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- An em dash looks like a hyphen but is longer — it's as wide as the letter m. The last sentence has an em dash in it. Did you notice?
- An en dash is the width of the letter n. Use en dashes to show inclusive numbers or time periods, like so: pages 45-50; Aug.-Sept. 1998; Exodus 16:11-16:18. An en dash is a little bit longer than a hyphen.
1. Mortgage "Points" and How They Affect Your Taxes
Right now is peak home-buying season and chances are that if you buy a new home, you will pay "points" on your mortgage. But do you know how points are deducted for tax purposes?
What are points?
Points are the loan fees you typically pay when you take out a mortgage. They sometimes go by other names such as loan origination fees or loan discount points. Points are usually expressed as a percentage of the loan balance, often between one and two percent.
Are points deductible?
Yes, you can generally take an itemized tax deduction for points. You claim the deduction on Schedule A along with your mortgage interest deduction.
When are points deductible?
This is where it gets tricky. Generally, if the loan is to buy or build your main home, you can deduct the points in the year you take out the loan. The points you pay must be typical for your area and must be expressed as a percentage of the loan. You must also meet several other conditions.
If you don't meet these conditions, or if the mortgage is for a second home, you can still deduct the points. However, you must deduct them over the life of the loan.
If you refinance your mortgage, you must also deduct the points over the life of the refinanced loan. But if you then refinance for a second time, you can immediately write off any points from the first refinancing that you haven't yet deducted.
2. Focus on Fraud: Skimming over Skimming
-Skimming is the theft of cash, before it is recorded in the books and records. From the thief's point of view, the obvious advantage of the scheme is the lack of direct evidence of the defalcation.
-Sales skimming is the most basic skimming scheme involving an employee who receives cash for a sale and fails to record it. Although we typically imagine a cashier stealing customer funds rather than entering them in the register, there are a myriad of other methods too.
-Receivables skimming is a more complex form of skimming when an employee steals money that should be applied to a customer's account. The problem here is obvious that the customer's balance will be higher than it should be. To keep that fact from being noticed by the customer, the dishonest employee might try one of several concealment methods.
To be continued next week...
3. Tech Tip Weekly: Dash Away in MS Word
There's a difference between hyphens and dashes. Most people insert a hyphen where they should use an em dash or an en dash.
To place em or en dashes in your documents and impress your readers, press Alt+Ctrl+- (the minus sign key on the Numeric keypad) to create an em dash, or Ctrl+- (on the numeric keypad) to create an en dash. You can also choose Insert, Symbol, and, on the Special Characters tab in the Symbol dialog box, choose Em Dash or En Dash.