07/05/2008

No rebate check yet? Here are some reasons

07/04/2008

More questions answered about the federal rebate
If you have a comfortable lifestyle, a steady source of income and a grill that’s chock-full of food this holiday, the federal rebate program is probably the last thing on your mind.

06/30/2008

Downing: Thousands in R.I. have yet to file for the rebate they’re due

06/29/2008

Downing: Rebate can be forwarded to new address
Q: I recently lived in Warwick. I moved [last] week to West Greenwich. I am wondering where my [rebate] money will come from the government. I assume it will be transferred by mail and delivered here ….

06/28/2008

MONEYLINE 277-7484

06/20/2008

Millions in R.I., Mass. tax rebates going unclaimed
Many people who don’t normally file a tax return don’t realize that they’re eligible for the payments, which are intended to stimulate the economy.

06/01/2008

Net tax liability is key to tax rebate

05/31/2008

Amended return may delay your rebate

05/20/2008

MoneyLine’s Neil Downing: Rebate won’t affect next year’s tax refund

05/19/2008

MoneyLine: Be patient: the rebates will arrive
Q. What if you have not received your rebate and it is past the expected deposit date? My last [two] numbers [of my Social Security number] are 06. I do not owe any back taxes, student loans or child support. I called the automated number and I can’t get any information.

05/18/2008

Moneyline’s Downing: Tax liability affects rebate amount

05/17/2008

Downing: Age affects rebates for children

05/16/2008

Another rebate for some families
Up to 350,000 families nationwide have not received an additional rebate amount for their children even though they’re eligible, the Internal Revenue Service said yesterday.

05/11/2008

Check or direct-deposit: How will your IRS rebate arrive? MoneyLine’s Neil Downing explains the details.
This is the fourth federal income-tax rebate program intended to help stimulate the nation’s economy. The others were in 1975, 2001 and 2003.

05/10/2008

Got your rebate?
The rebate program has now officially begun.

05/06/2008

MoneyLine’s Neil Downing: Don’t rule out rebate for dead son
Q: My son was due to receive the IRS rebate in May and elected direct deposit. He already received his IRS refund. He died recently in a car accident. What happens to his IRS rebate? Will one still be issued, or is he considered ineligible now? (He was single, had no children, owned no property.)

05/05/2008

Income limits may reduce your federal rebate

05/04/2008

There’s no tax on economic stimulus rebate

04/30/2008

What will you do with the rebate money?
WARWICK –– Shannon Denning knows exactly what she will do with the federal rebate that is coming her way soon.

04/29/2008

First federal rebate checks are delivered
Good news on the rebate front.

04/28/2008

Penalty applies if you withdraw from 401(k) for education costs
Q: I have a 401(k) education withdrawal. I was wondering whether I have to pay [a] 10-percent tax on that withdrawal.

04/27/2008

Payments of rebates to begin
This is it –– the week that the U.S. Treasury starts distributing rebates under the new federal economic-stimulus law.

04/20/2008

Rebate has no effect on benefits
In less than two weeks, the U.S. Treasury will start distributing about $107 billion in federal rebates to more than 130 million Americans as part of the new economic stimulus law.

04/15/2008

MoneyLine: Rhode Islanders scramble to file income-tax returns before midnight tonight
Robert Pierce puts in a lot of hours as assistant store manager for the McDonald’s restaurant on Branch Avenue in Providence.

Where to get answers, and other tips for last-minute filers
If you have not filed your federal and state income-tax returns yet, you are down to your final hours –– the deadline is midnight tonight.

04/13/2008

State is ahead of the curve in processing tax returns
Q: Do you know if and when the checks will be coming out from [Rhode Island’s statewide property-tax relief program]? We filed and mailed [the form] a long time back. As of today, we have not received it. I am wondering if it was sent out and went to the wrong place, or [if] they have not been sent out.

04/14/2008

You can check on the status of your state, federal tax refund
Q: I was wondering if you have any idea what is taking Rhode Island so long to send out the tax refunds by mail.

04/12/2008

File amended return to fix error, get right rebate
Q: Back in February, I sent in Form 1040A for the rebate under the new federal economic stimulus law. However, where income from Social Security was indicated, I filled in the amount I received monthly, inasmuch as I could not find the original notice for my Social Security benefits, which I now have found. Do I have to refile, or will they just multiply the monthly amount by 12, which I probably should have done myself. . . .

Haven’t filed your income taxes? These last-minute tips may help
Still haven’t filed your income-tax return?

04/08/2008

MoneyLine’s Neil Downing: The first quarterly tax payments are due April 15.
Tax-filing deadline is a week from tonight. And it’s not just for filing your annual tax returns.

