Making Work Pay Credit

If you have earned income, such as from W2 wages, you may have noticed you had less withholdings.  This was because of the Making Work Pay Credit enacted last year as part of the Stimulus Act of 2009.  Instead of giving you one lump sum (like the year before), you had less withholdings throughout the year.  To offset this “underpayment”, you will receive a credit on your tax return.  It is 6.2% of your earned income but cannot be more than $400 ($800 if married filing jointly).  You will find this on line 63 of your 2009 tax return.

Unemployment Compensation

You do not have to pay tax on unemployment compensation of up to $2,400 per recipient.  Amounts over $2,400 are still taxable.

COBRA Subsidy

The 65% subsidy for payment of COBRA health care coverage continuation premiums is not taxable for federal income tax purposes.

Home Mortgage Principal Reductions

Any Pay-for-Performance Success Payments that reduce the principal balance of your home mortgage under the Home Affordable Modification Program are not taxable.

American Opportunity Credit

The Maximum Hope education credit has increased to $2,500 for most taxpayers.  The increased credit is now called the American Opportunity Credit and can be used for 4 years of college instead of 2.  Part of the credit may be refundable.

IRA Deduction Expanded

You may be able to take an IRA deduction if you were covered by a retirement plan and your 2009 modified adjusted gross income (AGI) is less than $65,000 ($109,000 if married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er)).  If your spouse was covered by a retirement plan, but you were not, you may be able to take an IRA deduction if your 2009 modified AGI is less than $176,000.

Deduction for Motor Vehicle Taxes

If you bought a new motor vehicle after February 16, 2009, you may be able to deduct any state or local sales or excise taxes on the purchase.  In states without a sales tax, you may be able to deduct certain other taxes or fees instead.  Take the deduction on Schedule A if you are itemizing deductions and are not electing to deduct state and local general sales taxes.  If you are not itemizing deductions, these taxes increase your standard deduction and are claimed on Schedule L.

First-Time Homebuyer Credit

The credit increases to as much as $8,000 ($4,000 if married filing separately) for homes bought after 2008 and before May 1, 2010 (before July 1 2010, if you entered into a written binding contract before May 1, 2010).  Did you buy a Meridian Idaho Short Sale?  Or did you sell your House for sale in Eagle Idaho last year??  You can choose to claim the credit on your 2009 return for a home you bought in 2010 that qualifies for the credit.  You generally must repay any credit you claimed for 2008 if you sold your home in 2009 or the home ceased to be your main home in 2009.

Move Up Credit

Long-time resident homebuyers can claim the Homebuyer Credit, but they must have lived in the same principal residence for any consecutive five-year period during the eight-year period that ended on the date the new home is purchased. Additionally, your settlement date must be after November 6, 2009

Credit for Non-Business Energy Property

You May be able to take this credit for qualifying energy saving items for yourhomeplaced in service in 2009.

Standard Mileage Rates

The 2009 rate for business use of your vehicle is 55 cents a mile.  The 2009 rate for use of your vehicle to get medical care or to move is 24 cents a mile.

Earned Income Credit (EIC)

The EIC has increased for people with three or more children and for some married couples filing jointly.  You may be able to take the EIC if:

• Three or more children lived with you and your earned less than $43,279 ($48,279 if married filing jointly).

• Two children lived with you and you earned less than $40,295 ($45,295 if married filing jointly).

• One Child lived with you and you earned less than $35,463 ($40,463 if married filing jointly).

The maximum AGI you can have and still get the credit also has increased.  You may be able to take the credit if your AGI is less than the amount in the above list that applies to you.  The maximum investment income you can have and still get the credit has increased to $3,100.

Tax on Childs Investment Income

The amount of taxable investment income a child can have without it being subject to tax at the parent’s rate has increased to $1,900.

Limit on Exclusion of Gain on Sale of Main Home

In certain cases, gain from the sale of your main home is no longer excludable from income if it is allocable to periods after 2008 when neither you nor your spouse (or your former spouse) used the property as a main home.

Electric Vehicle Credits

You may be able to take a credit for:

• A plug-in electric drive motor vehicle placed in service in 2009
• A plug-in electric vehicle bought after February 17, 2009.

Conversion of a vehicle to a plug-in electric drive motor vehicle place in service after February 17, 2009.

So in looking at this, there are lot’s of small deductions for this or that.  But the biggest deduction you’ll have is from your home!  If you bought or sold a home in Meridian, Eagle or Boise Idaho – or looking to buy or sale a home- contact me at 208-288-2976 or visit my website at www.idahorealtyinfo.com.

