
Home sweet homeownership tax breaks
There are lots of tax reasons to own a home. Here’s how to make the most of them and avoid the pitfalls.
Kay Bell is an award-winning journalist, blogger and author who, after spending almost 20 years in Washington, D.C., working on both Capitol Hill and in Fortune 500 companies' government relations offices, decided to focus on taxes. Noted for her ability to translate tax talk into money-saving English, she helped Bankrate.com in 1999 launch its comprehensive and respected tax coverage. Bell's tax insight and expertise make her a regular contributor on behalf of Bankrate to television and radio programs, as well as a source for other media outlet. From her career start as a daily newspaper reporter and editor in her native West Texas, Bell has written personal finance pieces for magazines, provided copy for investment company newsletters, is the author of the Financial Times book 'The Truth About Paying Fewer Taxes' and successfully transitioned to new media, writing not only online articles but also two tax blogs, 'Bankrate Taxes Blog' and her own 'Don't Mess With Taxes.' Bell lives in Austin, Texas. A graduate of Texas Tech University (B.A., Journalism), she is a member of her alma mater's College of Media and Communication professional advisory board. She also served a term on the Internal Revenue Service's Taxpayer Advocacy Panel.
There are lots of tax reasons to own a home. Here’s how to make the most of them and avoid the pitfalls.
Mutual fund owners who watched their holdings stumble often are shocked at tax time to discover they still owe taxes.
Donations can be valuable tax-cutting tools if you follow documentation rules.
Be tax smart by getting a filing head start. Here are some tasks to take care of in January instead of April.
Fuel taxes — and gas prices — are going up in North Carolina just in time for summer vacations. Meanwhile, Minnesota tax officials hope their expanded compliance efforts will net them thousands of [...]