President Obama and congressional leaders have agreed on an ambitious, stimulus plan with the hope of reviving a struggling national economy. The $789 billion measure includes nearly $300 billion in tax cuts and more than $450 billion in new spending-most of it to be allocated in the next two years.<\/p>\n
Here is a look at some of the tax cuts and credits and what they will mean to you.<\/p>\n
Make Work Pay<\/strong><\/p>\n This provision delivers Obama’s<\/p>\n promised tax cut to 95 percent of Americans. Everyone earning $75,000 or less would receive a tax cut of $400, with a limit of $800 per household.<\/p>\n What it means to you:<\/em><\/p>\n If you earn $75,000 or less, you would receive a $400 tax refund on payroll taxes paid for 2009-2010. The IRS will likely alter withholding tax schedules so you would benefit from the tax cut immediately. The cut is gradually reduced for individuals making more than $75,000 and is eliminated for those making more than $100,000.<\/p>\n Senior Payment<\/strong><\/p>\n This is a one-time $250 payment to Social Security recipients, including disabled and older veterans and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries.<\/p>\n What it means to you:<\/em><\/p>\n If you’re receiving Social Security benefits because you’re over 67, or receiving SSI benefits, or are a disabled veteran, you will qualify for a $250 one-time payment. This will be distributed as an additional payment.<\/p>\n Alternative Minimum Tax Relief<\/strong><\/p>\n This $70 billion reduces the impact of a 40-year-old law aimed at fewer than 100 millionaires who avoided paying income taxes in the 1960s. Without this fix, it would force millions of middle-income taxpayers to pay a penalty.<\/p>\n What it means to you:<\/em><\/p>\n You might be spared the higher alternative minimum tax if your tax bill is otherwise reduced by a number of tax credits, exemptions and a deduction for especially high property taxes.<\/p>\n Expanded Earned Income Tax Credit<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n The earned income tax credit (EITC) has been expanded since 1975; today, 21 million poor, working American families receive these benefits. <\/span><\/p>\n What it means to you:<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n This is a targeted benefit for the working poor. It raises the EITC from 40 to 45 percent of qualifying income. If you earn between $7,470 and $13,440, you would receive an extra $457<\/span><\/p>\n American Opportunity Tax Credit<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n This expands an existing tax credit for educational expenses by increasing the size of the benefit and extending coverage to include more expenses.<\/span><\/p>\n What it means to you:<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n This education tax credit would be available to anyone with income under $80,000. The credit-which covers a portion of tuition, fees and supplies-would range from $1,800 to $2,500 for expenses in 2009-2010.<\/span><\/p>\n First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit<\/strong><\/p>\n This program alters the existing credit for first-time homebuyers. Under current law, the credit must be repaid over 15 years. The change will waive the payback requirement.<\/p>\n What it means to you:<\/em><\/p>\n If you are a first-time homebuyer with income between $75,000 and $95,000 ($150,000 to $170,000 if married and filing jointly), you would receive a tax credit of $7,500. The qualifying house must be your primary residence and must be purchased between January and June 2009.<\/p>\n Excerpted from AARP Bulletin Today article at http:\/\/bulletin.aarp.org <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" President Obama and congressional leaders have agreed on an ambitious, stimulus plan with the hope of reviving a struggling national economy. The $789 billion measure includes nearly $300 billion in tax cuts and more than $450 billion in new spending-most of it to be allocated in the next two years. Here is a look at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-287","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-general-topics","7":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/heartsathome.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/heartsathome.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/heartsathome.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heartsathome.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heartsathome.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/heartsathome.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1568,"href":"https:\/\/heartsathome.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287\/revisions\/1568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/heartsathome.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heartsathome.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heartsathome.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}