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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Star-Herald
Your Money & Finances Edition A Star-Herald Supplement Serving Scottsbluff/Gering
Rachel Clemens
Kenzie Duncan
Scottsbluff High School
Gering High School
■ Class: Senior
■ Class: Senior
■ What is your favorite subject and why? Any literature or English class because I love reading and grammar.
■ What is your favorite subject and why? My favorite subject is Pre-Calc, it’s challenging but it makes you feel good when you can figure it out.
■ What are the keys to having a successful high school career? Definitely staying organized, checking your grades regularly and doing your homework on time.
■ What are the keys to having a successful high school career? The keys are to being involved in clubs and activities, and also taking courses that challenge you while keeping good grades.
■ What are your future goals? To go to college and major in music, and then eventually become a music therapist.
■ What are your future goals? I plan to go to college and pursue a degree in Psychology.
■ What was your top academic achievement? Keeping a high GPA while being involved in a lot of activities. ■ Who do you consider a good role model? My late aunt Rita Hoban Walsh, who always kept a positive attitude through everything. ■ Favorite book? “Elsewhere,” by Gabrielle Zevin ■ Do you have brothers or sisters? If so, what are their names and ages? I have three sisters. Meghan (20), Caragh (12) and Hallie (3).
Honors National Honor Society, S p a n i s h H o n o r S o c i e t y, Nebraska Young Artist Award, Superintendent’s Honor Roll, UNO Honors Orchestra, Quill and Scroll International.
Activities Drill team, orchestra, yearbook staff, Spanish Club, dance, music ministry, TEAMS mentoring program, NIKE.
■ Parents: Jerry and Sheila Clemens
■ What was your top academic achievement? Getting into National Honor Society.
Honors Honor Roll, Quill and Scroll, National Honor Society.
Activities Basketball, volleyball, track, National Honor Society, Quill and Scroll, Yearbook, and GGAA.
■ Favorite book? “Heaven is for Real” ■ Do you have brothers or sisters? If so, what are their names and ages? I have two brothers Josh, 21; and Alex, 13. ■ Parents: Darren and Sandy Duncan
Tax tips from Social Security
Unemployment insurance benefits taxable
and any other income such as wages, pensions, or investment income is high It is never too early to plan for filing the next tax enough, you may have to return. Here are Social Se- pay taxes on a portion of your benefits. Plan accordcurity’s top three tips for making tax time a lot easi- ingly as you work out your budget. You may have to er. pay taxes on your Social Se1) Don’t forget the curity benefits if: you file as children. Make sure the an individual and have a tokids (and all the depental annual income of dents) you list on your an$25,000 or more; or you file nual tax forms have Social Security numbers. Yes, chil- a joint return and have a dren do need Social Securi- combined total annual income of $32,000 or more. ty numbers. There once If you need to pay taxes was a time when a child did not require a Social Securi- on a portion of your benety card until later in life, but fits, you will need your SSA1099. This form shows the in 2012, that day is long total amount of benefits regone. If you want to claim ceived in the previous year your child as a dependent and the form is used to find on your tax return, your out whether any benefits child will need a Social Seare subject to tax. curity number. For many You will receive your families, it is not only the SSA-1099 for the tax year in kids who will need a number, but all dependents list- the mail — they are automatically mailed to all beneed on your federal tax reficiaries by January 31 of turn need one. This inthe following year. If you recludes a dependent parent ceive Social Security and do who lives with you and receives support from you. If not receive a Form SSA1099 for 2011 by January any of your dependents need a Social Security num- 31, 2012, you can request a ber, you can get an applica- replacement online at www.socialsecurity.gov/ontion at lineservices. Or you can www.socialsecurity.gov. call Social Security’s toll2) Check the names free number, 1-800-772-1213 and numbers. It is not (TTY, 1-800-325-0778) and enough for everyone on ask for a replacement SSAyour tax return to have a 1099 to be mailed to you. Social Security number — You can ask us to withthey also must be the corhold federal taxes from rect numbers, and they must match your names ex- your Social Security when actly. The Internal Revenue you apply for benefits. If Service (IRS) checks all the you are already receiving benefits or if you want to names and Social Security numbers on your tax return change or stop your withholding, you will need a against Social Security’s form W-4V from the Interrecords. If the names and nal Revenue Service (IRS). numbers do not match SoWhen you complete the cial Security’s records, you form, you will need to select will receive a letter from the percentage of your IRS asking you to explain the discrepancy. You cannot monthly benefit amount you want withheld. You can receive a tax refund until the discrepancy is resolved have 7 percent, 10 percent, — which could mean an un- 15 percent or 25 percent of your monthly benefit withnecessarily long delay. 3) Paying taxes on So- held for taxes. cial Security benefits. If Sheri Olsson is Social you receive Social Security Security District Manager benefits and your total inin Scottsbluff come, including benefits By SHERI OLSSON
