I don't know about H&R Block, but you can do this in TurboTax's free edition - there's a long list of income options including W-2 and all kinds of 1099s; scroll down when you get to that page and enter your 1099-MISC info. You can do a trial run and see what your results are without creating an account or filing, although TurboTax will try to get you to create an account (and upsell you) several times. Just keep passing on the upsell - at the end you can print out and/or save your return as a pdf.

There will also be questions about your education expenses; don't forget to claim your education expense deductions/credits!

The way you are phrasing the question one would think this is really a math problem i.e how much will you lose in early withdrawal vs. the gains in a tax deductible mortgage. But it isn't.

Your 401k is your retirement fund. You will need it at some point in the future and the longer you have it, the more it will grow.

Perhaps you are assuming that your house is an alternative form of saving for retirement. While there is some basis for that assumption historically, it's potentially no longer true. Don't mess with your 401k, find another way.

To add to the risk, there is a growing movement towards a tax system which would remove mortgages from being tax deductible.

It is a good time to get mortgage since the rates are incredibly low and unlikely to stay that way. But the best thing to do is to find a way without touching your 401k.

This is one of the weirder questions I've seen asked - the profile photo of a obviously teenage boy, the odd over-the-top compliment to the U.S. Mint, and the question itself.

Is this a stealth ad for U.S. mint investment?

I think so.

The Landlord Tenants Law in Washington is very clear about security deposits and the disposition of the same. I realize you didn't pay one. The whole idea of a deposit is to cover these kind of charges. I suspect that by not doing that they didn't have much to stand on besides the threat to your credit rating and bullied you into it.

Having a walk through with them and getting them to sign something as to the state of the place before you walked away would have been a good idea. But having said that I am not sure how legal their threats and charges are.

By a 1985 decision the Washington State Attorney General's Office cannot be involved in individual cases of landlord tenant disputes but they have a great resource page for finding help in these matters. I still think that calling them and talking to one of the folks there would be a good idea because this may indeed be a scam and equate as abuse that they would want to know about.

You will probably have to take the company to small claims court to try to retrieve your money. I don't know how successful that would be.

http://www.atg.wa.gov/

specifically:
http://www.atg.wa.gov/ResidentialLT/default.aspx

Freshbooks is excellent and does all of these things: http://www.freshbooks.com/
I haven't used it too in depth, but I like what I've seen. They make it easy to access all of your invoices and manage projects/clients, and they have a lot of different payment options that you can offer.

Actually the time alloted to the landlord to give you a full accounting and/or return of your deposit is 14 days.

See: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18.280

Within fourteen days after the termination of the rental agreement and vacation of the premises or, if the tenant abandons the premises as defined in RCW 59.18.310, within fourteen days after the landlord learns of the abandonment, the landlord shall give a full and specific statement of the basis for retaining any of the deposit together with the payment of any refund due the tenant under the terms and conditions of the rental agreement. No portion of any deposit shall be withheld on account of wear resulting from ordinary use of the premises. The landlord complies with this section if the required statement or payment, or both, are deposited in the United States mail properly addressed with first-class postage prepaid within the fourteen days. The notice shall be delivered to the tenant personally or by mail to his or her last known address. If the landlord fails to give such statement together with any refund due the tenant within the time limits specified above he or she shall be liable to the tenant for the full amount of the deposit. The landlord is also barred in any action brought by the tenant to recover the deposit from asserting any claim or raising any defense for retaining any of the deposit unless the landlord shows that circumstances beyond the landlord's control prevented the landlord from providing the statement within the fourteen days or that the tenant abandoned the premises as defined in RCW 59.18.310. The court may in its discretion award up to two times the amount of the deposit for the intentional refusal of the landlord to give the statement or refund due. In any action brought by the tenant to recover the deposit, the prevailing party shall additionally be entitled to the cost of suit or arbitration including a reasonable attorney's fee. Nothing in this chapter shall preclude the landlord from proceeding against, and the landlord shall have the right to proceed against a tenant to recover sums exceeding the amount of the tenant's damage or security deposit for damage to the property for which the tenant is responsible together with reasonable attorney's fees.

