greenblatt

You are in Kim Greenblatt’s blog, profitable, where he is suggesting you establish an Emergency Medical Fund of cash.

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Generic or Name Brand Goods

Sunday, September 7th, 2008

If you have children, you know that once they want something they see, it is pretty hard to change their minds.  Commericals are pretty quick and they try and pour a lot of information into selling you something in a very short amount of time.  Kids, who watch a lot of television or surf the net, see a lot of ads and some of them, especially if their peers are doing it, want to buy something.

If you are trying to save money, one of the little secrets that parents use is that they try to buy generic.  Oh, I am not talking about buying generic supermarket soda like Albertson’s brand instead of Coca Cola (though I drink both and have gotten my son to drink it as well).   I am talking more along the lines of getting a knock off designer knapsack for school or pair of shoes that aren’t $129 a pair.  Eventually, manufacturers will make similar products, or as much as they can skate patent or copyright infringement.  In some cases, kids will accept the product gladly.  In others, they may raise a stink.

If you have been teaching your kids good fundamental financial values and learning about money, that shouldn’t be a problem.  If you find yourself a slave to designer labels, maybe it is time that you go on a generic diet yourself to set an example for your kids.  If you don’t have kids and your job doesn’t depend on you dressing like a celebrity fashionista, I would say start saving money and go generic.

Some exceptions are in paper towels and toilet paper.  I am the first to admit that not all paper is the same and some is rougher than others.  Maybe you have some exceptions as well.  I am not asking you to go completely generic like in the old movie “Repo Man”, just be aware of what you are spending money on and ask yourself if you can get the same product or service for a cheaper price.

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Cash Reserves

Saturday, September 6th, 2008

How much should you have in your rainy day fund? Depending on the financial pundits you are talking to, they will say anything from three months to one year’s worth of income to cover either three months or one year’s worth of expenses.

How do you get to that point?

You move slowly. From each paycheck or each check you get for a job completed, start putting away at least 10% of the money for an emergency fund. I have been harping for this in different posts for weeks and will continue to do so because I believe that here in America we are at least two years from getting out of whatever recession we are in. The people who will be able to profit and thrive the most will be the ones who have money saved up.

What would happen if you were crippled by an illness? If you have people to care for you will need to make sure that the insurance kicks in and until that happens, you may need your emergency fund.

The Southern United States got lucky with the last hurricaine and a lot of people who temporarily moved away will be able to move back home unlike what happened with Hurricaine Katrina. If you have some money in reserve, it can make the difference between survival and hunger.

Kim Greenblatt

The difference between survival and starvation may be that extra $50 a week you are putting into your savings account.

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Injured Spouse

Friday, September 5th, 2008

You are considered an Injured Spouse (not to be confused with an Innocent Spouse), if you are filing a joint tax return with your spouse and all of a sudden instead of getting the refund you were anticipating you find out that your handsome husband (or lovely wife) owes back taxes, child support, student loan payments – you get the idea.

Publication 8379 has the definition and the form is there for you to determine yourself if you can get back YOUR portion of the tax refund that you have calculated. If there is money from your spouse that he or she was suppose to get back, that will go towards whatever it is that they are trying to pay off.

If you are a California resident, sorry, California does not have the Injured Spouse relief provision. Remember my motto, please consult your own tax professional to see how this affects your situation!

I’ve dealt with Injured and Innocent Spouse Relief and some free advice here is that you need to make sure that your paperwork and financial dealings are clear, properly dated and separate. Questions that will be asked are on the reasonableness of the claim.

At the state level, a lot of the claims may not fly because remember, in some states, and California is one of them, property is treated as community property. That means, dear readers, it is split fifty-fifty. The love, the income and the debt!

That can make for some sticky dealings in a marriage so make sure if you are thinking of getting married that you talk money issues out to prevent them from surfacing later.

Kim Greenblatt

You are in Kim Greenblatt’s blog, profitable, in a piece on Injured Spouse Relief.

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Innocent Spouse Relief Fed and State

Thursday, September 4th, 2008

I was emailed a question about Innocent Spouse Relief. This is different from Injured Spouse relief. Information from the IRS can be found in Publication 971. The IRS has the forms and publications you need to research there, or consult with your tax pro. A quick and dirty way to get to the document is here. As I pointed out to my reader, if you are in doubt as to whether you qualify for the Innocent Spouse situation, search and follow the flow chart that is in the document. It is pretty thorough for determining if you are an Innocent Spouse or not.

