Tax Freedom Day

This is a note to everybody, but especially those of you filing taxes on your 6 month extension. Do you know how many days of the year your work efforts are dedicated purely to paying your federal tax bill? Or how many minutes into your workday it takes before you can start earning money for food, clothing... shelter?

Tax Freedom Day - the day in the year where your federal, state and local tax is considered paid for the year, assuming 100% of your salary to date was allocated to that payment - came on April 30 this year, the 120th day of the year. This is two days later than last year. View this Special Report for some good visual tools to help understand what this means, and what other budget items cost on average.

One of the key factors in the decision to go from renting to owning a home is the tax implications. Consumers with lofty tax burdens often seek the write-off of mortgage interest - one of the country's greatest tools to incentivize the American Dream. But just owning the house is only half the battle. Make sure you maximize this deduction over time, and learn to develop a tax-efficient plan for saving and borrowing. You can do this with active management of both sides of your balance sheet. Email me for more info.