1. Save for an emergency: A recent survey published by Bankrate.com, a personal finance website, found only 39 percent of Americans could cover a $1,000 emergency. You could save your tax refund to pay for medical bills or rent after a job loss. These are just two examples of emergencies that could cost more than $1,000.
2. Pay off your debts: You could use your tax refund to pay off student loans or credit cards with high interest rates. Making payments on high-interest debts could save you money in the long-run.
3. Purchase what you need: Your tax refund could be used to purchase something you need or might need in the future. For example, you could have your vehicle serviced or you could replace a home appliance.
4. Put it towards retirement: Have you already paid down your debts or established an emergency savings account? You could contribute some or all of your tax refund to a traditional or Roth IRA.
5. Save for your child’s education: You could use your tax refund to help fund you child’s future education. For instance, you could put your tax refund towards a 529 plan.

These are just a few suggestions of how you could use your tax refund to improve your finances. It is by no means an exhaustive list. However, it would be wise to follow the first suggestion. Medical bills or job loss could very easily turn your financial life upside-down. Your tax refund could be the first step towards creating an emergency savings account.

If you are already in a difficult financial situation, then you could explore the possibility of filing for bankruptcy. Our Kansas City bankruptcy attorneys could discuss your situation to help you find options for debt relief.

The post What are Smart Ways to Spend a Tax Refund? appeared first on The Sader Law Firm.

1. You may qualify for a student loan interest deduction. Did you pay more than $600 in interest on your student loans during 2017? If you met this threshold, then your loan servicer should have mailed or emailed you a 1098-E form. In addition, the form is most likely available on the online portal your loan servicer uses. However, you must meet specific criteria to qualify for this deduction.
2. REPAYE considers joint income while calculating your payments. If you are married and enrolled in REPAYE, an income-driven repayment program, then you should be aware that your payments could increase whether you are filing jointly or separately. REPAYE considers your spouse’s income when calculating your monthly payments. The PAYE and IBR programs do not consider joint income.
3. The IRS has tax credits for education. There are tax credits that offset the costs of books, tuition and other educational expenses. You could check your eligibility for these benefits on the Federal Student Aid Tax credits could help you borrow less for higher education.
4. Your tax refund can be garnished for defaulting. Have you defaulted on your federal student loans? If you have defaulted, the Department of the Treasury may offset your refund.
5. You can use your tax return to recertify your income-driven repayment plan. If you are enrolled in an income-driven student loan repayment plan, then you must recertify your income once per year. You can recertify on the Federal Student Aid website by using your 2017 tax return information. Keep in mind, it can take more than a week for tax information to appear on the site after you have filed your return.

Questions About Student Loan Payments? Contact Our Kansas City Student Loan Lawyers

Student loans have become a major financial setback for millions of Americans. Recent studies suggest that student loan defaults are at an all-time high. Many others may be close to default because they are unaware of helpful debt relief or repayment options. If you have questions about higher education debt or debt relief, then please contact the Kansas City student loan lawyers at The Sader Law Firm for help.

The post How Do Student Loans Affect My Taxes? appeared first on The Sader Law Firm.

You may have several options to resolve a wage garnishment. These options include:

1. Objecting to the garnishment: You could try objecting to the wage garnishment. For instance, you could argue the creditor is taking too much money from your paycheck. Creditors cannot take more than a specific percentage of your income. You may also be able to object if the creditor did not give you warning of the garnishment or if they ignored other required procedures. An attorney could help with any additional steps after filing the objection.
2. Loan consolidation or rehabilitation: You could complete the Department of Education’s loan rehabilitation program to stop a wage garnishment for federal student loans. In addition, you may be able to combine your defaulted student loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan. Both options could bring your loans back into good standing.
3. Negotiate a payment plan: The creditor may be willing to negotiate terms for a revised payment plan before securing a judgment. You may be able to negotiate for a lump sum payment of less than what was owed.
4. File for bankruptcy: You may be able to stop a wage garnishment by filing for bankruptcy. The automatic stay that is issued during your case could prevent creditors from garnishing your wages. However, the automatic stay cannot stop wage garnishments for certain types of debts. You could discuss your wage garnishment with a bankruptcy attorney to discover how the automatic stay would apply to your situation.

