Wednesday, January 27, 2010
IRS.gov: American Opportunity Credit Helps Pay for First Four Years of College
More parents and students can use a federal education credit to offset part of the cost of college under the new American Opportunity Credit. This credit modifies the existing Hope credit for tax years 2009 and 2010, making it available to a broader range of taxpayers. Income guidelines are expanded and required course materials are added to the list of qualified expenses. Many of those eligible will qualify for the maximum annual credit of $2,500 per student... For more information view >IRS.gov
View IRS on YouTube! Recovery: New Homebuyer Credit
New Homebuyer Credit - November 2009
View more information about Tax Credits for Home Buyers from IRS.gov. Subscribe for IRS Channels on YouTube!
Top Updates: Week of Jan 25th, 2010
The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act and Debt Cancellation
brought to you by IRS.gov
If you owe a debt to someone else and they cancel or forgive that debt, the canceled amount may be taxable. The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 generally allows taxpayers to exclude income from the discharge of debt on their principal residence. Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, qualifies for the relief.
This provision applies to debt forgiven in calendar years 2007
through 2012.
Up to $2 million of forgiven debt is eligible for this exclusion ($1 million if married filing separately). The exclusion does not apply if the discharge is due to services performed for the lender or any other reason not directly related to a decline in the home’s value or the taxpayer’s financial condition.
Housing recovery could take a decade, economists warn
By Renae Merle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Even as the housing market shows signs of improvement, including in new data released Tuesday, economists warn that it could take up to a decade for many homeowners to regain equity in their homes, while some people in the hardest-hit regions of the country may not see a recovery during their lifetime.
Existing-home sales take a big fall in December
By Renae Merle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Sales of previously owned homes took their biggest tumble in at least 40 years last month as the impact of a buying spree spurred by a tax credit for first-time buyers waned, according to industry data released Monday.
GM to build electric motors in Maryland
By Peter Whoriskey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Betting that hybrid and electric vehicles will play a growing role on American highways, General Motors is expected to announce Tuesday a $246 million investment to add production of electric motors at its White Marsh, Md., manufacturing plant.
Stakes are high as government plans exit from mortgage markets
By David Cho, Neil Irwin and Dina ElBoghdady
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, January 25, 2010
For more than a year, the government pulled out the stops to revive home buying by driving down mortgage rates.
Now, whether the housing market is ready or not, the government is pulling out.
The wind-down of federal support for mortgage rates, set to end in two months, is a momentous test of whether the Obama administration and the Federal Reserve have succeeded in jump-starting the housing market and ensuring it can hold its own.
brought to you by IRS.gov
If you owe a debt to someone else and they cancel or forgive that debt, the canceled amount may be taxable. The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 generally allows taxpayers to exclude income from the discharge of debt on their principal residence. Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, qualifies for the relief.
This provision applies to debt forgiven in calendar years 2007
through 2012.
Up to $2 million of forgiven debt is eligible for this exclusion ($1 million if married filing separately). The exclusion does not apply if the discharge is due to services performed for the lender or any other reason not directly related to a decline in the home’s value or the taxpayer’s financial condition.
Housing recovery could take a decade, economists warn
By Renae Merle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Even as the housing market shows signs of improvement, including in new data released Tuesday, economists warn that it could take up to a decade for many homeowners to regain equity in their homes, while some people in the hardest-hit regions of the country may not see a recovery during their lifetime.
Existing-home sales take a big fall in December
By Renae Merle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Sales of previously owned homes took their biggest tumble in at least 40 years last month as the impact of a buying spree spurred by a tax credit for first-time buyers waned, according to industry data released Monday.
GM to build electric motors in Maryland
By Peter Whoriskey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Betting that hybrid and electric vehicles will play a growing role on American highways, General Motors is expected to announce Tuesday a $246 million investment to add production of electric motors at its White Marsh, Md., manufacturing plant.
Stakes are high as government plans exit from mortgage markets
By David Cho, Neil Irwin and Dina ElBoghdady
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, January 25, 2010
For more than a year, the government pulled out the stops to revive home buying by driving down mortgage rates.
Now, whether the housing market is ready or not, the government is pulling out.
The wind-down of federal support for mortgage rates, set to end in two months, is a momentous test of whether the Obama administration and the Federal Reserve have succeeded in jump-starting the housing market and ensuring it can hold its own.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Top Updates on Fri Jan 22nd, 2010 brought to you by Washington Post
Obama proposes tough limits on largest banks
By Michael D. Shear and Binyamin Appelbaum
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 22, 2010
President Obama expanded his new offensive on Wall Street on Thursday, proposing rules that would impede the growth of the largest banks and bar them from making what he called "reckless" investments.
Goldman Sachs earns $13 billion in 2009
By Tomoeh Murakami Tse
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 22, 2010
NEW YORK -- Goldman Sachs reported blockbuster earnings of $13.39 billion for 2009 and said on Thursday that it kept compensation below the levels of its pre-crisis heydays.
