Until last weekend, I had never heard of PaycheckCity.com (h/t NYTimes).

But I’m glad I was turned on to them. They have 3 free and insanely useful online calculators and assistants that are designed to help the average worker.

The most impressive to me is the W-4 form assistant. Isn’t it confusing every time you start a new job and you have to give them info for the W-4? How many dependents should you claim? How many exemptions? Especially for the younger workers out there, what about student loan debt and other considerations?

This W-4 form assistant will help you out.

They also have a Salary Paycheck Calculator and an Hourly Paycheck Calculator, both accessible from the main page.

And of course, before you can get to fill out a W-4, you need to be hired. And a professional resume writing service will help you do that.

Related posts:

1. 7 Career Fields That Offer College Loan Forgiveness
2. College Debt? Delay Any Refi Until July
3. What To Do If You Just Can’t Fill A Resume

Thanks for SavvySugar for doing the research on this one.

Sitting around wondering when you can get your hands on that economic stimulus check? After all, how can we all run to Target and spend our way out of recession if we don’t have the money in our pockets?

Well, it’s the government, so it’s not coming tomorrow. Or the next day.

Turns out the checks will go out based on the last two digits of your social security number. If you do direct deposit, you’ll see the money in your account some time in May. Good old paper checks might not see anything until July!

(PS… here’s a rundown of how much money you can expect)

Direct deposit payment

Paper check

…

Related posts:

1. Your Resume, By Your Jewish Mother
2. Working From Home Reality Check
3. College Debt? Delay Any Refi Until July

It’s a well-established fact, but probably a little-known one.

Your job search expenses can be tax deductible.

We’ve been telling our clients this for years: if you get your resume professionally produced, the cost of the resume is tax deductible.

SavvySugar has a rundown of the details:

• Your job search must be for a position in the same field as your current job.
• If you’ve taken a long break between walking out the door of your last job and embarking on a new job hunt, the IRS won’t allow you to deduct any job hunting expenses.
• Recent graduates don’t qualify for these types of deductions.

Related posts:

1. This Year’s Tax Code Changes
2. Tax Tip- Don’t Forget The Home Office Deduction
3. Calculate Your Tax Refund Today

Continuing our efforts to get prepared for the tax man, I found a great rundown of some of the major tax code changes that are applicable this year.

Unfortunately, the article his here, behind the LATimes subscription firewall. The link might work cleanly, or it might not. If not, try searching for “untangling the tax code latimes” at news.google.com.

If that doesn’t work, I’m gonna go ahead and sum up some of the more important changes, just to get the info out there.

First, here are the tax breaks that are going away. Your 2007 return is the last time to claim:

• The tuition and fees deduction. Bummer if you have a kid in college or are doing continuing education for a better degree.
• But the teachers get screwed too. This is the last year for the educator expense deduction, which lets schoolteachers to write off up to $250 in out-of-pocket classroom expenses.
• And this is the last year to claim breaks on home energy improvement purchases. This means more energy efficient windows, water heaters, etc.

You gotta hand it to the government. Those all sound like excellent tax breaks to eliminate!

Now for the list of new deductions!

I’m going to quote selectively from the article. Please read the full thing for all the details:

* Mortgage insurance write-offs. Mortgage insurance premiums are now deductible, but there are caveats. (…)

* Debt cancellation exclusion. Before last year, if you lost your house in foreclosure or were forced to sell it for less than the loan amount, you’d typically be subject to “debt cancellation income.” The short version: The IRS assessed income tax on the money you didn’t have to pay back. (…) For 2007 through 2009, debt cancellation on your primary residence, whether as the result of a so-called “short sale” or a foreclosure, is not taxable. (…)

* Charitable receipts. The IRS will no longer take your word for the $20 you put in the collection plate each week (…) You need to either write a check or get a receipt for every donation. (…)

* AMT credit. If you paid the alternative minimum tax in a prior year because of a phantom gain, you might qualify for a refundable credit in 2007 (…)

* Child exemptions. The clarification of rules stipulating who can claim a child as a dependent allows some unmarried partners and grandparents to take tax write-offs for children they support who might live with a parent.

* Kids and taxes. Children under the age of 18 may have to pay tax on unearned income at their parents’ marginal rate. (…)

Related posts:

1. Calculate Your Tax Refund Today
2. Tax Tip- Don’t Forget The Home Office Deduction
3. What You’d Get From The (So Called) Economic Stimulus Package

Our worklife has invaded our homes… and the beach-head is called our home office.

