Many small businesses that provide health insurance coverage to their employees now qualify for a special tax credit, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Included in the health care reform legislation, the credit is designed to encourage small employers to offer health insurance coverage for the first time or maintain coverage they’re currently offering. The credit is available to small employers that pay at least half the cost of single coverage for their employees.
For example; small employers are considered to have fewer than 25 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees paying wages averaging less than $50,000 per employee per year. However, because the eligibility formula is based in part on the number of FTEs, not the number of employees, many businesses will qualify even if they employ more than 25 individual workers.
The maximum credit is 35 percent of premiums paid in 2010 by eligible small business employers. Eligible small businesses can claim the credit as part of the general business credit starting with the 2010 income tax return they file in 2011. For tax-exempt employers, the IRS will provide further information on how to claim the credit.
On last Monday, April 5, banks nationwide began offering the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA). This new federal program will try to help homeowners avoid foreclosure by offering incentives to lenders that offer a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.
Earlier this week, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported some lenders and loan services have been slow to implement the program or are unaware of its availability.
NAR has prepared resources to help REALTORS® answer questions about HAFA. Their new short sale Web page includes HAFA forms, breaking news and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac real estate commission policies.
Call your Realtor today for more info, or contact me and I will be happy to forward you some information.
~ Barry Ripp emailto: barry at barryripp.com
Governor Proposes $10K home buyer Tax Credit: During his final “state of the State” speech on Wednesday Jan. 6, Governor Schwarzenegger proposed a state income tax credit of $10,000 for first-time home buyers. The proposal would expand the tax credit for those purchasing newly constructed homes to include the purchase of existing homes by first-time home buyers.
For more information, contact me.
~ Barry
Here is some information on the real estate market. In my opinion, if you’re ready to buy a home, start looking now. There will likely be more inventory to chose from in the spring, but by looking now, you’ll be ready to make that final decision when the right house comes along.
Recent good news about the housing market has many home buyers wondering whether now is a good time to buy. For example, home sales activity increased 9.4 percent nationally in September, a 26 percent increase from a low point in January, according to the National Association of Realtors.
The $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit has stimulated the market, and it has been extended. A credit of up to $6,500 is now available to repeat home buyers who qualify.
Many buyers are having difficulty finding a home to buy. The inventory of good listings on the market is low in many areas because prospective sellers who don’t have to sell now are waiting for a better market. To aggravate the situation, many sellers who need to sell now often take their home off the market after Thanksgiving and will bring it back on the market next year.
Buyers may find there’s very little on the market to choose from for the next several months. However, they may also find that some buyers will drop out of the market over the holiday season, leaving less competition for the listings that are on the market during this period.
~ Barry Ripp
Information provided by C.A.R and used with permission.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/06/REAI1ARGC5.DTL&type=realestate#ixzz0ZnrVz7Rf
Maintaining a good credit score can help you in a number of financial situations. For example, most lenders use your FICO score to judge credit worthiness. FICO stands for Fair Isaac Corp. which analyzes credit information to come up with a score.
A good score can mean a lot when it comes to your interest rate for car loans and home loans.
One key to keeping a good credit score is a combination of continuing to use your credit responsibly and paying down balances as soon as you can. I think it’s better to pay your credit cards off each month to avoid paying the high interest. So don’t buy more than you can afford to pay off.
To make sure you don’t have any credit errors, check your own credit at least once a year. You can get a free report from each of the three credit reporting agencies.
For a free copy of your credit report from all three agencies, you can visit: www.annualcreditreport.com They will ask several questions to insure security and also ask you to pay for an upgraded report, but a free report is available.
I hope you find this information helpful. I feel we all need to be more careful about using credit. But credit can be a useful tool when we need it.
~ Barry
