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TurboTax Debit Card Refund Review

December 1, 2021November 17, 2021 by Finance Gourmet

TurboTax is a popular tax filing software package. It also offers quick tax refunds with the TurboTax debit card, or Turbo Card. There are several versions ranging from a free online basic TurboTax edition to a Home and Business TurboTax and more. They all in work in pretty much the same way. The software guides the user through a bunch of fill in the blank entry screens and does all the math and complicated tax worksheets automatically behind the scenes. For a great many Americans, using TurboTax software is just as good as paying an accountant to file taxes. But, watch out for TurboTax debit card fees if you get your refund on the TurboTax card, called the Turbo Card this year. Turbo Tax Debit Card Refund At the end of the Turbo Tax filing process, the software offers users the ability to get their tax refund via a prepaid Visa card, which is kind of like a TurboTax debit card. The Turbo Card is a Visa card offered through Green Dot Bank. Green Dot Bank is most familiar for its reloadable debit cards you can buy at 7-11 and other places, especially drug stores. There are two options for …

Is Paying Taxes Patriotic?

October 7, 2021 by Finance Gourmet

As the end of the year approaches, I’ll be focusing on tax breaks and deductions that can reduce your 2021 income taxes. Every once and a while as I help readers, friends, and family avoid paying higher taxes someone asks whether avoiding taxes is patriotic. Remember that you are an American. As an American, you live in a democracy (technically a republic) and you vote to elect representatives who go on to make laws, rules, and regulations. As an American, it is your duty to comply with these laws, rules, and regulations. Beyond that you are free to do what is best for you, your family, and your community. The influential jurist Learned Hand (No, I’m serious, he is a real person) once said, Any one may so arrange his affairs that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which will best pay the Treasury; there is not even a patriotic duty to increase one’s taxes. Gregory v. Helvering, 69 F.2d 809, 810 (2d Cir. 1934) Over and over again courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging one’s affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. …

What Is The Difference Between FSA and HSA?

April 28, 2021February 26, 2021 by Finance Gourmet

There is a lot of confusion around the difference between an HSA and a FSA. HSA stands for Health Savings Account. FSA stands for Flexible Spending Account, or sometimes, Flexible Spending Arrangement. Both types of medical savings accounts are tax-advantaged ways to save and pay for various medical expenses, but there are some very big differences. These accounts are very important for tax planning because otherwise, there is a very high threshold before you can deduct any medical expenses you might have. For many people, an HSA will be better than a Flexible Spending Account, but only if your health insurance plan qualifies. What Is a Flexible Spending Account or FSA? The FSA has been around longer, and so most people are more familiar with it. A flexible spending account is a benefit offered by your employer. You defer a certain amount of your paycheck into the FSA. Any funds contributed to an FSA are pre-tax contributions, just like a 401(k) contribution, which means you not only don’t pay taxes on that money, it doesn’t count as income for things like IRA contribution thresholds, or the child tax credit, or deducting student loan interest. That makes these contributions a very …

New Section 199A Business Tax Deduction

December 6, 2018 by Finance Gourmet

It’s time to dig into how the new Republican tax law is actually going to affect you and yours this coming tax season. While it has been a while since the law was passed, it takes some time for the IRS to iron out the actual rules. Plus, you have to wait for the year to go by before you file your taxes. So, here we are, heading into 2019, and we’ll be doing our 2018 taxes. There are a lot of changes, but one of the biggies is Section 199A. I’m going to take a quick look at the Section 199A Deduction as it applies to a freelancer, or someone who owns their own side business. Section 199A Tax Deduction As noted at the time, the Republican tax bill of 2017 was passed quickly in order to keep any opposition from building up and stopping its passage. As a result, it wasn’t very well thought through, and chances are that there are more than one or two bugs in the system. The IRS itself tried to iron some of those out as it created definitions, and rules and regulations, but there is still a lot of uncertainty about exactly …

How To Deduct Property Taxes

February 20, 2019February 11, 2018 by Finance Gourmet

Property taxes can be an important tax deduction for many home owners. Real estate taxes, in particular, can be a significant tax deduction.

