Checking The Status of Your Tax Refund Online
Author: Richard A. Chapo
More than a few people are happy to learn they are due a tax
refund after filling out their tax returns. If you are one of
these people, here is how to check the status of your refund
online.
Checking The Status of Your Tax Refund Online
Before getting into checking your refund status, I feel
obligated to mention a few things about tax refunds. One
involves the nature of refund and the other involves Internet
scams.
If you are getting a sizeable refund, you need to give some
thought to how much money you are deducting from paychecks or
paying in quarterly taxes. While a tax refund may sound like a
good thing, it really is not. If you overpay your taxes during
the year, you are giving the government a free loan. The IRS
does not pay interest on any excessive tax payments, so you are
really taking it in the pants by not modifying your tax
payments.
The second issue to keep in mind is you can ONLY check the
status of your tax refund online by going to the IRS web site.
With phishing scams starting to focus on tax issues, you may
receive emails regarding any and all facets of tax refunds.
These emails are scams! The IRS does not send you emails, and
surely doesn’t alert you to the fact you are due a refund. If
you want to check on your refund, go to the IRS web site and
nowhere else. Do not turn a good thing like a tax refund into a
bad thing like identity theft.
To check the status of your tax refund, go to the IRS web site
by searching for it in a search engine. Next, click the Where’s
My Refund link on the home page. Follow the simple steps, click
enter and the status will be shown. FYI, you will need a copy of
your tax return.
Once you have completed the above, the IRS software will give
you a couple of responses. Summarized, they include the fact the
return has been received, but not yet processed; the tax refund
has been mailed or wired to your bank account on a particular
date; or notice the IRS was unable to deliver the refund to you
because of some mailing problem. The IRS will also let you know
if the refund is delayed because it has issues with your tax
return.
Once again, you may want to tweak your tax payments if you are
due a sizeable refund. There is little reason to give the
government a free loan during the year. They already take too
much of your money.
About the author:
Richard A. Chapo is with BusinessTaxRecovery.com - providing
information on taxes. Visit us to
read more tax
articles and our new tax
credits page.
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Confused About Some Mortgage Terms? Don’t Be! Read On To Get Your Mortgage Questions Answered!
by John R. Blakefield
When applying for your first mortgage, you are going to hear many terms tossed around that are specific to the real estate and financial industry. These terms are not hard, so don’t be concerned. If you are not dealing with financial information and real estate on a daily basis, you may not have learned what all the terms mean. Sure you may have heard them before but were never explained the specifics.
Loan to value ratio- This is a ratio that the lender who is financing your mortgage uses to determine how much he or she can loan you. It is determined by dividing the loan amount by the market value of the home in consideration. The market value is often determined by appraisals that evaluate the property and comparable homes that have sold in the immediate area.
Most lenders will loan up to 80% of the market value of a home. If the lender were to loan more than that, the lender would be risking not being able to recover the loaned funds if the property were to go into foreclosure. However, there are lenders who will loan more than 80% of the market value in exchange for a higher interest rate. You will be paying more in interest in exchange for their increased risk of loaning more money than what would normally be acceptable.
Points - This term refers to interest costs paid to the lender in exchange for a lower interest rate. Points are paid one time and are usually equal to one percent of the loan principal. It is not always a good idea to pay one-time points for a lower interest rate. This is where lenders can make a lot of money, and many times points are not even needed in a deal, and are just a bonus for the lender. Be sure to always do the math for each mortgage option to see what will cost you the least amount of money. Also shop around to see what a comparable contract is so you do not overpay.
Interest rate- The interest rate is a yearly rate that is charged on the principal of the loan amount provided by the lender. The principal accrues interest and you must pay it as an exchange for borrowing the money. Interest rates can be very different depending on the type and terms of a mortgage.
