Vehicle Registration Update

Vehicle owners with registration renewal dates between July 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011 are being provided a 30-day grace period from the expiration date before late payment penalties are imposed NOTE: The billing notice has not been adjusted to reflect the grace period. Instead, a special insert included with the billing notice indicates that penalties will not be imposed until the 31st day after the expiration date. At that point in time, the penalties are calculated at the regular penalty rate of 60%.

Fee changes include:

· Vehicle License Fee rate decreased from 1.15% to 0.65%, and,

· A $12 increase in the registration fee (from $34 to $46).

Customers are encouraged to utilize the renewal by mail or online Internet renewal program to renew their registration. These alternative service delivery options will automatically waive late fees for first 30 days after expiration date. New registration cards and stickers will be issued as quickly as possible. NOTE: If customers were unaware of the 30-day grace period and included penalty fees in their mailed payment that are not due, DMV will automatically refund the overpayment. Please allow 3-4 weeks for the refund to be processed.

Law enforcement is aware and will not cite vehicles until the first day of the second month after the vehicle registration expires. For example: A vehicle with a registration expiration date of July 10th would not be cited for delinquent registration prior to September 1, 2011

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/newsrel/newsrel11/julyrenewals.htm

Federal Tax Rules Regarding the Sale of Your Home

Curious about the federal tax rules regarding the sale of your home, how the gain on that sale is taxed, and how to determine if the gain from your sale qualifies to be excluded from your taxable income?

Last year’s IRS bulletin “Selling Your Home” for use in preparing your 2010 tax return includes a worksheet for calculating your home’s cost basis, used in determining the size of your gain on the sale of your home. It also describes the criteria used to qualify your home sale for exclusion from your taxable income.

Please follow this link to the IRS publication 523 “Selling Your Home” posted on the IRS site

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p523.pdf

How to Make your Home Look More Expensive

It’s pretty rare to come across a homeowner who doesn’t want his or her home to come across as expensive or even possibly luxurious to some extent. Your home is most likely your largest investment, your pride and joy, and so why wouldn’t you want it to look its finest. It can be seen as a reflection of who you are, and especially when used to entertain guests it can be utilized to potentially “show off” just how hard you’ve been working. The tricky part in this whole expensive appearance scheme is the financial aspect. The cost of your home itself may have burned through your home budget alone, and so the money left over for its interior decorations may be limited. For those of us who aren’t fortunate enough to spend infinite amounts of money on interior designers and on the most lavish foreign furniture and paintings, we have to make some clever choices. Just like with clothing, an impeccably dressed person does not necessarily have to buy their garments from the top fashion designers to look good. And the same can be said for homes! The price tags of a couch or dining room table are not the only indicators of class and luxury. How you arrange your home, and how you choose specific things to compliment its layout can make a world of difference with just how pricey your abode appears. And even if your bank account does allow you to afford the more luxurious décor items, you too can make use of these tips to making your home appear more expensive:

• MAINTENANCE. It seems so logical, but often homes can go without a good cleaning for a lengthy period of time. Keeping your home clean and tidy is most definitely the simplest way to looking more expensive. Clutter and mess absolutely degrades its worth. WALLS. The quality of your walls says a lot about the quality of your entire home. A fresh coat of paint is always refreshing to see, and be sure to cover chipped areas and to remove marks.

• FRAMES. Posters and pictures taped up on walls just looks sloppy. Buying frames for your posters and pictures that are worth displaying looks absolutely polished and presentable. Nice looking frames need not be expensive either. This also goes for people who have not displayed anything on their walls. Hanging framed posters and pictures and pieces of art always looks very appealing.

• TEXTURE & PATTERNS. From your pillows to your rug, opt for regal looking patterns, most likely in deep tones. Window drapes in one room, like your family or living room, just screams luxury, and if it’s not too daring for you, a faux fur rug can do wonders. Neither has to be pricey, but just be careful not to go crazy on the patterns. Stick to a few specific things to decide to pattern up.
  

• LITTLE THINGS. Focusing on small, cheaper house items can really spruce up your home. Opt for more expensive looking garbage bins, coasters and the like. For instance, choose a more visually pleasing material like glass or wood over plastic.

• WHITE. When in doubt, choose white. If you’re having a hard time choosing the color scheme for a room or aren’t savvy with prints/patterns, white is the way to go. It completely opens up and refreshes any room.
  

• ONE PIECE. If your budget allows, splurge on one expensive item in your most popular room. If possible, splurge on at least one item for each of your rooms used for entertaining.