Need tax assistance… call Jodi at;

Jodi Whittaker, CPA, MST
Whittaker&Associates, Inc.

Certified Public Accountants

155 E. 50th Street
Boise, ID 83714

208.373.7890 p

Here’s to hoping you receive a LARGE REFUND!!!

Paul Wallin
208-288-2976paul@idahorealtyinfo.com
http://www.idahorealtyinfo.com

Humidity makes your home more comfortable in winter, but you can have too much of a good thing. When you see condensation on your windows in wintertime, it’s a sign that you should lower the humidity level in your house. Otherwise, the water that condenses on your windows – not to mention inside your walls – can cause damage over time.

Try these suggestions for reducing humidity levels.

1. Reduce moisture sources within your house:
   • Don’t store firewood in the home.
   • Repair foundation leaks.
   • Turn your humidifier down or off.
   • Cover any exposed earth floor in a basement or crawl space, as well as sump pits.
   • Don’t hang laundry to dry inside your home.
   • Limit the use of vaporizers or steam generators.
2. Ventilate your home:
   • Vent your dryer to the outside.
   • Use exhaust fans when showering or cooking.
   • Install a heat recovery ventilator (HRV) to exhaust warm moist air from your house and replace it with dry, fresh air from outdoors.
3. Adjust the humidifier on your furnace, based on the outdoor temperature:
   • -20 degrees F. — 15%
   • -20 to -10 degrees F. — 20%
   • -10 to 0 degrees F. — 25%
   • 0 to +10 degrees F. — 35%
   • +10 and above degrees F. — 40%

Picking a tree and keeping it FRESH!

If you plan to buy a cut Christmas tree, there’s no need to wait to buy it – even if you don’t want to put it up yet!  Because the trees are already cut, they will not be getting any fresher!  So go out and buy your tree, take it home, and put it in a bucket of water on the north side of the house (shade side).

When you’re ready to bring it in and decorate it, cut an inch off the truck and immediately put the tree in water in a tree stand.  Never let the tree be out of water after this point (check on it a few times a day for the first few days!).

How to Select a Fresh Tree?
Hold a branch between your thumb and forefinger and pull it toward you.  Very few needles should come off in your h and if the tree is fresh.  Or, shake/bounce the tree on its stump.  You should not see a lot of green needles fall to the ground, though interior brown ones most likely will.

When you bring a tree into the house, put it in a cool a spot as possible!
Avoid areas near fireplaces, wood-burning stoves, heat ducts and television sets.

Don’t let the tree go without water!
Make sure the tree stand’s reservoir stays filled with water.  If the water level ever falls below the bottom of the trunk… you’ll have to re-cut it in order to keep it fresh!  Check – check – and check the water level!!

Keepin’ it Fresh!
The ‘ole home readies really don’t work;  Aspirin, copper penny, soda, sugar, or bleach have all been shown not to help extend the freshness… sorry!

Is Bigger Better?
Figure the height of your ceiling, minus the height of your tree stand and the size of your top ornament to determine the maximum height of your tree.  Do the math ahead of time!!

Want to cut your own tree?
Permits are available for Boise and Payette national forests up to Christmas.  They are available at national forests district offices and local vendors throughout SouthWest Idaho.  Each permit allows one tree to be cut, with a limit of three permits per family.  Permit cost is $10, and maximum height of a tree cannot exceed 12’.  Read the brochure you’ll get with the permit.  There is a right and WRONG way to cut down trees.  Safety is a concern… please be concerned!  For more information, call 208-373-4007 or go online to http://fs.usda.gov/boise and click on “passes and permits”.

The supply of homes in the Treasure Valley market is now the lowest it has been since mid-2006!!

Real Estate Professionals and builders would like to see the supply tighten even more.  But they say the market still has plenty of good deals for first-time buyers and for repeat buyers who want to “move up”.

For homeowners trying to sell, the latest news is good and bad.  Sales are increasing, and the average number of days properties sit on the market has dropped from the mid-90’s to the mid-80s.  But median prices in Ada County fell nearly $8,000 from September to a level not seen since 2003!

The increase home sales in part reflect opportunities for buyers like the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit, lowered home prices from short sales and foreclosures and low interest rates.

A new law signed last week will extend the temporary tax credit for first time home buyers, which was set to expire Nov. 30.  The extension should continue to spur consumers.  And, an additional tax credit of up to $6,500 for repeat buyers who have lived in their home for five of eight consecutive years should fuel additional sales.