For those of you living in California, you may want to check out the Franchise Tax Board as well.

They have very clear instructions as to the definition as stated below:

Who is an innocent spouse and how can I get relief of tax?
Who is an Innocent Spouse?
Generally, when a joint tax return is filed, each spouse is equally liable for all the tax, penalties, and interest for the particular joint tax year. This means the entire amount of tax, penalties, and interest may be collected from either spouse, even if only one spouse earned all of the income.

If certain legal requirements are met, a spouse may be fully or partially relieved of the joint tax, penalties, and interest. Six categories of relief are available:

Complete or partial innocent spouse relief.
Relief by separate allocation of liability.
Equitable relief.
Relief from community income.
Relief by court order.
Relief from the tax due amount on return(s) that have been filed.
Please see the following questions and answers for more information.

Under what conditions is innocent spouse relief granted?
To qualify for innocent spouse relief, you must meet all of the following conditions:

You filed a valid, joint tax return.
You are able to prove that when you signed the return, you did not know, or have reason to believe, the liability would not be paid when the tax return was filed, or, at the time you signed the return, you did not have knowledge of the items that resulted in an audit assessment of additional tax.
The liability is attributable to your spouse.
Taking into account all of the facts and circumstances, it would be unfair to hold you liable for the tax.
Under what conditions is relief by separate allocation of liability granted?
Under this type of relief, we determine which spouse is responsible for the tax, penalties, and interest resulting from an audit of a joint return, and assign the liabilities to the responsible spouse. To qualify for this type of relief, you must have filed a joint return and show all of the following:

You were divorced, legally separated, or lived apart for 12 months prior to making your request for relief.
The tax resulting from the audit is attributable to your spouse.
You had no knowledge of the item(s) that resulted in the tax.
You did not receive a direct tax benefit.
You made your request within the applicable statute of limitations, and not later than the date that is two years after the date the Franchise Tax Board has begun collection activities against you.
Under what conditions is equitable relief allowed?
If you filed a joint return, and you do not qualify for traditional innocent spouse or separate allocation of liability relief, you may still be considered for equitable relief from tax that results from an audit or the underpayment of tax on your return. The following are some of the factors considered:

Your current marital status.
Whether you experienced spousal abuse during your marriage.
Whether you had a reasonable belief at the time that you signed the return that the tax was going to be paid; or, in the case of tax resulting from an audit, whether you had knowledge or reason to know of the understatement of tax.
Your current financial situation and your ability to pay the tax liability.
Whose legal obligation it is to pay the tax liability pursuant to a divorce decree or agreement to pay the liability.
Whether the liability is attributable to you or your spouse.
Whether you received a significant benefit from the understatement or erroneous items that gave rise to the liability.
Your compliance with income tax laws in later tax years.
Under what conditions is relief from community income allowed?
You may be entitled to relief from your failure to include community income on your separate return, if all the following conditions are met:

You did not file a joint return.
You did not include an item of community income on your separate return for that taxable year.
You did not know of, and had no reason to know of, that item of community income.
The unreported income was attributable to your spouse.
Under what conditions is relief by court order allowed?
You may qualify for relief by court order if:

You have obtained a divorce from your spouse, and the court issued an order relieving you of the unpaid tax due from a joint liability.
You are in the process of obtaining a divorce and your joint gross income exceeds $150,000 or you owe more then $7,500 for the tax year(s) for which you are seeking relief, send us a letter requesting a Tax Revision Clearance Certificate, which you will provide to the court. After the court issues its order, you will need to provide us with a copy of the court order and we will determine the amount of your relief. In your letter requesting a Tax Revision Clearance Certificate be sure to include your name, address, telephone number, and social security number.
However, please note that the court is limited in the relief that it can provide. The court cannot:

Relieve you of your responsibility to pay tax on your own income.
Provide relief on taxes already paid.
Under what conditions is relief from return tax allowed?
You may be entitled to relief if you filed a joint return and the tax liability is not fully paid, and you show that you had no knowledge, or reason to know, of the non-payment. You must pay the tax on your own income, and you are not entitled to relief on taxes already paid.

Can both spouses request relief?
Yes. To request individual relief, each spouse must file an Innocent Spouse Relief Application (FTB 705).

