Minggu, 26 April 2009

10 Things the IRS Won't Tell You

by Jason KephartFriday, March 20, 2009provided by smartmoney.com

1. "Like it or not, you may need help with your taxes."
When Cindy Hockenberry and her husband sent in a tax-penalty payment in 2007, they knew there was a chance their math might not jibe with the IRS's. When that turned out to be true and the amount was much higher than expected, they decided to dispute it. Fortunately for them, Hockenberry's a pro. As tax research coordinator at the National Association of Tax Professionals, she spotted a glitch in the IRS's calculation; after visiting the local IRS office, the agency admitted its mistake and lowered the penalty. "There's no way the average taxpayer would have noticed," she says.

jibe = kki. bersesuaian, cocok (with dengan). The two stories do not j. Kedua cerita itu tidak cocok satu sama lain.
dispute = kb. perselisihan, percekcokan. -kkt. membantah. to d. with memperselisihkan, memperdebatkan.
spotted = berbintik
admit = kkt. (admitted) 1 mengakui.2 mengaku.3 menerima 4 memuat (dpt memberikan tempat) 5 mengenal. 6 berlaku utk.

As recently as 2000, less than half of all taxpayers were using a preparer. Today 80 percent use software or a tax pro, "because they're scared of making a mistake," says Nina Olson, the National Taxpayer Advocate. "That's a sign the system's too complex." A pro may not be necessary for basic returns that include just a W-2 and, say, mortgage interest; in those cases, TurboTax will do. However, if you've made a lot of market moves or run a side business, consider a preparer. (You can find one at www.natptax.com; expect to pay $150 to $200 per return.)

Form W2: Wage and Tax Statement

2. "You don't have to be rich to get audited."
The IRS's job is to enforce the tax laws enacted by Congress and to collect what's due. Its primary weapon? The audit, whose use has more than doubled since 2000, to surpass 1 percent of all returns, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a Syracuse University data-research organization. The increase can be attributed to the rising number of so-called correspondence audits -- those done through the mail asking for specific information rather than, say, investigating your whole return, says Susan Long, codirector of the organization. "It's more efficient."

enacted = kkt. 1 membuat, menjadikan. to e. a law menjadikan undang-undang, mengundangkan. 2 memainkan, memerankan. to e. a role (in a play, film) memainkan peranan.
surpass = kkt. melebihi, melampaui, mengungguli. to s. one expectations melebihi dari apa yang kita harapkan. -surpassing ks. jauh melebihi yang lain-lain.
attribute = kb. 1 sifat.2 perlengkapan, benda yg khusus berh. dng pangkat, kedudukan, lambang.-kkt. 1 mempertalikan. 2 menghubungkan.

One way to get the IRS's audit sensors tingling is to claim deductions much higher than are typical for your income level. We'd share them with you, but the IRS keeps that information under wraps. What's more clear: Big charitable donations have been getting a much closer look, says Bob Meighan, VP of TurboTax. "It's been an area of abuse for a while," he says. To protect yourself, get a receipt for any donation you plan on deducting. And keep those receipts for seven years -- unless it suspects you of outright fraud, that's how far back the IRS will go with an audit.

tingling = perasaan geli
wrap = kb. selendang. -kkt. (wrapped) 1 membungkus (a package). 2 membelitkan, melilitkan. wrapping paper kertas pembungkus. -wrappings kb., j. bahan pembungkus.
outright = ks. 1 yang sama sekali palsu. o. lie kebohongan yang sama sekali palsu. 2 secara ikhlas. o. gift hadiah secara ikhlas. -kk. sekaligus, seketika itu. to pay o. membayar seketika itu.

3. "Fear is often our best weapon."
The threat of an audit is enough to send many folks scurrying to their tax preparer, and no wonder. "With audits, you're assumed guilty until proven otherwise," says Long. It's this fear, coupled with the complexity of the system, that causes some to overpay their taxes by not taking deductions they're entitled to, according to experts. A study by the Government Accountability Office found that 2.2 million people a year overpay, by an average of $438. "Americans are leaving a lot of money on the table," says Roni Deutch, a Sacramento-based tax attorney.