The number of single-family homes listed for sale is down from two-year highs of 5,098 in June 2008 in Ada Count and 2,765 in July 2008 in Canyon County.  It’s in the range of the four-year lows of 3,195 homes in Ada and 1,373 home sin Canyon – both in May 2006, shortly before the Valley’s housing bubble began to burst.

There is an estimated seven-month supply of homes – the amount of time it would take to sell them if no new housing were added – while Canyon has about eight-months’ worth.  A normal supply is about four worth.

So… what does this mean to you and I??  With interest rates low – its making it a better time to sell your house!!!!  Do you know what your home is even worth in today’s market?  If not, contact Paul Wallin, Realtor for Idaho Realty Info at Group One (208-288-2976 or paul@idahorealtyinfo.com) and let him do a Market Analysis on your home.  You may be surprised that your home is worth more than you thought – and the opportunity to sell and move-up is a very viable option!!!

In older outdoor faucets, water fills the pipe that goes through the foundation wall.  In winter, that water can freeze, expand, and split open the pipe.  By turning your outdoor faucet off, you prevent that pipe from bursting and possibly dumping water into your basement.

You can skip this job if you have frost-proof outdoor faucets — most newer homes do. These faucets are very long and have an equally long valve stem. When you turn the handle on the outside the house, you’re actually operating a valve on the inside of the house, so you won’t get frozen or burst pipes.

 Steps

1. In the basement, find the pipe that feeds each outdoor faucet in the basement. The top has a shutoff valve.
2. Close each shutoff valve and open the drain cap on the side of the valve by turning it counterclockwise.
3. Locate all your exterior faucets — don’t forget the one in the attached garage, if you have one — and turn their handles counter clockwise to open them so they can drain.

Increased stamina, increased energy / alterness, reduce fatigue, recover faster and absorb nutrients such as vitamins, proteins, etc… quicker.  SIGN ME UP – I’ll take 2!!

There have been many questions asked about this new, earth-shattering product that may be the answer everyone is lokoing for!!  Am I a sceptic on the claims – YOU BET!!!  But after reading more at www.archaeaactive.com, some of this began to make sense to me!

It’s not water, but in a water product. 

The more I look into this, the more excited I am because everything it claims to aid is everything I want!  Increased Energy without a caffeine buzz – you bet!!  Increased stamina – yes!  More oxygen at a cellular level – yes!  Reduce inflammation and speed up recovery – definately yes!

I looked at my dad who recently had surgery to remove cancer… and knowing he’ll be recovering with loss of energy – I can’t wait to get him Evolv.  He’s a golfer… and reduced stamina/energy will be a drain on him; both physically and mentally!!

Then, as I started to understand Evolv better – I started looking more into it as a distributor.  Their business model is second to none and to create a lifetime of residual income – perfect for my lifestyle!!

I encourage you to look at this with an open mind!  Go to www.evolvness.com, facebook; evolvness, or you can call/email me at;

Paul Wallin
208-288-2976
paul@evolvness.com

I’ve lived by this motto most of my life… 
Opportunity knocks all the time… question is, will you answer? (will you??)

A CMA, or Competitive Market Analysis is your best method to determine your home’s current value.  At one time, your home mirrored others nearby in your neighborhood (the builder may have rebuilt your model several times).  But over the course of time, your home became unique. You may have added to it, updated it, and increased its value as compared to others in your neighborhood.

If you’re starting to think about selling your home… you’ll want to start by reviewing a well thought out, properly researched CMA.  For most, a CMA is the single biggest factor in determining if they will sell their house or not.  As a potential seller, a CMA is free for you.  Do not ever pay to have one done. 

There are online sites you can play with to help value your home.  But these sites are only based on past sales… so if nothing has sold near you recently then the pricing may be skewed.  As you interview agents, you’ll be able to tell who is in touch with the market as the CMA presentation should speak for itself.

How is a CMA prepared?
First, an agent will walk through your home.  Don’t worry too much about the condition of your home at this stage.  Later on when your home is for sale… the condition is a huge factor.  Let the agent know of improvement items and other changes you have made to the house.

Next, the agent will research information about comparable properties in the area using the MLS (Real Estate industry resource call the Multiple Listing Service).  The agent will review and compare homes previously sold, active listings, pending sales, and expired or cancelled listings to your home.  By taking all these homes and the stages of being sold into account, along with changes made to your home – the agent will come up a report to present to you.  Often, you will find a “price range” rather than a set price in the CMA.  Also, the agent may write up a brief explaining differences in homes.

The ultimate goal of the CMA is to provide you research to better help you make an educated guess in pricing your home.  The agent will help with this (given their expertise in the local real estate market) but ultimately – it’s your money, it’s your decision!

