You may be under the impression that the stimulus bill is all about highway projects and renewable energy, but there's plenty in it for you, too, mostly in the form of tax credits.
"I don't think people know about it," said Roberton Williams, senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center in Washington. "There was a little bit of publicity when this was first proposed," but many people are unaware of what's available.
As tax season heads into its home stretch, here's what is -- or could be -- coming your way:
-- You should be getting a tax credit in your paychecks, starting April 1 at the latest. It's called the Making Work Pay Credit, and it provides up to $400 per person or $800 for couples filing jointly. If you make less than $75,000 (or less than $150,000 per couple filing jointly) you should get the full credit, an extra $10 or $20 in your pay each week. Eligible retirees and seniors can get a one-time $250 payment (in late May, probably).
-- First-time homebuyers get the biggest bonus of all, up to $8,000 in "free money," Williams said. The new home buyer's credit replaces the old one -- which was $7,500, and had to be repaid over time -- with one that doesn't have to be repaid as long as the buyer stays in the home for three or more years.
The catch? You have to make less than $75,000 (or $150,000 for a couple) to receive the full credit, you mustn't have owned a home in the last three years and the home must be purchased between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1, 2009.
-- If that same home needs new appliances and windows, you're in luck. The costs associated with energy efficiency upgrades in your primary residence -- a new water heater, furnace or new windows, for example -- are tax deductible, with a maximum credit of $1,500. That's not just for first-time homebuyers, either.
-- Seniors looking into a "reverse mortgage" will find that the limits on these loans have been increased to $625,500, from $417,000, through the end of this year. A reverse mortgage allows a homeowner to borrow from the equity in a house.
-- In the market for a new car? The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 included a tax credit that could save you a few hundred dollars. The deduction applies to the first $49,500 of the vehicle's sale price, and applies to only new cars.
The credit applies to new cars purchased through the end of this year. As with most of these credits, you won't see the car credit right away, but when you file your federal tax return in 2010.
-- The stimulus plan also helps if you have children in college. The Hope scholarship tax credit, which was worth a maximum of $1,800 during freshman and sophomore years, has been replaced with a new credit worth up to $2,500 this year and next.
Better yet, it's good for students in their junior or senior years, so even if you thought you maxed out on your Hope credit during your child's first two years of college, this credit might still be available.
Also, the government is raising the maximum on the Pell Grant, to $5,350 in the 2009-10 school year, and $5,500 the year after.
-- If you've recently lost your job, you'll notice several small tweaks to unemployment benefits. The first $2,400 in unemployment benefits received this year are now exempt from federal taxation, which translates into a few hundred extra dollars.
Those same benefits will be increased by $25 a week, and you can receive them for a longer period, thanks to an extension in the benefits period.
You'll also get a break on health insurance via a 65 percent federal subsidy on benefits secured through the COBRA program, which allows workers to keep the same health coverage they had when they were employed.
You're eligible for the subsidy if you lost your job after Sept. 1, 2008, or lose it this year.
(E-mail Bill Toland at btoland(at)post-gazette. For more stories, visit scrippsnews.com.)
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