What will I need to provide with my innocent spouse request?
Generally, we will request that you provide the following documents:

Your statement explaining why you believe you qualify for relief and any documentation that supports your position. Include your name, social security number, and the tax years for which you are requesting relief.
Complete copies of your state and federal tax returns for the years you are requesting relief.
If you have requested relief from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), please attach a copy of any IRS correspondence responding to your request for relief.
If you are divorced, please attach a complete copy of your divorce decree/marital settlement agreement.
You may request additional documentation based on your specific circumstances.

Am I eligible for innocent spouse relief if I did not sign the joint return?
No. If you did not sign the joint tax return, or we determine the signature on the return is not yours, the joint return is invalid and you are not eligible for innocent spouse relief. You may be held liable for your separate tax liability based on your separate income plus your share of any community income.

My divorce decree states my ex-spouse is responsible for the tax liability. Am I already qualified for innocent spouse relief?
No, the decree is not sufficient to qualify you for innocent spouse relief. But, you may qualify for Court Ordered Relief. To qualify for Court Ordered Relief, the following items must be included in your divorce decree/marital settlement agreement:

A specific reference to California state income tax.
The specific tax years for which you are requesting relief.
The amount or percentage of the total tax liability each taxpayer is responsible for paying.
If you are in the process of obtaining a divorce, please contact this department as soon as possible. We will evaluate your case and advise you regarding the information that needs to be included in your divorce decree or marital settlement agreement. In some cases, you may be required to file a Tax Revision Clearance Certificate with the court. Please note, you will only be relieved of the liability resulting from income that you did not earn, manage, or control. See question 19 for contact information.

Do I have to be divorced to qualify for Innocent Spouse relief?
Not necessarily. For an allocation of liabilities between joint filers, you must be divorced, legally separated from the other party to the joint return, or not living together for the 12-months prior to submitting your request for relief. For Equitable Relief, the fact that a requesting spouse is divorced or legally separated is regarded as a positive factor in determining whether to grant relief.

I received Innocent Spouse Relief from the IRS. Will the Franchise Tax Board automatically grant me relief?
No. You must send us an Innocent Spouse Relief Application (FTB 705), a copy of the IRS determination letter, and a copy of your divorce decree/marital settlement agreement (if applicable). If the IRS granted you relief, we are required to allow similar relief from the state liability, if certain requirements are met.

My refund was applied against my spouse’s liability. Can I file for injured spouse relief?
No. Injured spouse relief is different from innocent spouse relief. An injured spouse situation occurs when a joint tax refund is applied to the separate liability of one of the spouses who filed the joint return, such as past due separate tax liabilities or child support. California law does not have an injured spouse relief provision.

Will the FTB notify my spouse of my request for relief from a joint tax liability?
Yes. We are legally required to notify your spouse (or former spouse) and to allow the non-requesting spouse an opportunity to provide documentation to show why you should or should not be granted relief. We will also notify your spouse of our action on your request and provide the non-requesting spouse with an opportunity to appeal our decision. Upon your request, we will not disclose any of your confidential information, such as your new name and address.

I have a financial hardship and cannot pay my joint tax liability. Do I qualify for innocent spouse relief based on my financial situation?
No. A financial hardship alone does not entitle you to innocent spouse relief. However, your inability to make payment may be a factor considered for granting you equitable relief.

Will the FTB delay collection action if I decide to request relief?
Generally, upon receipt of your written request for relief, all collection activity against you will be suspended. However, interest will continue to accrue while your request is being reviewed.

Will I receive a refund if I am granted relief?
If relief is granted, under certain circumstances, a refund of amounts that you have paid may be allowed.

How do I request Innocent Spouse relief?
File an Innocent Spouse Application and attach a written statement explaining why you feel you qualify for relief. You can download the application from our Website, or we will mail one to you upon request. Call (916) 845-7072 (Monday thru Friday 8 am-5pm), or write to us at:

Franchise Tax Board MS A-452
Innocent Spouse Program
PO Box 2966
Rancho Cordova 95741-2966

Assistance in Spanish is also available.

If you have any additional questions, you can call the Innocent Spouse Program at (916) 845-7072 to discuss your specific case and circumstances.

Will you deny me relief if I do not provide the information you request?
We will base our decision on all of the information available to us. It is very important that you provide us with any information you have that supports your request for relief. We cannot act favorably on your request if we do not have enough information to conclude that you are entitled to relief.

Where can I get more information on the IRS Innocent Spouse Program?
Refer to IRS Tax Information for Innocent Spouses

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Again, this is different than being an Injured Spouse and I will try and blog on that next.
Consult your favorite tax professional and as always, since you are the one signing the tax returns, please do your own due diligence.

