MSN Money lists the TOP TEN tax breaks that a  lot of taxpayers don’t know about or overlook.   They can save thousands of dollars!

Mature Market Experts, “the blog for people who work with boomers and beyond” recently posted an interesting article about a movie that first ran over 70 years ago Make Way For Tomorrow (1937) by Leo McCarey is about an elderly couple who lose their house to foreclosure and are unable to find work due to their  advanced years.  The elderly couple has no choice but to summon the adult children to break the news.

Who would have thought we would repeat the hardships of the Great Depression, but it’s happening.  This post shares some true stories from today, provides some help resources and provides a link to watch the movie on YouTube (in 10 parts).

http://linkd.in/iaeEZ3

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs recently made available a second round of funding for its first-time homebuyer tax credit program under its Texas Mortgage Credit Program, releasing $45 million of $500 million allocated for the program. The department released $50 million of the funds last May when the program was first implemented.

The Texas Mortgage Tax Program was the state’s response to the expiration of the federal tax credit in April 2010.  The program is designed to make housing more affordable to low- to middle-income Texas families who have not lived in a home for three years by offering borrowers a tax liability reduction. According to the agency, a borrower can receive a tax credit up to $2,000 annually and  benefit lasts throughout the life of the loan.  Borrowers are required to take a homebuyer education class in order to qualify for the tax break.

Texans interested in the program must be earning up to 115% of the area median family income. For residents living in specific targeted areas of the state, such as places impacted by natural disaster, households may earn up to 140% of the average median income in the area and still qualify. In these cases, the first-time homebuyer requirement is waived.

The NAHB Board of Directors proactively allocated resources to fight the assault on the Mortgage Interest Deduction (MID) and has launched SaveMyMortgageInterestDeduction.com to keep users informed and connected on this critical issue.

Obama’s Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform released a discussion draft of proposals for reducing the federal budget deficit including an option to completely eliminate the MID  or limit it to primary residences and mortgages under $500,000. Other concerning proposals in the discussion draft would eliminate or otherwise negatively affect other housing tax provisions, such as the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, the deduction for real estate taxes for home owners, accelerated depreciation for rental housing, energy tax incentives and tax-exempt housing bonds. In addition, the proposals would result in significantly higher tax rates for capital gains and dividends.