[StBernard] News You Can Use - 11/26/05

[Westley Annis]

I will be sending out information to people I believe to be either displaced
by Katrina or to people who are housing those of us displaced by Katrina.  I
am doing this to try and help us all.  I realize that many of us are getting
lots of e mails.  If you would like to be taken off of this list, please
reply to that effect and I'll remove you. 

On the other hand, if you know of someone who you think may benefit from
receiving information such as what I've sent here, please let me know that
and I'll add them to the list.

If you have a question on some financial, insurance or related topic, please
let me know.  I'll try to address it and share the information with
everyone!!

 

November 26, 2005

 

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  Pre-Katrina, Thanksgiving had
morphed into just another busy holiday in the minds of many people.  Post
Katrina, Thanksgiving has become a very special day.

 

It's interesting to people talk about how the things they took for granted
now mean so much to them.  Little things like running water and electricity
are now valued commodities.   Perhaps Katrina's biggest impact will be on
the re-alignment it has given to people's priorities.  Let's hope so.

 

 Railcar Full of Furniture

 

I have been contacted by a gentleman who has a railcar full of furniture set
to arrive in the next couple of weeks.  The furniture is free for the asking
to any resident of St. Bernard who would like to use it.  The details are a
bit sketchy, but I think this is furniture that has come out of a hotel that
has been remodeled.  I think it will be mostly beds (including mattresses),
but I could easily be mistaken.

 

In any event, if you are a St. Bernard resident and would like to put your
name on the list of people to get called when the furniture arrives, reply
to me at paulvperez at bellsouth.net and I'll make sure you get on the list.
In your e mail, tell me what you are looking for and how to contact you.
I'll get the list to the generous donor.  Hopefully, this will all work out
and will be the first of many loads of furniture we can use to rebuild our
lives.

 

 


A small commercial


 

Are you wondering what to do when you receive your check in settlement of
your insurance policies?   

 

For many, these checks will total over $100,000.  These funds need to be
placed somewhere safe, so they are available to you when you need them to
rebuild your house, or purchase another property. Do not be tempted to have
someone "put these funds to work for you in the market."

 

Many of you know that professionally, I am a Certified Financial Planner
professional.  If you would like to receive information on a federally
insured savings account paying very attractive rates on money held until it
will be used to rebuild, please give me a call or reply to this e mail.
This account has no fees or minimums and is insured by the FDIC.  I'd be
happy to tell you about it and give you the details.

 

 


Greatest Hits


 

If the Beatles can have a greatest hits album, I think I'm entitled to an
occasional greatest hits e mail. The following items are taken from earlier
editions of the News You Can Use articles, but are still very pertinent. In
fact, as we approach the end of the year (and tax season) they may be more
appropriate now than when they were written.  

 


 


STATE SALES TAX REFUND


 

The State of Louisiana has a program that refunds sales taxes paid on
personal property lost in Katrina.  In essence if you paid sales tax on a
television you bought 5 years ago and the TV is lost due to the hurricane,
you are entitled to a refund of the sales tax paid.  This is only in the
case where you did not receive reimbursement for the TV from you insurance
company or other source.   To qualify, the property must not be a permanent
attachment to your house. For example, air condition units and wall-to-wall
carpeting are not covered.  Clothing, boats, appliances and furniture are
covered.

 

To those of us who have insurance, this may not sound like much, but
remember the decision of whether your claim will be considered a flood claim
or a homeowner's claim has not yet been made.   If it's processed as a flood
claim, many of us have relatively low limits on our benefits and will most
likely not be compensated for the total value of our personal property lost
in the storm and would be eligible for this refund.

 

The process requires two forms. One form is to make the claim.  The second
is a form to be notarized on which you swear to your loss.   You can get the
forms here:  http://www.revenue.louisiana.gov/forms/taxforms/1362(9_05)F.pdf
http://www.revenue.louisiana.gov/forms/taxforms/1362S(9_05)F.pdf

 

The instructions and explanations to the forms are here:
http://www.revenue.louisiana.gov/forms/taxforms/1362I(10_02).pdf

 

 


SAVE YOUR RECEIPTS


 

If you are like me, you have been buying items that you already have at
home.  These purchases have sales taxes associated with them.  The little
things we took for granted like can openers, silverware, pillows, sheets,
etc. are all under water and need to be replaced.    

 

If you itemize your deductions on your federal income tax returns, you can
deduct the amount of State income tax paid.  This serves to reduce the
amount of federal income tax you owe.

 

In 2004, the rules changed to allow for your deducting the HIGHER of 1) the
amount of state income taxes you pay or 2) the amount of sales taxes you
pay.   Typically, the amount of sales taxes you pay over the course of a
year is much less than the amount of state income taxes you pay over that
time frame.

 

Notice that I said typically.  2005 is no "typical" year.  I would imagine
that 2005 will have some extraordinary purchases for all of us.   We'll be
buying more "big ticket" items than we normally would, thus paying more
sales taxes.  I also imagine most of our incomes for 2005 will be lower than
typical, resulting in lower than usual state income taxes paid.

 

It's possible, and in some cases, very likely, that the sales taxes paid for
you will be higher than the state income taxes paid for 2005.

 

So what you need to do for now is save all of your receipts and put them
somewhere.  This is something you need to discuss with your tax preparer.
But you can only have the discussion and use the higher figure if you keep
your receipts.

 

If you'd like to learn more on this topic, go here to IRS publication 600.
It's got all the details you'll ever need. 

 

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p600.pdf

 

 

Copies of Old Federal Tax Returns 

Copies or transcripts of filed and processed tax returns can help you begin
to reconstruct tax records destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. 

The IRS will waive the usual fees and expedite requests for copies of tax
returns for people who need them to apply for benefits or to file amended
returns claiming disaster-related losses.

To request a copy of your tax returns:

*	Complete Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return
<http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506.pdf>
(Link:http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506.pdf)

1.      Complete the form online and print it.

2.      Write the words "Hurricane Katrina" in red at the top of the form.

Mail the Form 4506 to the IRS address listed on the form for your area.  The
Louisiana address is RAIVS Team,  Mail Stop 6734,  Ogden, UT 84201

*	Copies of Forms 1040, 1040A, and 1040EZ are generally available for
7 years from the filing date. Other returns may be available for a longer
period of time. 

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=148237,00.html

 

DISCLAIMER:  This e mail is intended to help those of us who have been
impacted by Hurricane Katrina.  It may contain information that is somewhat
legal  in nature or affect your taxes.

 

References to legal or tax considerations are intended only to alert you in
a general way of those considerations which may effect you.  We do not
engage in the practice of law.   All legal considerations must be referred
to and passed upon by your attorney.  All tax considerations should be
reviewed by your tax preparer.
 
Paul V. Perez
Certified Financial Planner
 
Financial Network Investment Corporation, Member SIPC
7642 Old Hammond Highway
Baton Rouge, LA  70809
(504) 494 3144
(225) 248 6635
(225) 208 1885 (fax)