IRS Announces 2011 Standard Mileage Rates

Source: IRS

IR-2010-119, Dec. 3, 2010

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today issued the 2011 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.
Beginning on Jan. 1, 2011, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:

• 51 cents per mile for business miles driven
• 19 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes
• 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations

The standard mileage rate for business is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile. The rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs as determined by the same study. Independent contractor Runzheimer International conducted the study.

A taxpayer may not use the business standard mileage rate for a vehicle after using any depreciation method under the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) or after claiming a Section 179 deduction for that vehicle. In addition, the business standard mileage rate cannot be used for any vehicle used for hire or for more than four vehicles used simultaneously.

Taxpayers always have the option of calculating the actual costs of using their vehicle rather than using the standard mileage rates.

Revenue Procedure 2010-51 contains additional details regarding the standard mileage rates.

Where Does All The Time Go?

Source: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation/Focus on Workplace Flexibility

Family Change and Time Allocation in American Families

Suzanne M. Bianchi, UCLA
Abstract
In this paper, I briefly discuss family demographic changes. Then I use the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) and the historical time diary studies in the U.S. to document trends in parents’ time spent in paid work, housework and childcare. I also describe the activities parents forego in order to meet work and family demands. Finally, I discuss time devoted to adult care and help given to adult children, elderly parents, and friends later in the life course.

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Finding Day Care Services

Source: MetLife

The Essentials: Adult Day Services

Coping with a chronic illness or disability that impacts one’s independence, ability to manage daily activities, and opportunity to socialize with others can be overwhelming for an individual. Chronic illness and disability also significantly impact the family members that provide support and care to him or her. Family caregivers are often juggling caregiving with the many other demands in their lives, often both at home and at work.

Finding care resources to meet your needs or those of a loved one is not always easy and it can be very costly both at home, depending upon the level of care needed, or in a residential care setting such as an assisted living community or a nursing home. Most people want to remain at home if possible. One option to consider is Adult Day Services (ADS). These centers have two primary missions: 1) to provide individuals with needed care, socialization, and supervision in a community setting and 2) to provide caregivers respite from the demanding responsibilities of caregiving.

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PEW Report on Student Borrowing

Source: PEW Research Center

The Rise of College Student Borrowing

By Rebecca Hinze-Pifer and Richard Fry

Undergraduate college student borrowing has risen dramatically in recent years. Graduates who received a bachelor’s degree in 2008¹ borrowed 50% more (in inflation-adjusted dollars) than their counterparts who graduated in 1996, while graduates who earned an associate’s degree or undergraduate certificate in 2008 borrowed more than twice what their counterparts in 1996 had borrowed, according to a new analysis of National Center for Education Statistics data by the Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends project.

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Society of Actuaries on Retirement Needs of Mid-level Households.

Source: Society of Actuaries

Segmenting the Middle Market: Retirement Risks and Solutions–Phase 2 Report

The Society of Actuaries' Committee on Post Retirement Needs and Risks is pleased to make available the Phase 2 report of this two-phase effort. Phase 2 identifies basic issues and potential solutions that are important as mid-level net worth households in or near retirement address the financial risks they face in contemplating retirement. It includes 12 user-friendly reference profiles of the pre-retirees and retirees identified in Phase 1.

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Insurance Information Institute Report Examines High Risk Property Casualty Programs

Source: Insurance Information Institute

Residual Market Property Plans: From Markets of Last Resort to Markets of First Choice - 2010

BY DR. ROBERT P. HARTWIG, CPCU AND CLAIRE WILKINSON

NOVEMBER 17, 2010

A myriad of different programs in place across the United States provide insurance to high risk policyholders who may have difficulty obtaining coverage from the standard market. So called residual, shared or involuntary market programs make basic insurance coverage more readily available. An updated report by the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) titled “Residual Market Property Plans: From Markets of Last Resort to Markets of First Choice” examines the property insurance coverage provided by Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) Plans, Beach and Windstorm Plans, and two state-run insurance companies in Florida and Louisiana: Florida Citizens Property Insurance Company (CPIC) and Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (Louisiana Citizens). Also discussed in detail are the plans in Alabama, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas. This year’s I.I.I. report, like the reports of the last two years, records the ongoing growth in the exposure base of the residual market property insurers along with the still precarious financial condition of some plans. The growth comes despite a collapse in the housing sector that has brought development in many catastrophe-prone areas to a near standstill.

