Tax-free Sale of Residence

As many tax and legal advisors know, a taxpayer may exclude from income, a portion of the gain resulting from a sale of the taxpayer’s principal residence. Under Internal Revenue Code Section 121, a married couple is permitted to exclude $500,000 of gain, and a single taxpayer may exclude $250,000. To qualify for the home sale exclusion, the taxpayer must have owned the property and used the property as the taxpayer’s principal residence for any two of the most recent five years (determined with reference to the sale of the principal residence). The exclusion may only be claimed once every two years.

Select a Moving Company Carefully! 

After you have found your ideal house and are making plans to move, one of the items on the list is moving your furniture from your old residence to your new house. If you are planning to use a moving company, you need to do your homework in order to choose the best company for your needs. Request a free written "binding" estimate from at least two different companies. Binding written estimates involve a thorough inventory and are based on the weight and number of items being moved, services rendered, and length of travel. If a company doesn't want to provide one, cross that moving company off the list. Interstate movers are required to provide information about past performance, so be sure to check reputation, reliability, performance record, and claims settlement customer service before deciding. Moving companies are also required to provide insurance -- either basic liability, actual cash value or declared value protection, and replacement value coverage -- but you may want to buy more. With actual cash value or declared value protection, the family being moved sets a value on their goods, and the mover is liable for this "declared value." If possessions are lost or stolen, all parties will rely on the predetermined worth of the articles stated previously in the agreement. With replacement value coverage, if an item breaks or is stolen, the mover must replace it. 

Take your time when choosing a mover. This is a very important step in the home buying/moving process so you want to do it right. We recommend Perry Moving and Storage and they deliver quality and service to all of our clients. Get a free estimate to move at: http://www.perrymoving.com/html/request_an_estimate.html.

Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act 

The New Federal "Check 21" Act and How It Affects Your Account

A new federal law called Check 21, or The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act, will begin to change the way your checks will be processed for payment, and will make a copy of a canceled check the legal equivalent of the original.   

What is Check 21?
Check 21 is a law that goes into effect on October 28, 2004. It allows any bank or financial institution that processes your check to replace your check with a "substitute check" - a copy made from a digital image of the original.

Banks will no longer need to rely on paper checks for the check clearing process. Rather than physically transporting original paper checks to each other, banks may exchange substitute checks created from electronic images instead.  

Why was Check 21 created?
Check 21 is designed to increase the efficiency and security of check processing. By allowing check images to travel across the country electronically, it will result in:

• Enhanced security and faster detection of fraud
• Less paper to process and store
• Reduced vulnerability to disruption due to weather or other events
• Faster clearing of payments by check 

What happens to my original check?
Your original check may be destroyed once a digital image of the check has been made.

But since Check 21 specifies that a substitute check will be the legal equivalent of the original check, you can use the substitute check for proof of payment or for any other reason that might require an original canceled check. 

How else does Check 21 affect me?
With Check 21 you may benefit from enhanced security and fraud detection. You may also notice that your checks will clear your account more quickly so it is important to be sure that you have enough funds in your account to cover any checks that you write.