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ZB'Tejas

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by ZB'Tejas

  1. I took it to mean that the underlying tax rate could only increase by 2.5%. For example the City of Austin tax rate is .4431%. That could go up only 2% but your appraised/taxable amount on your house could still increase from 500K to 550K. I also think that was only on City and maybe county taxes. It might not apply to the School District tax which is the highest rate anyway. (Austin ISD was 1.122% last year)
  2. Taxes rates can only go up by 2.5% without voter approval. I think appraised values on homes can still go us as much as prior years (capped at 10% for ones with Homestead exemption)
  3. The performance based fee is new as well this year. I think it used to be you got charged if they actually reduced your tax bill. Now it seems that just by reducing the market value (even though taxable value stays the same and you don't save anything) you will get charged a portion of that.
  4. T'Boo is Satoshi? 9.8 gave us a small reaction and I expect 10K to put up a fight as well. If we can break through that I'd be looking for 11K fairly quickly where I might start scaling out of my longs. I'm only about 50% and was waiting for 6Ks to put in the other half unfortunately.
  5. Need moar deductions! Just filed this morning, getting the jump on the IRS
  6. Late to the party it seems... hotels are getting booked up when I last checked. I'm going to request through the Foundation so I guess I'll just figure it out if I make the cut.
  7. I tried to be more diligent over the last two years but I'm still struggling with nut grass coming up, clover and other crap in certain areas and the Bermuda taking over the Zoysia so looking for some professional help. I know it's me because when I bought the house the yard was immaculate.
  8. I'm a grower not a show'r so this hits close to home
  9. Damn, all this makes me realize how much I don't have time for. Has anyone hired a lawn service that cares for your lawn (not just cuts) they really like?
  10. Can move this to 2020 once out but heads up for ProTax users. Got this email from them about how they are modifying how they are paid and looks to be adding at mandatory $150 to the process that can be deducted out of the performance fee.
  11. What are you guys in CenTex putting in the ground right now? I didn't do anything in terms of a winter garden but so far my strawberries and peppers made it through the "winter" and hopefully will be doing something good around spring. I'm going to give tomatoes a try again this year in a few months and maybe just try and get some herbs going over the next month.
  12. Heading to Boston next week and planning on making it to the Encore for some craps. I went a few times last year and the place is nice but being the only game in town it's hard to find anything less than a $25 table. Might try a few different strategies see what happens. (More than likely just get really drunk and throw a bunch of money away)
  13. Just looked at last year's taxes; did not realize I got f'ed then as well.
  14. Is there a better thread on the ongoing Austin Land Development Code? Austin Chronicle just published this piece on the Unintended Consequences that the new Land Code could generate. I didn't really keep up with CodeNext but with this new version starting discussions next week I'm interested in seeing what transpires.
  15. My 1.5 yr old went from super easy to a terror over Christmas vacation. We need to stick together guys Little girl became much more difficult to manage at about 2.5. Stuggled to get through the 3's with lots of attitude and very little listening. Now she is 4 and I really hoped things would start clicking for her but dayum she is strong willed.
  16. American by birth and Texan by the grace of God, amirite?
  17. Are you still arguing over the article comparing Houston costs to NYC or something else? It sounds like desirable areas in NYC cost north of 1M to buy however there are areas that can be significantly cheaper than that.
  18. Have not used but I know some folks that work at Aceable so you might check it out.
  19. Tax time again folks so starting up this thread. Started doing some initial calculations and just now taking notice of some of the big changes. Standard deductions that were in place for the 2017 tax year and those now in effect for 2018 and 2019: Filing Status 2017 Standard Deduction 2018 Standard Deduction 2019 Standard Deduction Single or Married Filing Separately $6,350 $12,000 $12,200 Married Filing Jointly $12,700 $24,000 $24,400 Head of Household $9,350 $18,000 $18,350 Mortgage interest still is deductible, but... The deduction for mortgage interest is one of the most popular U.S. tax breaks. In fact, tax benefits like these are often a primary reason Americans decide to buy a home. Fortunately for many homeowners, the mortgage interest deduction survived the tax reform efforts, but it did receive two major modifications. First, the cap (or limit) on the total deduction allowed has been reduced to the interest on up to $750,000 of qualified residence debt, or mortgage principal on a primary or secondary home. This is down from the previous limit of $1 million, although mortgages obtained before December 15, 2017 are grandfathered in to the higher limit. Second, the previous additional limit that allowed taxpayers to deduct interest on as much as $100,000 of home equity debt has been eliminated. To be clear, interest on a home equity loan (such as a HELOC) may still be used as a deduction, but if and only if the loan was used to substantially improve your home. In this case, it becomes qualified residence debt and is counted as part of your $750,000 cap. The SALT deduction: Bad news for high-tax states The biggest tax deduction by dollar amount that Americans have taken advantage of in recent years is the deduction for state and local taxes -- also known as the SALT (State and Local Taxes) deduction. Specifically, Americans have been able to deduct the following: State and/or local property taxes, such as those paid on a personal residence, automobile, or other personal property. State and local income taxes or state sales taxes, whichever results in the larger deduction. Generally speaking, income taxes are the better deduction, but the option to deduct sales tax allows residents of states without an income tax to benefit, as well. If you choose the sales tax option, you don't need receipts -- the IRS provides a calculator to determine this deduction. Starting with the 2018 tax year, however, the SALT deduction is limited to a total of $10,000
  20. Saving up to buy 2 dishwashers...
  21. My wife is 32 and wears rubber gloves because she doesn't like "dishpan hands".
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