The interest rate charged in exchange for borrowing the money has a base percentage dictated by a national index and then percentages are added to this according to the amount of risk the lender is taking by giving you the money to finance the house. The lender should show you the breakdown of the final interest rate charged so you know why the number is what it is. If the lender does not do that, there could be some shady dealing going on and you should consider going somewhere else. Have all the parts of the interest rate disclosed so you know where your money is going and how you are being charged.
Loan term- This is how long you have to pay back the money borrowed from the lender. Common mortgage terms are 5, 7, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years. The loan term is always negotiable depending on how much you need to borrow, what monthly payments you can make, and the amount of interest you will have to pay.
Debt service coverage- This is a ratio that a lender uses to see the borrower’s (you) ability to pay back the loan in monthly installments. The ratio is found by dividing your net income by debt. Lenders generally look for debt service coverage ratios of 1.2. This ratio compares the amount of debt to your income. The more income you have to cover your total debt, the better. This ratio shows the lender you are capable of paying the mortgage in addition to your other current debt.
Use this information to get educated and make your first time home buying experience a good one! These terms are specific to mortgage characteristics. For more information on other topics regarding first time home buying, check out the resource box where you can find more information that will help you with buying your first home!
John R Blakefield is a mortgage and real estate specialist. For more information, articles, news, tools and valuable resources on home mortgages or investment loans, refinancing, debt solutions, visit this site: http://www.scourtheweb.com/mortgage/.
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In many sections of the country the home purchase market has slowed down. Prices of homes for sale seemed to go through the roof. Mortgage interest rates, while still low historically, are up from last year. During this volatile time the homebuyer can choose from a number of options. Fixed rate mortgages give the purchaser of a home a secure way to finance that home. Fixed rate mortgages allow for a more certain base from which to budget house payments for the future.
Recently, much activity in home purchase loans has been in the category of conventional adjustable rate loans. Adjustable rate loans offer some really attractive features. One is a lower entry rate generally than a fixed rate mortgage. There is a designated period of time when the buyer is paying that lower rate. The risk element is that the payment more than likely go up when it starts adjusting. This could really disrupt your budget, since your property taxes and homeowners insurance will be going up also over a period of time. But, the amount of increases could be minimal. The money you save by getting that lower rate up front could result in some real savings. So the real benefit is getting into the house with lower payments thereby affording the new payments.
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Landscape Maintenance: Fertilization
By Tim Querrey
Ever wonder why someone else’s lawn is so much thicker and greener? Why their flowers are so much fuller with larger Blume? Everyone knows to water their lawn, plants, etc. during dry periods, but the key to lush healthy plants is in the fertilization. The type of plant determines the rate and frequency at which fertilization should be applied. The following describes how often to fertilize each type.
Flowers: Flowers should be feed every two to three weeks with a soluble fertilizer. Some companies offer specialized fertilizer for individual plants (for instance roses).
Shrubs: Fertilize once in the spring and once in the fall with a granular fertilizer. You can use a water soluble fertilizer once a month throughout the summer months as needed.
Trees: Trees should be fed once at the first of spring and once in mid to late fall. Use either a granular fertilizer or fertilizer spikes. During the summer months, trees also should be fed once a month with a water soluble fertilizer.
Lawns: Different manufacturers of lawn fertilizer will have different recommendations for applying their brand of fertilizer. The following is a popular recommended four step program for fertilizing your lawn.
1) Early Spring: Use a fertilizer recommended for lawn pre-emergence. This will give your grass that initial boost to start the season.
2) Spring: Use a mixture that is both a fertilizer and a weed killer. This is when you should attack any weeds before they get to much of a strong hold.
3) Summer: Use a mixture that is both a fertilizer and an insecticide. This is the time of the year you want to take care of those pest problems.
4) Fall: Use a fertilizer recommended for fall. This will help strengthen the root system and prepare them for winter.
Fertlization is really not that much of a chore. With proper and consistent feeding, you can have a thick dark green lawn, beautiful flowers, and heathy trees and shrubs that are the envy of the neighborhood.
For more information on landscaping, visit http://www.greenscapewv.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tim_Querrey
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