Tax Credit Includes Current Homeowner Benefits

whether you have capital

gains or losses at tax time.

1-Year to Permanently

Bank Records Go through

your checks each year and

keep those related to your

taxes, business expenses,

home improvements and

mortgage payments. Shred

those that have no long-term

importance.

1-Year to Permanently

Bills Go through your bills

once a year. In most cases,

when a cancelled check from

a paid bill is returned, you can

shred the bill. However, bills

for big purchases such as

jewelry, appliances, antiques,

cars, furniture, etc. should be

kept in an insurance file for

proof of their value in the

even of loss or damage.

Continued on Pg. 2

Home Pros

Outlook

You can’t take it with you, but

the following are suggestions

about how long you should

keep personal finance and

investment records on file

according to Consumer Credit

Counseling Services.

7 Years

Taxes/Returns/Cancelled

Checks/Receipts (alimony,

charitable contributions, mort-

gage interest, and retirement

plan contributions) Records

for tax deductions taken. The

IRS has three-years from your

filing date to audit your return

if it suspects good-faith errors.

The three-year deadline also

applies if you discover a mis-

take in your return and decide

to file an amended return.

The IRS has six years to chal-

lenge your return if it thinks

you underreported your gross

income by 25% or more.

There is no limit if you failed to

file and return or filed a

fraudulent return.

Permanently

IRA Contribution Records

If you made a nondeductible

contribution to an IRA, keep

the records indefinitely to

prove that you already paid

tax on this money when the

time comes to withdraw.

1-Year to Permanently

Retirement Savings Plan

Statements Keep the quar-

terly statement of your 401(k)

or other plans until you re-

ceive your annual summary, if

everything matches up, shred

the quarterlies. Keep the an-

nual summaries until you re-

tire or close the account.

Until You Sell Your Securi-

ties Brokerage Statements

You need the purchase or

sales slips from your broker-

age or mutual fund to prove

How Long Should You

Keep Financial Records?

Bob Abner Home Pros Winter

Look What’s Inside:

How Long To Keep Financial

Records

Expanded Tax Benefits

Marley’s thoughts on random

acts of kindness

Sharing “Pay It Forward”

Stories

How The ANYTIME LINE

Benefits Both Buyer and

Seller

Brandon’s Money Matters –

Six Tax Breaks Any

Homeowner Should Know

Around 70% of all current homeowners will be eligible for the expanded home buyer tax credit, which should pro-vide some boost to home prices over the next few months, according to an esti-mate by economists. The home buyer tax credit will

be extended through April 30

and expanded to include a

$6,500 credit to buyers who

have owned their current home for five years. The credit wouldn’t cover second homes and is limited to homes of less than $800,000.

The credit would also be ex-

tended to a slightly larger pool

of buyers by raising income

caps to $125,000 for single

filers and $250,000 for joint

filers, up from $75,000 and

$150,000, respectively. The

National Association of Home

Builders used Census data to

estimate that around 14% of

first-time buyers were ineligi-

ble for the current credit but

will be eligible with the ex-

panded income limits.

into action with a random act

of kindness. She leaned over

out the driver’s window and

offered the man a dollar. He

thanked her very much and

continued talking with the

other man. Now, I didn’t

really like that man getting

very close to my mom, but I

kept my mouth shut. Then,

out of nowhere, this same

man came over to my mom’s

passenger window, stuck his

head in the car, nearly scar-

ing her half to death, to thank

her again. Now, that really

made me mad and I let him

know it. I am aware that I am,

shall we say, a rather large

girl (I prefer using the word

1-Year Paycheck Stubs

When you receive your annual

W-2 form from your employer,

make sure the information on

your stubs matches. If it does,

shred the stubs. If it doesn’t,

demand a correction form,

know as a W-2c.

45 Days to 7-Years Credit

Card Receipts and State-

ments Keep your original

receipts until you get your

monthly statement, shred the

receipts ,if the two match up.

Keep the statements for seven

years if tax-related expenses

are documented.

6-Year to Permanently

House/Condominium Records

Keep all records documenting

the purchase price and the

cost of all permanent improve-

ments—such as remodeling,

additions and installations.

Keep records of expenses

incurred in selling and buying

the property, such as legal

fees and your real estate

agent’s commission, for six

years after you sell your

home.