Questions About Stopping a Wage Garnishment? Call Our Kansas City Bankruptcy Attorneys

A wage garnishment could put your finances into a downward spiral. Depending on your financial situation, a wage garnishment could cause you to default on other debts. You should always seek to resolve a wage garnishment as soon as possible.

The Kansas City bankruptcy attorneys at The Sader Law Firm could help you determine which options would work best for resolving a wage garnishment and other difficult financial problems.

The post How Can I Resolve a Wage Garnishment? appeared first on The Sader Law Firm.

While Congress is poised to kill off PSLF, this does not necessarily mean you will lose eligibility if you are already enrolled. You should be careful if you are seeking forgiveness through the PSLF program and are planning a job change. According to the Department of Education’s website, only the following jobs can qualify for PSLF.

1. Government organizations: Employees at federal, state, local or tribal organizations are eligible for PSLF forgiveness. Examples may include the Central Intelligence Agency or the Federal Bureau of Investigation. City police departments and county sheriff offices would also qualify.
2. Tax exempt nonprofits: Employees at nonprofits that are tax exempt under 501(c)(3) of the IRS code can receive PSLF forgiveness.
3. Other nonprofits: You may be able to receive PSLF forgiveness if you work at a nonprofit that provides certain types of qualifying services. These qualifying services are listed near the bottom of the PSLF employment certification form.

Student loan borrowers working for government organizations may run into less trouble than those who are working for nonprofits who are not 501(c)(3) tax exempt. Last year, the American Bar Association sued the Department of Education for retroactively revoking the PSLF eligibility of four lawyers. The lawyers had worked at various nonprofits that provided legal services. You must also work full-time at a qualifying employer to be eligible for PSLF forgiveness.

How Do You Maintain Eligibility for PSLF Forgiveness?

You can submit the employment certification form once per year to retain eligibility under the PSLF program. If you are coming up on your 120^th qualifying payment under the PSLF program, then you can prepare to file for forgiveness through the Department of Education’s website. The PSLF forgiveness form is on the Federal Student Aid website. At this point, many people who have turned in the PSLF forgiveness form are playing the waiting game with the Department of Education.

For future updates on student loan news, follow The Sader Law Firm on Facebook and Twitter. Our Kansas City student loan lawyers could help if you are experiencing difficulties with repayment.

The post What Types of Jobs are Eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness? appeared first on The Sader Law Firm.

1. Defaulted student loans: The BFS could offset your tax refund if you have defaulted on any type of federal student loan. FFEL and Direct loans are in default after at least 270 days of nonpayment. You could choose several options for getting out of default to prevent a tax refund offset.
2. Unpaid child support: Your tax refund could be offset if you have failed to pay court-ordered child support. State child support agencies report parents who are delinquent on child support payments to the BFS.
3. Unpaid federal or state income taxes: The BFS could offset tax refund if you owe state taxes. If you owe federal taxes, the IRS and not the BFS will be responsible for offsetting your tax refund.
4. Unemployment benefits: You could be required to pay back unemployment benefits that you received if it was later determined that you were not eligible. Failure to pay back these benefits could result in a tax refund offset.

How Could I Handle a Tax Refund Offset?

You may receive a notice in the mail before your tax refund is offset by IRS or BFS. If you owe federal back taxes, this notice will come from the IRS. The BFS will send notices for other types of debts listed on our blog. You can appeal the decision. Depending on the circumstances, your appeal could be successful.

If you owe income taxes and are having difficulty resolving other debts, then you should speak to one of our Kansas City bankruptcy attorneys. There are cases where you can discharge income tax debts in bankruptcy. We could also discuss other options for resolving your financial situation.

The post Could the Federal Government Garnish My Tax Refund? appeared first on The Sader Law Firm.

