Recently (August 2, 2001), the NewCity ran a fairly extensive article (see below) on searching for apartments in the Chicago area.  Part of the article concerned how to get crime statistics for a particular area.

The following are a couple of websites that provide some information on this.
 

• http://12.17.79.6/
• www.cityofchicago.org/CAPS/

The four major credit bureaus in the US. will be allowed, starting July 1, to release your credit info, mailing addresses, phone numbers to anyone who requests it.

You can, however, prevent credit card companies from releasing your personal information. According to the Federal Trade Commission,
 

"the national credit bureaus offer a toll-free number that enables consumers to opt-out of all pre-approved credit offers with just one phone call. Call 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688) for more information"

(See http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/protect.htm for more details.  The FTC's website corroborates that this phone number is correct.  The FTC, by the way, is a government organization and not a commercial one.  Note the "gov" part of the website address.)

The toll-free number asks for information such as phone number, confirmation of address, name, and social security number.  Note in particular that the first option to opt out is only for two years.  Make sure you wait until they prompt you to press '3' on your keypad to opt out for good.

You can also take care of anyone else in the household while making only one call; you'll just need to know their social security number.

It's also possible to prevent credit card companies from releasing your personal information by doing this in writing.

The following sources provide more information about this.

=====

Federal Trade Commission:

For more information on specific rules contained in the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you may go to the FTC web site at http://www.ftc.gov.

Consumer Protection
( www.ftc.gov/ftc/consumer.htm )

Privacy Initiatives
( www.ftc.gov/privacy )

Sample letter to forward to the credit agencies at
http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/cred-ltr.htm

Some further information about how other people can ruin your credit rating and what you can do
( http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/idtheft.htm )

=====

FreeCreditAdvice.com
( www.freecreditadvice.com/articles/260400_149.asp )

How To "Opt Out" Of Credit-Related Marketing Lists You have a right to request removal, or to "opt out," from marketing lists for credit card and insurance companies. The credit bureaus must honor your request in accordance with recent privacy amendments to the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). You can contact the credit bureaus and have them remove your name and address from major credit bureau lists for unsolicited credit and insurance offers for two years. If you wish to be removed for a more substantial length of time, complete and return an "opt-out" form, provided on request from the credit bureau, and you will be off these lists permanently. To request the "opt-out" form, you may call: 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688). This number is good for all three credit bureaus. A phone call or letter to any one of the three nationwide credit bureaus will get you off the lists as well. Write or phone:

Equifax Information Services
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
1 (800) 378-2732

Experian
National Consumer Assistance Center
P.O. Box 2104
Allen, TX 75013-0949
1 (888) EXPERIAN

Trans Union Corporation
P.O. Box 390
Springfield, PA 19064-0390
1 (800) 916-8800

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( www.co.henrico.va.us/police/opt-out.htm )

Telemarketing Fraud: "Operation Opt-Out"

In the United States there are three credit repositories, each with a geographic focus. On the East Coast, Equifax is the main bureau, with Experian (formerly TRW) in the central states, and TransUnion on the West Coast. All three repositories gather information on you, however the best, most complete report will generally come from the bureau focusing on the area in which you live. These three credit bureaus sell your personal information to direct marketers, and it can be categorized by a variety of parameters. Any subset of information that you can imagine can be pulled off of your credit report and sold - all without your knowledge or permission!

You can contact all three credit bureaus by one phone number: 1-888-5OPT-OUT, and request that your private credit information not be sold to anyone; this will be especially effective in reducing the number of credit card offers you receive.

You may also contact each credit bureau individually to receive a copy of your credit report. This task should be completed annually. While reviewing your credit report be particularly attentive to accounts that are open, but currently inactive. Closing these accounts will eliminate the risk of fraud and unauthorized use of this credit. Click Here for a sample letter to close inactive accounts. Equifax and Experian charge $8.00, while TransUnion charges $8.50 to Virginia residents. Free reports are available under the following circumstances:

Denial of employment, credit, or insurance within the past six months
Borrower certifies that they are unemployed or receiving public assistance
Borrower certifies that they suspect they are victims of fraud
Borrower is a resident of: Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey or Vermont.

Equifax, P.O. Box 105873, Atlanta, Georgia 30348, 1-800-685-1111 or online at www.equifax.com
Experian, P.O. Box 949, Allen, Texas 75013, 1-800-392-1122 or online at www.experian.com
TransUnion Corporation, P.O. Box 390, Springfield, Pennsylvania 19064, 1-800-851-2674 or online at www.tuc.com

To add a 100 word "Personal Statement", simply contact each credit bureau and ask them to add the statement. Usually, this is done to explain derogatory credit due to a major life event, but it can be used to alert for credit fraud (request personal contact before issuing credit).

If you do not wish to receive mail or telephone solicitations, including those pre-approved credit card offers, and long distance telephone offers, you can "Opt Out." To Opt Out, click on the following links:

Mail Preference Service
Phone Preferences Service

These requests are to be honored for five years after your notification. Please note that it is your responsibility to renew your requests every five years with the Direct Marketing Association.

Opting out will not end solicitations from local merchants, religious or charitable groups, professional and alumni associations, politicians, or companies with which you currently do business. Personal notification via mail and/or telephone is necessary to reduce solicitations from these organizations.

Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
doctrine of international copyright law.
 
