Jim Guido's Blog

San Jose, 95124 Summary

The median sales price for homes in ZIP code 95124 for Jan 11 to Mar 11 was $579,500. This represents an increase of 0.3%, or $2,000, compared to the prior quarter and a decrease of 1.9% compared to the prior year. Sales prices have depreciated 19.5% over the last 5 years in 95124, San Jose. The median sales price of $579,500 for 95124 is 55.74% higher than the median sales price for San Jose CA. Average listing price for homes on Trulia in ZIP code 95124 was $638,153 for the week ending Apr 06, which represents an increase of 2.7%, or $17,063 compared to the prior week and an increase of 3.9%, or $23,835, compared to the week ending Mar 16. Average price per square foot for homes in 95124 was $362 in the most recent quarter, which is 28.83% higher than the average price per square foot for homes in San Jose.

95124, San Jose Recently Sold Homes

With the help of tax preparation software more tax payers are making fewer mistakes on their returns. However some still do make mistakes or don’t take all the full advantage of all that they can. Here is a list of 10 things that may be of help to you this tax filing season. These tips are from Bankrate. Don’t forget to file on time.

1. The Making Work Pay Credit

The Making Work Pay tax credit was in effect for all of 2010, thanks to adjusted payroll withholding tables. The credit is worth up to $400 for individuals and $800 for married couples filing jointly.

But to officially get the credit (and cash), you must claim it on your tax return.

Even though 2010 is the second tax year for the Making Work Pay credit, some filers still are forgetting to claim it. Don’t be one of them. Filers who use Form 1040 or 1040A need to send in Schedule M. Those who use Form 1040EZ need to complete the work sheet on the back of that form.

2. Homebuyer Tax Credit Complications

Since its creation, the first-time homebuyer credit has experienced some significant changes. It’s gone from a $7,500 interest-free loan from Uncle Sam to a true tax credit of up to $8,000 for a first-time buyer and up to $6,500 for a previous homeowner.

All the revisions to eligible buyer guidelines, purchase time frames, income thresholds, home price restrictions and payback requirements are a tax-filing minefield. If you’re not careful, a mistake here could end up costing you the credit or at least slowing down processing of your return.

Whether you’re claiming the credit for 2010 or paying back your 2008 claim, be sure to fill out Form 5405 correctly. And if you’re claiming the credit this filing season, don’t forget to include the documentation that the IRS requires in order to process your return.

3. Math Miscalculations

The most common error on tax returns, year after year, is bad math. Mistakes in arithmetic or in transferring figures from one schedule to another will get you an immediate correction notice. Math mistakes also can reduce your tax refund or result in you owing more tax than you thought.

Using a tax software program to file your return can help reduce math errors. The built-in calculators do the work for you, adding, subtracting and inserting numbers on additional forms as needed. But you still have to make sure that your initial numbers are correct. Entering $3,500 when the real figure is $5,300 makes a lot of tax difference. Getting the numbers right is crucial because you can be sure that the IRS will be double-checking numerical entries against its copies of your tax statements (W-2, 1099s and the like). When IRS examiners find a discrepancy, they’ll definitely let you know and, in many cases, will correct your mistake and refigure your taxes for you. Don’t give them the chance. Make sure your math entries are right.

4. Direct Deposit Dangers

Taxpayers can have a refund directly deposited into multiple bank accounts. This option is a great way to save your refund money, but the more numbers you enter on a tax form, the more chances you have to enter them incorrectly. And a wrong account or routing number could cause you to lose your refund entirely.

You can divide your refund into three accounts by filing Form 8888 along with your individual return. It’s not a difficult document to complete, but if you put in wrong account numbers, your refund could end up in someone else’s account or be sent back to the IRS. Either way, you might not be able to retrieve your refund because there is no IRS procedure for replacing lost electronically transferred funds.

Incorrect account numbers aren’t just a problem when a refund is split multiple ways. Even if your refund is going to just one account, make very sure you enter your account and bank routing numbers correctly.

5. Additional Income, Additional Filing Work

Did you have a side job this year? If so, as a contractor you probably received a 1099-MISC detailing the extra earnings.

What about savings and investment accounts? For these, you should have received 1099-INT and 1099-DIV statements.

In each 1099 instance, the IRS knows precisely how much extra money, either as wages or unearned investment income, you made as soon as you did, thanks to the copies of your 1099 forms that went to the tax agency.

If you forget to include any of these earnings on your return, the IRS examiners will let you know that you owe taxes on it, too. And depending on when your oversight is discovered, you also could owe penalties and interest on the unreported earnings.

6. Filing Status Errors

Make sure you choose the correct filing status for your situation. You have five options, and each could make a difference in your ultimate tax bill.