threat = kb. ancaman. There's the t. of snow Ada ancaman (turunnya/jatuhnya) salju. t. on o's life ancaman akan dibunuh.
folk = kb. rakyat, bangsa. Inf.: folks j. 1 sanak saudara, pamili. 2 orang - orang. f. song lagu rakyat. f. tales dongeng-dongeng rakyat.
scurrying = berjalan cepat
entitled =yang diberi hak/judul

The GAO report listed mortgage interest, personal property tax, and state and local income tax as the main deductions not being taken. But there are more. Net market losses can be deducted up to $3,000, and if you lost more, you can roll it over into the next year. (Note: To claim a loss now, you need to have sold the stock last year.) You can also deduct things like tax-prep software, a résumé service and IRA fees if they total more than 2 percent of your adjusted gross income. Bottom line: "Take every legitimate tax break out there," says Kay Bell, a tax expert at Bankrate.com. "Just make sure you can justify it."

4. "The AMT is our ATM."
When the alternative minimum tax was introduced in 1969, it affected only a handful of taxpayers with high income and big deductions. But by 2010, it will hit 87 percent of married couples with income between $75,000 and $100,000. That's not what it was designed to do; the AMT was meant to force big earners with lots of deductions to pay their fair share. Now it "brings in a group of taxpayers the IRS has no problem with," says Olson. "The AMT has run its course." The problem is, the AMT hasn't been updated to account for inflation. Instead, Congress has been adjusting exemption criteria on a yearly basis. "It's just a Band-Aid," says Hockenberry.