Some people are being denied because they have the wrong type of federal student loans. When PSLF was created in 2007, many borrowers were still receiving loans under the Federal Family Education Loan program (FFEL). FFEL loans are not eligible for forgiveness under PSLF. As of July 1, 2010, many new federal student loans were issued under the Direct Loan program. Direct Loans are eligible for forgiveness under PSLF. Borrowers with FFEL loans made payments for years without realizing they were never eligible to have their loans forgiven under the PSLF program.

Student loan servicers like Navient and Great Lakes are being sued by borrowers who claim they were given incorrect information about their eligibility. The woman interviewed by CNN said her servicer confirmed her eligibility for years. Only recently did someone in customer service tell her otherwise. Servicers are telling borrowers to seek a Direct Consolidation Loan if they are eligible. This would move their FFEL loans into the Direct Loan program. However, they would have to restart the clock on their ten years of payments.

Additional borrowers were told their jobs did not qualify for PSLF, despite receiving approval at an earlier date. The American Bar Association has sued the Department of Education on behalf of four student loan borrowers who claim their eligibility was revoked without warning.

Will PSLF Be Eliminated?

The future of the PSLF program is not certain. President Trump’s administration has signaled that they will try to eliminate the program. In fact, the 2018 White House budget calls for the elimination of PSLF. Federal lawmakers have also considered killing off this popular loan forgiveness option. The PROSPER Act would eliminate the program.

If you are one of many borrowers who only recently discovered that you are not eligible for PSLF forgiveness, then we encourage you to speak with one of our student loan attorneys. Follow The Sader Law Firm on Facebook and Twitter for future updates on PSLF and other loan forgiveness programs.

The post Why Are Borrowers Receiving Public Service Loan Forgiveness Denials? appeared first on The Sader Law Firm.

1. Avoid default: There are a few options you could consider to get caught up on payments if you are at risk of defaulting. Consider enrolling in an income-driven repayment plan if you have federal loans. This option could also free up income that is needed to pay back private loans. You could also see if you qualify for an economic hardship deferment through your servicer. For private loan borrowers, you could talk to your lender to see which deferment or payment assistance options (if any) are available for your situation.
2. Loan consolidation: You might be able to combine your federal loans into a single Direct Consolidation Loan to get out of default. With this option, you would have to agree to enroll in an income-driven repayment program or you would be required to make three timely monthly payments on the defaulted loans. This is not an option for borrowers with private student loans. In addition, a record of defaulting will remain on your credit history.
3. Loan rehabilitation: The Department of Education may allow you to enroll in its loan rehabilitation program if this is your first time defaulting on federal student loans. If you meet the requirements for the program, then your loans could be brought back into good standing. However, this does not happen overnight, and it is not an option for private student loan borrowers. The record of defaulting will not remain on your credit history with this option.
4. Negotiate: Private student loan borrowers have fewer options to get out of default. Depending on the circumstances, you could try negotiating a settlement with your lender. You may be expected to pay taxes on the amount that was forgiven.
5. Pay the loans in full: Paying your defaulted student loans in full is one of the options for getting out of default the Department of Education lists on its website.

Can a Student Loan Attorney Help with Defaults?

There may be other options that are available for defaulted student loans that our blog has not covered. The Kansas City student loan lawyers at The Sader Law Firm could discuss the specifics of your case to help you discover possible options for resolving your situation.

The post How Can I Handle a Student Loan Default? appeared first on The Sader Law Firm.

1. Free filing services are available. We recently published a blog that listed free tax filing options in Kansas City. If you meet the income requirements, a certified professional could help you file your taxes. You also qualify for the IRS’ Free File service if your household income is under $66,000. The IRS teams up with other companies to provide free e-filing options for filers who meet this requirement.
2. You can file before January 29. E-filing services and tax professionals can help you file your taxes before this date. However, the IRS will not accept your return until January 29.
3. You can receive your refund faster by e-filing. There are many e-filing options you could choose from, some of which are free. The IRS will issue your tax refund faster if you use an e-filing service. Direct deposit options also exist with these services. Instead of mailing you a refund check, the funds are deposited directly into your bank account.
4. EITC and ACTC refunds are not issued until mid-February. The IRS will not issue refunds that claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) until mid-February. If you are going to claim these benefits, then you should be aware you could experience a slight delay in receiving your refund.
5. You can track the progress of your refund. You have multiple tools at your disposal to track the progress of your refund. Some e-filing services have this option. The IRS refund tracking tool and IRS2Go app can also perform these functions.