04/07/2008

Tax rebate won’t count against eligibility for subsidized housing
Suppose you live in government-subsidized housing for the elderly, and you’re eligible for a rebate under the new federal economic stimulus law. Will the rebate you receive somehow wind up counting against you? That’s the question a woman from North Providence asked MoneyLine:

04/06/2008

Medicaid recipients qualify for tax rebate
Suppose your mother — or another elderly relative or friend — resides in a nursing home, her care paid for mainly by the joint federal and state program known as Medicaid.

04/05/2008

Neil Downing: Pay taxes due now to avoid penalty
Tax-filing deadline is just 10 days away. Suppose your federal income-tax return shows a balance due. Should you skip paying it, knowing that a rebate is just around the corner? That’s the question a woman from Charlestown asked MoneyLine:

04/01/2008

Neil Downing: Change in dividend requires an amended return
Q: I completed my taxes and

03/31/2008

Parents take heed: Children under 17 represent tax advantage
Q: I have a question relative to the child credit one can claim on a tax return. Me and my wife filed our joint return this year, and we were told that since our son turned 17 years old in November, that we cannot receive any child credit. Is this accurate? He’s still in high school and resides with us. By the way, we also have two younger children living with us, if this helps. If this is false, can we amend our taxes?

03/30/2008

MoneyLine: Taxpayers’ rebates create confusion

03/28/2008

Downing: Veterans filing for rebates
BRISTOL — Thomas Newman doesn’t usually file a federal income-tax return. He doesn’t have to.

03/25/2008

Neil Downing: Soon, $100 will buy you a T-bill
Good news for small investors:

03/24/2008

Someone who can be claimed as a dependent doesn’t get a rebate
Q: On the rebate: . . . I am single, head-of-household, [and claim] my mother as dependent. Is she eligible for the rebate? I know I will be. But because I claim her as a dependent, would she be eligible for the rebate?

03/23/2008

Retirees with higher incomes may qualify for rebate
Q: My question is regarding the rebate. We file [a] joint return. However, I have retired early. I have no . . . Social Security and no [income from] employment. Would we be entitled to the family rebate of $1,200 since I am not working? Our income, adjusted, is around $100,000.

03/19/2008

Who wants a rebate?
Social Security retirement, disability and survivor benefits count as qualifying income. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) does not.

03/18/2008

WHEN YOU WILL GET YOUR REBATE
The government has set dates for handing out the rebates, based on whether by direct deposit or mail. You should get your rebate by these dates, which are based on the last two digits of your social security number:

First rebates in the mail on May 2
When will you receive your federal rebate? Now we know — the Internal Revenue Service published the payment schedule yesterday.

03/11/2008

Downing: Mailing lists steps to rebate
Good news if you’re a low-income taxpayer:

03/10/2008

Surviving spouse is eligible for couple’s full federal tax rebate
Q: I have a question on the rebate, when filing a joint return. If one of the parties passes away . . . do both the parties receive the rebate or just the one?

03/09/2008

You won’t have to give back the rebate
Q: My question is regarding the rebate . . . . Are we going to have to give this money back when we do our taxes for 2008?

03/08/2008

E-file now works for rebates
Q: My elderly mother … primarily has non-taxable Social Security income and wouldn’t have to file a tax return except for the need to get the tax incentive rebate. You advised on your Web site column to file manually and write [the words “Stimulus Payment” across the top of] the return. The same instructions were given on the IRS.gov Web site. However, I read recently that the IRS was working on making possible the electronic filing for this situation. I looked at the IRS.gov Web site very recently and haven’t seen this implemented yet. Any idea when the IRS thinks it will be possible to file electronically for this situation? …

03/05/2008

More elderly filing federal taxes this year
TIVERTON — The retirement benefits that Yvonne R. Bergeron receives each month from the Social Security Administration represent her sole source of income, she said.

03/04/2008

MoneyLine columnist Neil Downing explains how to retrieve information from a previous year’s tax return, if you don’t have a copy

03/03/2008

For tax rebate, income limit applies to the ‘head of household’
Q: I know you said you had to have income of $75,000 or under if you are single, or $150,000 [or less] if you file jointly, [to be eligible for a full federal rebate]. You did not mention what the limit would be if you are head of household . . . .

03/02/2008

Social Security recipients eligible for tax rebate
Q: My mother doesn’t usually have to file [a federal income-tax return]; she has only Social Security and very little interest. If I read you correctly, all she needs to do to get the rebate is file and report her Social Security income and write “stimulus rebate” on the top. That’s it? No other entries on form, besides name, address, Social Security number?

