TAXES: 6 Home Deduction Traps and How to Avoid Them

Get an “A” on your Schedule A Form: Dodge these tax deduction pitfalls to save time, money, and an IRS investigation.

Trap #1: Line 6 - real estate taxes

Your monthly mortgage payment often includes money for a tax escrow, from which the lender pays your local real estate taxes.

The money you send the bank may be more than what the bank pays for your taxes, says Julian Block, a tax attorney and author of Julian Block’s Home Seller’s Guide to Tax Savings. That will lead you to putting the wrong number on Schedule A.

Example:

• Your monthly payment to the lender: $2,000 for mortgage + $500 escrow for taxes

• Your annual property tax bill: $5,500

Now do the math:

• Your bank received $6,000 for real estate taxes, but only paid $5,500. It may keep the extra $500 to apply to the next tax bill or refund it to you at some point, but meanwhile, you’re making a mistake if you enter $6,000 on Schedule A.

• Instead, take the number from Form 1098—which your bank sends you each year—that shows the actual taxes paid.

Trap #2: Line 6 - tax calculations for recent buyers and sellers

If you bought or sold a home in the middle of 2012, figuring out what to put on line 6 of your Schedule A Form is tricky.

Don’t simply enter the number from your property tax bill on line 6 as you would if you owned the house the whole year. If you bought or sold a house in midyear, you should instead use the property tax amount listed on your HUD-1 closing statement, says Phil Marti, a retired IRS official.

Here’s why: Generally, depending on the local tax cycle, either the seller gives the buyer money to pay the taxes when they come due or, if the seller has already paid taxes, the buyer reimburses the seller at closing. Those taxes are deductible that year, but won’t be reflected on your property tax bill.

Trap #3: Line 10 - properly deducting points

You can deduct points paid on a refinance, but not all at once, says David Sands, a CPA with Buchbinder Tunick & Co LLP. Rather, you deduct them over the life of your loan. So if you paid $1,000 in points for a 10-year refinance, you’re entitled to deduct only $100 per year on your Schedule A Form.

Trap #4: Line 10 - HELOC limits

If you took out a home equity line of credit (HELOC), you can generally deduct the interest on it only up to $100,000 of debt each year, says Matthew Lender, a CPA with EisnerLubin LLP.

For example, if you have a HELOC for $200,000, the bank will send you Form 1098 for interest paid on

TAXES: How to Get Your PMI Deduction

Deducting PMI premiums can save you hundreds of dollars. Here’s what you need to know to get the deduction.

Do You Qualify for the Deduction?

Just because you have PMI premiums doesn’t mean you can deduct them. Here’s what qualifies you:

• You got your loan in 2007 or later.

• Your mortgage is for your primary residence or a second home that’s not a rental property.

• Your adjusted gross income is no more than $109,000. The deduction begins to phase out once your adjusted gross income (AGI) exceeds $100,000 ($50,000 for married filing separately) and disappears entirely at an AGI of more than $109,000 ($54,500 for married filing separately).

How to File for the PMI Deduction

You’ll have to itemize and use Schedule A.

If you make no more than $100,000 a year, put the amount of insurance premiums you paid last year on Line 13. Don’t include pre-paid premiums for this year. You’re doing taxes based on last year’s income and expenses, so this year’s premiums don’t count even if you pre-paid them last year. (More about deducting prepaid and upfront mortgage insurance here.)

If your adjusted gross income is between $100,000 and $109,000, use the worksheet included with Schedule A to figure out how much you get to deduct.

How Much Can You Save?

It depends on how much you’re paying. A good rule of thumb industry experts use: You'll pay $50 a month in premiums for every $100,000 of financing. Keep in mind, though, that the amount of the down payment, type of loan, and lender requirements can all affect your actual cost.

For example, if you put 5% down on a $200,000 house, you’ll pay monthly PMI premiums of about $125. Increase your down payment to 10%, and you’ll pay less than $80 a month.

So how does this affect your tax bill? Let’s say your adjusted gross income is $100,000. You bought a $200,000 house in 2012, put down 5%, and paid $1,500 in PMI premiums ($125 times 12 months). The deduction for PMI cuts your taxable income by $1,500. If you’re in the 15% tax bracket, you save $225 on your tax bill ($1,500 x 15%), and if you are in the 25% tax bracket, you save $375 ($1,500 x 25%).

