Dear Liz: Where can I sign up to have my name removed from the mailing lists for credit card offers? Answer: You can remove yourself from marketing lists provided by credit bureaus to credit card and insurance companies by calling (888) 5-OPT-OUT (567-8688) or visiting www.optoutprescreen.com. You should see a significant reduction over time in […]
Recent Blog Posts
Gift tax rules allow for plenty of giving
Dear Liz: My husband and I have given our daughters gifts over the years, but we have never exceeded the $26,000 gift tax limit for a married couple. Do we need to file IRS Form 709 to split the gifts? If so, how to do we file for past years? Answer: The gift tax system […]
Myths about “death taxes” lead to costly mistakes
Dear Liz: You recently answered a question about capital gains taxes that stemmed from two siblings selling their parents’ home. The children had been added to the parents’ deed, presumably before the parents’ death. You mentioned that the capital gains tax would have been avoided if the parents had bequeathed the home rather than gifting […]
Get a lawyer’s advice before transferring home
Dear Liz: Your column on the tax issues that develop when parents deed their property to their children should help educate a lot of people. But sometimes this is done to reduce the parents’ assets so they will be eligible for Medicaid after the expiration of the look-back period. In this case, paying the capital […]
Gifting home creates unnecessary tax bill
Dear Liz: My wife and her brother are selling their parents’ home. The parents transferred the deed to their children’s names years ago. My wife should receive about $85,000 from the sale. Our yearly income (one salary; she’s a stay-at-home mom) is around $75,000. My wife is worried about capital gains taxes and wants to […]
Government recoups defaulted student loan debt
Dear Liz: I read your response to the person questioning the rationale behind taxpayer-supported federal student loans. Your response was well written, but do you have any information about how much money is owed to the government for student loans and what percentage of all the loans are actually paid back in full? You mentioned […]