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Your pocketbook Tax deadlines loom - by Jason Alderman Each year, roughly one-third of American households itemize deductions on their federal income taxes. If you're among that group, there are a several impor- tant actions you need to take by year's end in order to take full advantage of available deductions. B y December 31 you must pay for any uninsured medical expenses, state and local income and property taxes, and unreimbursed employee expenses you want to deduct from your 2011 taxes. You also need to decide how much to contribute to charitable organizations and either charge your credit/debit card or postmark a check by midnight on the final day of the year. Here are a few issues to keep in mind when choos- ing how you'll make – and report – your charitable contributions. • Confirm the organization's tax- exempt status. The IRS revoked the tax-exempt status of approxi- mately 275,000 nonprofit organiza- tions because they hadn't filed annual reports for three consecu- tive years, as required by law. Although donations you may have made to those organizations prior to their being disqualified still count as tax-deductible, going for- ward, such organizations are no longer eligible to receive tax- deductible contributions unless they're reinstated by the IRS. Go to www.irs.gov/charities to see if your donations are affected. • Document charitable auction purchases and donations. If you buy an item at a charitable auction, you're only allowed to claim a deduction for the amount you pay that's above its fair market value, so Jason Alderman is a senior director at Visa Inc. and runs the company's global financial literacy initiative. Follow him at www.twitter.com/PracticalMoney. be sure to get documentation from the organization (e.g., a catalog showing a good-faith estimate). On the other hand, if you donate an item for a charitable auction, you're only allowed to claim your "tax basis" in the item – that is, the amount you originally paid for it, vs. its current fair market value. • Choose wisely. Before making a donation or volunteering your time, make sure the non-profit organiza- tion is well-run. Ideally the organi- zation applies at least 75 percent of contributions to programs that serve its beneficiaries, as opposed to spending them on salaries, adver- tising, fund-raising and other administrative expenses. The IRS' Tax Information for Contributors website ( ) features a search engine for eligible organiza- tions, information on reporting and substantiating charitable deduc- tions and other helpful tips. Also, GuideStar's website ( ) features helpful questions to ask potential recipients and tips for choosing a charity. Energy-efficiency tax cred- its expire soon If you haven't already jumped on the home energy-efficiency band- wagon, the good news is that sever- al federal energy tax credits origi- nally slated to end in 2010 were extended through December 31, 2011; but the not-so-good news is that these credits are worth signifi- cantly less and are more restrictive than before. All is not lost, however, since several additional credits (outlined below) remain in effect through 2016. 20 Nov/Dec 2011 DSEA ACTION! Here's how the energy tax credits work You may claim a credit for 10 per- cent of the total cost of various home energy-efficiency products for your existing primary residence, including: insulation; heating, ven- tilation and air conditioning sys- tems; metal and asphalt roofs; ener- gy-efficient windows, doors and skylights; biomass stoves and non- solar water heaters. There are a few restrictions, however: • The maximum combined credit is $500 (10 percent of $5,000 in total cost) for all allowable products pur- chased between 2006 and 2011. Thus, if you've already claimed credits over $500 in previous years when limits were higher, you cannot file. • Certain items have lower allow- able tax credit maximums. For example: windows are capped at $200 in total credits; furnaces and boilers – $150 maximum (must have an annual fuel utilization rate of 95 or greater); central air conditioner – $300 maximum; water heater – $300 (within certain efficiency lim- its); and biomass stoves – $300. • You cannot claim a credit for labor costs. • Energy tax credits are nonrefund- able, which means you can only claim a credit to offset taxes you owe for the year. • Tax credits may only be claimed once and are limited to the year in which you purchased the item. Energy tax credits will continue to be available for geothermal heat pumps, solar energy sys- tems and wind energy systems installed at new or existing princi- pal or second homes by December 31, 2016, for 30 percent of cost, with no upper limit. In addition, a credit continues for fuel cells at 30 per- cent of cost up to $500 per kW of power capacity (for primary resi- dences only). And tax credits are still available on certain fuel-effi- cient vehicles. Visit for details. For full details on available tax credits, visit . If you're a low-income house- hold and can't afford to weather- proof your home, you may be eligi- ble for the Department of Energy's Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). If you're accepted, a profes- sional weatherization crew will conduct a home energy audit where they'll analyze your utility bills, test for infiltration of outside air, inspect your home and equipment for safety and determine the most cost-effective energy conservation measures for your home Depending on what they find, the agency will then conduct needed repairs and equipment installation, which might include: installing wall, floor and attic insulation; seal- ing and repairing ducts; reducing air infiltration and pressure imbal- ances; and tuning, repairing or replacing heating and cooling sys- tems, as needed. To learn how WAP works, visit . Also, you may qualify for short-term utility bill assistance through the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program . $1,000 grant for sports programs now available A . The deadline is January 15, 2012. Award recipients will be announced in April. s a member of NEA, you can apply for a new $1,000 grant award for your school's sports program. California Casualty, an NEA- endorsed auto insurance compa- ny, has just announced that it is offering a $1,000 grant, the Thomas R. Brown Athletics Grant. It was established to provide support to public high school sports programs impacted by reduced budgets. To learn more or to apply, visit www.dsea.org www.eere.energy.gov/wip/wap. html (www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/ liheap) www.irs.gov/ charities/contributors star.org www2.guide omy.gov/feg/taxcenter.shtml gov www.fuelecon- http://CalCasAthleticsGrant. com www.energystar.