The Best Savings of All: Canceling Your PMI

Although the tax deduction is nice — at least while it lasts — getting rid of PMI altogether is even nicer.

You can cancel your PMI when you have 20% equity in your home. Lenders are required to automatically cancel it once you have 22% equity. If you think you’re at that threshold, find out more about canceling your PMI.

Get more tax tips with our complete Home Owner’s Guide to Taxes.

This article provides general information about tax laws and consequences, but shouldn’t be relied on as tax or legal advice applicable to particular transactions or circumstances. Consult a tax pro for such advice; tax laws may vary by jurisdiction.

TAXES: Your Top Home Ownership Tax Questions Answered

Which tax benefits do home owners miss? Will you get audited if you take the home office deduction? Find out the answers to these questions and more before Tax Day.

There are a lot of home ownership tax benefits — if you don’t forget to take them. To make sure you get your due, HouseLogic asked tax expert Abe Schneier, a senior technical manager with the American Institute of CPAs, for tax-filing tips.

HouseLogic: What’s the most common home-related tax deduction or credit claimed by home owners?

Abe Schneier: The mortgage interest deduction, [which the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® estimates amounts to about $3,000 in tax savings for the average itemizing home owner] and [the deduction for] real property taxes.

HL: Which tax provision do home owners often overlook?

AS: You can deduct mortgage insurance premiums [or PMI] if you were required to get PMI as a condition of receiving financing on your home. Some people will overlook that, although it’s typically disclosed on the 1099 that you receive from the bank, along with all the deductible information you need.

HL note: The PMI deduction has been extended through 2013 and is retroactive for 2012.

[Another area of tax-filing confusion is] whether you’ve correctly treated any points you paid if you refinanced. In a new home purchase, the points can be deducted [in the tax year you paid them]. But typically in a refinancing, you have to amortize and deduct any points you paid over the life of the mortgage, and people tend to forget that after a couple of years.

HL: What’s the No. 1 mistake home owners make when filing their taxes?

AS: Because you receive a statement from the bank with details [such as] how muchmortgage interest you paid over the year, and how much the bank pays on your behalf in real estate taxes, the number of mistakes has dropped.

But if you’re in a state where you pay the real estate taxes on your own — the bank doesn’t handle it for you — [people] make mistakes because sometimes real estate tax bills include other items besides pure real estate taxes. It could be trash collection fees; it could be snow removal fees that the state or county is assessing on the real estate tax bill. Since the items are included in the same bill, home owners sometimes deduct [those fees] regardless of whether the items are actually taxes.

HL: What’s the single most important piece of advice for people filing their taxes as a first-time home owner?

AS: You have to take a look at your closing statement from when you bought the house. It’s commonly called the HUD-1 form and you receive it at the closing. Occasionally, there are fees such as prepaid taxes or interest at closing that can be deductible.

HL: What tax advice do you have for someone who’s owned their home for 10 or 20 years?

AS: If you’ve been a longtime home owner and you’ve been through refinancings, you have to be careful about how much interest you’ve deducted, especially if you have a home equity loan or equity line. A lot of people who’ve refinanced have sizable equity lines. The maximum outstanding home equity debt that’s deductible is $100,000; the maximum deductible amount of interest paid on mortgage debt is $1 million.

HL: What home improvement-related records should home owners keep?

AS: Absolutely keep your receipts for couple of reasons:

1. You want to make sure — if there are any warranties attached to the work that was done — that you maintain those records and you have something to go back to the person who did the work in case something doesn’t function properly.

2. If you’ve added value to the home — you’ve added a deck, you’ve added a room, you’ve added something new to house — you’ll need to know what the gain is on that capital improvement when you sell the house.

HL note: Tax rules let you add capital improvement expenses to the cost basis of your home, and a higher cost basis lowers the total profit or capital gain you’re required to pay taxes on. Of course, most home owners are exempted from taxes on the first $500,000 in profit for joint filers ($250,000 for single filers). So it doesn't apply to too many people.

HL: How do I tell the difference between a capital improvement and a repair?

AS: Typically a repair is [done] to allow an item, like a home furnace or air conditioner, to continue. But if you were to replace the heating unit, that’s not a repair.

HL: Does taking any home-related tax benefits, such as the home office deduction, make a taxpayer more likely to be audited?

