Ratte Law Office

Closing Deadline Extended to September 30th for Home Buyer Tax Credit

Chris_Ratte — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:00:44 +0000

Closing Deadline for Home Buyer Tax Credit Extended to Sept. 30th

Washington has once again extended the closing deadline to qualify for the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit or the $6,500 current home buyer tax credit. The new closing deadline is September 30, 2010.

Unfortunately, Congress did not extend the purchase agreement deadline beyond April 30th. This means that only buyers who had entered into a purchase contract on or before April 30, 2010 will be eligible for the tax credit. The extended closing deadline will just give those buyers some additional time to close the sale beyond the prior June 30th deadline.

The extension of the closing deadline was necessary because some types of sales, such as bank owned properties and short sales, require more than the typical 30-60 days to close.

For more information about how the tax credit works, please see my prior posts:

Down to the Wire; Last Days to Qualify for the Home Buyer Tax Credit

First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Extended

TIMING IS EVERYTHING: First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Increased for 2009

For questions about the home buyer tax credit, please contact me or use my online legal services.

Down to the Wire; Last Days to Qualify for the Home Buyer Tax Credit

Chris_Ratte — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:58:53 +0000

There are less than two weeks left to qualify for the federal home buyer tax credit. You must have a signed Purchase and Sale Agreement by Friday, April 30th to qualify. (You then have until June 30th to close the sale.)

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year and a half, you’ve no doubt heard that the federal government is giving first-time and repeat home buyers a credit on their income taxes for buying a new home. The credit was intended to spur activity in the stagnant real estate market and to give home buyers a cash incentive to invest in home ownership.

First-time home buyers may qualify for up to an $8,000.00 credit. A first-time home buyer is considered to be anyone who has not owned a primary residence in the last three years.

Current homeowners, who are selling their primary residence to purchase a new primary residence, may qualify for up to a $6,500.00 credit. The homeowner must have lived in their primary residence for at least five of the last eight years.

There are some income limits and other restrictions. For more information about how the tax credit works, see my previous post “Timing is Everything; First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Increased for 2009.”

Unlike last year, there is little chance that the tax credit will be extended beyond April 30th. But there’s still time to take advantage of the credit if you act quickly.

Contact me for more information.

Helpful reading:

Great New Book to Market Your Small Business on the Internet

Chris_Ratte — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:53:28 +0000

My good friend and business associate, Merrill Clark of Crestview Marketing, has just published a great new book to help small businesses market themselves on the Internet. How Your Small Local Business Can Get More Customers on the Internet is chock full of great information and advice about electronic marketing for small businesses.

I followed some of Merrill’s easy to follow suggestions for RatteLaw.com, and it dramatically increased traffic to my site. Soon, I hope to implement more of the suggestions to further improve your experience at RatteLaw.com.

Merrill’s book may be purchased using PayPal on his website or from Amazon.com at How Your Small Local Business Can Get More Customers On The Internet.

Tax Problems? IRS Dispute?

Chris_Ratte — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:17:07 +0000

Having tax problems or a dispute with the IRS? Then you should make the time to attend this upcoming presentation.

On Tuesday, February 2nd, Dr. Richard Spead of Spead Tax Group will be speaking about how to handle disputes with the IRS. In light of the IRS’s aggressive campaign against small business owners in the past year, this should be a timely and informative presentation.

The presentation is sponsored by BASE Resources. Prior speakers in the series have included yours truly and other experts in the business, financial and tax worlds.

Here’s the info:

Tax Issues & IRS Disputes

Guest speaker: Dr. Richard Spead of Spead Tax Group PLLC.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Great Bay Community College

Pease International Tradeport

320 Corporate Dr, Portsmouth, NH

Room 314. Enter at Business and Training entrance.

Cost $10. 8 am – 9 am. Registration at 7:45 am.

Session runs from 8am-9am. Registration at 7:45 am.

Coffee and muffins provided.

Please RSVP to Diane DeVries 603-534-2040 or diane@digrafika.com

Presented by BASE Resources – The premier source for business solutions

www.base-resources.com

NH Bizcast for Free Business Webinars

Chris_Ratte — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:17:28 +0000

The Business Resource Center of the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development has announced its 2010 Bizcast series. NH Bizcast is a free monthly webcast on a topic of interest to small business owners. The webcasts will be presented by local experts in the field, and will allow the participants to ask questions of the presenters.

Upcoming webcasts are listed below. NH Bizcast can be found at http://www.nheconomy.com/videos.aspx

Starting a Business in a Down Economy

January 20, 2010: Noon-1PM

Presented by Deb Osgood, Knowledge Institute

New Mediums, New Messages – How Social Media is Transforming Communication.

February 17, 2010: Noon-1PM

Presented by Allen Voivod, Epiphanies, Inc.

Best Business Practices for the Next Century.

March 17, 2010: Noon-1PM

Presented by Dr. Russ Ouellette, Sojourn Partners

NH Limits Interest Rates for Title Loan and Payday Loan Companies

admin — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:58:29 +0000

Payday Loan companies are now prohibited from charging excessive interest rates to consumers.

Legislation, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2009, will most likely put the payday loan industry out of business in New Hampshire. HB-267 limits the annual percentage rate on a payday and title loans to no more than 36 percent per year.