Also be sure to search this master listing of WA Landlord Tenant Law:

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18

The Specific Publication of this law and Seattle is published here:

http://www.seattle.gov/dclu/Publications/cam/infofortenants.pdf

It is searchable by keyword, so plug in the word "deposit" and see all of the applicable parts.

I go to Alan Chappron, G.G., N.G.J.A.. I've used him twice so he fits my tried and true gem/jewelry appraiser criterion.
His company is Gemological Consulting Services, Suite 325, 500 Union Street Seattle, Washington 98101

Phone: 206-624-3798.

I don't have an artisan reference. I'll be interested to read the responses of others for this category.

When we look at current judicial review of such issues, minors have been prosecuted for distributing child pornography of THEMSELVES. There has been a few cases, I can't remember off the top of my head what was the outcome of the court cases. They usually involve sexting issues.

The issue of Child Porn goes beyond harming a child, it also deals with the age old argument, does pornography promote rape/the acts in the pornography. Now in this case, posting yourself as a child would in some minds promote Child molestation and rape. According to some district attorneys this is the reasoning behind some of the prosecution of minors for distributing photos of themselves (along with actually making other children stop sending photos).

I was once in a similar situation with the UW. It was only one ticket though. I paid it.

Personally, I rather be shot. But there are several reasons:

1. Some people actually enjoy the whole ritual. Really. We live in a society where shopping is a sport and Black Friday is the Super Bowl.

2. Most of these so-called door buster deals are questionable in terms of the deal, the quantity, the quality etc. But many are legitimately great deals and people love a great deal.

3. If the alternative is hanging out with your mother-in-law then it's a no-brainer. Better the psychos in anonymous hordes one that actually is going to attempt to drive you mad.

Hope that covers the basics. But as I said, I'm with you... wild horses wouldn't do it and I actaully like to shop.

As a retail employee, I'm extremely impressed by your consideration and thoughtfulness.

Here's my take: spread it around. I work for a tiny business with only one other employee, and for the days on which we work together, we pool our commission, which works out well for both of us. However, I think that's a fairly unusual practice and I'm sure that some salespeople can be very territorial about "their" customers.

If you have the sense that this woman would be happy to share you with her coworkers, and they seem like decent, hardworking people, I would say let them help you too, especially if she's busy/not present.

Hope this helps.

Staples has that service and you can use their software to create the card. You can even do it online and just go into the store to pick them up.

it's a bad idea to have your cc processor with your bank. i have a company that i've been work with for years and they've been awesome. 800-725-1243 ask for jack or adam.
I was banking with Evergreen bank when they went under 8 months ago. Umpqua took over and changed my credit card processor to someone i didn't sign on for and didn't let me know about the change. this company has been embezzling money from my account for 6 months now. i went to close the account and they wanted to charge me $1500 to close the account. i got my lawyer involved and they dropped the charges but now i have to pay my lawyer.
I'm still working on getting them to give me back my $4500 possibly more. they want to hold the funds for 120 days. I've learned a lot the past three weeks. If you have your credit card processor with the bank they can pretty much do what ever they want. One more thing...you also can save money by answering a bunch of security questions on http://elavonpci.trustkeeper.net

this is a PCI website. i don't know what that means but once the credit card processor know's you operate your website and wireless safely they give you a discount.

GOOD LUCK small business owners....

FYI: 7) "Retail or service establishment" means an establishment seventy-five percent of whose annual dollar volume of sales of goods or services, or both, is not for resale and is recognized as retail sales or services in the particular industry.