AS: Only if numbers look out of the ordinary — for instance, if one year you were writing off $20,000 in mortgage interest debt and the next year you’re writing off $100,000 in mortgage interest. Taking the home office deduction in and of itself doesn’t usually generate an audit. However, if you claim nominal income and significantly higher expenses in an effort to create artificial losses, the IRS will see that there’s something else going on there.

HL: Once filing season is over, when should home owners start thinking about next year's taxes?

AS: Well, hopefully, when you visit your CPA to give information about or pick up [this year's] tax return, your CPA has spoken with you about your plans for [next year]:

• If any major improvements are scheduled

• If you’re planning on moving

• How to organize any expenditures for fixing up the home before sale

If you’re planning to do any of those things, talk with your CPA so that you’re prepared with documentation and so that the [tax pro] can help minimize your tax situation.

TAXES: Preserving the Mortgage Interest Deduction

In a time when the U.S. government is looking for tax hikes and ways to cut back and reduce the federal deficit of $16 trillion, the homeowners' mortgage interest deduction is on the chopping block. While the whole deduction might not be scrapped, modifications and limitations to it could affect many homeowners.

Suggestions from economists range from implementing an overall cap on itemized deductions, to eventually having a flat credit for the mortgage interest deduction. Other ideas include capping the amount of the deduction, say, at $500,000 instead of $1 million "or the rate at which mortgage interest deducted would be lower than the top marginal tax rate," said Jed Kolko Chief Economist of Trulia.com. A complete abolishment of the mortgage interest deduction "could greatly destabilize the economy," says Dr. Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist.According to the Christian Science Monitor/TIPP survey, Americans would rather lose the charitable giving tax deduction than the mortgage interest deduction. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that's because it's a middle class key incentive that helps Americans build wealth.

Approximately half of the amount of tax deductions taken by Americans are housing- related. Homeowners who haven't paid down a lot of principal will be hurt the most. Millions of Americans take a tax deduction that can amount to anywhere from an average of thousands of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars per year thanks to the mortgage interest deduction.

Those in favor of reducing or eliminating the mortgage interest deduction claim that it could

TAXES: Loss of mortgage deduction would be hard hit in Mass.

The generous mortgage-interest tax deduction that homeowners have long enjoyed could be diminished or eliminated as part of efforts to reduce the federal deficit, disproportionately hurting Massachusetts and other regions where real estate is especially costly.

Proposals to change the deduction include limiting it to the 28 percent tax bracket and lower; converting the deduction to a less generous tax credit; reducing the maximum allowed mortgage balance from $1.1 million to $500,000; and eliminating the benefit for second homes and equity loans, according to the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C., nonpartisan think tank.

More broadly, there is talk of placing a cap of between $25,000 and $50,000 on all annual deductions, which would force higher-earning taxpayers to prioritize what to itemize on federal returns.

Mark Muro, policy director of Brookings’ Metropolitan Policy Program, said changes to the century-old tax break are probably on the way — either as part of ongoing talks in Washington, D.C., between congressional leaders and President Obama to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff, or sometime next year.

“This is moving rapidly from the unthinkable to the inevitable,” Muro said.

But he does not believe it will have a devastating effect on most homeowners. The costs of minimizing or dropping the deduction, he said, “are largely going to be borne by those who can afford it.”

Taxpayers in expensive areas such as Boston and San Francisco reap the greatest benefit because they tend to carry higher mortgage debt and are more likely to file itemized returns.

Only about 25 percent of US taxpayers claim the deduction, which is projected to cost the federal government $100.9 billion in uncollected revenue for fiscal year 2013, according to the Brookings Institution.

About 31.4 percent of Massachusetts taxpayers write off mortgage interest, according to the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C, nonprofit. On average, Massachusetts homeowners are able to lop $11,366 from their income, compared with $10,640 nationwide, according to the

NEWS: Fleeing Taxes, France's Rich Are Putting Their Homes on the Market

PARIS — The tax changes slated for the 2013 budget by President François Hollande’s Socialist government are having an effect on the Paris luxury property market before they have even passed into law.

