Geothermal Pays Off Quick with Tax Credits

Federal Geothermal Tax Credit

Eligible Renewable/Other Technologies: Solar Water Heat, Photovoltaics, Wind, Fuel Cells, Geothermal Heat Pumps, Other Solar Electric Technologies, Fuel Cells using Renewable Fuels

Applicable Sectors: Residential

Amount: 30%

Maximum Incentive: Solar-electric systems placed in service before 1/1/2009: $2,000
Solar-electric systems placed in service after 12/31/2008: no maximum
Solar water heaters placed in service before 1/1/2009: $2,000
Solar water heaters placed in service after 12/31/2008: no maximum
Geothermal heat pumps placed in service in 2008: $2,000
Geothermal heat pumps placed in service after 12/31/2008: no maximum

Equipment Requirements: Solar water heating property must be certified by SRCC or a comparable entity endorsed by the state where the system is installed. At least half the energy used to heat the dwelling’s water must be from solar. Geothermal heat pumps must meet federal Energy Star criteria.

Expiration Date: 12/31/2016

• Iowa Geothermal Tax Credit is equal to 20% of the 30% allowed by the federal geothermal tax credit.

Your Rights As A Taxpayer

The Internal Revenue Service is responsible to explain and protect your rights. Information proved will not be disclosed to anyone except as authorized by law. You have the right to know why the IRS is asking for information, how it will be used, and what happens if you do not provide the requested information. Click here to view IRS Publication 1: Your Rights as a Taxpayer.

 

Linn County offices unable to accept credit cards

For those of using making online property tax or vehicle registration renewal payments…

The Linn County treasurer’s office and the planning and development department are changing credit card processing vendors and it will affect some payment by credit card options for a brief period beginning 1 p.m. today.

The disruption for credit card payments with the treasurer’s office will affect vehicle registration renewals made online at www.iowataxandtags.gov between 1 p.m. today and 12:01 a.m. June 28 and all online property tax payments until the middle of July.The website will not be able to accept credit card payments during this time. Residents will be able to make payments using a credit card or by e-check in person at the treasurer’s office or over the phone until the tax payment portion of the website is back up in July.

The planning and development department will not be able to accept credit card payments between 1 p.m. today and 5 p.m. June 29. Credit card processing for the planning and development department will be available again beginning July 2 at 8 a.m.

Anyone with questions should call the either the Linn County treasurer’s office at (319) 892-5500 or the planning and development department at (319) 892-5130.

Iowa mortgage delinquencies fall

The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on residential properties in Iowa was 4.65 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2012, a decrease of 117 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2011, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, Iowa ranked 42^nd  in delinquencies and 41^st in foreclosures started. Mississippi ranked first in delinquencies with a rate of 10.93 percent and Florida ranked first in foreclosure starts with a rate of 1.73 percent.

The delinquency rates excludes loans in the process of foreclosure. The percentage of loans in Iowa on which foreclosure was started during the quarter fell 3 basis points to 0.63 percent, while the percentage of loans in the foreclosure process at the end of the quarter fell 1 basis point to 2.78 percent.

Souce: Corridor Business Journal Jan. 20 PM Update email

Iowa Department of Revenue: 2012 Interest Rates

Interest Rate for 2012

January 1, 2012, through December 31, 2012

Yearly: 5%

Monthly: 0.4%

Daily: 0.013661%

Form W-2 Reporting of Employer Provided Health Coverage

The Affordable Care Act requires employers to report the cost of coverage under an employer-sponsored group health plan. Reporting the cost of health care coverage on the Form W-2 does not mean that the coverage is taxable. The value of the employer’s excludable contribution to health coverage continues to be excludable from an employee’s income, and it is not taxable. This reporting is for informational purposes only and will provide employees useful and comparable consumer information on the cost of their health care coverage.

Employers that provide “applicable employer-sponsored coverage” under a group health plan are subject to the reporting requirement. This includes businesses, tax-exempt organizations, and federal, state and local government entities (except with respect to plans maintained primarily for members of the military and their families). However, federally recognized Indian tribal governments are not subject to this requirement.

Taxpayer’s Guide to Identity Theft

We know identity theft is a frustrating process for victims. We take this issue very seriously and continue to expand on our robust screening process in order to stop fraudulent returns.

What is identity theft?

Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information such as your name, Social Security number (SSN) or other identifying information, without your permission, to commit fraud or other crimes.

How do you know if your tax records have been affected?

Usually, an identity thief uses a legitimate taxpayer’s identity to fraudulently file a tax return and claim a refund. Generally, the identity thief will use a stolen SSN to file a forged tax return and attempt to get a fraudulent refund early in the filing season.

You may be unaware that this has happened until you file your return later in the filing season and discover that two returns have been filed using the same SSN.

Be alert to possible identity theft if you receive an IRS notice or letter that states that:

• More than one tax return for you was filed,
• You have a balance due, refund offset or have had collection actions taken against you for a year you did not file a tax return, or
• IRS records indicate you received wages from an employer unknown to you.

What to do if your tax records were affected by identity theft?

For the full IRS Taxpayer Guide to Identity Theft click here.

2012 Refunds Smaller than 2011

The IRS recently published some statistics on 2011 tax returns (filed in 2012, excluding extensions) which revealed some interesting factoids, such as:

– If you got a refund this year, chances are that it was lower than the one you received in 2011. The average tax refund amount paid by the IRS through the end of April 2012 was $2,716, or $106 lower than the 2011 average refund of $2,822.

– While direct deposit is by far the fastest way to get your tax refund, it is also looks like the more rewarding with the average direct deposit refund coming in at: $2,923 (though still lower than the 2011 average of $3,044)

– Of the 111 million tax refunds e-filed, approx 70 million were done via a preparer, vs about 41.5 million being self-prepared. Despite the abundance of tax filing software, it seems like more people like the comfort of a professional when filing their returns.

While it’s always nice to receive money from the IRS, rather than paying them, a refund is basically a free loan to the IRS via overpayment of your taxes through the year. If you are consistently getting a larger than average refund, chances are you are withholding too much in taxes from your paycheck or other income sources.

Source: http://www.savingtoinvest.com/2012/05/2012-tax-refunds-smaller-than-2011-payments.html

Most student loans unaffected by upcoming increase in rates

You know an issue has reached critical mass when it’s the topic of late-night comedian Jimmy Fallon’s “Slow Jam the News” segment, and none other than President Obama shows up to help.

The subject of the slow jam? On July 1, the interest rate for some new federal student loans is scheduled to increase to 6.8% from 3.4%. President Obama wants to extend the lower rate for another year. Republicans in Congress say they support the extension, but disagree with the president’s plan to pay for it.

Many graduates are struggling with unaffordable loan payments, so any suggestion that loans will become more expensive is worrisome to a lot of college students. But a lot of information that has been circulated about the pending rate increase is misleading, if not downright wrong, says Kalman Chany, author of Paying for College Without Going Broke. If you have student loans, or plan to borrow, click here to learn what you need to know:

 

Paying the state of Iowa? 2011 Tax Payment is due April 30th!

If you owe the state of Iowa and filed your Iowa return electronically – the payment is your responsibility.

Include payment payable to Treasurer- State of Iowa with form  IA 1040V 2011 and mail to:

Iowa Department of Revenue
Iowa Income Tax — Document Processing
PO Box 10466
Des Moines, IA 50306-0466