Tax filing time....
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jetta: something will pop up eventually...u'll just have to wait patiently for the right one to come along. i hope you didn't buy any materials/tools/furniture yet.
those houses in your area...are they all hooked up onto the town sewer/water?
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Originally posted by lostintransition:
jetta: something will pop up eventually...u'll just have to wait patiently for the right one to come along. i hope you didn't buy any materials/tools/furniture yet.
those houses in your area...are they all hooked up onto the town sewer/water?
Materials/tools/furniture can all be returned. Not worried. Yes, we are all connected to a sewer. I wouldn't buy if we weren't.
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Originally posted by jetta:
Materials/tools/furniture can all be returned. Not worried. Yes, we are all connected to a sewer. I wouldn't buy if we weren't.
yeay...that's what i like over here...everything can be returned. unfortunately not a house.... kekeke -
When buying a house, there are many opportunities to back out of a sale before the final signatures are inked.
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Woohoo! Just finished e-filing my federal and state taxes this evening.
This year, I finally broke down and used TurboTax for the very first time to prepare the returns. It was a fairly painless affair, the only hitch being my having to take some time to research the cost basis for some very old mutual funds I had sold last year.
That's a great weight off my shoulders, with the returns out of the way. Now I can begin planning my next Japan trip in earnest...
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Originally posted by Meia Gisborn:
Woohoo! Just finished e-filing my federal and state taxes this evening.
good for you!!! *green with envy*hey...can i check with you guys....i know that we are supposed to declare foreign source income....but do we need to declare whatever we earned prior to arriving in the states? officially....our resident status only commence after our arrival right? so if we arrive in US in Sep 2009, can we treat our tax obligation only from Sep-Dec 2009?
thing is...our singapore income is much higher than US income. even with the tax credit for taxes paid overseas....i'm worried that we might be hit with additional US tax on our singapore income. don't think we'll like that at all.
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Originally posted by lostintransition:
good for you!!! *green with envy*hey...can i check with you guys....i know that we are supposed to declare foreign source income....but do we need to declare whatever we earned prior to arriving in the states? officially....our resident status only commence after our arrival right? so if we arrive in US in Sep 2009, can we treat our tax obligation only from Sep-Dec 2009?
thing is...our singapore income is much higher than US income. even with the tax credit for taxes paid overseas....i'm worried that we might be hit with additional US tax on our singapore income. don't think we'll like that at all.
Don't know if this will help:
Publication 519 (2008), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens
Since you arrived in the US mid-year in '09, the section First Year of Residency probably applies to you.
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Originally posted by Meia Gisborn:
Don't know if this will help:
Publication 519 (2008), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens
Since you arrived in the US mid-year in '09, the section First Year of Residency probably applies to you.
hey thanks for that. have been trying to read it.....head is gonna explode already =P
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As of this past Saturday, We're Done!!!!!!! Soo glad that's over. I resolve to keep better records this next filing year. Anyone getting back a nice chunk?
Oh and guess what? We have another accepted offer!!! Worse house in one of the better neighbourhoods. Yippee!!! Escrow opens anyday now. Yippee again!
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Originally posted by jetta:
Oh and guess what? We have another accepted offer!!! Worse house in one of the better neighbourhoods. Yippee!!! Escrow opens anyday now. Yippee again!
yeay! glad you managed to find another house so soon. $8000 first time homebuyer tax credit going your way!
actually...we've also shortlisted a couple of houses that we really like...but most probably we'll wait till after april before making any moves....
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Originally posted by lostintransition:
yeay! glad you managed to find another house so soon. $8000 first time homebuyer tax credit going your way!
actually...we've also shortlisted a couple of houses that we really like...but most probably we'll wait till after april before making any moves....
I wish I could enjoy that $8K. I'm not a first time buyer.
Thought you were waiting the year out to get your credit established and getting to know the area better before making any offers?
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Originally posted by jetta:
I wish I could enjoy that $8K. I'm not a first time buyer.
Thought you were waiting the year out to get your credit established and getting to know the area better before making any offers?
actually my lease is ending jun 2010 (30 day advance notice for renewal). so we are just starting early (kiasu instinct still ingrained in us!). think we've more or less got the area all figured out...and have already shortlisted a few towns and specific vicinity to focus our search in.there are 2 great options right now...and we are telling ourselves not to fall in love but to let the numbers justify our purchase. we'll still wait awhile before deciding on it...and if the houses are gone by then, we are ok with it as i'm quite sure there'll always be other houses available. it'd definitely be after april 2010 before we seriously consider making a move.
do you at least get the $6500 tax credit?
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Got my state tax refund a couple of days ago, just three days after I e-filed the return. Talk about fast!
Federal refund to follow...
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Originally posted by lostintransition:
do you at least get the $6500 tax credit?
Nope.
I know you said you're paying cash. But if you need a loan, you'd have to get a pre-qualification letter.
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Originally posted by Meia Gisborn:
Got my state tax refund a couple of days ago, just three days after I e-filed the return. Talk about fast!
Federal refund to follow...
'Gratz! Hope it's not too big a sum. No matter how we tweak, we always end up getting a sizable refund. We hope to get ours early March. I'm glad you decided to efile vs via snail mail. You won't go back now huh?
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Originally posted by jetta:
'Gratz! Hope it's not too big a sum. No matter how we tweak, we always end up getting a sizable refund. We hope to get ours early March. I'm glad you decided to efile vs via snail mail. You won't go back now huh?
I blame you for not doing more to sell me on the advantages of e-filing in the past!
Guess what? I'm heading to Japan again in late-March for two weeks, just in time for sakura season. I'll have a thread up for that shortly.