Payday loans are short term loans (usually a week or two) of $300 to $500, secured with a pay stub and paid back with a flat fee that translates to an annual interest rate in the hundreds. Title loans require the borrower’s car as collateral.

Lawmakers found that the rates of interest charged by many title loan lenders and payday lenders are unreasonable and predatory. Some Title loan lenders charge rates of up to 350%, and payday lenders were charging up to 1,000%.

Supporters said that payday lenders target vulnerable people and make it difficult for them to climb out of debt because the interest rates are so high that borrowers have to take out a second loan to pay off the first one.

The Act also prohibits lenders from giving payday or title loans to any borrower who has had such a loan in the previous 60 days.

For more information, contact Attorney Chris Ratté.

NOTICE: The information and articles posted on this website are for informational purposes only and are not intended as legal advice. Contact me to discuss your particular situation or consult a licensed attorney in your state.

NH Retailers Not Required to Enforce Sales or Use Tax Collection for States Outside NH

admin — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:52:06 +0000

NH Says No to Mass. Sales and Use Tax

When the State of Massachusetts attempted to collect sales and use tax from a NH retailer for purchases within NH, the Governor and Legislature acted quickly to put a stop to it.

In response to this claim by Mass. against Town Faire Tire, NH enacted SB-5 prohibiting retailers from disclosing private customer information to foreign states in connection with the collection of certain sales and use taxes.

Gov. John Lynch called the Mass. claim “outrageous” and “unacceptable.”

“We should not allow Massachusetts to turn New Hampshire businesses into tax agents for Massachusetts.” – Gov. John Lynch

The Act creates an irrebutable presumption that, in the absence of voluntary information by the customer, the goods or services purchased in NH are intended to be used in NH.

To impose sales or use tax on purchases within NH, the foreign state must have previously provided written proof to the retailer that its tax laws meet with the very stringent requirements of the new Act. That is unlikely.

Gov. Lynch has vowed to appeal the Town Faire Tire case to Federal Court if necessary to protect NH’s favorable tax structure and pro-business environment.

For more information, contact Attorney Chris Ratté.

Monthly Reading for December: Guerrilla Marketing 4th Ed.

Chris_Ratte — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:55:54 +0000

Marketing for Small Businesses

December is a great time to finalize your marketing plan for the coming new year. If you need to re-think your marketing strategy, then Jay Conrad Levinson may be able to help.

Guerrilla Marketing, 4th edition: Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits from Your SmallBusiness has been a favorite resource of countless small business owners for more than 25 years. The new edition has been updated to include Internet marketing, podcasts and other high-tech marketing tools.

NH Enacts WARN Act in Response to Recent Mass Layoffs and Plant Closures

admin — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:47:57 +0000

NH Workers will receive more advance notice of mass layoffs and plant closures than required by federal law.

In response to some highly publicized and very sudden plant closures and mass layoffs that have plagued NH lately, the legislature enacted the NH Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (NH WARN).

SB-40 is based on the Federal WARN Act, but increases the number of employers who are subject to the Act and substantially increases the penalties for employers who do not comply with the notice requirements in the Act.

Both WARN Acts require 60 day notice to employees of any plant closure or mass layoffs subject to the Act, but NH has lowered the required number of affected employees from 50 employees being laid off to 25 (provided it is at least 1/3 of the full-time non-seasonal employees).

NH has also increased the number of employers subject to the Act by lowering the threshold from employers with at least 100 employees to 75. The NH WARN Act is estimated to affect some 300 more employers than the Federal Act.

An employer who fails to give notice of a mass layoff or plant closing, as required by this law, can be assessed a civil penalty of up to $2,500 and up to $100 per employee for each day of noncompliance, plus costs and attorneys fees. In addition, the NH Department of Labor is also permitted to place a lien on the employer’s revenues as well as all real and personal property of the employer to pay these assessments.

There are some narrow exceptions to the Act, most notably, a faltering employer who was actively seeking capital to avoid such layoffs and in good faith believed that notice of layoffs would preclude that capital investment.

For more information, contact Attorney Chris Ratté.

NH Auto Dealer Bill of Rights Expanded in Wake of Auto Industry Shake-Up

admin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:42:20 +0000

New legislation helps local auto dealers survive the auto industry collapse.

Like all states, NH has an Auto Dealer Bill of Rights (DBR) to protect local franchise auto dealers from unfair trade practices by their manufacturers.

After the auto industry’s recent implosion, which caused the closure of at least 14 auto dealers in NH, the Legislature decided it was time to update NH’s DBR.

SB-153 makes sweeping changes to the DBR to protect dealers in these turbulent economic times.

Among other changes, the Bill prohibits unfair contractual clauses by manufacturers, including forcing dealers to spend thousands to millions of dollars to obtain a new vehicle model, forcing dealers to order unwanted inventory just to obtain a popular vehicle model, forcing dealers into pre-dispute binding arbitration or into waiving jury trials, charging NH dealers different prices for the same vehicles or using incentive programs that result in a price difference.

The Bill also requires manufacturers to repurchase certain items, such as parts and vehicles, when the factory closes its doors or ends production of a line make, and not just when the dealer’s franchise is terminated as in the past.

For more information, contact Attorney Chris Ratté.