Could Congress take away deductions for mortgage interest and state and local propterty taxes? A bipartisan commission will propose just that in a final report Tuesday. Kenneth Harney examines the possibility of this becoming law.
Chicago city officials have admitted that thousands of people overpaid their portion of the 50/50 Sidewalk improvement program, in which the city and resident were supposed to split the cost of sidewalk repairs. Senior citizens were supposed to get an even larger break from the city and pay just 25% of the costs. But records show that 96% of seniors and disabled people paid more than that. The city has no plans for refunding the money, but has issued a statement about the 50/50 program in general.
A laundry list of strategies for selling, buying, or financing your home that can help you save on taxes. Did you know that you can use a home equity line of credit, which has tax deductible interest, to pay off other non-deductible loans for your car or tuition?
One more reason to watch for your property tax bills like a hawk. Cook County mistakenly applied payments on another home’s taxes to Jeremiah Davidson’s home and told him his bill was paid. A county employee later discovered the error, corrected it, but never informed Davidson of his new balance. Meanwhile, the county sold the property in a tax sale without Davidson’s knowledge. Fortunately, due the persistence of his nephew, the county settled with Davidson and will pay him $190,000 for his home.
