Don't Be Scammed by the IRS
Every year, the Internal Revenue Service receives reports from taxpayers who received suspect communications claiming to be from the IRS. A majority of these scams use the IRS logo or name to trick individuals into giving away personal and financial information. The scammers receive personal information, like Social Security numbers, bank account or credit cards numbers, to commit identity theft. To avoid these scams, called phishing scams, from happening to you, there are five things the IRS would like you to know about these phishing scams. The IRS never asks for detailed personal and financial information. The IRS never initiates communication with a taxpayer through e-mail and will not send a message about a taxpayer’s account. The official IRS website is http://www.irs.gov. If on a site that seems suspect, make sure to not provide any personal information and report the site to the IRS. If someone claiming to be from the IRS contacts you and you believe that it is not an IRS employee, contact the IRS at 1-800-839-1040 to verify if the IRS has a genuine need to contact you. Details on how to provide information to the IRS to prevent others from being victimized are available at http://www.irs.gov, using the keyword “phishing.”
An asset protection trust protects your assets against creditor attack, and there are a number of different methods to protect different categories of assets.
Builders often pay lower property taxes for undeveloped property. Real property taxes owed for a newly built home often do not take effect until some requirement takes place that causes the local taxing body to increase the taxes to the appropriate level. But the difference in taxes does not mean that the builder misled the buyer. 
If employed by two different employers last year, do not miss out on an often overlooked tax credit. Look at the total amount of the Social Security taxes withheld by all your employers from your pay. The maximum amount withheld should have been $6,621.60. If the total withheld by your employers exceeds that amount, then you can claim a tax credit for the excess amount. If filing a joint return with your spouse, do not add the amount withheld together for both wages. Figure out the total amount withheld for each and determine if either spouse has excess withholding. 
It is essential to create a backup of all important documents because disasters are often unannounced. First, it is important to create a list of personal and financial details and e-mail an encrypted copy to yourself and immediate family. Second, extra copies of original certificates and basic data should be kept aside. All of the following items need to be kept and updated in the form of a table or a list: bank details, investment details, and insurance details. Because the retrieval of documents in an emergency is important, a set should be kept in your bank locker and with a trusted person that lives in a location other than your city. The documents in the bank locker can help for emergencies such as a fire or thief, while the person located outside of your city can help with emergencies such as natural disasters. These important documents can also be kept with your lawyer. 
At this moment in time, retirement for those lower income households is not good. Anyone and everyone who is not wealthy are at risk of not achieving a financially secure retirement. Not everyone has this mindset, but if you had more to put away for your future, you would probably take the chance. This year there are three ways to help do just that. 
While employers may think that some of the heat is off with Baby Boomers entering into retirement, employee benefits are still of importance because of the Generation Y employers entering into the work place. Generation Y, which is the youngest generation now entering the workforce, is taking an interest into building and protecting their financial lives. Rivaling the number of Baby Boomers at 80 million, Generation Y is nearly 75 million strong. Generation Y, individuals ages 18 to 32, is displaying an interest in planning for the future. The amount of individuals from Generation Y who said they are extremely/very familiar with life insurance increased from 31 percent in 2008 to 44 percent in 2010. Those who stated they are extremely/very familiar with retirement accounts increased from 31 percent to 43 percent. Twenty-four percent of this generation said it is extremely/very familiar with disability insurance, which increased from 16 percent. 
Saving for retirement is critical for everyone. It is especially important for women. Women tend to live longer and make less than men but save, on average, 40% less than men. Women’s defined contribution (DC) plan balances tend to be 60% of men’s balances, which can be concerning due to the longevity of life and disruptions for caregiving. Capitalizing on savings opportunities is of great importance while working. On average, working women 50 or older have a DC plan balance that is almost $63,000 below working men of the same age. 
Most individuals would be in agreement that when it comes time, they want a good death. Too often, this is not further defined by the person, and there are uncertainties abounding when a crisis occurs. Spouses, children, siblings and others often find themselves in the unpleasant position of surrogate decision-maker, trying to decide what their loved one would want if they could make the decision. This is a role many have to step into, with only one in four people having signed advance directives that indicate their desires if they cannot make medical choices themselves. 
The popular research tax credit expired in 2009. The 2010 Tax Relief Act retroactively reinstates this credit to January 1, 2010 and will extend throughout 2011. The Joint Committee of Taxation estimates the cost will be $13.3 billion. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit was set to expire August 31, 2011. This provision, which is now set to expire at the end of 2011, gives employers credits up to $2,400 per qualified employee. 
To determine the income tax form needed to file for your business depends on the business entity established at the onset of the business. Review your business records to determine the type of entity formed and follow the IRS’s guidelines on how to report business income. Each type of entity has a different tax filing requirement. The different types of businesses are sole proprietorship, general or limited partnership, C corporation, S corporation, limited liability company (LLC), and limited liability partnership (LLP). 
Inflation was minimal last year, so most numbers that are required by tax law to change remain unchanged or slightly changed for 2011. For business driving, the standard rate went from 50 cents per mile to 51 cents per mile. For medical and moving, the standard rate increased from 16.5 cents to 19 cents per mile. The general mileage rate for charitable driving stayed at 14 cents per mile. 
A Consumer Report’s Survey has found that among those 55 and older and nearing retirement, only 21 percent are satisfied with their retirement plans. So do not worry that you are alone in thinking that you have not put enough aside to retire comfortably. For those who were satisfied, living modestly and saving a lot were both listed as steps toward their retirement. 
Many people wait to create their first will due to some life-changing event that occurs. Having children, getting married, or even losing a loved one. Whatever the motivation, everyone needs to have an estate plan or a completely new one if the old one is really old. There is more to an estate plan than just a will. Some people even have pieces of an estate plan already created, such as a living will signed due to an elective surgery or a beneficiary form for a 401(k) for a job. All the pieces need to fit together. The beneficiary forms signed for life insurance and retirement accounts control who gets those assets, not your will. However, a will is still an important part of an estate plan. 
Recently, I was going through the iPhone App Store and I saw that there are a few free tax-related Apps. The first App was published by the IRS and is entitled “IRS2Go”. It is a free App which allows you to track your refund status, sign-up to receive tax updates via email, follow the IRS on Twitter – if you feel inclined to do so – and finally gives you different ways to contact the IRS based upon what your specific questions are. The App is very simple and easy to use.