Almost everyone I know has some sort of home office setup. And most new houses that are built (if any new houses are being built…) these days include a home office instead of a den/breakfast room.

I’m not an accountant or anything close, but even I know that the home office deduction is one of the most common deductions people forget about. It’s not just for telecommuters anymore (though officially working from home does help your case with the IRS).

Are you qualified for the home office deduction? How is the deduction calculated?

Wisebread has a quick summary post outlining all these things. Firstly, exclusive use as a home office is key:

If the workspace is used for both business and personal use, then it is not deductible. Furthermore, the space must be used on a regular basis for business purposes; a space that is used only a few times a year will not be considered a home office by the IRS, even if the space is not used for anything else.

Secondly, the necessity of working from home needs to be proven:

There cannot be an alternative location available, at least on a regular, continuous basis. Both employees and independent contractors may have to prove this to the IRS via expense receipts and/or documentation from their employers stating that there is no workplace provided to them outside their homes.

All things being equal, I would feel most comfortable consulting an accountant on this one. Read the entire article at WiseBread. They’ll walk you through it, but I think that Turbo tax might not be sufficient in this case.

Deduct Those Home Office Expenses (WiseBread)

Related posts:

1. This Year’s Tax Code Changes
2. Calculate Your Tax Refund Today
3. Working From Home Reality Check

With tax season coming up, I’ll be looking to highlight some financial and organizational tips over the next few months. First up, I have a tip I heard years ago that I don’t think has gotten wide currency:

You Should Create And Keep Your Own Personnel File

Every employer does it. Your personnel file is a quick and handy reference for your boss. It not only keeps track of every important legal piece of paper relating to you, but provides a quick summary of who you are and what you do/what you’re owed/how you’re performing.

What is the utility of this? I think you’ll understand when you see what your personal personnel file should include:

Your Personal Personnel File Should Include

• Your contracts. This means a copy of your signed contract that got you hired at your current job. Also, copies of your contracts at any and all previous jobs. There can never be any confusion about what you’re owed, what is expected of you, what was promised to you, or when and how your job will end… so long as you keep your own copy of all your contracts.
• Your most recent evaluation reports. Good or bad, you should request copies. If anyone starts to question your performance, your employers’ own evaluation of you work, in their own words, is invaluable. And if your performance was poor in the past, keeping lousy reviews can be helpful to demonstrate growth or improvement.
• Anything legal you sign at work. Such as: a noncompete agreement; a confidentiality agreement; an agreement relating to a company-provided property such as a car or a cell phone or a laptop; liability waivers; etc.
• Your W-2 forms and any related employment tax documents. Going back at least 3 years. Other possible documents to include: 1099s and W-4s (the Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificates).
• Your benefits/retirement summary. And any other documents that highlight all the perks and benefits you’re entitled to under your contract.
• Your health and insurance benefits summary. As an addendum to the above, if you’ve got an outline of the health benefits you are due, make a copy and throw it in here also. You should obviously keep a separate health records file for yourself and your doctor, but a summary sheet can be included in your personnel file for reference purposes. This is especially useful if you lose your job… how much longer are you entitled to your benefits?
• Your financial contributions. To retirement (401k, IRA) or health insurance (life insurance), broken down monthly or yearly or both. How much have you kicked in? How much is your employer required to kick in? Have they done so? You might have to do this by hand yourself, but it’s also a good reference for you to help keep a gauge on how you’re doing with your long-term financial goals.
• Any formal proposals/memos/agreements you make with or submit to your employer. For example, a raise request, the proposal to create a new position/project or even a proposal to work from home.
• Grades/transcripts from college. Especially for younger professionals.
• Proof of attendance/completion of any training/seminar.
• Copies of awards or citations.
• Written references from previous employers or others related to your career.
• Termination documents from previous jobs. If only to prove/explain the circumstances of your leaving a previous position, these are good things to keep copies of.
• Business expenses. Travel expenses, mileage reports, rental car receipts, lunches, paper clips, etc.
• Warnings and/or other disciplinary actions/complaints with co-workers.

If you don’t have any or all of these documents, ask for copies to be made. You don’t necessarily need the originals for everything. Just having a copy in your own personal personnel file will suffice to provide all the reference and evidence you’ll ever need.

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2. Health Insurance Options After a Job Loss
3. Should I Bring A Resume To The Interview?