Sunday, March 9, 2008

Taxes and Time Change

I hope you all remembered to turn forward your clocks! Spring Forward is here... way freaking early!

Did you know that the change to the earlier March and later November was for Energy Saving reasons?
One of the biggest reasons we change our clocks to Daylight Saving Time
(DST) is that it saves energy. Energy use and the demand for electricity for
lighting our homes is directly connected to when we go to bed and when we get
up. Bedtime for most of us is late evening through the year. When we go to bed,
we turn off the lights and TV.
In the average home, 25 percent of all the electricity we use is for lighting and small appliances, such as TVs, VCRs and stereos. A good percentage of energy consumed by lighting and appliances occurs in the evening when families are home. By moving the clock ahead one hour, we can cut the amount of electricity we consume each day.

Also, I have been doing some research on the Economic Stimulus Package stuff.

Nutshell:
1) If you file taxes for 2007 you will be getting a check in May.
2) But for how much you say? If married, 2 kids, and combined AGI is less than 150,000 you will get 1800 bucks!
3) If your AGI is more than 150 it is a complicated combination of math and logic spelled out nicely here:

Phase Out: The stimulus payment –– both the basic component and the
additional funds for qualifying children –– begins to phase out for individuals
with adjusted gross incomes (AGI) over $75,000 and married couples who file a
joint return with AGI over $150,000. The combined payment is reduced by 5
percent of the income above the AGI thresholds.


Here are two examples of how the phase out works:

An individual with AGI of $80,000 and federal income tax liability in excess of $600 would qualify for a basic rebate of $600. Because this individual’s AGI exceeds $75,000, however, her rebate is reduced by $250 (the credit is reduced by multiplying the amount of AGI over $75,000 by 5%). The taxpayer receives an economic stimulus payment of $350.

A married couple with two children, AGI of $160,000 and federal income tax liability before the child tax credit exceeding $1,200 qualifies for a basic rebate of $1,200 and an additional qualifying child credit of $600 for a total rebate of $1,800. But
because the couple’s AGI exceeds $150,000, their rebate is reduced by $500 (the
amount of AGI over $150,000 multiplied by 5%). The couple receives an economic
stimulus payment of $1,300.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I plan on stimulating the economy by taking that 1800 and paying off some debt. woohoo! I might turn republican. Um, wait a minute...

Unknown said...

You are so helpful! Glad you like research.

Mommy said...

I'll just wait and see how much the government sends us. And I'm quite sure we won't stimulate the economy....just pay off some bills.
I love our government.

rebekca said...

It's times like these when I say, "I sure am glad I have 3 kids!"