Cautious about the economy, big banks report slow lending
By Binyamin Appelbaum
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Two of the nation's largest banks said Wednesday that loan losses generally have stopped increasing but that relatively few customers are seeking new loans, reports that are in broad agreement with other indicators showing that the economy remains weak.
Obama to propose new limits on large banks' size and investments, official says
By Binyamin Appelbaum and David Cho
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 21, 2010
President Obama plans to propose new limits Thursday on the size and investments of large banks, a senior administration official said, as the White House intensifies its push to reframe its financial reform agenda as an effort to rein in the companies widely blamed for causing the economic crisis.
Seeds for a colorful garden
By Barbara Damrosch
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Here come the seed catalogues. Stacks of them are sliding off the desk. They may be going digital, but they are not going away, at least not yet.
By Michael D. Shear and Binyamin Appelbaum
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 22, 2010
President Obama expanded his new offensive on Wall Street on Thursday, proposing rules that would impede the growth of the largest banks and bar them from making what he called "reckless" investments.
Goldman Sachs earns $13 billion in 2009
By Tomoeh Murakami Tse
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 22, 2010
NEW YORK -- Goldman Sachs reported blockbuster earnings of $13.39 billion for 2009 and said on Thursday that it kept compensation below the levels of its pre-crisis heydays.
Cautious about the economy, big banks report slow lending
By Binyamin Appelbaum
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Two of the nation's largest banks said Wednesday that loan losses generally have stopped increasing but that relatively few customers are seeking new loans, reports that are in broad agreement with other indicators showing that the economy remains weak.
Obama to propose new limits on large banks' size and investments, official says
By Binyamin Appelbaum and David Cho
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 21, 2010
President Obama plans to propose new limits Thursday on the size and investments of large banks, a senior administration official said, as the White House intensifies its push to reframe its financial reform agenda as an effort to rein in the companies widely blamed for causing the economic crisis.
Seeds for a colorful garden
By Barbara Damrosch
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Here come the seed catalogues. Stacks of them are sliding off the desk. They may be going digital, but they are not going away, at least not yet.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Citigroup posts loss of $7.6 billion in last three months of 2009
By Zachary A. Goldfarb Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
FHA plans to require borrowers to produce more cash for down payments
By Dina ElBoghdady
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
The Federal Housing Administration plans to increase the amount of up-front cash paid by all new borrowers and to require higher down payments from those with the poorest credit, according to agency officials.
These policy changes, scheduled to be announced on Wednesday, are part of the agency's effort to beef up its ailing finances, which have been eroded by rising defaults in its increasingly popular flagship mortgage insurance program. The FHA currently backs about 30 percent of all loans for home purchases and 20 percent of refinanced loans...
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
The Federal Housing Administration plans to increase the amount of up-front cash paid by all new borrowers and to require higher down payments from those with the poorest credit, according to agency officials.
These policy changes, scheduled to be announced on Wednesday, are part of the agency's effort to beef up its ailing finances, which have been eroded by rising defaults in its increasingly popular flagship mortgage insurance program. The FHA currently backs about 30 percent of all loans for home purchases and 20 percent of refinanced loans...
Monday, January 18, 2010
Top Updates: week of January 18th, 2010
Obama lashes out at banks in radio address for selfishness
By Michael D. Shear
Sunday, January 17, 2010
In his weekly radio address Saturday, President Obama unleashed a verbal barrage against the nation's largest banks, accusing them of wanton selfishness by refusing to accept new regulations he and his party are proposing, and for fighting a new tax that Obama wants to impose.
U.S. foreclosure assistance increasing, but slowly
By Renae Merle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 16, 2010
The Obama administration's foreclosure prevention program reached about 850,000 homeowners through December, including more than 50,000 in the Washington region, according to Treasury Department data released Friday, but the effort continues to struggle to make a significant impact.
By Michael D. Shear
Sunday, January 17, 2010
In his weekly radio address Saturday, President Obama unleashed a verbal barrage against the nation's largest banks, accusing them of wanton selfishness by refusing to accept new regulations he and his party are proposing, and for fighting a new tax that Obama wants to impose.
U.S. foreclosure assistance increasing, but slowly
By Renae Merle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 16, 2010
The Obama administration's foreclosure prevention program reached about 850,000 homeowners through December, including more than 50,000 in the Washington region, according to Treasury Department data released Friday, but the effort continues to struggle to make a significant impact.
J.P. Morgan Chase posts big profit, paydays
By Tomoeh Murakami Tse
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 16, 2010
>NEW YORK -- J.P. Morgan Chase announced Friday an $11.7 billion profit for 2009, along with paydays for its investment-banking employees that exceeded those of the flush times before the financial crisis, drawing a sharp response from lawmakers in Washington.
Sen. Dodd may drop push for consumer financial protection agency
By Brady Dennis and Binyamin Appelbaum
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 16, 2010
>Senate banking committee Chairman Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) has discussed jettisoning plans for a standalone Consumer Financial Protection Agency, as part of an effort to secure bipartisan support for legislation to reform financial regulation, said people familiar with the matter.
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