Quite a few of France’s most wealthy already have moved abroad to avoid the country’s stiff inheritance and wealth taxes. Now, real estate agents say, the younger, working wealthy also are on the move, unhappy at the prospect of being taxed at 75 percent on income of more than €1 million, or $1.27 million, and a capital gains tax of more than 60 percent on stocks, bonds and company sales, although protests have produced exceptions for investors and new business start ups.

“In the last eight months since the measures were revealed, over 400 new residences, each worth above €1 million, have come on the market as French entrepreneurs and investors leave France,” said Charles-Marie Gottras, president of Daniel Féau, a high-end French real estate broker.

“We are seeing the kind of luxurious, high-quality properties that one used to see once a year or every six months now arrive on the market every week,” he said.

The increased selection has altered the dynamics in a market that has long been characterized by high demand but little supply. Buyers now know they can negotiate, Mr. Gottras said, adding: “Prices have stabilized and even gone down a little.” Some agents say there has been a 3 to 5 percent decline in top-end values.

As Alexander Kraft, chairman and chief executive of Sotheby’s International Realty France, pointed out, “The fiscal changes are geared toward the seriously wealthy. The increase in numbers of residences for sale is not that significant, about 10 percent up, but in value it is very big. We are talking about exceptional properties starting at €10 million to more than 20 to €25 million.”

“To give you an example, in the past six weeks alone, we have sold three properties for €20 million each,” Mr. Kraft said. “Even we don’t usually sell those in a matter of weeks.”

Some of these trophy holdings normally would not even appear on the open market, he said: “They would instead be carefully sold to friends or family members.”

In the Sotheby’s portfolio, a Haussmann-style, 19th-century mansion in the 16th arrondissement reflects the kind of rarefied home now on the market. “The 1,000-square-meter living space has been completely restored in exquisite taste with beautiful

TAXES: Homeowner Tax Break Set To Expire

The clock is ticking on a tax break that saves struggling homeowners from paying thousands of dollars to the IRS.

If the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 does not get extended by Congress by the end of the year, homeowners will have to start paying income taxes on the portion of their mortgage that is forgiven in a foreclosure, short sale or principal reduction.

So if you owe $150,000 on your home and it sells for $100,000 in a foreclosure auction, the IRS could tax you on the remaining $50,000. For someone in the 25 percent tax bracket, that would mean paying $12,500 in taxes on the foreclosure. Similar taxes would apply for forgiven amounts in short sales and principal reductions.

Related: How a Short Sale or Foreclosure Affects Your Credit

"People trying to do short sales are freaked out about it," said Elizabeth Weintraub, a real estate agent in Sacramento, Calif. "They're telling me they'll do whatever it takes to close by the end of the year."

Should the tax break expire, a large number of mortgage borrowers could be affected. More than 50,000 homeowners go through foreclosure each month. Meanwhile, the number of short sales has tripled over the past three years to a rate of about half a million a year. And, under the terms of the $25 billion foreclosure abuse settlement, roughly 1 million borrowers may have their mortgage debt lowered through principal reductions over the next couple of years.

"If there ever was a no-brainer in housing policy, this would be it," said Jaret Seiberg, a policy analyst for Guggenheim Securities.

Yet, Seiberg is skeptical the exemption will get extended. Now that the election is over, he thinks Congress will be heading into a "lame duck" session, and very little legislation will move forward through the end of the year.

Related: Are Short Sales Worth the Trouble?

In addition, the cost of the exemption could make it a point of contention, he said. The office

TAXES: 3.8% Tax: What's True, What's Not

Rumors about the 3.8% Medicare tax continue to circulate. Here's the definitive word on what's true and what's not on how the tax impacts real estate.

OCTOBER 2012 | BY ROBERT FREEDMAN

Ever since health care reform was enacted into law more than two years ago, rumors have been circulating on the Internet and in e-mails that the law contains a 3.8 percent tax on real estate. NAR quickly released material to show that the tax doesn’t target real estate and will in fact affect very few home sales, because it’s a tax that will only affect high-income households that realize a substantial gain on an asset sale, including on a home sale, once other factors are taken into account. Maybe 2-3 percent of home sellers will be affected.

Nevertheless, the rumors persist and the latest version that’s circulating falsely say NAR is advocating for the tax’s repeal. But while NAR doesn’t support the tax (it was added into the health care law at the last minute and never considered in hearings), it’s not advocating for its repeal at this time.

