Still looking for tax help?

Here's a list of resources. And below the list are my answers to your recent tax questions.

An easy place to go for help is www.irs.gov. You can also call 800-829-1040 until 10 p.m.

And in South Florida, the Internal Revenue Service and volunteers working with United Way are still offering free income tax preparation to households that have an income of $42,000 or less.

Here's where to go to get help:

First United Bank
1700 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd.
Fifth Flooor
West Palm Beach
9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

West Gate Beacon Center
West Gate Elementary School
1545 Loxahatchee Drive
West Palm Beach
5 to 8 p.m.

Vickers House South
3801 Georgia Ave.
West Palm Beach
1 to 8 p.m.

Vickers House North
811 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd.
West Palm Beach
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Lindsey Davis Sr. Community Center
1550 28th Ave.
Riveria Beach
5:30 -8:30 p.m.

Palm Beach Habilitation Center
4522 Congress Ave.
Lake Worth
5:30 - 9 p.m.

Tamarac Community Center
8601 W. Commercial Blvd.
Tamarac, FL 33321
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Minority Development & Empowerment
3075 W. Oakland Park Blvd.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Minority Development & Empowerment
1350 N. Powerline Road
Pompano Beach, FL 33069
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

YOUR QUESTIONS AND MY ANSWERS

Dave, you wanted to know exactly where on the tax form you can account for that additional standard deduction to offset property taxes for homeowners who don't itemize.

You should check the box on line 39c, Michael Dobzinski at the IRS says. The amount gets added to the standard deduction on Line 40. It would be smart if you first went through the standard deduction worsheet that is included in the instructions for the 1040.

Arthur, the best place to get an extension form is online.

Form 4868 is right on the home page of the Internal Revenue Service at www.irs.gov. Print it out and send it in, to get six extra months to file your return. You must pay your taxes, though, by April 15, to avoid interest and penalties.

James, it's too bad about your new car. You bought it just before the law changed and a nice new tax break was available.

But you're not totally out of luck.

Here's the deal: The law now gives you a chance to take a deduction for sales and excise taxes paid on the purchase of a new car, light truck, motor home or morotcycle, up to a purchase price of $49,500. This is for vehicles and motorhomes purchased "after" Feb. 16 and before Jan. 1, 2010.

You told me you bought your Hyundai on Feb. 14. But hold on.

This new tax break is for 2009 taxes, the one that will be due April 15 next year. And it's a nice break, because people can take it againist their taxable income, even if they don't itemize their deductions.

For 2008 taxes, the ones due tomorrow by midnight, taxpayers in Florida and a handful of states that don't have state income taxes can deduct sales taxes instead. You can use an IRS estimate of sales taxes paid during the year on all sorts of consumer goods and you can add to that estimated amount the actual sales tas you paid for a vehicle bought in 2008.

This is an itemized deduction. That makes it a bit more limited, because not everyone itemizes.

But still, it's a deduction.

Next year, it appears that you'll have to make a choice. You can pick whether to use the older "instead of state income tax" itemized deduction or the new, non-itemized deduction for vehicles bought in 2009 after Feb. 16.

Joanne and Jacqueline, don't pay outrageous tax prep fees, even though time is short.

Joanne, anyone who wants you to pay $87 to fill out an extension form is robbing you. You can get Form 4868 for free. You can download a copy from the Internal Revenue Service web site at www.irs.gov. You have to pay your taxes on time, but you can file this form to get an automatic six-month extension. Just fill it out and send it in.

Jacqueline, somebody asked you for $200 to do Form 5405 for the new homebuyers tax credit. That's exorbitant. It's a one-page form that doesn't even have 10 lines for you to fill out. See if you can do it. $200 is a lot of money for one page.

Bill wanted to know at what income level does that Earned Income Tax Credit become available?
It's a refundable tax credit for low-income families and individuals. For married filing jointly and with no qualifying children, the top income level for the EITC is $15,880.

And, how much would it be?
That person could get a maximum of $438.

As a result of the new Making Work Pay tax credit, Glenn said his company told him that more will be withheld from the paychecks because of the new withholding tax tables, resulting in less to take home

That's the opposite of what the government is saying.

It's supposed to be less.