The Band-Aid in this year's stimulus plan reduces the number of taxpayers subject to the AMT to 4.4 million -- it would've been 30 million, according to the Tax Policy Center. But if you're living in a high-tax state or married with two or more kids, you might find as you calculate both your regular return along with the AMT -- form 6251, which taxpayers are responsible for -- that you could be liable for the latter. Confused? The IRS offers AMT assistance at www.irs.gov; click on "Online Services."
5. "Just because we billed you doesn't mean you owe us money."
Receiving a CP2000, also known as a correspondence audit, sure sounds scary, but in most cases, you don't actually owe any more money. Not that the IRS will make that clear -- it's likely billing you because of a discrepancy on a certain deduction or reported income; then it's up to you to prove otherwise. But as the number of these audits have risen, up 176 percent since 2000, the chance for error goes up as well. The IRS says 98 percent of the audits it sends out require clarification, not payment, but Charlotte Ogorek, an Illinois-based enrolled agent, thinks it's more like 85 percent.
Even if the charge is unfounded, to appeal it could cost you anywhere from $500 to $4,000, depending on how long it takes, says Bill Wandel, a licensed taxpayer rep at JK Harris. If you plan to challenge a CP2000, contact your local taxpayer advocate from the IRS (go to www.irs.gov/advocate to find yours), who will provide advice and representation free. If it turns out you need even more expertise, contact a tax lawyer or an enrolled agent (a professional licensed by the IRS to represent taxpayers in front of the IRS). Find one at www.naea.org.
6. "If you don't pay, we'll sic a collection agency on you."
If you thought dealing with the IRS was bad, wait till you're past due on a payment and get turned over to one of the two private collection agencies the IRS taps to help collect its money. Since 2005, the IRS has been assigning delinquent taxpayer accounts to either Pioneer Credit Recovery or the CBE group of Iowa -- much like any other business or lender. "These are federal taxes," says Olson, the National Taxpayer Advocate. "The IRS should be collecting them." The retention of these private agencies costs $7.65 million annually, yet when the IRS works these cases instead, "it's three times more productive," Olson says. (A spokesperson for Pioneer Credit Recovery and CBE says the issue isn't who can do the work more efficiently; it's whether these taxes would be collected at all without the private collection agencies.)
If the IRS puts a private collection agency on your case, Olson says the first thing to do is to request that your case be turned back over to the IRS. The reason: IRS collectors have the authority to offer you a compromise settlement, something the private agencies aren't authorized to do.
7. "Want to go green? We'll help pay."
Tucked into last year's unprecedented $700 billion bailout plan was some pork that even a vegan could love. Congress not only added an extension of the eco-friendly Energy Policy Act of 2005, which was set to expire at the end of 2007, but it also sweetened the pot for homeowners looking to green up their homes.
Want to grab some energy from the sun? Starting in 2009, a number of energy-saving steps will garner tax breaks for green consumers. Installing a photovoltaic system for solar energy, for example, will net you a tax credit worth 30 percent of the total cost; at www.solar-estimate.org you can find out the price and potential savings of installing a system in your neighborhood. Or if you're gung-ho for wind energy, you'll get up to $4,000 or 30 percent of the cost of installing a small home windmill system to generate energy. Check out the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's "In My Backyard" tool at its Web site to see how much energy you can expect to get from a windmill. For homeowners who aren't looking to go quite that green, there will be a $500 onetime credit for installing energy-efficient windows, insulation or a central air system.
8. "April 15 isn't necessarily a hard deadline."
If you're one of the 112 million taxpayers who receive a refund every year rather than owing more, you have a lot more flexibility around the standard Apr. 15 deadline than you might think. Feeling rushed this year? By filling out IRS form 4868, which you can find online, you can buy yourself a no-questions-asked six-month extension on filing your taxes. And you can file the form requesting your extension as late as Apr. 15 without incurring any penalties. The only catch -- and it's significant for some: If you do owe any taxes, then you must still pay those by the 15th.
How do you know if you're going to owe taxes this year? If your life is basically the same year to year, then your refund is pretty much on autopilot, says Bell. But any big changes -- such as a large increase in salary, unexpected commission or year-end bonus, or having a child go from dependent to independent -- could potentially swing you into the loss column. So when in doubt, do the math in advance, or check with a tax pro to see if there's anything you should be worried about.
9. "We may be a government agency, but that doesn't mean your data's safe."
One things you may not be thinking about as you file your taxes this year is that the documents you're sending off to the IRS contain virtually every piece of information an identity thief would ever need to drive your credit, and your sanity, into the ground. And considering that data breaches are on the rise -- up 47 percent in 2008 from 2007, according to nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center -- protecting your information, which includes your Social Security number and home address, should be paramount. But a recent report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), an independent IRS oversight organization, casts some doubt on the agency's ability to protect your information. For example, TIGTA says two new systems the IRS is implementing to manage taxpayer accounts and account data were "deployed with known security vulnerabilities in the controls over sensitive data protection, disaster recovery and system access."
Alarming as this information is, it's hardly a new problem at the IRS, says J. Russell George, inspector general for TIGTA. "We've seen this before when they implement a new system. The organization's unwillingness to change its behavior is potentially harmful to taxpayers," he says. (The IRS had no comment.)
10. "We may still have your refund."
Waiting on a refund? Typically, it takes three to six weeks to get your money back from Uncle Sam, depending on whether you e-filed or sent your paper return through snail mail. Either way, the IRS does a pretty good job, by and large, of getting refund checks out to taxpayers in a timely manner. But the agency's record is hardly perfect: Every year a fraction of refunds -- belonging to more than 100,000 taxpayers, and with an average due of $988 -- never get to their destination.
What's the problem? According to the IRS, these undelivered refunds are mainly due to issues regarding the accuracy of a taxpayer's mailing address or direct-deposit information. For example, people move and don't leave a forwarding address, handwritten returns may be illegible, or the direct-deposit routing number may be off by a digit or two. If you haven't received your tax return in a reasonable amount of time, check out the IRS's "Where's My Refund?" tool on its Web site.

Rabu, 22 April 2009

Big Brother and Your Taxes

by Ben Stein

Posted on Monday, April 20, 2009, 12:00AM
Here is a scary story for you.
Recently a friend of mine, who lives in a city in Northern California, called me, extremely upset. She said she had just received a letter from the California Franchise Tax Board, the ruthless entity that collects taxes in sunny California.

Franchise = kb. 1 (voting) hak suara. 2 hak, monopoli.
upset = 1 menggangu, merusak (nerves, plans). 2 menumbangkan (a dish or pan). 3 Sport: mengalahkan. 4 mengacaukan.
ruthless = ks. zalim, kejam, bengis.
sunny = 1 cerah (of a day). 2 gembira, riang (disposition). 3 yang mendapat banyak cahaya matahari (of a room).

The letter referenced her 2006 taxes, asking her how she had the means to buy a certain very expensive car she owns. She was asked to document how she had the money for it and why they saw no sign of that income on her 2006 return.

reference = kb. 1 surat keterangan, rekomdasi. 2 referansi.
return = kb. 1 kembalinya. 2 hasil. 3 keuntungan, laba (for o's money on o's investment). 4 kedatangan kembali, pemulangan. 5 (tax) formulir pajak penghasilan. -ks. kembali. -kkt. 1 mengembalikan (a book, compliment). 2 membalas (s.o's love).