Ok,
If you are employed by a qualifying retailer, AND you are making less than 1.5 minimum wage, and your job title does not include 'manager', and you aren't in a postion that requires specific training (making you a "professional" and therefore legally a salary employee*) and you aren't doing outside sales AND you aren't selling newspapers AND you aren't a 1099 / Indy Contractor employee, AND you don't get/haven't agreed to or asked for 'COMP TIME' ....then yes, you Most Likely should be getting Overtime for any hours worked over 40 in one work-week, (the 'work week' being a 7 day period defined by the employer).

* I had a friend who worked for a small gym who got screwed in the same way you're being screwed, but it was 'grey-area' legal: all the employees there were titled "personal trainers" and were required in 12 months time to get a certification (any cert) - most put it off. The employee handbook also detailed how they'd get "comp time" for any OT, but not at a 150% rate but rather a 100% rate. By agreeing to work there (i.e. signing the handbook during the hiring process), this made them 'professionals' by the terms of the law, and therefore legally salary employees AND legally exempt from OT despite their realtively low wage (compared to most PT's). To top it off, the nasty business owner had a stipulation in the handbook that Comp Time couldn't be taken until after a 9 month probationary period.

Have you been provided with the documentation required in RCW 59.18.060, sections 11 and 12?

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18.060

If not, you could submit a written request for those documents, citing the relevant sections, and requesting a copy of your signed rental agreement as well.

This might be a good step to take before attempting to contact a lawyer. It would indicate to the landlord that you are serious, and you would have a written and dated request for information that she is legally obligated to provide to her tenants. While the law doesn't specifically mention the requirement to provide a copy of the lease, she cannot legally ignore the request altogether.

If that doesn't pan out, I would second Dan's suggestion of contacting a property lawyer for proper legal advice.

This is going to be a contractual matter between the insurance provider and your father. You'll need to get your hands on a copy of the plan and see what it says regarding eligibility for dependents.

Answer to First Q: NO.
There's this misconception that marriage/partnership can raise or lower your credit. It's not true. Joint applications are where your creditworthiness can effectively go up or down based on your partner's score. But your credit report & score is, was and always will be YOUR report tied to your Social Security Number.

So
If you apply alone, only your credit score is viewed (the credit you've earned).
However, the loan lender may require a JOINT application if they know an applicant is married/DP (many credit unions do this), so it may be to your benefit to apply now rather than after.

You can especially run into problems on joint loans if it includes a Universal Default clause (in short, they suddenly hike your rates if they find any history that makes you less creditworthy, despite the original terms you agreed upon - often, they'll approve based on your credit, and then months later run a check and hike the rate based on your spouse's score - it's a dirty trick and for some reason remains legal).

Yay tips!
Tipping out to good cooks is great for everyone! Though I've never been a huge fan of tipping out to bussers (really, what are they doing to make the meal/experience all that better, that the janitor or even food supplier isn't also doing in some degree?)
Tipping out to a good host makes good sense too.

That said,

It's not WA state law, but Federal DOL and 9th circuit cases you should look to: this year's Cumbie v. Woody Woo, Inc case makes it clear tip pooling is legal & okay so long as no one ends up paid less than minimum wage, and leaves the question of whether supervisors/owners should be in the pools unanswered. In general, we all know it's skeevy (make sure to call them out if they aren't actually doing a BOH task that night), and the more dirty looks you give that boss the better. Especially if they're salary.

It's not that you 'are required by law', it's that you knowingly entered into employment in a job known for tip pooling and have to suck it up - much like commissioned salespeople can't complain if their check fluctuates month to month: that is to be expected.
There's no max/min percentage: it's whatever the boss says (again, so long as you are still getting min wage, everything's legal), so long as it's uniform and fair (no requiring the girls to tip out 15% and the boys tip out 20%, or hispanic BOH get 15 and the asian BOH get 10 = serious violations and lawsuit bait there).
While hardly anyone does it, you are required by federal law to report all tips that you take home, so 100% is the answer to your last question. However, you'd have firm footing to say you don't have to pay tax on tips that you tip out: the cooks have to pay that, since it's now THEIR income.

