Last Week in The News - Economic Update. U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said September 9th that destruction from Hurrican Katrina would slow the nation's economic growth by 1/2- percentage point, not the 1 percentage point the Congressional Budget Office has estimated. Meanwhile, the nation's productivity slowed in the spring while labor costs edged up, the Labor Department reported September 7. Productivity the amount of output per hour of work increased at a 1.8% annual rate in the second quarter, down from a 3.2% increase in the first quarter. At the same time, labor costs rose 2.5% in the spring, slightly higher than the 2.2% rate of increase in the first three months of the year. Wholesale inventories took a suprising dip in July, posting the weakest performance in 28 months, the Commerce Department said September 8. Inventories decreased by .1% after increasing the .4% in June. Wall Street analysts predicted a .6&% gain. U.S. service-sector businesses, however, surged in August, according to The Institute for Supply Management. Its non-manufacturing Index, issued Septmber 6, rose to 65% in August from July's 60.5%, the best reading since April 2004. Readings above 50% indicate growth. Rates on 30-year mortgages, after declining for three weeks, were unchanged last week while other types of mortgages dipped lower on expectations of slower economic growth in coming months. Courtesy - Bear Creek Mortgage Consultants
Bob Lees 303-670-3510 The Best Mortgage Calculators On the Web!  Please try our Java loan and mortgage calculators. They take a minute to load, but they are worth it! Each calculator has dynamic graphs and charts that change - right before your eyes - as you enter different information. Try each calculator with different interest rates, loan amounts, and payment schedules. The mortgage repayment schedule and other reports are fully customizable - just for your home, your interest rate, your loan amount, your taxes, and more. Would you like a print out, for your records and future reference? Each calculator includes a View Report button. Click it, hit print, and you have a report, customized just for you... Mortgage Tax Savings Calculator
Interest paid on a mortgage is tax deductible if you itemize on your on tax return. So are points that are paid to lower your interest rate. Use this calculator to determine how much you could save in income taxes. Click on the "View Report" button to view the results in detail.
Definitions
- Mortgage amount
- Original or expected balance for your mortgage. Taxpayers can deduct the interest paid on first and second mortgages up to $1,000,000 in mortgage debt (the limit is $500,000 if married and filing separately). Any interest paid on first or second mortgages over this amount is not tax deductible. Home equity loans are limited to $100,000 or the amount of equity you have in your home. Our calculator limits your interest deduction to the interest payment that would be paid on a $1,000,000 mortgage.
- Interest rate
- Annual interest rate for this mortgage.
- Interest rate after taxes
- Annual effective interest rate after taxes are taken into account. Please note that in addition to the $1,000,000 mortgage debt limit, this calculator assumes that your itemized deductions will exceed the standard deduction for your income tax filing status. If your itemized deductions don't exceed your standard deduction, the benefit of deducting the interest on your home will be reduced or eliminated. For 2002 the standard deductions were $7,850 for married couples filing jointly, $3,925 for married couples filing separately, $4,700 for singles, and $6,900 for heads of household. You should also be aware that the total tax savings may be less for higher incomes that have their allowable itemized deductions phased out.
- Term in years
- The number of years over which you will repay this loan. The most common mortgage terms are 15 years and 30 years.
- Monthly payment
- Monthly principal and interest payment (PI).
- Federal tax rate:
- The marginal federal tax rate you expect to pay.
- State tax rate:
- The marginal state tax rate you expect to pay.
- Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
- A standard calculation used by lenders. It is designed to help borrowers compare different loan options. For example, a loan with a lower stated interest rate may be a bad value if its fees are too high. Likewise, a loan with a higher stated rate with very low fees could be an exceptional value. APR calculations incorporate these fees into a single rate. You can then compare loans with different fees, rates or different terms.
- APR after taxes
- Annual percentage rate after taxes are taken into account. Unlike your after-tax interest rate, the APR after taxes takes closing costs into account.
- Loan origination percent
- The percent of your loan charged as a loan origination fee. For example, a 1% fee on a $120,000 loan would cost $1,200.
- Discount points
- Total number of "points" purchased to reduce your mortgage's interest rate. Each "point" costs 1% of your loan amount. As long as the points paid are not a broker's commission, they are considered tax deductible in the year that they were paid.
- Other fees
- Any other fees that should be included in the APR calculation. These fees can vary by lender, but at a minimum usually includes prepaid interest.
The mortgage calculators are provided by KJE Computer Solutions, LLC and made available to NUMBER1EXPERT as self-help tools for your independent use and are not intended to provide investment advice. We can't guarantee their applicability or accuracy in regards to your individual circumstances. All examples are hypothetical and are for illustrative purposes. We encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding all personal finance issues.
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