The fact is that the woman in question was in a serious car accident in late 2005. Her prior car was totaled. So she got a lump sum insurance payment of about $30,000. Rather imprudently, she used that money as the down payment on an extremely pricey car -- the sort of car she really does not have enough income to afford.

imprudently = dengan tidak bijaksana
pricey = mahal
afford = kkt.1 menghasilkan,memberi-(kan).2 kuat, mampu.3 boleh.4 mengadakan, membuka, memberi.

That's her problem, and she will deal with it.
The scary part is that the California Franchise Tax Board knew what kind of car she bought and how much she paid for it, and they could and did compare those numbers with her earlier years' income.
The Servant Becomes the Master
This shows that information by taxing authorities has gone way past where it should be. The whole incident reminded me of the beginning of ‘Terminator', when we learn that, at a certain stage, machines become self-conscious and have the will to take over the earth. The servant becomes the master. And since the master is a machine, it has no feelings other than the will to control.

conscious = ks. 1 sadar. He was c. after his fall Dia sadar sesudah ia jatuh. 2 disengaja. to tell a c. lie berdusta dengan sengaja.

If the taxing authority knows what kind of car a taxpayer has and how much it cost to buy, what's next? Can the state match up our credit card purchases with our social security numbers and then keep a total of how much we have spent in 2009? Can the IRS or the Franchise Tax Board then have a program that figures that if we spent X, especially on Y and Z items, then we must have had an income of A? Can it then send us a letter demanding to know why we did not pay tax on amount A?

figure = kb. 1 bentuk badan. 2 bilangan, angka. 3 jumlah, bilangan. 4 tokoh. 5 gambar. 6 harga. -figures j. ilmu hitung. -kkt. 1 menghitung, menjumlahkan. 2membayangkan. -kki. 1 berhitung. 2 Inf.: kira. 3 terdapat, tertera. -figured ks. bergambar.

More frightening, the taxing authority can slap liens on taxpayers, and sometimes the taxpayers don't learn about it until later. Can the IRS or the state authority compute what their machines "think" we owe, and then simply debit that amount from our bank or brokerage accounts? If there is not enough there to pay what they figure we owe, can they put liens on our homes and garnish our wages?

frightening = menakutkan
slap = kb. tamparan, tempeleng. -kkt. (lapped) 1 menampar (s.o.). 2 menjatuhkan (a fine on s.o.). 3 membantingkan (food on a table). to s.around memukuli. to s. down menampik. slap-happy ks. puyeng, suka pening, miring otak.
lien = kb. hak gadai. because of the l. on it karena telah digadaikan.
garnish = kb. hiasan (for food). -kkt. menghias.

If the IRS really gets rolling, can they get an instantaneous, automated look at our checking accounts? Can they compute what the machines think we owe by the checks plus the credit cards, and then attach our wages or our bank accounts until we pay?

rolling = kb. (meng)gelinding(nya) (of a ball). ks. 1 berbukit-bukit (country). 2 berombak-ombak, melandai (fields). 3 yang berombak (besar) (sea).

Soulless Machines
Our government, to some people, appears to be a fair-minded, careful body. And many bureaucrats do fit that description, although many do not. But what happens when soulless machines take over the tasks of tax gathering?

Soulless = tanpa jiwa
appear = kki 1 kelihatan. 2 menghadap. 3 muncul 4 terbit. 5 bermain. 6 nampak, tampak, kelihatan. 7 tampil, muncul.
careful = ks. (ber-)hati-hati. -carefully kk. 1 dengan hati-hati. 2 dengan teliti.
fit = kb. 1 serangan tiba-tiba. 2 pas. -ks. 1 pantas, patut, layak. 2 sehat. 3 dapat, siap. 4 baik. -kk. to see f. memutuskan. -kkt. (fit atau fitted) 1 cocok dengan. 2 mencocokkan / menyusun kembali. 3 menjadikan. fitings kb., j. benda-benda, perabot.
gathering = pengumpulan

Then we humans have to gather our records and try to fight back as well as we can. How long until we go into an audit and don't even talk to a human being but instead have a machine scan our documents and then instantaneously give us an answer?