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Originally posted by Meia Gisborn:
Guess what? I'm heading to Japan again in late-March for two weeks, just in time for sakura season. I'll have a thread up for that shortly.
arghhh....i'm jealous jealous jealous! =Pi'm returning to singapore mid 2010...am hoping to fly via NRT so that i can do a stopover....i absolutely miss japanese food!!!
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Originally posted by jetta:
Nope.
I know you said you're paying cash. But if you need a loan, you'd have to get a pre-qualification letter.
ya..the realtors did mention about getting pre-approval letters from banks. we are hoping to keep within our cash budget (inclusive of renovations/furnishings). not sure if it's an impossible mission...but we'll just try anyway. at the rate that we are going....it's probably gonna take awhile....we are just dangling our baitless fishing line....
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Originally posted by Meia Gisborn:
I blame you for not doing more to sell me on the advantages of e-filing in the past!Guess what? I'm heading to Japan again in late-March for two weeks, just in time for sakura season. I'll have a thread up for that shortly.
Hahaha! Are you getting a sizable refund? We're getting about the same amount back, which is interesting since my small biz operated on a loss. Oh and did I tell you? I'm back at Sears doing the same old tango.
Gratz on heading to Sakura country again. The hubster put in an application for a job on one of the bases there, so we may just say the same one day.
While you're there this time, do the onsen thing? I remember you couldn't on your last visit since it was summertime. The one I used to visit is called Yunessen.
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Originally posted by lostintransition:
ya..the realtors did mention about getting pre-approval letters from banks. we are hoping to keep within our cash budget (inclusive of renovations/furnishings). not sure if it's an impossible mission...but we'll just try anyway. at the rate that we are going....it's probably gonna take awhile....we are just dangling our baitless fishing line....
Here again, the topic of your credit history comes back into play...
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Originally posted by jetta:
Here again, the topic of your credit history comes back into play...
i don't know what else we can do...apart from paying all our bills on time and maintaining a certain amount of $ in our bank accounts. oh yeah....we also stopped trying to apply for a credit card.but so far, we haven't made any offers on any properties...but my realtor did inform us that i'd need some documents to show the owners/sellers agents that we really do have the cash for the purchase. so credit history won't come into play.
seems to me that property prices are still quite high now....so i'm still on the sideline waiting for the right opportunities. the smaller starter homes are moving quite fast in the current market (prob 'cos of the tax credits)...but i do notice the bigger single family homes moving relatively slower....so i'm targeting that range to buy.
but well...if it doesn't work out....then i'd continue to rent....but not sure if i'll be renewing the rent at my existing place or to move to elsewhere. currently we are staying in the heart of the town village...but we are hoping to move to somewhere with ocean/beach views. we'll see......
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Originally posted by lostintransition:
i don't know what else we can do...apart from paying all our bills on time and maintaining a certain amount of $ in our bank accounts. oh yeah....we also stopped trying to apply for a credit card.but so far, we haven't made any offers on any properties...but my realtor did inform us that i'd need some documents to show the owners/sellers agents that we really do have the cash for the purchase. so credit history won't come into play.
seems to me that property prices are still quite high now....so i'm still on the sideline waiting for the right opportunities. the smaller starter homes are moving quite fast in the current market (prob 'cos of the tax credits)...but i do notice the bigger single family homes moving relatively slower....so i'm targeting that range to buy.
but well...if it doesn't work out....then i'd continue to rent....but not sure if i'll be renewing the rent at my existing place or to move to elsewhere. currently we are staying in the heart of the town village...but we are hoping to move to somewhere with ocean/beach views. we'll see......
If you're going to ask a financial institution for a loan, credit history will come into play, I beg to differ. These days institutions are more stringent with qualifying candidates. You need time on your side for your credit rating to get established an improve in scores. Just continue to be responsible with your bills, etc and be patient.
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Originally posted by jetta:
If you're going to ask a financial institution for a loan, credit history will come into play, I beg to differ. These days institutions are more stringent with qualifying candidates. You need time on your side for your credit rating to get established an improve in scores. Just continue to be responsible with your bills, etc and be patient.
ya..no rush...i've learned to take things slowly...
so....when's completion for you? must be exciting....especially now that you are back at Sears....got employee discounts for household equipment/gadgets!!! =)
did i mention that i bought a very very basic sewing machine -brother ls2125? got it for a fairly decent price at Job Lot...didn't want to spend too much lest i get tired of it after awhile. i've been going to jo-ann's for fabrics...and recently, i found that Job Lot is selling lots of beautiful upholstery fabrics at fantastic prices (i.e. $5 for 3yards)!
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Sears employee discounts aren't that generous, sad to say. Just a whole whopping 10%. I'm not a Sears shopper, preferring the military bases, Best Buy and Target instead.
Gratz on your sewing machine. Awesome prices on fabrics. Nice! I have enough fabric to last me a very very long time. Hence I've resolved not to add to my stash until I've whittled down my pile. I still participate in craft fairs, just the bigger ones. Have one which I'm organizing mid March. It'll be fun.
As for the new digs, we are on the cusp of opening escrow. I'm already revving up my power tools.
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Originally posted by jetta:
'Gratz! Hope it's not too big a sum. No matter how we tweak, we always end up getting a sizable refund. We hope to get ours early March. I'm glad you decided to efile vs via snail mail. You won't go back now huh?
Unfortunately, it is. I hadn't been doing a good job of keeping the withholding information on my W-4 in line with my financial situation, and ended up having waaay too much withheld from my paychecks for federal and state taxes. To the tune of nearly $8000 too much in '09, in fact.
And since I'm not too keen on the idea of giving the government an interest-free loan, I've since adjusted the figures on my W-4 significantly downward.