Refund

This is tax season. Predictably, we are being bombarded with advertisements for same-day tax refunds by commercial tax-preparers selling high-priced refund loans and predatory tax preparation products. If only the advertising for the earned income tax credit (EITC) were as powerful and far-reaching as these commercial offerings, thousands of eligible taxpayers could receive the EITC and enjoy access to free tax preparation. EITC-eligible taxpayers filing their 2006 returns can receive a federal tax refund of up to $4,536 and a state tax refund of up to $907.

The intent is good, to encourage Americans to save for retirement. But enough things can go wrong that I must caution against having your tax refund deposited directly into your individual retirement account. For one thing, I can think of smarter ways to make IRA contributions. If you do deposit your refund, at least protect yourself by making any deductible IRA deposit you request now be for the 2007 tax year, not 2006. The reason: If you haven't filed your return, even if you do it electronically, the risk is huge that your refund won't be deposited until after the April 17 IRA contribution deadline for 2006.

It has been a month since 120 passengers on Continental Airlines Flight 1669 were diverted during a storm to BWI airport and stranded on the tarmac for more than five hours with no food, water or toilet paper. Since then, the group that gained notoriety for tapping on the overhead bins in unity to protest the conditions has done something other stranded, offended and otherwise poorly treated airline passengers have not done. The passengers - who live throughout the world - have stayed unified.

As homeowners find lenders balking at requests to change the way property taxes are paid -- and to refund excess escrow funds -- state officials and Realtors yesterday said consumers have the law on their side.The General Assembly passed legislation that changes the method of paying property taxes from annually to semiannually, beginning July 1, 2000. In addition to lowering closing costs, the legislation has the side benefit of giving those with escrow accounts a one-time refund that would average $700 per homeowner, according to the Maryland Department of Taxation and Assessment.

Members of the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants are answering readers' tax questions through April 15.In 1997, my employer withheld $4,000 state income taxes. My 1997 state income tax liability was $3,000. I itemized my federal tax deductions for 1997 and I used $3,000 as my state income tax. I received a refund of $1,000 from the state in 1998. My tax adviser claims that I must show the $1,000 refund as 1998 income and pay federal taxes on it. I disagree. Can you explain?

As the final eight days of the tax filing season approach, Maryland officials said yesterday that they are expanding assistance to tax procrastinators scrambling to meet the April 15 deadline.To help anxious taxpayers, the revenue administration division of the state Comptroller's Office said it will extend hours for its telephone assistance lines and its 20 taxpayer service offices, and offer free help Saturday."Some people are natural-born procrastinators and they wait until the 11th hour," said James M. Arnie, revenue administration director.

The General Assembly is moving toward approval of a major tax change that would send state refunds to tens of thousands of the working poor -- even though they paid no income taxes.Under legislation approved yesterday by the Senate and a House subcommittee, many of Maryland's lowest-income workers would begin receiving the payments next year -- a move sought for more than a decade by advocates for the poor.The measure, which would cost the state an estimated $18 million next year, would send a payment of $260 to a single-parent household of three earning the minimum-wage annual salary of $10,712, analysts said.

C About 1 million taxpayers who received a tax refund last year will find that their 1099G forms look a little different this year. They'll come soon in the mail on a postcard, saving Marylanders $40,000 in postage and printing fees.The new forms will have a notice across the front saying "important tax information enclosed" and a perforated flap across the back to maintain the confidentiality of the information.The cards do not need to be returned unless the address is wrong and needs to be corrected, according to the Maryland state comptroller's office.

Members of the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants are answering readers' tax questions through April 15.Q. I have been told that the initial licensing fee for a physician is not deductible as an ordinary business expense, although apparently it is in subsequent years. Does the same rule apply to the DEA permit that's required for physicians to dispense drugs?A. Permit and license fees paid annually are considered ordinary and necessary business expenses. DEA permits that are paid on an annual or semiannual basis are deductible when paid.

*TC Members of the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants are answering readers' tax questions through April 15.Q. I received some stock as a dividend on stocks I already owned. Is this stock dividend reportable at the amount it was on the date of distribution? Or is it not taxed until such time as it is sold?A. Generally, the value of the stock received as a stock dividend (similar to a stock split) is not reportable when received. But a corporation's distribution of stock in another corporation, or the right to buy stock in another corporation, is reportable and taxable.