Kim Greenblatt

You are in Kim Greenblatt’s profitable blog learning what an Innocent Spouse is.

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Thinking About Filing Statuses for Taxes

Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008

I received an email asking me what filing status should the person file under and I had to explain that without knowing all the background information I can’t make a good determination.  I am starting up teaching basic tax preparation again so I thought I would share some of my information with you, gentle profit oriented readers.

The IRS (google them, you will find them, trust me),  has more detail than you probably are interested in on the subject but let me try and bring the key points home here:

There are five filing statuses:

Single, Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately, Head of Household, and Qualifying Widow(er) With Dependent Child.

If more than one filing status applies to you, choose the one that will give you the lowest tax.

Marital Status
In general, your filing status depends on whether you are considered unmarried or married. For federal tax purposes, a marriage means only a legal union between a man and a woman as husband and wife.

Unmarried persons.   You are considered unmarried for the whole year if, on the last day of your tax year, you are unmarried or legally separated from your spouse under a divorce or separate maintenance decree.

  State law governs whether you are married or legally separated under a divorce or separate maintenance decree.

Divorced persons.    If you are divorced under a final decree by the last day of the year, you are considered unmarried for the whole year.

Divorce and remarriage.   If you obtain a divorce in one year for the sole purpose of filing tax returns as unmarried individuals, and at the time of divorce you intended to and did remarry each other in the next tax year, you and your spouse must file as married individuals.

Annulled marriages.   If you obtain a court decree of annulment, which holds that no valid marriage ever existed, you are considered unmarried even if you filed joint returns for earlier years. You must file amended returns (Form 1040X) claiming single or head of household status for all tax years affected by the annulment that are not closed by the statute of limitations for filing a tax return. The statute of limitations generally does not expire until 3 years after your original return was filed.

Head of household or qualifying widow(er) with dependent child.   If you are considered unmarried, you may be able to file as a head of household or as a qualifying widow(er) with a dependent child. See Head of Household and Qualifying Widow(er) With Dependent Child to see if you qualify.

Married persons.   If you are considered married for the whole year, you and your spouse can file a joint return, or you can file separate returns.

Considered married.   You are considered married for the whole year if on the last day of your tax year you and your spouse meet any one of the following tests.
You are married and living together as husband and wife.

You are living together in a common law marriage that is recognized in the state where you now live or in the state where the common law marriage began.

You are married and living apart, but not legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance.

You are separated under an interlocutory (not final) decree of divorce. For purposes of filing a joint return, you are not considered divorced.
Spouse died during the year.   If your spouse died during the year, you are considered married for the whole year for filing status purposes.

  If you did not remarry before the end of the tax year, you can file a joint return for yourself and your deceased spouse. For the next 2 years, you may be entitled to the special benefits described later under Qualifying Widow(er) With Dependent Child.

  If you remarried before the end of the tax year, you can file a joint return with your new spouse. Your deceased spouse’s filing status is married filing separately for that year.

Married persons living apart.   If you live apart from your spouse and meet certain tests, you may be considered unmarried. If this applies to you, you can file as head of household even though you are not divorced or legally separated. If you qualify to file as head of household instead of as married filing separately, your standard deduction will be higher. Also, your tax may be lower, and you may be able to claim the earned income credit. See Head of Household, later.

Single
Your filing status is single if, on the last day of the year, you are unmarried or legally separated from your spouse under a divorce or separate maintenance decree, and you do not qualify for another filing status. To determine your marital status on the last day of the year, see Marital Status, earlier.

Widow(er).   Your filing status may be single if you were widowed before January 1, 2007, and did not remarry before the end of 2007. However, you might be able to use another filing status that will give you a lower tax. See Head of Household and Qualifying Widow(er) With Dependent Child, later, to see if you qualify.

How to file.   You can file Form 1040EZ (if you have no dependents, are under 65 and not blind, and meet other requirements), Form 1040A, or Form 1040. If you file Form 1040A or Form 1040, show your filing status as single by checking the box on line 1. Use the Single column of the Tax Table, or Section A of the Tax Computation Worksheet, to figure your tax.

Married Filing Jointly
You can choose married filing jointly as your filing status if you are married and both you and your spouse agree to file a joint return. On a joint return, you report your combined income and deduct your combined allowable expenses. You can file a joint return even if one of you had no income or deductions.