If this is the first tax-filing season that you’ve been divorced and you now are a single parent, head-of-household probably will be more beneficial. And you’re still married, but you and your spouse are thinking about filing a separate tax return? That works in some cases, but not all.

Make sure you know what each tax filing status entails and choose the one that best fits your personal and tax situation.

7. Social Security Number Oversights

Because the IRS stopped putting taxpayer Social Security numbers on tax package labels in response to privacy concerns, some taxpayers forget to write in their identification numbers. Your tax ID number is crucial because there are so many transactions — income statements, savings account interest, retirement plan contributions — keyed to this number.

The nine-digit sequence also is vital to claim several tax credits, such as the child tax and additional child tax credits as well as ones for educational expenses and dependent care costs.

And make sure that the names associated with the Social Security numbers match Social Security Administration records. A difference here also will cause the IRS to kick out or slow down your return.

8. Complete Charitable Contributions

Did you give to charitable groups last year? All types of donations, from cash to cars, could be valuable tax deductions, so make sure you count them all when you file. Be sure to follow the donation tax rules, the most important being that you give to a qualified organization — that is, one that has tax-exempt status with the IRS. Also be careful when calculating any gifts of clothing and household items. Tax law now requires that these donations be in good or better condition or the deduction is disallowed.

9. Signature Required

Sign and date your return. The IRS won’t process it if it’s missing a John Hancock, and that means on e-filed returns, too. Taxpayers filing electronically must sign the return electronically using a personal identification number, or PIN. To verify your identity, you’ll have to provide the PIN you used last year or your adjusted gross income from your previous year’s tax return.

Your tax software should walk you through the e-signature process, but if you’re still mailing your return, don’t be in such a hurry that you stuff your 1040 in the pre-addressed IRS envelope without signing it. And if it’s a joint filing, you and your spouse must sign.

10. Missing the Deadline

If the impending April 18 tax deadline (yes, it’s later this year) is a problem for you, make sure you buy yourself six extra months by simply asking the IRS for more time to complete your tax paperwork. All you have to do is submit Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, by the regular filing deadline. Remember, though, that the extension is only for the forms; you still have to pay any tax you may owe by April 18.

If you make the mistake of not filing or paying on time, you’ll end up facing even more costs in late-filing penalties and interest fees.

Below you will very good information on the Home Buyer Tax Credit and how to claim it per the IRS’s  new guidelines on obtaining home buyer tax credits. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued new guidelines and clarified documentation that taxpayers must submit to successfully obtain the federal tax credit for home buyers.The federal tax credit for home buyers was extended and expanded late last year. Qualified first-time buyers may be eligible to receive a tax credit of up to $8,000 on homes purchased before April 30, 2010. Repeat buyers may be eligible for a tax credit of up to $6,500. Visit http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=187935,00.html for more information about the federal tax credit for home buyers, including eligibility requirements.• To receive the tax credit, home buyers must comply with the IRS’s documentation requirements, including a fully executed IRS Form 5405. On the form, which is available on the IRS’s Web site, taxpayers provide information supporting their claim of eligibility, such as income and home purchase date.• The IRS also requires home buyers to submit a copy of the closing or settlement statement that proves the transaction took place. The IRS previously said that the statement should show “all parties’ names and signatures, property address, sales price, and date of purchase.” However, since closing or settlement statements vary by state, and in some cases the form does not include both the seller’s and buyer’s signatures, the IRS has revised this requirement. As long as the closing or settlement statement conforms to prevailing local practices, the IRS will accept it.• One stipulation for repeat buyers is they must provide documentation they lived in their former property for a consecutive five years out of the previous eight years. Accepted documentation may include property tax records, hazard insurance records, or copies of annual mortgage interest statements filed with their federal taxes.To read the full story, please click here:

http://www.latimes.com/classified/realestate/news/la-fi-harney21-2010feb21,0,1254506.storyFeb. 25,

Related articles by Zemanta

• IRS issues new guidelines on obtaining home buyer tax credits #realty (visionaryrealtynews.com)

Now is a good time to alert you that the home buyer tax credit expires on April 30, 2010.  No one knows if Congress will renew it a second time but lets hope they give it strong consideration and extend it to at least the end of this year. Expect a clash between the real estate lobby and fiscal conservatives worried about the federal deficit. To qualify for the credit, you must sign a purchase contract by April 30, 2010 and close by July 1, 2010. First-time buyers get up to $8,000. “First-time” is defined as someone who hasn’t owned a home in three years. Move-up buyers get up to $6,500 when they purchase a new primary residence. To get the credit, you have to have lived in the old home for at least five out of the last eight years. The credits start phasing out at $125,000 in adjusted gross income for singles and $225,000 for joint filers. We need to let our elected officials know that this program is an important part to the Real Estate recovery.