By CAROLE FELDMAN Associated Press
The jobless rate is dipping, but millions of people are still out of work. And that could have implications when they file their income tax returns. Collecting unemployment insurance benefits? All that you received in 2011 is taxed as income. Unless you requested that federal taxes be withheld, you could be in for a big surprise when you calculate taxes owed. “People tend to believe unemployment benefits are still not taxable,” said Bob Meighan, a vice president at TurboTax. That was the case in 2009, for the first $2,400 in unemployment benefits. But that provision was not renewed by Congress. If it’s any consolation, you may find yourself in a lower tax bracket because of reduced income, even counting the unemployment benefits. And you might also be eligible for tax breaks that you didn’t qualify for before. “If you have major household changes, say you lost your job in 2011, we encourage people to take a close look at things like the earned income credit,” Internal Revenue Ser vice spokesman Terry Lemons said. He said people should go ahead and file their taxes even if they don’t have the money to pay any taxes that are due. “There are more options there than many people realize,” he said, including installment agreements. The aftermath of the Great Recession, which gripped the nation from 2007 to 2009, is still being felt across America. Employers still worried about the state of the economy are hesitant to bring on new workers. And many of the more than 13 million unemployed people have stopped looking for jobs. For those who spent part or all of 2011 searching for work, there are tax breaks. “All of those job search expenses are deductible — the stationery, the longdistance phone calls, the hotels, anything you can relate to the job search,” said Jeff Schnepper, author of “How to Pay Zero Taxes” (McGraw-Hill, 2011). To qualify for this deduction, you have to be looking for a job in the same field or profession as your previous one. Expenses incurred trying to get your first job are not deductible. You also have to itemize. And the cost of preparing your resume, working with job search services, mileage
■ If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be? I would change the poverty in the world, because people die everyday due to not having enough food or water.
AP
In this file photo taken Jan. 7, 2011, unemployed workers use computers to search for jobs at the Virginia Employment Commission’s Reemploy Virginia office in Mechanicsville, Va. The jobless rate is dipping, but millions of people are still out of work. And that could have implications when they file their income tax returns for 2011.
and other job search expenses has to exceed 2 percent of your adjusted gross income if you are to benefit, according to Greg Rosica, tax partner with Ernst & Young. Make sure you save your receipts. “You have to be able to substantiate,” he said. Those out of work may find the jobs have dried up in their cities or towns. “Many people are picking up and moving to where the jobs are,” Meighan said. If you land a job across town or across the country, you might be eligible to take a deduction for moving expenses. “It’s an above-the-line deduction, dollar for dollar a reduction in your income,” Schnepper said. In this case, unlike job-search expenses, you don’t have to itemize to take advantage of the deduction. To qualify, there’s a distance test that has to be met: Your new job has to be at least 50 miles farther from your old house than your former job was. Also unlike the job-search deduction, you can deduct moving expenses even if this is your first job, provided your workplace is at least 50 miles from your former home. Same if you’re returning to work after being unemployed, the IRS says. And there’s a requirement that you work at least 39 weeks in the new location over the first 12 months in the
new area. You can take the deduction even if you started your job late in the year and won’t meet the time test in 2011. But if you fail to meet it in 2012, you’ll either have to file an amended return or report the deduction as income when you do your 2012 taxes. What’s deductible? The IRS says expenses that are “reasonable for the circumstances of your move.” That includes the cost of moving yourself and members of your household, as well as your household goods and personal effects. Shipping a car or the family pet is covered. If you drove to your new home during the first half of 2011, the mileage rate is 19 cents per mile. The rate for July through December is 23.5 cents a mile. Or, the IRS gives you the option of deducting the actual cost of gas and oil for the car. But if the car broke down on the move, you cannot deduct the cost of the repair. The cost of lodging on the way to your new home is deductible, but not the meals you eat on the road. These days, “moving can be hard to do,” especially if you can’t sell your house in the depressed housing market, said Mark Steber, chief tax officer for Jackson Hewitt Tax Services. If you decide to commute to the new job instead of relocating, those commuting expenses are not deductible. To claim the moving expense deduction, file Form 3903 with your tax.
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