03/01/2008

Downing: Rebate notices to be sent to taxpayers
Still trying to figure out whether you’ll get a federal rebate this year, or how much you might be eligible to receive?

02/26/2008

Fastest route to rebate
Q: I was reading ... the details on the rebate. The Social Security Administration knows the people that are getting Social Security benefits. Why can’t they go by that list, instead of making everybody fill in a form in order to get their amount of the rebate? I just think it is a lot of work on everyone’s part....

03/02/2008

Social Security recipients eligible for tax rebate
Q: My mother doesn’t usually have to file [a federal income-tax return]; she has only Social Security and very little interest. If I read you correctly, all she needs to do to get the rebate is file and report her Social Security income and write “stimulus rebate” on the top. That’s it? No other entries on form, besides name, address, Social Security number?

02/24/2008

Capital-gains changes
If you haven’t prepared your Rhode Island income-tax return yet, today’s MoneyLine offers some help.

02/23/2008

Downing: Working students may not qualify for rebates
Amid the rebate revelry, it’s important to keep in mind that some people simply aren’t eligible for one — including many college students. That’s the point that a grandfather raised in his message to MoneyLine:

02/21/2008

Rebates: Knowing the route
It was only last week that President Bush signed a law which will deliver rebates to more than 130 million Americans.

02/19/2008

Downing: Double rebate may be possible in cases of divorce
Suppose you’re divorced. Suppose, too, that when it comes to claiming your child as a dependent on your federal income-tax return, you and your ex-spouse “switch off” — one parent claims the child one year, the other parent claims the child the next year.

02/17/2008

Tax return needed to get rebate
This is the first installment in a two-part MoneyLine series that serves as a guide to preparing your federal income-tax return. (The second part appears tomorrow.)

02/18/2008

More tax-time tips
This is the second installment in a two-part MoneyLine series with tips for preparing your federal income-tax return. (The first part appeared yesterday.)

02/16/2008

Rebate mysteries solved
Rebate fever is gripping the nation.

02/14/2008

Questions answered about the rebate checks
It’s what many MoneyLine readers have been clamoring for — details about the federal rebate checks.

Questions answered about the rebate checks
It’s what many MoneyLine readers have been clamoring for — details about the federal rebate checks.

02/12/2008

Downing: Tax return must be filed in order to receive a rebate.
If you want a rebate, you’ll have to file a tax return.

02/11/2008

Generally, interest you pay on a home-equity loan is deductible
Q: My wife and I consolidated my daughter’s student loans from college so we would only be making one payment. We used the home equity loan. . . . We were just wondering if we were allowed to deduct the interest on that loan. My accountant says we are not, so I am at an impasse.

02/09/2008

Now that rebate plan is approved, how much can you expect?
Good news:

Home Depot loses tax suit
A District Court judge sides with the Rhode Island Division of Taxation, saying that the company was not due sales tax refunds.

02/05/2008

Downing:Tell the IRS if you paid too much Social Security tax

01/29/2008

Downing: Earned-income credit is a boost
Vivian Moreno was doing a pretty good job yesterday.

Whitehouse backs expanded stimulus package
PROVIDENCE — U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse yesterday urged Congress and President Bush to expand a federal economic stimulus package that they proposed last week.

01/28/2008

When filing online there’s a choice for signing tax return
If you file your federal and Rhode Island income-tax returns electronically, online, must you also mail in some paperwork? That’s the question a man from Cranston asked MoneyLine:

01/22/2008

Neil Downing: Social Security income limits are taxing
As each tax-filing season comes and goes, more and more Social Security beneficiaries wind up paying income tax on their benefits. What can be done? That’s what a man from Westerly asked MoneyLine:

01/15/2008

IRS (sort of) ready when you are
The Internal Revenue Service on Friday began accepting most electronically filed federal income-tax returns, said IRS spokeswoman Peggy Riley.

01/02/2008

R.I. hires lawyers to pursue taxes from nonresidents
About 1,800 people who live elsewhere owe the state between $4 million and $5 million, the tax administrator says.

12/27/2007

Tax offices mailing fewer forms in ’08
The increasing number of people using electronic filing is prompting the move.

12/20/2007

Congress curbs alternative minimum tax
About 20 million households are spared an extra tax bill of $2,000 resulting from a measure originally intended to target multimillionaires.

12/17/2007

By year’s end, reshape portfolio to lower taxes
NEW YORK — The final weeks of the year offer mutual fund investors a key opportunity to make changes in their holdings. It’s worth taking the time because a few deft moves now could make way for big gifts: smaller tax bills and more well-rounded portfolios.

Year’s end brings thoughts of taxes
WASHINGTON — Here are two words that can get a person so riled up you would think you’d insulted their mama: tax time.