Walter Pasciak, 84, was so eager to move to a proposed $180 million waterfront retirement community for veterans in eastern Baltimore County that he paid $5,000 to be given "priority consideration" on the waiting list. "The location is great, and all the facilities would have been there," said Pasciak, a World War II veteran. Now he doesn't know whether he'll see the money again. On Thursday, the Department of Veterans Affairs terminated its contract with Federal Development LLC, a Washington-based company that had been selected to redevelop Fort Howard Hospital and other buildings at the one-time Army base on the North Point peninsula.

Md. homebuilder must give deposit refund, pay penalty A Garrett County homebuilder and its backers must refund $154,599 in new-house deposits collected from consumers as well as pay penalties of $23,000, according to the consumer protection division of the state attorney general's office. The division found that Mark Shrout, William Cook and their company C&S Contracting Inc., violated Maryland's Custom Home Protection Act by collecting money from at least four families, failing to protect that money and failing to build the homes or refund the consumers.

Question: : In February, I booked a flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Istanbul, Turkey, with a return from Athens, Greece. The flight includes legs on American and its flight partner, Iberia Airlines. The cost was $1,122. Friends who booked the same trip later paid $822. I called American and asked for a refund but was told that doing so would incur a $250 change fee, thereby wiping out the savings. But I am not changing anything. The itinerary remains the same in every way. Why can't I take advantage of the lower fare instead of being penalized for booking early?

Some Anne Arundel County homeowners can expect to share in at least $2.1 million - and perhaps as much as $4.7 million - in homebuilding fee refunds ordered by the state's highest court. But the money is probably not coming soon, as an eight-year legal battle enters its next stage. Which homeowners and the amount of the refund remain in question, and a county judge will consider that issue in the coming months. This month, the Maryland Court of Appeals ordered Anne Arundel to repay homeowners and a developer the fees that were not spent within six years of collection or were misspent, plus interest.

I returned a rental car Feb. 2 to San Francisco's airport in the same condition as it was in when I picked it up. (I'm a Budget Fastbreak member, so there is no person who goes over the car with me.) Two weeks later, I received a letter stating that I had returned it with "excessive soilage which will require special detailing," and my credit card was charged $127.24 for "the interior damage to the vehicle." This is not true. I was a single driver visiting my aunts in their retirement homes.

It's good to be average this tax season. That's because the average federal refund is up 9 percent over a year ago. The typical refund as of March 6 is $2,811, compared with $2,576 for a similar period a year ago, the latest figures from the Internal Revenue Service show. Thank some new tax breaks as well as inflation adjustments to more than two dozen items, including tax brackets. "If your income was the same year over year, it is possible that you could be in an even lower tax bracket and your tax would be lower," says Barbara Weltman, author of J.K. Lasser's 1001 Deductions & Tax Breaks.

The president of Jos. A. Bank clothing chain believes that there are some guys out there pining for a new suit but holding back on buying one because of the unstable economy. So he is giving consumers a little incentive to make that purchase anyway. The men's clothing company based in Hampstead will give refunds to customers who buy a suit and then lose their jobs. And those customers will get to keep the suit. "We sense that there is some consumer reluctance to go shopping," said Jos. A. Bank Chief Executive Officer R. Neal Black.

There's something about not having a job that can really get in the way of travel plans. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it may have something to do with vacations being less important than feeding your family or putting a roof over your head. The economic crisis as well as the stomach-tumbling drops of the stock market are making Americans feel insecure about summer vacation plans. That's why travel providers, including airlines and cruise lines, are trying to give you a safety net. JetBlue was first out of the gate with its promise to refund passengers' airfare in full if you lose your job after purchasing a ticket and notify the airline within two weeks of the planned flight.

In the spring, I booked two sets of flights. One on United Airlines to Europe for my husband, 11-year-old daughter and me and a second trip on AirTran from Los Angeles International Airport to Atlanta for the three of us and for my 27-year-old daughter (who was traveling from Denver on the same dates and times to meet us in Atlanta). Both sets of tickets were nonrefundable. My older daughter became ill in May and died eight weeks later. Obviously, losing a child is devastating, and we had and have no desire to travel.

Cowboys@Redskins 8:15 p.m. [chs. 11, 4] The Ravens still have these two NFC East teams to play, so fans can hope they beat up on each other. Dallas gets pinkie-healed quarterback Tony Romo (right) back, but Washington doesn't appear to have workhorse running back Clinton Portis available to carry the load. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones nearly guaranteed a playoff spot. However, if the 'Pokes don't make the postseason, we've got to believe the word "refund" isn't involved.