American Pacific Mortgage

American Pacific Mortgage

Monday, March 29, 2010

US Tax Breaks

It’s that time of year again, and if you haven’t filed yet, here are some tips for tax breaks:

Home-buyer tax credit

Expires 4-30 (must be under sales contract) This affords first time homebuyers a credit of $8000 or $6500 for move-up homebuyers for a new primary residence. This credit is immediate and doesn’t require owing taxes to receive the refund.

Car-buyer Break

If you bought a car in ‘09 you can claim a deduction for the state and local sales taxes for up to $49,500 of purchase price.

Golf cart or Low Speed neighborhood vehicle

Yes ….that’s right… you can get a credit of up to $15,000 if you purchased one of these in ’09 or ’10. It must be a “qualified plug-in electric drive vehicle. “

Energy Credits


This is a direct dollar-for-dollar credit for moving to solar power, or buying an energy-efficient furnace, water heater, air conditioner or stove, or replacing windows…you can claim a credit up to 30% of the cost or a maximum of $1500.

College Credits

Available to those who pay college bills for themselves or a dependent, subject to maximum income levels of $90K for filing single, and $180k if filing jointly.

Jobless exemption

Up to $2400 in unemployment benefits are tax free.

Property tax deduction – without itemizing

You can claim a credit for property taxes by filling out Schedule L without itemizing deductions on your return.

Haiti Donations

If you made a donation to Haiti relief prior to March 1st of 2010, you can claim it as a charitable contribution on your ‘09 return.

Hope these help!

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