Holding on to these records is

important because any im-

provements you make on your

house, as well as, expenses in

selling it, are added to the origi-

nal purchase price or cost ba-

sis. This adds up to a greater

profit (also known as capital

gains) when you well your

house. Therefore, you lower

your capital gains tax.

If you have questions regarding

any of these topics, contact us

at 859-442-4385 and we will be

happy to put you in touch with a

financial professional.

One day my parents took

Haley June and me to the dog

park. On the way home, we

stopped at the grocery store

and my dad went in for a few

things while mom laid her

seat back and stayed in the

car with us. All the windows

were down in our SUV and

June Bug and I were in the

backend resting after playing

so hard at the park. Outside

of our car, my mom over-

heard two men talking and

one of the men asked if the

other man could spare a dol-

lar. The man said he didn’t

have any money on him. My

mom overheard this conver-

sation and decided to jump

Keeping Financial Records—continued from pg. 1

It’s A Dog’s Life—Marley

Home Pros

Outlook

Winter

Page 2

“healthy”) and I know I can be

intimidating especially if I am

barking. This dummy didn’t

take the hint. I never had that

happen before. Then I

smelled that he had been

drinking. He thought it would

be a good idea to try to make

friends with me so he stuck

his arm in the back window to

touch me. That’s when I bit

him. I drew blood too. I’d

never done that before, but

honestly he deserved it.

You’d think that would have

sent the man on his way, but

no, he continued to bother my

mom. I could sense she was

really uncomfortable and I

was just beside

myself until finally my dad came.

Then the man went away. Haley

June slept through the whole or-

deal. It’s probably just as well,

she doesn’t know how to handle

herself like I do in these situations.

It took me forever to get myself

calmed down. I think that there

are some people who maybe

shouldn’t do random acts of kind-

ness, and I think my mom is one

of them;)

Sharing “Pay It Forward” Experiences

I was at the grocery store

shopping for my weekly gro-

ceries. I had passed the

same mother with a scream-

ing toddler several times

throughout the store. Nor-

mally, I get irritated with chil-

dren whose parents allow

them to wale uncontrollably in

public places, and this was no

exception. When checking

out, guess who was in front of

speechless, and when she did

try to speak I stopped her and

said, “You can pay me back by

helping someone else that

crosses your path.”

She didn’t say another word.

Tears streamed down her face

as I had the honor of paying her

bill. Before she walked out she

hugged me and said “Bless you,

bless you.” What an awesome

feeling and she was right. I was

the one who was blessed.

me. The mother with the

screaming child. I remem-

bered the Pay It Forward

challenge and instead of be-

ing annoyed I decided to help

the young mother (who, I had-

n’t noticed earlier, was ex-

pecting another child).

I first tried to rock the cart to

comfort the child, then began

loading her groceries onto the

counter. She just kept thank-

ing me, over and over. When

it was time to pay her bill, she

didn’t have quite enough. I

could hardly wait to be able to

say, “Don’t worry about it, I

would be happy to pay for

these groceries.” Everyone

stopped and looked at me like

I was insane. The cashier,

the bagger, the person behind

me, the cashiers at the check-

outs on either side of us just

stopped and stared.

The young mother was

Benjamin Franklin once said, “In

this world nothing can be said to

be certain, except death and

taxes.” More than 200 years

later, this certainly holds true.

And while being a homeowner

won’t add years to your life, the

modern tax code has a number

of benefits certain to make your

tax bill lower. The following are

a few ways your CPA or tax pre-

parer can help you save:

Take an interest in your mort-

gage interest—On average,

qualified American homeowners

save about $2000 per return by

deducting mortgage interest.

Don’t forget about the

points—Points paid to refinance

your home are also fully deducti-

ble throughout the life of the

loan.

Old points are as good as

new—Unamortized points from

old refinancing are deductible in

We have invested in one of the

most innovative and powerful

tools for both potential buyers

and sellers. It is called the Huff

Any Time Line.

The Huff Any Time Line en-

hances the effectiveness of our

yard signs by allowing buyers to

request information about any

home listed from their mobile

telephone.

Other companies have a phone

number on the yard sign that will

tell you about that particular

house. The Huff Any Time Line

can give you information on any

listing, with any company, Just

call the Any Time line, give the

first few digits of the address,

and you will get information on

the home that is for sale right

then and there. This is a win/win

situation for both buyer and

seller.

Buyers can comfortably acquire

information before they engage

with an agent, which eliminates

the “intimidation factor”.