Because you'll be getting a tax credit for the first 6.2 percent of pay up to $400, they should be withholding less so that this $400 goes into your pocket this year, instead of you having to wait.
That was the point.

Here's from an IRS news release:

For people who receive a paycheck and are subject to withholding, the credit will typically be handled by their employers through automated withholding changes in early spring. These changes may result in an increase in take-home pay.

David asked at what level does the Making Work Pay credit phase out.

Not everyone gets this extra credit. It phases out for taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income in excess of $75,000, or $150,000 for married couples filing jointly.

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In case you missed it, my latest story, about taxes.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/custom/consumer/sfl-tax-season-wrapup-c041209sbapr12,0,4071355.story

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There was a crowd -- in the comments on my blog -- last week that defended the rich against an increase in capital gains taxes. I was surprised. .

Wonder how you'll feel about this:

The Obama tax proposals contained in his budget would mostly wipe out federal taxes for a family of four making less than $50,000, according to an analysis from Deloitte Tax .The firm used a set of assumptions about typical deductions that the family would take.

But at the other end of the scale, Deloitte says the same family making $300,000 could see its taxes go up by $1,100. And, yikes, at $500,000, the tax bill could increase by $11,300.

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You may remember, back in October, when H. Wayne Huizenga was trying to sell the Miami Dolphins, he made a crack about getting the deal done before then-candidate Barack Obama doubled the capital gains tax.

Huizenga didn't have his facts straight, I pointed out in a blog at the time. What Huizenga said didn't match what the Obama campaign was saying.

Today, in President Obama's budget, we have the facts. And there is no doubling of the capital gains tax in sight.

According to reports on Bloomberg and in Congressional Quarterly, Obama's budget proposes to raise the tax rate to 20 percent from 15 percent on capital gains and dividends, but only on the highest income families. That would be singles with $200,000 or more in income and married couples with $250,000 or more.

That's a 33 percent hike for the rich. And it is a return to what the capital gains tax rates were six years ago, under President Bush.

Huizenga was wrong, but I can understand rich folks feeling miffed at this point.

Obama would also restore higher tax rates for top income families and his budget would cut back on some of their deductions, including mortgage interest.

All in all, tax bills for those at the top of the income scale do go up under Obama's plan, if Congress approves it.
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But Wayne's deal is done. He sold the Dolphins in January in a $1.1 billion transaction. My colleague Sarah Talalay tells me he completed the deal the morning of Jan. 20, the day Obama was inaugurated.

Was that just to be safe? You think?

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You don't have to pay someone to do your taxes. Really.

Generally, if your income is $42,000 or less, there are dozens of locations in Palm Beach and Broward where the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program will help you with your taxes free of charge.

To find out where to go and what to bring:

In Palm Beach County, look here: http://www.unitedwaypbc.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=pages.VITA_Index&

In Broward County , look here:
http://www.cscbroward.org/EITC.aspx

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Here are answers to the most common questions I received this weekend about taxes.

The Earned Income Tax Credit applies to earned income, such as wages from your job. If you didn’t get it in a paycheck, you probably don’t qualify.

You don't have to take a minimum distribution from an Individual Retirement Account this year. new law suspended that requirement for those age 70 and a half or older, for 2009 only.

The best way to find free tax preparation help is to dial 211. In both Broward and Palm Beach counties, the folks at those call-in centers can direct you to the nearest Volunteer Income Tax Assistance sites and give you their hours of operation.

The IRS offices that are going to be open Saturday, Feb. 7 and Saturday, Feb. 21 in South Florida to help you with your taxes from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. are:
Broward: 7850 SW Sixth Court, Plantation
Palm Beach: 1700 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., West Palm Beach
Miami-Dade: 51 SW First Ave.

What you must bring to get free tax help:
Driver’s license or photo ID
Social Security cards
Dates of Birth
All you income statements, W2, 1099, Social Security, Unemployment, or other benefit statements
Dependent children’s Social Security numbers, name and address

Phone complications:
If you can't reach 211 -- there are some complications -- try 561-383-111 if you are dialing from a phone in Palm Beach County to find a Palm Beach site, or 561-383-1112, if your are looking for a Palm Beach site but are dialing a phone from outside the county. If you can't reach 211 in Broward or are callling from outside Broward looking for a Broward site, try 954-537-0211

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To get tax season started, the Internal Revenue Service is going to open its South Florida offices for three Saturdays, starting tomorrow Jan. 31.
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You can get assistance with your return from 9 a.m to 2 p.m. at the IRS offices in Broward, at 7850 SW Sixth Court, Plantation, in Palm Beach at 1700 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., West Palm Beach, and in Miami-Dade at 51 SW First Ave., Miami.