Do You Have Other Questions About Taxes?

Not everyone qualifies for a tax refund. If you owe the IRS taxes, then it could thrust your financial situation into chaos. You could speak with one of the Kansas City bankruptcy attorneys at The Sader Law Firm to discover possible options for debt relief. We also encourage you to read our page on eligibility requirements for discharging income tax debts in bankruptcy. You can follow our blog updates by connecting with The Sader Law Firm on Facebook and Twitter.

The post Five Helpful Tax Filing Tips for the 2018 Tax Season appeared first on The Sader Law Firm.

If you are affected by tax refund fraud, then the IRS will send you a notice in the mail. This notice will inform you that a return has already been filed in your name. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), you can reduce the chances of having your refund stolen by filing your taxes as soon as you have the necessary information and paperwork.

The IRS continues to implement new safeguards each year to reduce instances of tax-related identity theft. For the 2018 filing season, the IRS worked alongside states and the tax industry to implement new safeguards. The IRS has also become more effective at working with banks to stop fraudulent refunds from being processed. You should still take tax-related identity theft seriously even with new safeguards in place for 2018. Even if you can recover a stolen tax refund, the process could be time-consuming and frustrating.

What If I am a Victim of Tax-Related Identity Theft?

The IRS maintains that it should be contacted right away if you experience identity theft. In addition, the IRS also recommends calling the FTC’s identity theft hotline for further assistance. Both agencies will recommend additional steps to resolve the situation. If you are attempting to resolve an identity theft issue with the IRS, be aware that it could take up to 180 days.

There are additional steps you could take to reduce instances of identity theft. Future blogs will discuss tips from federal agencies that could help protect you and family members during tax season. For future blog updates on tips for tax season, follow the Kansas City bankruptcy attorneys at The Sader Law Firm on Facebook and Twitter.

The post Can I File Tax Returns Early to Prevent Tax Refund Theft? appeared first on The Sader Law Firm.

1. VITA programs: Kansas City has several volunteer income tax assistance (VITA) programs. Certified volunteers working for Next Step KC could help with your income tax preparation if you have an income of $60,000 or less. Next Step KC can also help resolve tax problems for filers who meet the eligibility requirements. The University of Kansas School of Law also operates a VITA program each year. However, the program’s start date for the 2018 tax season has not been announced.
2. TCE programs: Tax counseling for the elderly (TCE) services may be an option. As the name implies, TCE services are a type of VITA program. Many TCE services are operated through the AARP’s Tax Aide program. The AARP’s Tax Aide program offers free filing services to anyone, but especially individuals 50 years of age and older.
3. Free e-filing software: Free filing services exist online through businesses like Credit Karma, TurboTax or H&R Block. The IRS’ Free File option may link you to several types of software for filing your taxes. However, you could benefit from the assistance of a certified professional if your income taxes are complicated.

How Can I Find Free Tax Filing in Kansas City?

It is best to plan ahead of time when you are going to file your taxes if you intend to use a VITA service. You could schedule an appointment to avoid long wait times. The IRS has a tool for locating VITA and TCE services in your city. If you plan to use Next Step KC, they have already posted where their services will be offered for the 2018 tax season. You may call 2-1-1 if you have questions about Next Step KC or if you want to schedule an appointment. It would also be wise to confirm your eligibility for these services beforehand.

Future blogs will discuss why it is important to file your taxes early. For future blog updates, follow the Kansas City bankruptcy attorneys at The Sader Law Firm on Facebook and Twitter.

The post Can I Get Free Help with My Taxes? appeared first on The Sader Law Firm.