The characterization of the 3.8 percent tax as a tax on real estate is an example of an Internet rumor, says Heather Elias, NAR’s director of social business media. Elias and Linda Goold, NAR’s director of tax policy, sat down for a discussion of how the tax works and how Internet rumors work and you can find their remarks in the 6-minute video below.

Goold says the tax will affect few home sellers because so many different pieces must fall into place a certain way for the tax to apply. First, any home sale gain must be more than the $250,000-$500,000 capital gains exclusion that’s in effect today. That’s gain, not sales

THE ECONOMY: Obama's housing scorecard

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The housing market is gaining strength thanks in part to government programs aimed at helping struggling homeowners, the latest Obama Administration Housing Scorecard released Thursday found.

"The Obama Administration's efforts to speed housing recovery are showing clear signs of traction," said Erika Poethig, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) which releases the report in conjunction with the Department of the Treasury.

Home values are back to levels not seen since the beginning of the Obama administration and the number of homeowners who are underwater on their mortgage is down 11% since last year, the report said. In addition, more than half a million borrowers have had their loans refinanced through government efforts like the Home Affordable Refinance Program this year.

"It is clear that we're making progress. But with so many households still struggling to make ends meet, we have important work ahead," Poethig said.

Another boost to the housing market came last April, when the attorneys general of 49 states and the District of Columbia inked a $25 billion settlement deal with the nation's five largest banks over so-called robo-signing foreclosure abuses. That deal is expected to help another couple of million borrowers reduce their mortgage payments.

Since the administration started rolling out its programs in April 2009, more than 5.4 million borrowers have received aid, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) said.

Here's a rundown of the government's mortgage relief efforts and how they've fared:

Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP)

Launch: March 2009

Borrowers affected: As of July 2012, there have been 1.9 million trial modifications started. More than 1 million have made the transition into permanent modifications. Some 235,000 of those have been canceled due to re-defaults or because borrowers sold their homes.

This program enables eligible borrowers to lower their first mortgage payments to more affordable and sustainable levels. Lenders receive incentives to reduce mortgage payments for at-risk borrowers; the target is 31% of income.

HAMP originally fell well short of estimates that it would lower mortgage payments for 3 to 4 million borrowers. And, many early workouts failed as borrowers soon re-defaulted on their loans.

Track record: HAMP's record has improved and re-default rates have declined, but they're still troubling. As of July, nearly 19% of all borrowers with HAMP modifications are at least two payments behind 12 months after their loans were modified.

HAMP modifications have slowed to a crawl lately, with just 17,000 permanent modifications started in July.

The modifications have led to a total of more than $14.4 billion in lowered borrowers' payments, according to the Treasury Department.

Home Affordable Refinance Program

Launch: March 2009

Participants: 1.5 million

This program helps borrowers who are current on their mortgage payments but are having a hard time refinancing their mortgage because they are underwater or owe more on their home than it is worth. The home must be underwater due to falling home prices and the mortgage must be backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Originally, HARP allowed homeowners to refinance if their loan balances were between 80% and 105% of the market value of their home. But after disappointing initial results, the rule was changed to include borrowers with loan-to-value ratios of up to 125%. Later, they removed that cap altogether.

Track record: The changes have helped make HARP one of the more successful government programs. The number of HARP refinancings has accelerated with more issued during the first seven months of the year than in all of 2011.

More than half the loans refinanced in June and July went to homeowners with loan-to-value ratios above 105%.

Second Lien Modification Program (2MP)

Launch: April 2009

Participation: 90,000 borrowers

The Second Lien Modification Program (or 2MP) provides assistance to homeowners who have second mortgages or home equity lines of credit in addition to their primary mortgages.

Many potential mortgage modifications have hit roadblocks because lenders of home equity loans and lines of credit refuse to cooperate. After all, the first mortgage holder typically gets paid first when an underwater mortgage gets modified and there's often nothing left for the

INVESTMENTS: The income property: Your late-in-life retirement plan

"Income property can be an important bridge to retirement for those without quite enough to retire in the traditional sense," says J. Camarda, a real estate investor, Certified Financial Planner, and Chief Investment Officer of Jacksonville, Fla.-based Camarda Wealth Advisors. Because real estate is such an inefficient market, it's possible to find awesome bargains with a very high return on investment, Camarda says. And if you can manage the property yourself, you can collect more income.