I'll answer, with the caveat that you should seek specific advice from a family law attorney. You should be able to find one with expertise in domestic partnership issues at QLaw, the GLBT bar association in Washington. They have a law clinic too - check them out.

http://q-law.org/legalclinic

Generally, domestic partnership works the same as marriage for all state law issues, so when you enter into one, you become a marital community (think of it like a business partnership) and your property and income, from then on, become community property. The stuff you had before remains your separate property. But, that paycheck you bring home every other week belongs to the "community" as does the things you buy with it.

So, say you had $100K equity in a $$200K condo, with a $100K mortgage, when you get not-quite-the-same-as-married. Maybe mostly your check actually goes to the mortgage, and your husband takes care of all the car payments and dinners out. Maybe you split everything down the middle, even steven. Maybe you take a year sabbatical to figure out what you really want to do, and your husband supports you. Maybe you two adopt your cousin Tanya's twins when she's serving time in prison, and your husband stays home to raise them while you take a most stressful job to pay the bills.

None of that matters. You each have an equal interest in the money coming in and debts flowing out of the community.

So, over the next ten years, you and your husband pay off the remaining $100K mortgage, and the condo is now worth $300K because the housing market bounces back. Say, all your other debts and assets even out, so the $300K house is what's left. You're splitting the sheets, so you're in court for the dissolution of your almost-marriage. You will have a claim for your original $100K, but you each have an equal claim on the remaining $200K - both the money that paid off the $100K mortgage, and the $100K increase in value during your marriage.

Remember too, that the dissolution of marriages and domestic partnerships are subject to the laws of equity - that essentially means that the court can and will use principals of fairness in splitting up your property. Did Husband give up his career to take care of the twins, and now needs additional education and training to return to work, and has lost ten years of "experience" so will be earning less? Did you put Husband through law school to the tune of $100K, and now he's making more than you? The judge can consider relative income, and divide the property in a way that gives Husband money to allow him to "catch up". Wait, did you two marry for two months, during which you got a huge bonus for work you did both before and after? Judge can consider that.

It's a lot to think about, especially for the couple where one has stuff, and one has debt, or one has education and one doesn't, or one is going to stay home with kids or work in nonprofit, and the other isn't. That's more of relationship advice. For legal advice - how you can plan, what you can plan, so that you both know what you're getting into - you should talk to a lawyer who can address your particular situation. Qlaw, FTW!

I'm not exactly sure what's going on with the Prop 8 case, but generally, when an appellate court is reviewing the legal decisions of a lower court, legal decisions are reviewed de novo and factual findings are reviewed only for arbitrary and capricious error.

De novo review means that the appellate court doesn't have to give any deference to the lower court's decision.

An arbitrary and capricious error means that the decision is one that no reasonable judge could've made based on the evidence presented. Appellate courts generally cannot consider any evidence that was not presented at the original trial.

California might have different standards, though.

First of all, make sure your bonus is paid out next year, i.e. in 2011, if possible, as end-of-year bonuses and one-time payments can screw you over if they push your gross income into the next tax bracket. Since you expect that they will terminate your employment it is reasonable to assume your income will be lower next year than this year, and your tax bracket commensurately lower.

As for how much is fair - I think you can reasonably expect 2-3 months' worth of compensation to put toward living expenses, COBRA payements, etc. as you begin to look for a new gig in what might well be the second trough of a double-dip recession.

Sound reasonable?

I agree with all of the above. The whole point of taking the classes is that it makes you a more valuable employee. Tell them that; "I'm more valuable now".

If they say no, you don't do anything. Hopefully, you are already in a position where you and your employer are comfortable with each other, even talking about your wage. There's nothing to be afraid of. You want more, you ask for it. They give it to you or they don't. It's not the end of the world either way. No employer worth a damn is going to hold it against you or anything (not say that no bad employer will).

