Tax Refunds, Rebates, and Recovery

I am officially in the midst of tax season. It is always stressful around this time because there is just so much information and documents I have to gather, organize and prepare. I can’t help but wonder why I have such a complicated tax situation? And believe it or not, I never stop trying to simplify my life.

I guess I should be happy that I don’t have gambling tax, so I don’t have to worry about the claims or getting us tax recovery assistance. It has never occurred to me until today, but the international visitors are subject to 30% withholding taxes of their winnings. Since the citizenship and the resident status are a bit foreign to me, if you are an international visitor, you should check with the agency yourself. There is a list of countries that are eligible to file for the gambling tax refunds. It is risk free. If you don’t get your refund check, you won’t be charged a fee. If you need help recovering your winning’s taxes now you will know where to go.

Did you know that mortgage rates are still considerably low? If your mortgage interest rate is still in the high 4% or 5%, you should be looking to refinance. In some cases, you might qualify for a income tax deduction on refinancing costs and fees, check with your tax accountant. I received a letter yesterday stating my mortgage adjustment will be 3.00% by May 1st, 2011. It is an adjustable rate, so it adjusts every year based on the US Treasury index value. This is very good news as I will save over $400 in monthly payments. Check with mortgage broker Calgary to get pre-approval. If you would like to do a research before hand, try the mortgage calculator to see if refinancing makes sense for you. It takes time to work on your loan, but you will enjoy having the extra money in your pocket. It really is very simple if you work with the mortgage brokers. They will do all the work, quote you an interest rate and pre-approve you, then can make the decision for yourself.

Thanks to SO convincing me to use the online tax program, I have learned so much about refunds and rebates. The easy automated "guide me" was how I found out about these deductions. SO said it is the best way to un-complicate the complicated woman! It saved all the information for the tax credits from the year prior and carries over every year. It is available and accessible anywhere with the internet. One of the fears we have about the important paperwork is the chance of it being misplaced or lost. Having it stored online is like having it insured.