If you and your spouse decide to file a joint return, your tax may be lower than your combined tax for the other filing statuses. Also, your standard deduction (if you do not itemize deductions) may be higher, and you may qualify for tax benefits that do not apply to other filing statuses.

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For more information, you can check with the IRS and you may be interested in checking out my book,

“Bad Tax Idea, Good Tax Idea” for some tips that accountants and tax professionals might not give you.  You can find that book on Amazon (you can google to find that too).  All information posted here is for you to review and for more serious study and tax prepatation, kindly due your own research or consult your tax pro!

Good luck with your thoughts on Filing Statuses for Taxes!

Kim Greenblatt

 

You are in Kim Greenblatt’s blog, profitable, trying to figure out what filing status means for tax preparation!

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The First Carnival of Special Needs and Money

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008

Step right up, folks.  It is time for the carnival of special needs and money.  The carnival has blogs that may (or may not) help you with dealing with special needs and money.

As usual dear carnival guests, do your own research and due diligence with any business claims found on the net. Like any carnival, it is up to you to see which booths run fairly and which booths have the crane and kewpie dolls rigged!

Being the initial carnival, the boardwalk may be bare but fear not, as the carnival grows, so will the number of booths and rides.  Shall we get started?

 

Special Needs – The Emotional Roller Coaster
Fasten your seat belts on the emotional roller coaster for a look at my own profitable blog and you can share the joy of seeing Arianna, my daughter who has Rett Syndrome, in one of her rare moments when she talks and responds appropriately. Girls with Rett Syndrome tend to be non-verbal.

Special Needs-The Money Go Round
Tired of the baloney you hear about get rich quick schemes on the internet? Check out Money Talks and specifically this entry. Aamir Ziad states “Naturally every person wants life without being dictated or under pressure all the time by bosses, every persons wants luxurious, holidaying life- yet earning a reasonable income to at least a level to fulfill basic to luxurious needs. So naturally we all get attracted by these kind of Ads – But is it a Myth or Internet jobs/work are good enough to fill the stomach of hundred of thousands…? ”

I get questions about publishing all the time and the importance of book covers. Please feel free to join me in the dunking booth and check out if I am all wet when it comes to designing book covers, leave alone giving advice on how to make them!

Kindly check back for my regular profitable blog soon and we will try and get another carnival in a month.

If you are interested in buying any of my books, please remember that a portion of all my sales go to Rett Syndrome research.

Be healthy, wealthy, happy and wise!

Kim Greenblatt

You are reading Kim Greenblatt’s profitable blog. Welcome to his First Blog Carnvial of Special Needs and Money!

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September Tax and Financial Planning

Monday, September 1st, 2008

Here it is folks, we are in the last quarter of the year.  For this year, we are looking at a Presidential election, possibly some important elections for you locally in your city or state and time to plan for your taxes if you haven’t been doing it now.

If you haven’t planned for your quarterly taxes and you owe money, get ready to write a check.  Unless you are unemployed and strapped for cash, it is better to pay what you owe now rather than to risk penalties and problems later on.  If you are uncertain, please check with your local tax professional.

Any donations for charity have to be taken care of in the remaining quarter of the year.  Make sure that you are aware of the changes in the law for charitable contributions.  If you need to get letters of appriasal big ticket items that you are donating, make sure the people that are preparing the estimates are experts in their fields.  If the receiving charity doesn’t use or resell your gift you may not get value for that contribution.  Make sure that you understand the new contribution laws very clearly.

Planning on having children and are married?  The kids will be deductions for the current year even if they are born on Dec 31 at 11:59 PM.  Congratulations.  Don’t go out of your way to get pregnant though just for the sake of having kids.  Make sure you and your spouse talk things over.

 

While you are it, take some time and talk about possible joint incomes if you are getting serious with your BBF or significant other and thinking about marriage.

If you are in business, take some time to see what needs pruning financially. We are in a slow business cycle and the chances are that things will get worse or stay flat before they get better.

If you are planning on buying things for investment purposes or selling them, maybe alleged collectible items, you may want to keep detailed records of your transactions. Remember too that cash is king in hard times.

Perhaps you may want to invest in a book on certain types of gambling? Part of the proceeds of all the book sales go to research Rett Syndrome (RTT). Rett Syndrome affects a girl born every fifteen minutes. Boys born with the Rett gene die at birth.

May your Autumn be a profitable one and not a Fall.

Kim Greenblatt

You are deep in Kim Greenblatt’s profitable blog learning about September Tax and Financial planning.

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