Elenchos's advice is good. You're not a child, they're not your parent, and being able to ask without getting all agitated (I was going to say "emotional" but kicked myself in the shin instead) is further evidence of your maturity, which is also valuable. They shouldn't be offended either. It's what employees do.

If it leads to a conversation about the cost of your classes, so be it. You say "yes, you paid for this, but as a result I'm now worth X+Y, not just X anymore".

Also: starting low and rising because you've proven yourself to be (a) good at your job and (b) improvable makes you pretty neat to have around -- you might mention that your education has not only made you a better employee, but it has added data points that point emphatically to an upward trend.

Don't ask for the company car, though. Too soon.

There are a lot of vacancies around Seattle now and some landlords will rent even to those with poor/no credit history. Mention it them upfront to them and see what they say. Sounds like you can explain your history (or lack thereof) and it sounds believable. They may ask for income documentation and/or more references. A

Also, you don't need a credit card to have credit history. Have you grabbed a free copy of your credit report? There may be some things on there. Also, you'll want to make sure there are no mistakes on it (i.e. other people's items that somehow got on yours).

You can try calling your local Office Max store - they have shredding services at some locations. I haven't used them but it sounds like what you're looking for - there are a lot of shredding services around town but I think most are geared towards businesses.

Making a meal plan is the number one cost effective thing you can do. But, after much trial and error, here is my best advice:

Safeway has the cheapest, most consistent groceries (grocery outlet doesn't always have the same thing week to week, and much of its stuff isn't that healthy, and you can't incorporate it into a meal plan that well). They send out a circular advertising their specials on Wedensdays, which is why I try to make Thursday my shopping day. Wedensday, clean out your fridge and take stock of what you need to use up or what's in your pantry (so you're not wasting money on throwing food away), see what's on sale in the circular or what's in season, and make your meal plan around that. I have to disagree with the Rev on Safeway - organic milk is $5 a gallon, and a loaf of bread runs us no more then $2.50, sometimes less - there's always something on sale.

A costco membership is helpful, except if you live by yourself; if that's the case, see if friends will go in with you.

Consider going to the International District for produce - there's at least 3 really cheap places on Jackson just east of I-5 (39 cents a pound for sweet potatos, for example).

Decide what your values are food wise, and budget for that - for us, we only buy organic milk. For other people, it's local produce, or organic meat, or just the cheapest bill possible.

Ah...what's the warrant for?

I asked someone who used to work at the DoL and they only have access to driving record information (and even that is somewhat limited). If the warrant is driving related (driving while suspended etc.) it may come up. Anything else won't come up as the states mydrid of computer systems don't cross link between departments.

So, you're probably safe. But turn yourself in!!!

Both SSA and the IRS are supposed to receive copies of original and corrected W-2 statements from the employer.

The US Social Security Administration can verify earnings are correctly posted to your social security number.

At the end of September 2010, the SSA will have the employer-supplied information posted for tax year 2009. In October, contact social security at 1-800-772-1213.

Refer to the IRS if there is a problem with the employer filing a W-2. The generic IRS toll-free number is 1-800-829-1040.

General inquiries regarding employers can be made to the IRS at 1-866-455-7438.

Yes and no. Yes, because if you didn't pay the bill, then, as the property owner, the landlord is liable for the balance. But, no, because it's longer than 14 days.

What your landlord should do is pay the utility bill out of your deposit, and then give you the remaining balance by the 14th. Problem solved, and everyone is happy. As the property owner, he/she has access to the utility account.

Myrna,
As someone who used to work as a hiring manager for a number of small corporations, and as someone who never tolerated a sexist wage gap for even a day:

rule 1: Come to those meetings with solutions not problems.

Acknowledge that no one will come away with everything they want, but the common ground is possible and you are united by a common goal: keep the good work happening and everyone making good money.