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FTC Issues Final Rule Protecting Homeowners from Mortgage Scams

Source: Federal Trade Commission

Rule Outlaws Advance Fees and False Claims, Requires Clear Disclosures

Homeowners will be protected by a new Federal Trade Commission rule that bans providers of mortgage foreclosure rescue and loan modification services from collecting fees until homeowners have a written offer from their lender or servicer that they decide is acceptable.

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New Jersey Can’t Take Unused Gift Cards

Source: Law.Com

U.S. Judge Enjoins N.J. Law Allowing State To Swipe Unused Gift Cards

By Charles Toutant
New Jersey Law Journal
November 15, 2010

A federal judge has turned back New Jersey's attempt to help plug its budget gap by grabbing $79.5 million in unused gift card funds, finding merit in challengers' arguments that the law is on shaky constitutional ground.

Read more: registration required

NPR Nursing Home Database

Source: National Public Radio

This interactive database, an NPR News exclusive, has information about the independence level of residents at nearly 16,000 individual nursing homes around the country. For each facility, see what percentage of residents can do various daily living tasks by themselves — an indication of their potential for community-based living.

Go to Database.

Going to College, Buy a Home

Source: Caldwell Banker

OLDWELL BANKER REAL ESTATE SURVEY FINDS NEW TREND IN COLLEGE TOWNS: “PARENT INVESTORS” BUYING HOMES VS. SPENDING ON RENT OR DORMS

Coldwell Banker Home Listing Report Released Ranking Affordability of College Towns; Muncie, Ind. Most Affordable College Town; Palo Alto, Calif. Most Expensive

PARSIPPANY, N.J. (Nov. 11, 2010) – Every fall, parents wave goodbye as their college-bound kids pack up their belongings, make the drive down university lane and prepare for football games, mid-terms and freedom. While college living is often associated with dorms and campus housing, Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC discovered that many parents are opting to purchase a home rather than spend money on rent or dorm fees. According to a recent survey among the Coldwell Banker® network of real estate professionals in college towns, 64 percent see a significant number of “parent investors” buying homes for their kids to live in while attending the university.

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Survey Shows Long-term Care Costs Rising

Source: MetLife

The 2010 MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home, Assisted Living, Adult Day Services, and Home Care Costs

This survey provides national, statewide, and, in certain states (based on population), area-specific costs, average private-pay, daily rates for private and semi-private rooms in a nursing home, monthly base rates in assisted living communities, hourly rates for home health aide and homemaker services, and daily rates for adult day services

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Interactive Tuition Over Time

Source: Chronicle of Higher Education

Tuition for individual institutions from 1999 to 2010 can be found in this interactive database from the Chronicle of Higher Education

Interactive search

Fed Posts Guide to Credit Reports and Credit Scores

Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve

Your credit history is important to a lot of people: mortgage lenders, banks, utility companies, prospective employers, and more. So it's especially important that you understand your credit report, credit score, and the companies that compile that information, credit bureaus. This site--maintained by the Federal Reserve Board--provides answers to some of the most common, and most important, questions about credit.

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SEC Adopts New Rule Preventing Unfiltered Market Access

Source: SEC

Washington, D.C., Nov. 3, 2010 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today voted unanimously to adopt a new rule to require brokers and dealers to have risk controls in place before providing their customers with access to the market.

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2010 Gift Card Comparison Table

Source: CreditCards.com

There are many reasons for not giving a gift card. However, if you plan to give them as presents, this handy table from CreditCard.com can help you engage in comparison shopping.

2010 gift card comparison table

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Federal Reserve announces final rule regarding effective dates for gift card rules
Source: Federal Reserve Board

The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday announced a final rule implementing recent legislation modifying the effective date of certain disclosure requirements applicable to gift cards under the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009.

The rule finalizes an interim final rule published in the Federal Register on August 17, 2010. For gift certificates, store gift cards, and general-use prepaid cards produced prior to April 1, 2010, the legislation and interim final rule delay the August 22, 2010 effective date of these disclosures until January 31, 2011, provided that several specified conditions are met.