One form of identity theft that can cause a lot of grief is when thieves get hold of your Social Security number and file a phony tax return with your SS number. If a scammer files before you do, any refund will be held up until the issue is resolved. There is a simple fix for this, before it happens, and it is free. Get an Identity Protection PIN from the IRS (https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-fraud-scams/get-an-identity-protection-pin) or just type in IRS.gov and search for “Identity Pin”. Each year in December the IRS will send you a 6-digit number. When you file your taxes, you add this number to the tax form (paper or electronic) and any bogus return without this is rejected. You can get this PIN right now if you want.
Last month I wrote about CDD 9 doing a refinance on one of their bonds, the bond payments that you are billed for on your annual property tax bill. Some called and asked how to get that tax break – you do not have to do anything.
By making the cost of the bond lower, the amount you are taxed for that payment will be lower. For most units the savings for this will be in the neighborhood of 18% of the bill for bonds (not for the overall tax bill or any other charge).
Is everyone aware that they can pay off their bond for just the remaining principal? And save a lot of interest costs? Go to www.districtgov.org and click on How Do I? and on the drop-down menu click “Obtain Residential Bond Assessment”. From there you can find what is left to pay, or call 352-751-3900 and they can tell you what your balance is and how to pay it off.
Miscellaneous: A few nights ago, I think I scared a golf cart driver in a newer Yamaha when I hit my car brakes hard as I started to pass. That Yamaha is the kind with turn signals, but instead of using it, he stuck out his arm to signal a left turn, and pulled out in front of me. P.S. In case he is reading this: You were wearing a black jacket. Black doesn’t show up well at night in poorly lit areas. Try using the turn signals.
Mike Dollard, Vice President
[email protected]
585-315-8338