These offices will also be open Feb.7 and Feb. 21.

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There are so few breaks available for the cost of driving, I wanted to be sure you knew about this one. The IRS has increased the mileage rate to 58.5 cents. That means, starting July 1, taxpayers can use 58.5 cents a mile to claim deductions for business use of their cars. The IRS normally sets mileage rates once a year, in the fall. But it made a mid-year change this time around, to help people out with the pressures of high gasoline prices.

Looking back, last year, the mileage rate was 48.5 cents. For the first six months of this year, it was 50.5 cents.

Let's hope employers follow the IRS' lead and reimburse their employees at the new, higher rate.

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Whenever there's money, there's someone trying to get it from you. They're working the emails right now, trying to separate you from your economic stimulus rebates.

What's legitimate: A letter from the IRS mailed to anyone who filed a tax return and who is owed a rebate payment. In the upper right-hand corner, it says Notice Number: CP 1378.

This tells you the amount you can expect for your rebate and how it was calculated.

They are arriving about the same time as your rebate payment, the IRS says.

What's not legitimate: An email or a call. Even an email from the "Treasury Department" or the "IRS." Or anyone calling to say you have a refund or rebate owed. Anyone saying they are an IRS employee.

"The only communication you'll receive from the IRS is by mail," said IRS spokesman Michael Dobzinski. "As you well know, tjere are some alleged scams involving phising or email."

And they promise money. Only thing is, they'll take yours.

If you get a call or email that is suspicious, notify phishing@irs.gov.

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If there's anybody else out there who thought they were going to be getting a rebate check by now and did not get one, I'd like to hear from you.

'd like to know when you filed your return. Did you use a tax preparer? if so, which one?

If you used TurboTax, I'd like to know that, too.

I'm looking for people to use in a future story about these rebates, which have people massively confused. And, I suppose, waiting for their money.

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Step up to the bank and get your electronically deposited economic stimulus rebate.

Today’s the day for folks whose Social Security numbers end in 21 through 75. The IRS is clicking along with its refund/rebate/get-the-money-out-of-the-door program.

If you had known how they were going to send out the money before you filed your return, you might have arranged to get your money sooner. But the IRS didn’t announce this Social Security number system early enough for many people.

The IRS is sending the rebate checks out according to the last two digits of the filer’s Social Security number. On a joint return, the number that matters is the first one listed. By today, May 9, the IRS planned to direct-deposit payments for those whose numbers end in 21 through 75.

Zero to 20 got theirs last week.

And all the rest, next week.

That’s for those smart enough to have filed early (Your return had to be processed by April 15) and to have opted for direct deposit. If you did both those things, then you’re on the schedule I mentioned above.

If you didn’t request direct deposit, you could be waiting up to six weeks longer than the others. The IRS plans to send out checks to those whose numbers end in 19 through 75 between May 30 and June 27.

Want to know where your money is? For rebates, you can check the schedule at www.irs.gov. Or just count on the money showing up in a minimum of six weeks after you filed, the IRS says.

For tax refunds, call the IRS Refund Hotline at 800-829-1954 or go to Where’s My Refund on www.irs.gov.

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If it makes you feel better, now that you're probably done with tax season, the IRS has a long, long way to go.

I have no idea how the Internal Revenue Service is going to process an extra 20 to 25 million tax returns this season. Those would be the ones filed by people who normally aren’t required to file because their income is too low or perhaps only from Social Security benefits. Those folks needed to file this year because that’s the only way they can get a rebate check.

And were they confused. I heard from so many who didn't have forms, didn't know how to fill them out, couldn't decide what income qualified and what didn't. I'm glad I don't have to decipher those returns.

The IRS can have at it. To be s don't know how well they did with the whole task.

As for the IRS, I like the agency. I think its reputation is much lower than it should be. But this task ahead, it's huge.

Watch for your rebate check, starting May 2.

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