If you purchase the right property at the right price and on the right terms, he says, a rental property can produce significantly more income than traditional passive investments.

This article will describe how much you can expect to invest and earn, how to choose a location for your rental property, and problems that might derail your plans if you aren't careful.

How Much Money Do You Need?

If you plan to finance your purchase with a mortgage, you'll need to take action before you retire, says associate broker Janice Leis, who serves the premier residential areas of Philadelphia and South Florida.

Mortgage lending guidelines typically require applicants to be employed and have at least two years of steady employment history in the same occupation.

Lenders also require a substantial down payment, typically 30% or more, if you won't be occupying the property, says John Walters of LeWalt Consulting Groupe in St. Petersburg, Fla.

If you don't have the cash to make such a large down payment, consider using your IRA funds. All equity growth and income from rental receipts will grow inside your IRA tax-free, Walters says. Purchasing the property with funds inside a Roth IRA, on which you've already paid taxes, means all your earnings and equity can grow tax-free forever, he says.

After you've tackled the hurdle of affording the purchase, you need to think about ongoing expenses. Owning residential income property is like owning a principal residence in that there are variable expenses outside the mortgage, says Rob Albertson, a multi-million dollar residential real estate agent with Austin Fine Properties/PLR in Austin, Texas. There are maintenance costs for minor items (like leaky faucets) and major items (like a new roof).

Don't forget about marketing expenses and periods of vacancy and tenant change-over when you won't be earning income. Albertson recommends factoring no higher than a 92% occupancy rate into your calculations, even in a hot rental market. Be conservative in your estimates of expenses and income.

Tax considerations will also play into what you can afford.

"One of the chief benefits associated with rental property is the ability to claim a depreciation deduction on your federal income tax return," Walters says. Depreciation reduces the value of your property each year to approximate wear and tear. It lowers your tax basis so that you pay less tax on the property when you sell it.

First and foremost, discuss the financial feasibility of your plans with a CPA, a real estate attorney and an insurance agent to see how much everything will cost, recommends Leis.

Get valuable interest rate discounts on select new home equity loans from Wells Fargo.

Choose a Location

Purchasing the least expensive property you can find won't help you earn a return on your

THE ECONOMY: A comfortable retirement requires saving eight years of salary

Retirement savers need to set aside roughly eight times their annual salary in order to live comfortably if they retire at age 67, Fidelity Investments said in a report Wednesday.

The Boston firm is the nation’s largest manager of 401(k) retirement assets and is in the business of persuading people to save more. It offered a plan for arriving at the eight times figure, suggesting that workers should save an amount equal to a year’s pay by age 35. If they have three times their annual salary at 45, and five times at age 55, they would be on track.

Alicia H. Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, said the math tracks with her group’s research — but the eight times figure applies to people earning $100,000 or more.

“If you’re in a low-income group and you’re going to get most of your money from Social Security, you don’t need that high a multiple,’’ she said. By the center’s calculations, a person

INVESTING: Boosting returns in your retirement plan

Tired of watching your portfolio poke along and want to nudge it forward?

While the last few years of investing have hardly been uneventful, the wild lurches in the stock market have left many investors barely ahead of where they were in 2006 or 2007 - if that. Many people approaching retirement age are now short of their savings goals and anxious to make up for lost time.

And if you’re counting on the bond market to bail you out, think again: After a tremendous sustained rally, bonds are in for a cooling off; and investors who fail to position themselves for the eventual rise in interest rates may end up getting badly The trick then, as many investment professionals know all too well, is to find ways to boost returns here and there without taking on too much risk, while protecting against another epic downturn. This is hard stuff, and is best done in consultation with a professional, such as a certified financial planner or investment adviser.

The first consideration is a big picture kind of question: Is your overall allocation between stocks and bonds correct given these two assumptions: the bond market is in for tough times and investors need higher returns to cover lost ground? The conventional wisdom has been investors should move into bonds as they get closer to retiring and deeper into retirement.

But now some advisers suggest those investors need to remain well invested in stocks, if for no other reason than people are living longer and the old, conservative models may not produce enough money to last people deep into old age.

So what’s the right mix? Maybe instead of, say 80 percent bonds, 20 percent stocks, you peel back to 75/25, or someone who was targeting a 60/40 split stays even between the two for the foreseeable future. The best answer though, won’t come from just moving numbers up and down a scale, but after working out your retirement goals, spending plans, and savings targets with a professional. Only then can an investor intelligently consider how much more risk to shoulder.