The answer, of course, will always be "pay up."
At present, only the top echelons of wage earners pay any meaningful amount of tax. But once the collection process is fully computerized, what is to stop the IRS or the states from collecting at least a few ounces of flesh from everyone?

ounce = kb. ons. to sell by the o. menjual per ons.
flesh = kb. daging. to put on f. bertambah gemuk. -kkt. to f. out meluaskan, menyempurnakan. -flesh-colored ks. berwarna seperti daging. flesh-eating ks. yang makan daging. f. wound luka enteng.

The future liabilities of the government -- thanks to wild overspending by both the Democrats and Republicans -- are almost incomprehensibly large. The needs of the states are critical right now. What is to stop the politicians from making machines our oppressors to squeeze out every dime they can from us?

oppressors = penindas
squeeze = kb. 1 tekanan. 2 tiruan. 3 pemerasan. -kkt. 1 memeras (money from s.o., fruit). 2 memencetr, meremas (a kitten). 3 menyelipkan. 4 memeluk, mendekap (a child in o's arms). -kki. diperas.
dime = kb. sepicis, uang picisan. a d. a dozen banyak dan mudah didapat. d. store toko murah yang menjual barang dengan harga beberapa sen keatas.

A Plea for Privacy
And what about some minimal amount of privacy? I am happy to pay my taxes. I like the fact that some of what I pay goes to the military and police and firefighters. But I don't want the government to know all the details of my life, which is what they are clearly on the way to knowing.

Plea = kb. 1 permohonan, permintaan. 2 Law : pembelaan, dalih.

For years now, I have been hearing that we need a very large sales tax instead of an income tax, and I have pooh-poohed the idea as being too regressive. But now that I see where the income tax system is going, I am eager for a fresh look at a national sales tax, which would stop the government from prying into our lives.

pooh = kseru. cih, bah. -kkt. pooh-pooh tak mengindahkan.
eager = ks. ingin sekali, hasrat. to be e. to go ingin sekali pergi. Inf.: e beaver orang yang rajin sekali. -eagerly kk. dengan tak sabar, dengan keinginan yang amat besar.
prying = kkt. (pried) membongkar, membuka dengan keras, mengumpil (top off a box). -kki. to p. into 1 mencampur-campuri (other's affairs). 2 menyelidiki (a matter). 3 pengintip, mengintai.

Taxes are a basic part of life, and we all have to pay our fair share. But Big Brother is a lot closer than we think, via the tax system, and I don't like that one bit.

closer = semakin dekat
bit = kb. 1 kekang, gurdi. 2 sedikit. 3 agak. 4 lih BITE. b. by b. sedikit demi sedikit. not a b. sedikitpun tidak. bits and pieces potong-potong, kepingan.

Kamis, 16 April 2009

Top Tax Tips for Younger Filers

by Anya Kamenetz

Posted on Wednesday, March 12, 2008, 12:00AM

Filing your taxes is kind of like going to the dentist: It may not be fun, but dealing with it is part of being a grownup. So with Tax Day one short month away, I turned to an expert for advice aimed especially at us younger and newer filers. Kay Bell is a Texas-based journalist who has covered tax tips for Bankrate.com since 1999 (check out their 2008 tax guide here).
She also writes one of the most readable and entertaining tax blogs on the Web: Don't Mess With Taxes.

readable = menarik

Here are Kay's and my top tax tips for GenDebt.
1.) Take the easy way out.
Put your technology skills to work. Online filing can be fast and cheap -- even free. "Tax prep software has gotten better every year," says Bell. If you make less than $54,000 per year, you can use the IRS Free File site directly.
Or you can try the free version of the TaxACT program.
You might also be able to get a free version of TurboTax or H&R Block's Tax Cut software. Check with your bank or financial institution to see if they have any deals.

2.) But not too EZ.
Bell says one of the biggest mistakes young filers make is going straight for the one-page 1040EZ form.
"A lot of young people might have student loans, and they can deduct the interest, but not on the 1040EZ," she says. "They need to use a 1040A or the long 1040."

