Tax Year

RG Steel is asking for U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval for a settlement with Maryland that lowers its Sparrows Point property assessment, reducing its Baltimore County bill for the past three tax years. The steel mill owner calculated in a court filing that its tax bill would fall about $830,000 for the 2011 tax year. It didn't note the effect for previous years. RG Steel said it won a $34 million reduction on the property's 2009 assessed value - to just under $204 million - in Maryland Tax Court in August.

Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke embraced yesterday a proposal to allow new homebuyers to pay their property taxes semiannually as a way of encouraging home ownership in the city.But he turned a cold shoulder to a variety of other tax incentives suggested in the final report by his Economic Incentives Task Force, saying they were too costly to consider.The mayor also said he favored a recommendation to turn the city's six municipal markets over to private management -- but said he was unsure whether all the markets would be overseen by a single organization or some would be managed separately.

Editor's note: Every Sunday through the end of tax season, The Sun will run an edited transcript of Baltimoresun.com's weekly tax advice column featuring experts from the Sparks accounting firm SC&H Group who will answer reader questions. Submit questions at www.baltimoresun.com/taxtalk I sold my house for a big profit. I plan to buy in the near future but I am currently renting. I am spending the profit from the sale. What are the issues related to the profit, length of time to buy and does the new house have to cost more than the old or simply as much as the gain from the sale?

Throughout tax season, Baltimoresun.com is publishing a weekly question-and-answer column with Jim Wilhelm, Stuart Rudo and Greg Horning from the Hunt Valley accounting firm SC&H Group on common questions that may come up as you prepare your returns. Here is an edited transcript of this past week's column: Can you file [as] head of household without claiming the household and without itemizing? - Hilda, Baltimore One of the requirements of filing as head of household is that the taxpayer must maintain as his/her home a household that is his/her principal place of residence for more than half of the year.

It's been about a year and a half since former first daughter Jenna Bush Hager and her husband, Henry, reportedly left their South Baltimore rowhouse for new digs in Manhattan. But Henry Hager still owns the Baltimore place — and the couple still enjoys a property tax break that's supposed to be available only to owner-occupants. The Hagers' tax credit this year is small: a $296.40 discount on a tax bill approaching $9,000. Still, why would they get any break as absentee owners? On Friday, a Baltimore Sun reporter knocked on the door of the Hagers' home.

Dear Mr. Gisriel:I have been very fortunate the past few years with my investments, including those in real estate. Since it is the end of the tax year, are there any tax-saving strategies that you recommend?Name withheld by requestBaltimore Dear investor:Following are a few strategies you might consider:Give away your big gainers. If you are planning a sizable charitable donation, your best bet is to make a gift of appreciated assets -- including real estate investments.You can avoid the capital gains tax, while securing an income tax deduction for the full fair market value of your donation.

Guess what many U.S. taxpayers haven't been doing as they listen intently to ongoing debate about proposed 1993 tax increases?They haven't been doing their tax returns for the 1992 tax year, that's what.Filings are running behind last year's pace. That's partly due to taxpayer expectations of smaller refunds thanks to withholding changes ordered by George Bush to stimulate consumer spending and partly due to pure procrastination.Four out of 10 U.S. taxpayers will file their returns in April, one-third of them the week before the deadline.

Members of the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants are answering readers' tax questions through April 15.Q.I turned 65 late in 1996. Am I entitled to an over-65 exemption for the entire year?A. Taxpayers no longer receive an over-65 exemption on their federal return. Instead, taxpayers who do not itemize received an additional amount added to the standard deduction; taxpayers who do itemize receive no extra benefit. However, Maryland does grant an over-65 exemption on the state tax return to a taxpayer who has reached 65 by the end of the tax year.