The alternative minimum tax: Coping with the AMT iceberg

By Richard Barrington

Think of it as the iceberg of the tax code. And your tax return may be the next Titanic.

The alternative minimum tax (AMT) is like an iceberg because it often represents a hidden danger, and one that can have severely damaging effects. You can be sailing along, thinking you've conscientiously filed your tax return and paid your taxes. Then, BOOM! You get a letter from the IRS, assessing penalties because you failed to pay the alternative minimum tax. You've just hit the AMT iceberg.

If you want to avoid hitting the AMT iceberg, you'll need to know a little background about the alternative minimum tax, and how to cope with it.

Defining the alternative minimum tax

Think of the alternative minimum tax as an alternative tax code, existing outside of normal federal tax brackets and rules. The AMT was created in 1969 to prevent people from claiming so many deductions that they paid little or no tax.

Basically, the AMT is a tax calculation which ignores many common tax deductions, and also ignores lower federal tax brackets for certain types of income, such as capital gains. Your taxable income is re-calculated under AMT rules, and then a standard AMT exemption is subtracted -- $33,750 for single tax payers, $45,000 for married tax payers filing jointly, and $22,500 for married tax payers filing separately. An alternative minimum tax rate is then applied to the remainder -- 26 percent on the first $175,000 for

By Lisa Tortorello

If you are like most people, you probably cringe when it is time to pay the bills. It is a chore almost as dreaded as spending a Saturday afternoon at the post office and dry cleaners. Perhaps the most frustrating and stressful bills to open are those from credit card companies.

If you carry a balance like most of us do, every month you may be battling the disappointment of a cemented balance. This means that you are actively trying to reduce your credit card debt by sending more than the minimum payment each month, and have vowed to no longer use your cards unless absolutely necessary, but your balance does not budge - it seems to be stuck in the cement. In fact, it may even increase due to steep interest rates that outrank the amount you are paying every month.

Several years ago, the credit card bills stuffed in your mailbox were probably accompanied by an equal number of offers to transfer your higher-interest balances to zero interest credit cards with no balance transfer fees. This could have certainly helped you chisel your balances out of their concrete cells.

While those zero percent balance transfers are no longer weighing down your mail carrier's bag like in years past, there are still a few out there that can help you pay down your balances more quickly.

Zero interest credit cards - not zero risk

While

By Tom Tennant

The other day, someone asked me, if given the option, which I preferred: charge cards or credit cards. My answer: "There's a difference?"

There is. And who knew? (If you knew, kudos, because I always thought "charge card" was what our ancient ancestors - Mom and Dad - called the plastic we carry around in our wallet.)

In short, charge cards offer no revolving credit and no interest rate. Sure, you can borrow up to your limit, but only for about 30 days. After that, the balance is due in full (that's why there's no interest rate). Can't pay? You'll likely incur a fee - it could be hefty - and your account could be suspended.

Credit cards, on the other hand, give you the option of making a monthly minimum payment. If you don't pay your balance in full each month, the balance rolls over (or revolves) into the next month. This "convenience" comes with a catch. Interest is levied on the balance, making your purchase cost more than its original price. This can be painful if all you do is pay the minimum.

Which is better?

The answer depends on your financial goals and the type of spender you are. If you're a student trying to establish credit for the first time, for example, or you are rebuilding credit, then opt for a charge card. Here are three reasons

By Ann Cameron

Today, it's often difficult for anyone to get a credit card - whether it's a zero percent balance transfer card or a best cash back credit card. And if you're just starting out -or starting over - getting an approval based on your credit score can be even more of a hassle. This is what makes pre-paid cards so attractive if you want to use them for online shopping, travel or even just everyday expenses.

As more and more of us are embracing the "card-only" lifestyle, a pre-paid card can be a great alternative to using a debit card or zero interest credit card.

If you need any more reassurance, take a friend's recent example. She attended an industry conference for a few days and needed to secure her room with a card - standard operating procedure for any hotel. She'd used her debit card to cover incidentals that she incurred, such as meals, Internet connection and minibar snacks. No problem.

But later that night at dinner, her debit card was rejected for being over her bank account limit. Apparently, the hotel was holding $150 on her debit card for those "incidentals" for each of the three nights she planned to spend there. Although the $450 was credited at the end of her

By Joe Taylor Jr.

During the real estate boom of the early 2000s, paying off a credit card with help from a home equity loan seemed like a no-brainer. After all, housing prices in most parts of the country were skyrocketing. Why would you pay double-digit interest rates on a credit card when you could cut those finance charges in half or more?

In hindsight, all those refinance deals might not have been the best ideas. Where property values declined, some homeowners found themselves underwater on second mortgages and home equity lines of credit (HELOC). Now that banks have recapitalized and mortgage rates have dropped to all-time lows, home equity loans look attractive again.

Benefits of paying down high interest debt

With many credit card issuers changing their business strategies after the financial crisis of 2008, interest rates rose while credit limits dropped. Meanwhile, new federal regulations forced banks to increase monthly minimum payments on most unsecured credit card accounts. For some consumers, this double whammy wrecked monthly budgets and even caused a cascade of late payment and over-the-limit penalties.

If that scenario sounds familiar, a home equity loan could help you reboot your personal finance portfolio. Instead of surfing balance transfer credit cards and making multiple minimum payments, a mortgage refinance lets you pay just one or two lenders. Because the FICO score and other credit reporting tools review the percentage of

By MoneyBlueBook

This is a guest post from Jesse Mecham, founder of You Need a Budget

It's almost that time of year again. I'm not talking about gingerbread houses, cocoa, and caroling; I'm talking about shopping, impulse-buying, digging ourselves into more credit card debt, and raiding our savings accounts.

We undoubtedly lose a bit of sanity, self-control, or both when it comes to holiday spending. For most Americans, the nature of the season already implies we'll part with our money quicker than Santa can shoot up a chimney. The key, however, is not to spend it out of desperation, impulse shopping, or simply because you don't have a plan.

Plan spending ahead of time

Your biggest safe-guard against excess or unplanned holiday spending is (are you ready for this?) making a plan.

This means you actually create a budget...and stick to it. Decide how much you're willing to spend and then decide what you're going to buy from there. The more items you decide on ahead of time, the better. This saves you from making a decision in the heat of the moment, surrounded by all those shiny, new things, and potentially can keep you from overshooting your budget.

This will take some sleuthing on your part, but the research will pay off and keep money in your pocket. Once your list is made up and in your hand, it'll be so much easier to avoid those impulse buys.

Work to build up your