Fix RMD Tax Problems With QCD

September 26, 2017 by Finance Gourmet

You’ve spent a lifetime saving for retirement, and you did a really great job. So great, in fact, that you don’t need to take money out of your IRAs. But, you’ve turned 70 1/2, and now the IRS is forcing you to withdraw money from your IRA every year in the form of a Required Minimum Distribution, or RMD. Is there any way to get around having to take an RMD? Mitigating Your RMD’s Affect On Your Taxes The IRS gave you years of tax relief on the funds in your IRA. They only did that to encourage you to save for retirement. Now, that you’re retired (or at least retirement aged) they want their money now in the form of taxes on your IRA withdrawals, but if you played your cards right, you might not ever need to withdraw, and the IRS would have to wait longer for that money. The IRS hates waiting. The RMD keeps this from being the case. Once you turn 70 1/2 years old, you have to take some money out every year, and the government is there, waiting to tax it. Unfortunately, there is no way to get out of having to take …

Avoid IRS and Tax Scams

March 7, 2016 by Finance Gourmet

The IRS is used as a way to scam Americans out of money every year. Some the tax scams are very sophisticated. Others, seem like they would defy common sense. This year, the IRS put out a list of the Dirty Dozen tax scams for people to look out for. Here are some of them. Promises of Big Refunds – This is where the complexity of the tax code bites the unwary. Yes, there are a lot of deductions, and tax credits out there, and yes, some of them can be pretty unknown, but don’t believe that you’ve been way overpaying your taxes all these years, if only you’d known about a tax loophole. Research and be sure you understand before you sign your name to any weird forms. IRS Phone Call Scams – Remember, the IRS is legally required to send you notifications of most actions before you get some phone call. Ask them to put it in writing. Also, IRS agents don’t threaten to arrest people out of the blue. Arrest, garnishment, and property forfeiture all require a court proceeding. Real IRS agents won’t tell you that this is your last chance and that you have to send money …

Mortgage Tax Deduction End of Year

December 14, 2015December 4, 2015 by Finance Gourmet

Every year a plethora of financial articles come out telling people how to save money on their taxes at the end of the year. It’s a fine idea, and frankly, no stone should go unturned. However, the best tax planning takes happens year round. That being said, there are numerous last-minute ways to cut income taxes by making last minute moves in December. Today, we examine one of the most common end of year tax moves, paying your mortgage early. Check here to learn how to deduct mortgage interest on your taxes. Make Mortgage Payment Early to Deduct More One of the biggest tax deductions that is available to ordinary taxpayers is the mortgage interest deduction. Simply put, the mortgage interest deduction is the ability to deduct whatever amount you pay in mortgage interest from your income taxes. There are several rules and exclusions, but they don’t apply to most taxpayers unless you have more than $1 million in mortgages or several houses. This is one of those tax deductions with no income limits. You do need to itemize your deductions in order to claim the mortgage interest deduction. For many people, the amount of their mortgage interest deduction determines …

What You Need To File Your Taxes

January 13, 2015 by Finance Gourmet

If you are an American, chances are you have started receiving tax forms and reports from various companies. Recently, many companies, banks, brokerages, mortgage companies, and charities have started providing tax reports and forms electronically. Ironically, you may get a notice in the mail from these entities telling you that you will get your tax documents electronically. Forms Required to File Taxes Exactly which forms you need to file your income taxes depends upon your individual tax situation. People who own their own business have more tax forms they need. Likewise, people with more deductions, or various financial vehicles such as trusts require additional documents as well. If you have any financial accounts or situations that are not “standard” you’ll need to check with an accountant or tax professional to find out what is required for you to file you taxes. Employed by an Employer If you, or you and your spouse, are not self employed, then you will need a W2 Form from your employer to file your taxes. The W2 form lists several numbers including your total wages for the year, as well as various contributions to things such as 401k plans, or cafeteria accounts, or pre-tax insurance …

Do I Need an Accountant?

June 29, 2014 by Finance Gourmet

The only question I get asked more often than, do I need a financial advisor, is do I need an accountant. The answer isn’t that complicated for most people, however, as with all things money and finance, there are always some exceptions that seem to throw off the ability for anyone to give a straight answer. So, let’s start with with what an accountant does and does not do, and then move on from there. The spoiler, if you are chomping at the bit to get a quick answer, is probably not, but let’s examine the angles to be sure. What Does An Accountant Do? First of all, before deciding whether or not you need an accountant, you should probably understand what an accountant does. More importantly, you should probably understand what an accountant does not do. Now, just like other professions, there are accountants who do more than accounting. I actually know some accountants who are also financial advisors. After all, there is some merit to wrapping all of your financial needs into one little package from the same professional you already trust. But, for our purposes here, we are going to focus on just accountants. That is, do …