3.) Be a savvy student.
About that student loan interest deduction: Those who earn less than $65,000 a year can take up to $2,500 off their adjusted gross income for the interest (not the principal) paid annually on student loans. This counts for both federal and private student loans. If you're still enrolled in a qualified higher education institution, you can also claim a HOPE tax credit for up to $1,650 for your tuition and fees.
Importantly, Bell notes, these are "above-the-line" deductions, meaning you don't have to itemize them (break them down, rather than taking the standard deduction) to claim them.

savvy = cerdas

4.) Adjusting to the working world? Adjust your income.
Another surprising above-the-line deduction: the expenses for your first big move and first job.
"Let's say you got out of college at Ohio State, and you're moving to take a job offer down in Atlanta," says Bell. "Be sure to keep a record of your U-Haul and moving expenses." All of this can be written off on the 1040 Long Form only.
After your first job, you can deduct job-hunting expenses like resume prep when you look for another position in the same field, but you have to itemize to take these deductions.

5.) Online tools can help the self-employed.
Lots of younger workers are starting out as freelance, permalance, or independent contractors. If you're getting paid on a 1099 instead of a W-2, you need to fill out a Schedule C form to itemize your business expenses.

Here, take your time and be thorough. For example, don't forget home-office expenses -- you can deduct a proportion of your rent, Internet, and utilities if you work from home (although your work area should be exclusively delineated and reserved for work).
thorough = seksama
delineated = digambarkan

Also, you can deduct your premiums if you buy your own health insurance -- which you should!
Online tools can help you keep organized when it comes to all of these deductions, which is extremely important. "People end up cheating themselves," says Bell. "They have a lot of expenses and they're not remembering them, and it's awful hard to reconstruct things."
cheating = menipu
awful = kejam

As a freelance writer, I've been dealing with this since I first filed taxes. This year, I went through my online GCalendar month by month to remember all the dates where I incurred business-related travel or entertainment expenses (e.g., lunch with an interview subject). My Amazon account showed what books I'd bought for research, and my cell phone bills served as a log, allowing me to figure out the percentage of calls that were made to business-related numbers.
incurred = yang terjadi
log = mencatatkan dalam buku harian.

Kay also suggests using online mapping tools to reconstruct your mileage if you drove anywhere for work. Of course, you should be able to back up every deduction with a receipt.
Another important thing to remember: If you are a freelancer and taxes are not being taken out of your paychecks, you must file estimated tax payments each quarter. If not, "you're technically in violation of tax law," says Bell. Eep.
In online tool that can help you with this task is the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System.

6.) Get the maximum benefit out of your benefits.
If you read this column, you already know the long-term reasons to fund your tax-sheltered retirement account. If it's a Roth IRA or Roth 401(k), you still have to pay taxes on your contributions (with the advantage of taking the money out tax-free when you retire). But if your employer offers a regular 401(k), those contributions will reduce your tax liability.
Another employer-provided tax benefit that Bell says people often overlook is a flexible spending account for medical expenses. Put, say, $500 into it for your co-pays and dental deductibles -- even over-the-counter medications -- and you can take that amount off your taxable income.
sheltered = yang dinaungi

7.) Know when to get extra help.
There are certain times when younger filers should seek help from a human being, whether at a storefront chain like H&R Block or Jackson Hewitt, or with a qualified CPA. You may want to do this if you've started your own business, sold some property, or have a large amount of investments, all things that will make your tax filing more complicated. Or, says Bell, "if you're just too danged busy and you're going to be rushed. You never want to get in a rush when you're doing your taxes."


8.) Beware the refund.
Everyone knows that a fat refund is your reward for going through the mind-numbing process of tax filing, right? Well, think again. A "refund" just means you let the government hold on to too much of your income all year, like giving them an interest-free loan.
"If you find you're getting a large refund, go to your human resources office and fill out a new W-4," says Bell. "You want to have just as close to what you're going to owe taken out as possible."
Another refund pitfall: If you walk into a tax-prep chain, watch out for any refund anticipation loans they offer. They'll cost you a bundle in the long run.

Beware = hati2
bundle = berkas

9.) Get your stimulus payment.
Finally, this year there's yet another cash incentive to file -- your economic stimulus payment of $300 to $600, scheduled to go out in May and based on your 2007 return. The IRS is encouraging even those whose incomes are too low to need to file to go ahead and do it this year.
While the $150 billion stimulus package is supposed to get Americans to go out and spend their refunds, a better option for many members of Generation Debt is to -- yes -- pay off debt or invest the money.

encouraging = menganjurkan,

Top Tax Tips for Younger Filers