And keep this cardinal point in mind: Don’t think you will make your retirement easier simply by trying to earn more money in your investment accounts. “You’re not going to be able to invest your way out of this problem without taking on an obscene amount of risk,’’ cautioned David

TAXES: Virtual tax audits coming soon?

The dreaded process of getting a tax audit could soon take place virtually in the comfort of your living room. 

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The dreaded process of getting an audit could soon take place over a computer screen in the comfort of your living room. In what could be an indication of things to come, the IRS launched a pilot program at the end of last year that allows taxpayers to use two-way video conferencing for assistance with tax questions and problems. 


Quiz: What the rich really pay in taxes 

The Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent watchdog arm of the IRS, is already calling for the agency to expand to virtual audits. The IRS says it needs to evaluate the success of the pilot program before making a decision. The pilot program is currently being tested in 12 locations, where taxpayers needing assistance can log into a computer enabled with video-conferencing.


They can then talk to an IRS agent who pops up on the screen to discuss whatever issues they're having -- whether it's help preparing a tax form or a question about a refund. TAS is also piloting a virtual assistance program. And Nina Olson, the head of TAS, wrote in a blog post this week that this technology has the potential to "radically transform" the current audit process -- eventually allowing taxpayers to use their personal computers to video conference with an IRS examiner. 8 tax apps for filers on the go To schedule an audit, the IRS would send a taxpayer a sign-in code so they could then log in to the meeting from a home or office computer.


Documents could be transmitted by simply scanning them with a computer's built-in camera. This could one day replace the need for correspondence audits, which are the letters the IRS currently sends taxpayers in the mail asking questions or requesting more information. To save costs, the IRS has become increasingly reliant on correspondence audits instead of summoning taxpayers for in-person meetings. 


But TAS says that these audits receive fewer responses and that many of the taxpayers dealt with these audits don't understand how they work, default on payments and get hit with penalties. Plus, with correspondence audits a specific representative typically isn't assigned to a case,

MORTGAGE AND TAXES: Deduct Mortgage Interest and Home Equity Loans

Deducting mortgage interest, as well as interest on home equity loans and HELOCs, can save money on taxes.
Deducting mortgage interest is a great tax benefit that can make home ownership more affordable. Your first mortgage isn’t the only loan that qualifies, either. In many cases, you can also deduct interest on home equity loans, second mortgages, and home equity lines of credit, or HELOCs.

If you want to deduct all of your mortgage interest, there are limits on both how much money you can borrow and on what you do with the money you get. You also need to itemize your return to reap the benefits of these deductions. Calculations can be complicated, so consult a tax adviser.


Know your loan limits
A good place to check out what you can deduct before you borrow is the chart on page 3 of IRS Publication 936. It’ll walk you through the requirements you must meet to deduct all of your home loan interest. It’s an hour well spent.

The first hurdle you’ll run into is the total amount of your loan or loans. In general, individuals and couples filing jointly can deduct the interest on up to $1 million ($500,000 if you’re married and filing separately) in combined home loans, as long as the money was used for acquisition costs, that is the cost to buy, build, or substantially improve a home, explains Scott O’Sullivan, a certified public accountant with Margolin, Winer & Evens in Garden City, N.Y. Any interest paid on loan amounts above the $1 million threshold isn’t deductible.


The same $1 million limit applies whether you have one home or two. Buying a vacation home doesn’t double your loan limits. And two homes is the max; you can’t deduct a mortgage for a third home. If you have a mortgage you took out before Oct. 13, 1987, you have fewer restrictions on claiming a full deduction. The calculations for “grandfathered debt” can get complex, so get help from a tax professional or refer to IRS Publication 936.


Whatever you do, don’t forget that you can also deduct the points and fees associated with a first or second mortgage when you initially buy your home, says Jeff Rattiner, a CPA with JR Financial Group in Centennial, Colo. If you refinance the same house, you have to deduct those costs over the entire term of the loan. If you refinance again, you can deduct all the costs from the earlier refi in the year you take out the new loan.


