Worldwide GPS technology giant Garmin became the latest high-profile business to get targeted by cyber criminals. It was widely reported that Garmin suffered a ransomware attack and ultimately paid a ransom of close to $10 million to the perpetrators. While Garmin immediately issued press releases notifying its customers and the public that it was experiencing an outage when the attack first took place, there was still criticism surrounding Garmin’s lack of transparency with customers about the

Are you still waiting for your Economic Impact Payment? Did you get your payment but it was for the wrong amount? The IRS initially said you needed to wait until filing your 2020 tax return to resolve any issues with missing or incorrect Economic Impact Payments. Thanks to the prodding of the Taxpayer Advocate Service, the IRS has established procedures to help correct payment issues in the following scenarios: Missing dependent payment. The IRS will issue

Which unique method of budgeting will work for you? You have your own unique personality, preferences and lifestyle. Likewise, how you manage and organize your finances can have its own personality, including how you budget. Here are five different methods of budgeting, each with a distinct way of helping you organize your spending and finances. Traditional budget. Use last year’s budget as a base, make any necessary adjustments due to changes in your income or expenses,

You’re ready to take out a loan to buy a house, a car or get a credit card. You fill out the application and wait to hear back from your bank on its decision whether to loan you the money. And then you get the dreaded phone call. Your credit score wasn’t high enough to approve the loan! Was there anything you could have done to get a higher credit score? Getting and maintaining a high

The IRS recently announced its 2020 edition of its annual Dirty Dozen list of tax scams with a special emphasis on aggressive and evolving schemes related to COVID-19 tax relief, including Economic Impact Payments. Here are six of the more common scams. Phishing. Phishing refers to potential fake emails or websites looking to steal your personal information. Remember the IRS will never initiate contact with you via email about an outstanding tax bill, refund or Economic

This month: September 15 – Extension deadline for 2019 S corporation and partnership tax returns – 3rd quarter 2020 estimated income tax is due (individuals, corporations, trusts & estates)

What is normally a reliable estimate of your taxes – the amount of money withheld from your paychecks by your employer – may be an unreliable estimate this year thanks to the current pandemic. Even worse, using the safety net of paying in what you did last year may not be practical if your financial situation changed due to the coronavirus. Many taxpayers wrote a large check to the IRS this year for the very first

Students can earn college credits while still in high school With the cost of college rising rapidly, it can be overwhelming to think about how to pay your way through school for either yourself or your kids. Fortunately, saving hundreds, even thousands, is possible. Teenagers can help keep down the cost of their future college tuition by taking the following classes and exams while in high school: Advanced Placement (AP) classes and exams provide the opportunity

More than 70% of small businesses in America now have loan proceeds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to help retain employees during the current pandemic. The entire amount of a PPP loan is eligible to be forgiven if the funds are used for qualified expenses. Recent legislation liberalizes the terms of loan forgiveness for funds used for payroll, utilities and rent. It is now based on a 24-week period, not just eight weeks. But how

With 30-year fixed rate mortgages approaching historical lows of 3%, you may be thinking about refinancing an existing mortgage. But you better read the fine print before signing on the dotted line to avoid paying too much money. Here are some common mistakes homeowners make when refinancing their mortgage. Not shopping around. When looking to refinance a mortgage, many homeowners simply check a couple advertised rates and pick the lowest one. But there are many factors