Homes listed get more attention

increasing the ability of a faster

sale. The Huff Anytime Line will

maintain statistics that will guide

us in how best to market your

home for sale.

Homebuyers may sign up for

this enhancement at Huff.com.

Simply designate Bob Abner as

your representative and no one

will call you or hassle you. The

Bob Abner Home Pros want

you to feel comfortable as you

casually look for a new home.

When you are ready, just let us

know, and we will be happy to

assist you and look after your

best interests as you move for-

ward with a home purchase.

Look For A Home Without The Hassle

Home Pros

Outlook

Winter

Page 3

Money Matters—Brandon Barlow

Brandon Barlow

859.442.4466

the year of a new refinance.

Sell your house—While points

are not deductible for Sellers,

you can exclude as much as

$250,000 in gain ($500,000 on a

joint return) when you sell your

primary home

Casualty deductions—Floods,

forest fires, hurricanes, earth-

quakes and other natural disas-

ters can be devastating, espe-

cially to homeowners. Ask your

CPA how you can take deduc-

tions on casualty losses, even if

you collected insurance.

$8000 Tax Credit for First Tim-

ers—The government has cre-

ated a temporary monetary in-

centive, a tax credit, for first time

home buyers The tax credit (not

a tax deduction) is 10% of the

purchase price of a home, up to

a maximum of $8000. This is a

Is a temporary tax break avail-

able until April 30, 2010.

$6500 Tax Credit for Buyers

who have owned their home

for 5 years—The government

has created a temporary mone-

tary incentive, a tax credit, for

home buyers The tax credit (not

a tax deduction) is 10% of the

purchase price of a home, up to

a maximum of $6500. This is a

temporary tax break available

until April 30, 2010 , so don’t

wait.

Remember, this, and any article

you might read on your own,

should never serve as tax ad-

vice. Always consult with a

qualified CPA or Tax Preparer

before making any tax decisions.

If you need a referral, give us a

call, and we’ll be glad to give

you the names of reliable profes-

sionals we work with on a regu-

lar basis

HUFF REALTY

2808 Alexandria Pike

Highland Heights, KY 41076

www.BobAbnerHomePros.com

I was waiting at the drive thru at my local bank when I overheard a young woman have a problem with her account. Apparently she had deposited a check and the bank put a 5-day hold on the check to make sure it cleared. This made it so the lady could get no cash from her account. She told the teller she had no gas and had to drive quite a long way to get home. The teller told her she was sorry she couldn’t help her. I moved on from the drive thru and was waiting at a nearby stop light, when the women with the bank problem pulled up behind me. I could see in my rear view mirror she was scrambling to figure out what to do. I got out of my car, walked back to the driver side window of her car and pulled out at $10 bill

Sharing “Pay It Forward” Experiences

B o b A b n e r H o m e P r o s

Bob Abner—859-442-4385

Jane Yarborough—859-466-0734

Marilyn Stoffregen—859-653-1592

Lori Abner—859-442-4327

Marley—MarleyAbner@gmail.com

warm socks. We stuff them in our pockets at night when we go for our stroll. When we come upon people waiting in line at the homeless shelter or pass an individual in need, we give them a new pair of socks. It might seem like a small thing, but I think we often take for granted simple conveniences like putting on a fresh, clean pair of socks each day. People seem to be so grate-ful for something so insignificant as a pair of socks. We have gotten so we really look forward to handing out the socks and it really puts a smile on an unknown face to receive them.

and handed it to her without a word. The look on her face was priceless. She had no idea I had overheard her dilemma at the bank. I was grinning from ear to ear when I saw her pull away from the light and drove directly over to a gas station to put gas in her car. I will always remember this inci-dent as it gave me great joy and a lot of fun at the same time. My wife and I live in the inner city. We walk frequently in the eve-nings after I get home from work. Often, we pass a homeless shelter where people wait in line for a bed for that night. We wanted to do something for them that they could use right away. My wife came up with the idea of giving them a new pair of socks. So, we went to a local club store and loaded up on

Sheila Walker—859-466-5883

We hope you will refer the Bob Abner Home Pros to your family, friends, neighbors and work associ-

ates. We are experts on the Tax Credit opportunity for first-time and existing homebuyers. Do you

know of anyone who is planning to buy or sell a home? Have them call us today 859.442.4385