 

back to the main page, http://www.math.uic.edu/~takata

Consumer Reports recently had an article (Sept. 2001) regarding product recalls on unsafe items for children.  Unfortunately, many product recalls are very poorly advertised and information is often not available.  Consumer Reports mentioned that the Consumer Federation of America attempted to consolidate this information at their website at http://www.SafeChild.net

The following a very brief summary of education tax credits which graduate students at UIC may be eligible for.  My purpose in writing up these notes is simply to alert people about some possibilities which may help lessen the amount of tax which they have to pay.  However, I am not a tax expert, and it is important to you verify and doublecheck the information which I include here.  I hope the information is helpful.  The usual disclaimer applies that these writings are simply my opinions, and don't imply responsibility for any consequential damages.  Please read the full disclaimer at the end.

Lifetime Learning Tax Credit relevant to graduate students, not Hope Credit
Because of the Hope and Lifetime Learning Credits which were started in the late 1990s, certain education expenses may qualify as tax credits (these are called qualified expenses).  From my understanding of the Hope and Lifetime Learning Tax Credit, the Hope Tax Credit applies to educational expenses of freshman and sophomores.  It doesn't seem to be applicable to graduate students.  However, the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit may apply to graduate students' educational expenses

What educational expenses are ``qualified expenses"?
Qualified expenses: Tuition, required fees
Not qualified expenses: books and supplies, MEDICAL and INSURANCE fees (even if required for enrollment).

Here is my guess about the particular expenses which UIC graduate students in the Math Department have and what qualifies and what doesn't qualify.

Expense        Does it qualify?
Tuition        my guess is yes
S-T-S          I don't know
Health Insur   my guess is no
Health Srv     my guess is no
General Fee    my guess is yes
Service Fee    my guess is yes
 

These are simply my guesses.  Also, this is a real abbreviation of this issue, and you should look at the literature that the IRS has on this if you are thinking about claiming a tax credit.

Note as well that one will most likely need to subtract the tuition wavers, grants, scholarships which you receive from the total qualified expenses. Keep in mind that the amount awarded to graduate students often covers not only the tuition but also the service fee.

How might this affect my taxes? and by how much?

My guess is that for the qualified expenses for a full academic year for graduate students in the Math. Dept. will be about $500-600.  Very approximately, my guess is that the TA-ships or RA-ships cover tuition and the service fee (this may be different for you).  This leaves only the general fee (and perhaps the S-T-S).  For a Spring, Summer, and Fall semester for a full year, this will be about $210+$130+$220=$560.  (Again, the amounts vary from semester to semester so these are only rough estimates.)  Under the Lifetime Learning Credit, one would multiply this figure, $560, by 0.2 to get about $112 as a tax credit.  From my understanding of this issue, since this is a tax credit, this can be deducted from the amount of tax you pay.  This is different from (and better than), for example, a deduction from one's income.

Do non-U.S. citizens qualify?
My understanding is that the issue isn't citizen compared with noncitizen, but resident compared with nonresident.  Non-U.S. citizens such as residents may qualify (but you should check this).  If you are an international student and you have to fill out the nonresident 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ Federal Tax Form, then I don't think you can get the Educational Tax Credit.

Is it possible to get educational tax credits (and possibly a refund) if one had qualified (educational) expenses and did not claim this on the 1999, 2000, and 2001 tax return?

My understanding is that one may file an ``amended return'' (see form 1040x for example).  Page 4 of the instruction booklet for 1040x has a section under the heading of Tax Liability.  Here it talks about line 7 of the 1040x form and says:

    ``Enter your total credits, such as...Education credits.''

This suggests to me that one may in fact claim educational tax credits for previous years if one did not do so on the original returns.  It is worth noting that amended returns are usually allowed for the past three years so if you wait until 2004 for example, you won't be able to file an amended return on let's say 1999.  To get the 1040x form and the instructions, go to www.irs.gov and search under 1040x.

My guess is that for many graduate students in the Math. Department, the qualified expenses for 1999 and 2000 are approximately $500 for each year.  The tax credit in such a case would be about $100 for each of these years.  (Of course, this is an approximation.  Your situation may be different.  Certainly, for most undergraduates, the situation will be in fact very different, and they will have more qualified expenses.)
 

Where do I go for more information?
My recommendation would be to go www.irs.gov and to look for IRS Form 8863 in particular.  I have tried to get information about what is and what isn't a qualified expense from Student Financial Services in SSB, but the people I spoke to in person didn't want to say very much.  There is a website for Student financial Services at www.sfs.uic.edu (see Student Login) in which you can log in and get information about your financial account with them.  I think the most relevant information can be found under the heading of TRA (Tax Relief Act).

The following places may also have some useful information.

1. IRS publication 970, also available at http://www.house.gov/ackerman/pdf/TaxBenefits.pdf
2. UC Berkeley's information which it provided to its students on this issue.  (Since the issue is a federal tax and not a state issue, I would think their information would be applicable to students in Illinois.)
3. UC San Diego's information for its students.

Lastly, I need to prepare for a conference which I will be attending in the near future.  For this reason, I am going to kindly ask people not to send me questions on this issue.
 

Disclaimer:

This is my understanding of educational tax credits.  I am not speaking on behalf of the federal government or any educational institution.  My sole purpose in distributing this information is simply to alert some people about possible tax credits which they may qualify for and also to propose a possible guess about the amount that this might be worth.  All statements and opinions should be doublechecked with authoritative sources (www.irs.gov).  To be as direct as possible about this, I'm not to be held accountable for any consequential damages which may result for interpreting this information.  It's your responsibility to verify these statements.  Having said that, I hope that the information will be useful.

Finally, this disclaimer has to accompany any copy of this information.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

copyright 2002 Ken Takata