|
San Diego, CA -
Last month, President Bush signed into law tax relief for
service members and veterans that will provide more than $1.2
billion in tax relief. These new provisions included allowing
active duty troops to withdraw money from retirement plans
without a tax penalty for two years, and allowing families of
reservists killed in the line of duty to collect life insurance
from civilian employers.
The ten main
benefits of the new legislation are listed below.
-
Benefit 1: The
ability for active duty troops to withdraw money from
retirement plans, and an allowance of two years to replace
the funds without tax penalty.
-
Benefit 2: A
180-day period for reservists called to active duty to use
unspent funds in a health flexible spending account or
cafeteria plan.
-
Benefit 3: The
ability for military families to count most military cash
allowances beyond basic pay to be treated as earned income
for purposes of determining supplemental security income (SSI)
eligibility and benefit amounts, and treat certain housing
payments as in-kind support and maintenance.
-
Benefit 4:
Clarification that members of the military who file a joint
tax return would be eligible for the stimulus rebate payment
even if the spouse does not have a social security number.
-
Benefit 5: A
one year extension of parity between mental and physical
health benefits. Honoring our veterans.
-
Benefit 6: A
permanent allowance for all veterans to use qualified
mortgage bonds to purchase their homes.
-
Benefit 7:
Extension of a provision that gives retired veterans more
time to claim a tax refund on some types of disability
benefit payments.
-
Benefit 8: The
ability for families of reservists killed in the line of
duty to collect life insurance and other benefits provided
by the civilian employer.
-
Benefit 9: The
ability for families of soldiers killed in the line of duty
to contribute up to 100 percent of survivor benefits to
retirement savings accounts or to education savings
accounts.
-
Benefit 10:
IRS web site for military personnel the IRS has added a
special section to its web site,
www.irs.gov to explain the
benefits and services available to those serving in the us
armed forces.
|
About the ICFE:
The Institute of Consumer Financial Education (ICFE) was founded in 1982 by the late Loren Dunton (creator of the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation). The ICFE is dedicated to helping consumers of all ages to improve their spending, increase savings and use credit more wisely.
The ICFE is an award winning, nonprofit, consumer education organization that has helped millions of people through its education programs and resources. It publishes the Do-It-Yourself Credit File correction Guide, which is updated annually. The ICFE has distributed over one million Credit/Debit Card Warning Labels and Credit/Debit Card Sleeves world wide.
The ICFE became an official partner with the Department of Defense/Financial Readiness Campaign in June of 2004.The ICFE was an active partner in the California Student Debt Resource Awareness Project (CASDRAP) which resulted in a new web site: (studentdebthelp.org). CASDRAP disbanded in 2010, shortly after the web site project was completed. In 2011 the ICFE assumed the single sponsorship of the (studentdebthelp.org) web site and is now responsible for its content and operation.
The ICFE is also an on-line help for consumers who spend too much. ICFE's spending help was featured in PARADE Magazine in the Intelligence Report section. The money helps and tips are from the ICFE's Money Instruction Book, our course in personal finance.
Visit the ICFE's other web sites at: www.icfe.info and studentdebthelp.org. Both sites helps consumers and students with mending spending, learning about the proper use of credit, budget and expense guidelines, how to set up and implement a spending-plan and also how to access financial education courses and how to teach children about money. Other ICFE services include: Ask Mr. G, a free eNews, and an online resource center for students, parents and educators, plus financial education learning tools and a book store.
|
|
Our 
