Mitt Romney recently expressed the belief that his effective tax rate is roughly 15 percent. Most people become incredulous upon hearing this claim.

Their initial thought is that most people pay a much higher rate than that.

The reality is that they really don’t, however.

In fact, based on the specific calculation methodology, Mr. Romney’s effective rate is significantly higher than that of most Americans’.

Comprehending why this is true requires understanding that “effective tax rate” does not equate to your maximum income tax bracket. Those rates range between 10 and 35 percent, depending upon gross annual income.

This figure … Read more at 2010 Tax.

To paraphrase Will Rogers, more liars were made of the American people from income tax than from golf.

But if the IRS made it easy and almost impossible to lie on a tax return, would anyone be interested?

Doug Shulman, the IRS Commissioner, recently hinted that if the IRS would prepare taxpayers’ returns the potential for tax fraud would be reduced. No-one would have to prepare their own returns at tax time because the IRS would do it for them.

The common name for this idea is a “ready return” or “simple return.” The IRS would complete the … Read more at 2010 Tax.

Tax season is upon us and even though the filing deadline is months away we all need to be prepared ahead of time. The required documents for each of us will arrive in the mail in the month of January so everyone who plans to file taxes needs to start preparing files and documents that have tax implications.

New for 2012 is the fact that the The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) gave taxpayers an extra two days to file taxes this year. April 15th falls on a Sunday and the 16th is Emancipation Day (an observed District of Colombia holiday) … Read more at 2010 Tax.

As medical technology advances, society becomes safer and health knowledge becomes more mainstream, the life expectancy of humans tends to increase. In 1950, the average lifespan was 68 years. Today, that figure has risen to 78. While people are excited about living longer, quality of life is also an important part of retiring comfortably. Finding ways to stretch your retirement budget will allow you to retire at a normal age without having to sacrifice the hobbies and adventures you enjoy. Here are 4 ways to get the most out of your retirement budget:

1. Create a Financial Strategy

Getting the … Read more at 2010 Tax.

The guidelines that are in place from the IRS enable workers and business owners to claim for mileage as a business deduction if you are using your vehicle for business purposes. Some people who are employed are able to deduct business mileage if it is not reimbursed by employers or is only partially reimbursed at a rate that is lower than the official business mileage rate.

Owners of small businesses also often use their vehicles for business related purposes and in this event they too can claim their mileage as a business expense. However, it is important that no matter … Read more at 2010 Tax.

Good news for parents who have chosen to adopt – in case you weren’t aware, these days the adoption tax is refundable. The rule change came in earlier in the year and it has meant that taxes for 2010 and for this year will yield a bigger than you hoped for refund. If you missed it in 2010 make sure you take advantage this year – just remember that refundable is a great word to hear when it comes to taxes – the government will end up owing you some money back and you’ll get a refund check.

If you … Read more at 2010 Tax.

There are many ways to put back money for retirement and many ways to invest without a saving of money for retirement. Some of the plans that can be used for retirement include Individual Retirement Accounts and company retirement accounts. Discussed below are the advantages and disadvantages to holding an individual retirement account known as a Roth IRA.

A Roth IRA is a retirement account that allows for an individual within a certain income bracket to contribute a certain amount of money each year to a fund. The fund is not tax deferred meaning that the year the money is … Read more at 2010 Tax.

These friends were vigorously debating the virtues of living in a warm climate mostly to avoid the drudgery are dealing with winter temperatures and precipitation. Places like the Southwest and southern states dominated the conversation throughout.

If you are in the same age category as my friends and myself, there is a … Read more at 2010 Tax.

As the demand for reverse mortgage leads grow, so do the websites and lead generation companies that know how to put together a good, working, lead-attraction splash page.  The reverse mortgage lead generation splash page is much different from other types of lead creating splash pages.  They cannot operate in the same way as a real estate or shoe sales splash page operates because not everyone can qualify for a reverse mortgage loan.  They have to try to attract a specific kind of person.  Anyone can sell a home or buy shoes, but not everyone can receive a reverse mortgage … Read more at 2010 Tax.