Make THEM do the research, (and agree to continue the negotiation at a meeting in less than one week). This is to accomplish two things: a. give them a chance, one, to avoid getting called on the mat in front of everyone for being a sexist idiot for paying you so low and b. it gets to be "their idea" that they should bring your wage in line.

www.careerbuilder.com and www.monster.com both have good salary calculators.

remind them NOT that you are willing to quit or find well-paying gigs elsewhere (this bluff doesn't sound like it's true anyway), instead remind them that anyone else coming into the company, any new recruit worth a damn, would be aware of the research on Monster/Careerbuilder and be unwilling to work for such a low wage as what they've gotten away with so far.

spin your low wage as a calculated leverage plan AND company loyalty thing on your part: you accepted the responsibilities so you could show your worth and the risk/cost would be all on you. You did your part, and made them a lot of money in the process, now it's their turn to do theirs for the upcoming year(s).

Have the hard numbers to back the above up: if you come in showing how turnover stopped when you took over, and how labor overages dropped, and you've got, say, $50,000 that you've saved them in the last year, then that 25K raise looks like a fawking great bargain.

Tell them what you need the money for. You say here you don't need the money. HUGE mistake. Make something up then. You want to get a house -may be one closer to family (in an expensive neighborhood), you need to help out your aging parents, need to take that trip to europe that was cancelled in high school that you had your heart set on, you want to put your little brother through school, a donation for the new church building for your favorite house of worship - anything worthy of that 10/hour. HR managers will see through your "just practicing" for what it is. You need a Cause, a reason for someone to want to go to bat for you. Too late to lay groundwork in the rumor mill, so just: Lay it on the table now. Make it this huge thing you are just revealing to THEM. Make sure it's not something (like school, having a brood, wanting to partake in deadly X sports) that they'll assume would take you away from them. Something that grounds you to the local scene is best.

Be aware that with the fact that you are supervising several people you have even more value that just YOUR role: if you DO leave, some of them will go too. That's how it works. Do not lay this card on the table as a threat, but allude to it like the salary thing "I know we've built a good team here - I doubt some stranger could keep the momentum that I've created with my guys. There's a chemistry worth more than just time."

Put them on the defensive with questions in the second meeting: "So, what would YOU ask for in this role, for this much responsibility? Either benefits wise or a solid dollar amount?" is a great opener.

And yes, benefits are often MUCH easier for a GM or Dept head to provide than dollars. Benes don't cost hard cash from the same accounting column, so they are essentially "free" budgetwise. Milk these hard. I once got a CEO to double the vacation/PTO package once without blinking an eye "so long as we don't have to pay him more" was all he was worried about. Free company phone? Bigger office? Flexible start time? Comp time? New laptop? Use of the company car? telecommute once/week? These are practically no cost compared to trying to dredge more salary money from a shallow budget.

Socialize the fuck out of the decision makers. Flirt, buy them a beer, talk shop, talk shit, brownnose a little even. Whatever it takes: It counts, (it sucks), it works & it pays off. Never lay it on thick, but be clear you are enthusiastic enough to try and ply them. Come decision time, they'll remember the enthusiasm not the free beer/cleavage.

Value-added communications: in every practical opportunity, always bring them a treat of info... something you read in a trade magazine, some swag from a convention, that sort of thing. Ideally, a money-saving idea. Even if not implemented, the idea and gumption count. I once got a 35% salary jump myself combining this and the "look how much I saved you last year" thing.

You are in a tremendous position of power right now. You owe it to yourself and to all the people who haven't gotten a raise they deserve to nail this. Best of luck

If you submit a tax return with mistakes, you're the one who will ultimately be held accountable for any penalties.

What really matters is the contract you hold with the tax preparer. If they, for instance, are willing to sign a contract stating that they will reimburse you for penalties incurred due to their mistakes, that's what happens.

Hiring someone to do your taxes is just like any other private agreement: the terms are set when you sign the deal.