Are you thinking about selling your home possibly?  Call or email me for a FREE CMA!! 

Paul Wallin, Realtor
208-288-2976
paul@idahorealtyinfo.com

Continue your summer watering schedule through this September. This month also begins the rebuilding season for Southern Idaho lawns. The cooler nights let the grass breathe a sigh of relief from the heat. This is the most important time of the season for fertilization. We recommend two end-of-season lawn feedings. The first in September and the second six weeks later in either October or November. Fall is the ideal time to also feed the trees in your yard. Long before the leaves change color they stop taking up nutrients and take in less water.

• Check for lawn thatch build up. If there is over ¾ inch, it is time to de-thatch.
• Reduce mowing height down to fall leaves and continue mowing frequently to recycle organic material back into the soil.
• Fall is also the best time to reseed grass. If you have bare spots from the summer, put down a seed mix that matches the yard during the first 15 days of September. Yards with crabgrass will notice the patches turn purple with the first frost. It is important to thoroughly seed and water those areas.
• During the first 10 days of October, take care of those pesky weeds and dandelions. Spray a liquid broadleaf herbicide over the yard. Weeds germinate in the fall, so by treating the problem in October, there will be fewer dandelions in the spring
• It’s important to get those leaves off the ground as to not suffocate the lawn. But a better option would be to grind up the leaves and mulch them back into the yard. Most lawnmowers have blades designed for mulching. This provides natural nutrients and can be an organic weed controller — particularly maple leaves, which are a natural herbicide toward dandelions.
• Play with the fall colors. Display potted mums. Think red. Dogwood bushes are cold-weather hardy and have red or yellow branches. Holly is another great way to decorate the outside of a home, where the bright red berries on the branches can standout.

Take a few minutes and learn more about this – it’s worth your time!! 

This company has created a compelling product backed by research at The University of Texas MD Anderson Center in Houston.  In layman’s terms, evolv has created a product through a proprietary Archaea Active™ formula in which they are able to increase oxygenation at a cellular level.  By doing so, it reduces inflammation, increases energy levels, and enhances the absorption of vitamins, minerals, proteins and other important nutrients.  More importantly, it aids in fatigue recovery, supports immune systems, neutralizes harmful toxins… all by bringing in more Oxygen into your body through Purified Spring Water – something everyone drinks daily!

More so that just the product is the opportunity to get involved in a business at the ground level.  Evolv was introduced less than 30 days ago – and its Pre-Launch date is scheduled for the first of October.  Do this… goto: http://www.evolvness.com.   You will find videos and information on evolv, the product and the business opportunity. They are in a “hype”  mode… Pre-Enrolling people like you and me.  Pre-Enrolling is free, just takes a minute and will position you into the system instantly. Once enrolled, you will be emailed a personal Welcome Message and a customized version of this email to send to your friends and potential enrollees. 

Every week there are 3 conference calls covering new information about Evolv.  Take a moment and listen!

Saturday  - 9:00am PST
Tuesday – 6:00pm PST
Thursday – 6:00pm PST
Call 712-338-8186, and use the passcode 965055#. 

If you have any questions please feel free to email me at paul@wallinexpress.com or call my cell at 208-288-2976.

I look forward to talking more about this with you!

Paul Wallin | 208-288-2976 

Once again, Boise makes the list of the “Best Places to Live”.  Our backyard has made national headlines once again – last time being back in 2006.  Not only do we have activities year round, a low cost of living, and leading private employers but our low crime has help propel Boise to the “Best Places to Live” in the US!

Best Places to Live 2009
U.S. News looked at areas with strong economies, low living costs, and plenty of fun things to do

By Luke Mullins

Boise, Idaho
Although often overlooked, Boise, Idaho, is a terrific destination for those looking to escape out West. With a high-desert climate of sunshine, clear skies, and four distinct seasons, this city of 200,000 makes a perfect base camp for exploring southwest Idaho’s dramatic panorama. Choose from the many nearby parks, which total some 2,700 acres, cast a fishing line into the Boise River, or head over to Boise State University for a Broncos football game.

High-tech companies Micron Technology and Hewlett-Packard are among the area’s leading private employers. To hit the thriving local arts scene, cruise downtown. Boise’s free “Alive After Five” concert series brings musicians and other entertainers to the Grove Plaza each Wednesday during the summer. “It’s harder to find a parking space after 5 than it is before 5,” says Paul Hiller, the executive director of the Boise Valley Economic Partnership. “It’s one of the most vibrant downtown areas you’ve ever seen.”

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