Spend loan proceeds wisely
The other limitation on how much you can borrow and still get your deduction comes into play

THE ECONOMY: Housing: The one bailout America could really use

(MONEY magazine) -- Laurie Goodman is an apolitical number cruncher who has spent most of her 28-year career out of the public view, studying the minutiae of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) for big investment banks. She's long been a star among Wall Street insiders, however. She holds the record for the most top rankings for fixed-in-come research from the trade bible Institutional Investor.

While Goodman concedes she underestimated the impact of the housing bubble's bursting early on, by mid-2007 she was  warning investors to prepare for a deep downturn. She prepared herself as well. 

After her employer at the time, UBS, shut down its mortgage trading desk in 2008, she jumped to Amherst Securities, a small company that serves as an MBS broker-dealer for big investors. From there she's published research that has raised her profile and made her an oft-cited source by would-be housing reformers in both the private and public sectors. If she is underestimating the problems the housing market has now, we're all in trouble.

Goodman often pauses several seconds before speaking, choosing her words deliberately. So it is especially distressing to hear her warn of a potential housing "death spiral."

On top of the 2.5 million homes that have already fallen to foreclosuresince the bubble burst, another 4.5 million mortgage holders have given up paying and are likely to lose their homes, she calculates.

'Shareholders of the world unite'

Millions more are underwater -- owing more than their home is worth -- and may give up if things don't improve soon. All told, Goodman warns that more than 10 million of the nation's 55 million mortgage holders could default by 2018. If home prices fall much more than the 6% or so she's projecting over the next 12 to 18 months, the picture worsens, as more foreclosures drive prices down further, in turn causing more sheriffs' sales.

Goodman's research into who defaults shows that many governmental and private efforts at saving borrowers -- and reducing investors' losses -- by modifying mortgages weren't helping because they only extended payments or reduced interest rates. They didn't fix the fundamental problem of unsupportable debt loads.

Bailout concerns mounting for federal housing agency

Goodman found that investors lose as much as 70% when the homes underlying their subprime MBS are foreclosed upon. Lenders that tried to rehabilitate delinquent borrowers by reducing the principal (or total amount owed) by an average of 26% were far less likely to have to

TAXED: 10 Common Errors Home Owners Make When Filing Taxes

As you calculate your tax returns, consider each home tax deduction and credit you are—and are not—entitled to. Running afoul of any of these 10 home-related tax mistakes—which tax pros say are especially common—can cost you money or draw the IRS to your doorstep.


Sin #1: Deducting the wrong year for property taxes

You take a tax deduction for property taxes in the year you (or the holder of your escrow account) actually paid them. Some taxing authorities work a year behind—that is, you’re not billed for 2010 property taxes until 2011. But that’s irrelevant to the feds.


Enter on your federal forms whatever amount you actually paid in 2010, no matter what the date is on your tax bill. Dave Hampton, CPA, tax manager at the Cincinnati accounting firm of Burke & Schindler, has seen home owners confuse payments for different years and claim the incorrect amount.




Sin #2: Confusing escrow amount for actual taxes paid

If your lender escrows funds to pay your property taxes, don’t just deduct the amount escrowed, says Bob Meighan, CPA and vice president at TurboTax in San Diego. The regular amount you pay into your escrow account each month to cover property taxes is probably a little more or a little less than your property tax bill. Your lender will adjust the amount every year or so to realign the two.


For example, your tax bill might be $1,200, but your lender may have collected $1,100 or $1,300 in escrow over the year. Deduct only $1,200. Your lender will send you an official statement listing the actual taxes paid. Use that. Don’t just add up 12 months of escrow property tax payments.


Sin #3: Deducting points paid to refinance
Deduct points you paid your lender to secure your mortgage in full for the year you bought your home. However, when you refinance, says Meighan, you must deduct points over the life of your new loan. If you paid $2,000 in points to refinance into a 15-year mortgage, your tax deduction is $133 per year.


Sin #4: Failing to deduct private mortgage insurance
Lenders require home buyers with a downpayment of less than 20% to purchase private mortgage insurance (PMI). Avoid the common mistake of forgetting to deduct your PMI payments. However, note the deduction begins to phase out once your adjusted gross income reaches $100,000 and disappears entirely when your AGI surpasses $109,000.


Sin #5: Misjudging the home office tax deduction
This deduction may not be as good as it seems. It often doesn’t amount to much of a deduction,