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ZB'Tejas

Certifiably Surly
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Posts posted by ZB'Tejas

  1. 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. 

  2. 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.

     

    Quote

    Your Texas Protax team has taken a look back at the 2019 year with careful consideration and come to the conclusion that in order to provide the level of service that our clients have become accustomed to, we can no longer operate under our current fee structure.

    We have always prided ourselves on transparency and the reality is over the last few years the property tax protest process has changed dramatically.  Appraisal Districts are under unprecedented pressure from taxing entities and the legislature in relation to protest timelines, and other appraisal district day to day operations.  As the legislature enacts new law and appraisal districts continue to change their practices, we must also adapt our business model to better serve our clients.

    In order to meet the new growing demands of the appraisal districts, we have had to increase our internal resources to assure that your protest is being researched and presented in a manner that will deliver the maximum successful outcome for you. Beginning in 2020, in conjunction with your current performance based fee, Texas Protax will begin charging an Advanced Administrative Fee of $150 per parcel per year.  This Advanced Administrative Fee will be credited towards (or deducted from) the performance based fee at the conclusion of the protest process.  

    Additionally, for properties with a homestead exemption or an agricultural appraisal we will be charging a smaller performance based fee for value reductions that do not affect the taxable liability (i.e. reductions on capped properties or properties with special valuation). 

    We will be sending out new agreements over the next few weeks through our DocuSign system reflecting the revised pricing structure. 

     

  3. 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.

  4. 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)

  5. On 1/23/2020 at 9:31 AM, Brew said:

    Nothing has changed from last year on rates or the SALT cap. There are some changes that will affect a few people, but most individual filers will not see much difference between this year and last year on the same income.

    Just looked at last year's taxes; did not realize I got f'ed then as well.

  6. On 1/22/2020 at 10:35 AM, MNLonghornFUKM said:
    On 1/22/2020 at 10:28 AM, B00M said:
    My twins turned 2 a month ago. Last night they were hopping together and counting each hop. They count to ten but one of them always skips four. Is it because she hits her head on shit all the time? Should we return her? Maybe she can get by without four...

    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.

    late show ugh GIF by The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

  7. 2 hours ago, Js1 said:

    This whole thread is in the top 10 reasons the internet is failing society 

    Everyone believes everyone else should conform to their lifestyle. And Texans are guaranteed by God a 4 bedroom, 4.5 bath house with 2 SUVs and a truck in the garage.  They couldn’t live without it. 

    American by birth and Texan by the grace of God, amirite?

  8. 23 minutes ago, FondrenRoad said:

    River Oaks is equivalent to Manhattan. 

    wrong donald trump GIF by Election 2016

     

    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. 

  9. 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

  10. Sounds like Surly is quite divided on this issue. I've always had a divided one and right now one half is kept only for baby and toddler things that need to be cleaned a certain way according to my wife. If I do remodel I will consider a full or at least a bigger farmhouse one with a larger bowl on one side as was mentioned earlier.

  11. On 1/17/2020 at 5:02 PM, Ag with kids said:

    Just as a PSA, if you've got an AMEX that has an airline credit, buying 500 mile upgrades from American WILL trigger the credit.  Just did it on a couple of my cards (AMEX Platinum and AMEX Business Platinum).

    Before you ask, I have the Business Platinum because I actually have a business and I just got the personal Platinum.  I'll have to reevaluate when the Business card comes up for renewal whether it's worth it.  I can write off the annual fee to help offset the AF, so that's a plus.  And the airline credit gets me another $200 towards AF.  Plus, if I do any business traveling, I can get 5x MR points booking it thru AMEX.

    What other interesting ways are people using that airline credit? I used to purchase the vouchers until they stopped allowing it. Then I started just buying liquor on the plane but that doesn't work very much since I'm often in AA Extra seating where it's free. 






  12. No idea if shes fuckin with you or not...my 4.5 yr old wasnt "fully" trained until like 3.5 but we did potty prizes every time she told us she had to go and went successfully which im sure you've done



    We've been super lazy on night time training but we'll worry about that a later date lol


    She has been fully night trained for a long time... has no problem getting up in the middle
    of the night to go. As we speak it’s been a week since any accidents so I almost think it’s an attention thing.

    Oh and we have loads of Anna and Elsa undies in this house.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  13. So my little girl(just turned 4) has been struggling to make it to the toilet in time. Her accidents are normally very light and then she catches it and goes to the bathroom but these are now commonly occurring. She was potty trained and was doing great since before 3 but started doing Pre K last Fall and it’s been much worse now. I’m thinking changes with her now being in wcgool plus now having a new baby in the family are making this worse so looking for advice on what to do. When we talk to her the answers are that “she didn’t know” and not really telling us why. Any tips on how to help would be appreciated.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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