Internet Links

Here are some great Web Sites

For example, visit: Track Your IRS Refund
• We don't necessarily endorse any of them, but find them useful for our purposes. 
• Want to know more? 
• Simply highlight the area of interest. 

Services
Administration on Aging AoA Programs - US Dept of Health & Human Services | Older Americans Act & Aging Network | Home & Community Based Long-Term Care | Elder Rights Protection | Health, Prevention, and Wellness Program | Special Projects | Tools & Resources | SUA/AAA Finder Organized and coordinated providing community based services. Local level - Area Agency on Aging | meals | care giving | house maintenance | case management

Aging with Dignity | Five Wishes | Combination Living Will & Health Power of Attorney The Five Wishes is a user-friendly document that serves as a combination living will and health power of attorney. It allows you to name the person you want to make medical decisions for you and to describe the medical treatment you want or don’t want, as well as your personal, emotional and spiritual needs for your end-of-life care and death. Five Wishes is America’s most popular living will & health power of attorney because it’s written in everyday language and helps people express their wishes in areas that matter most — the personal and spiritual in addition to the medical and legal. It also helps you describe what good care means to you, whether you are seriously ill or not. It allows your caregiver to know exactly what you want. | Completing Five Wishes is a gift to your family, friends and your doctor because it keeps them out of the difficult position of having to guess what kind of treatment you want or don’t want. 

Ask Jeeves We have found this search engine to be fairly good compared to other search engines. 

BenefitsCheckup.org A service of the National Council on Aging * Find Benefits Programs...Get all the benefits you deserve. Find and enroll in federal, state, local and private programs that help pay for prescription drugs, utility bills, meals, health care and other needs.

BizStats.com Instant access to useful financial ratios, business statistics & benchmarks. Effective, understandable analysis of businesses & industries. This benchmarking tool provides national average results of US Sole Proprietorships and does not include operating results for corporations, LLC's and larger entities. These are nationals averages only, individual results will differ, and the differences may be significant.

EIN Application EIN over the Internet is a Web-based application that allows employers to apply for and receive an EIN on-line. The SS-4 Form on this site can be filled out on line. The toll-free number for EIN's 866-860-2065 is up and running

Elder Care Locator Welcome to the Eldercare Locator, a public service of the U.S. Administration on Aging connecting you to services for older adults and their families. You can also reach us at 1-800-677-1116. Related Searches | Retirement Planning | Future Retirement Planning | Retirement Advisor | Nursing Home Directory | Retirement Home | Independent Living | Find a Doctor | Health Insurance | Retirement Community | Retirement Homes | Assisted Living Home

Exchange Authority The power of exchange. IRC 1031 "Qualified Intermediary"

FedForms Federal Government Forms Catalog

FedWorld John Q. Public meets Uncle Sam at FedWorld. You will find a wealth of government and business information-everything from government standards to 17,000 trade-related documents and up-to-date analyses of major U.S. industries.

IRS Video Portal | Tax Questions? Watch Videos - Get Answers Tax Questions? Watch Videos Get Answers -- Individuals | Small Businesses | Tax Professionals | Governments | Español | Learn about tax topics through video and audio presentations. Archived versions of live panel discussions • Archived webinars • Video clips • Audio archives of national phone forums

Mapquest.com Mapquest provides maps to and from desired destinations. The service also tells you the distance (in miles) and anticipated travel time. The service is free.

National Association To Stop Nursing Abuse Our website is a resource for families and individuals who may be facing nursing home abuse and neglect. We are trying to raise awareness about nursing home abuse and we need your help. Please consider placing a link to nursinghomeabuse.net on your website so that we can reach more people about this important topic.

National Family Caregivers Association The National Family Caregivers Association educates, supports, empowers and speaks up for the more than 65 million Americans who care for loved ones with a chronic illness or disability or the frailties of old age. NFCA reaches across the boundaries of diagnoses, relationships and life stages to help transform family caregivers' lives by removing barriers to health and well being.NFCA's core Caring Every Day messages are:
• Believe in Yourself.
• Protect Your Health.
• Reach Out for Help.
• Speak Up for Your Rights.

Rosalyn Carter said it best: “There are only four kinds of people in the world – those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers and those who will need caregivers”. Caregivers are needed for family members of all ages. With appropriate information and support, family caregivers can help their loved ones across the lifespan.

Offer-in-Compromise People having severe money problems can ask for a break on back taxes...can offer to settle their tax bill for less than the total amount owed.

Small Business Community This website focuses on small business owners and self-employed individuals and 
provides them assistance with an array of basic tax questions and issues.

Social Security Administration The Social Security Administration web site. This is a great place to request earnings reports or to ask questions about Social Security.

superpages.com Find addresses quickly using People Pages or do a reverse lookup based on telephone number.

Taxpayer Advocate When an ongoing tax issue can't be resolved through the usual IRS channels. When significant hardship could result unless tax relief is granted. This taxpayer may qualify to request a Taxpayer Advocate. Your Advocate will hear your point of view, take a fresh look at the situation and stay with you until those tax tangles are resolved fairly. This service can be requested for both individual and business taxpayers.

Track Your IRS Refund Track your refund. If you would like to know when you will be receiving your tax refund from federal and state, this is the place to check. IRS: Click here

Understanding Your IRS Notice or Letter Understanding Your IRS Notice or Letter

US Savings Bonds In 1990, the Treasury Department announced the "Education Bond Program." This program allows interest to be completely or partially excluded from Federal income tax when the bond owner pays qualified higher education expenses at an eligible institution or State tuition plan in the same calendar year the bonds are redeemed. Payments to State tuition plans have been eligible since January 1, 1998. Series EE bonds issued January 1990 and later, along with all Series I Bonds, are eligible for this program. You aren't required to indicate that you intend to use the bonds for educational purposes when you buy them, but make sure you meet the program's requirements, some of which apply when you buy the bond(s).

US Senate Keep up with active legislation in the Senate.

US Small Business Administration No matter what stage your business is at, you will find a wealth of information here on starting, running and expanding. Get step-by-step information on launching a business, find out about SBA loan programs, take an online course or register your business in Pro-Net for government contracting opportunities.

US Tax Center This is NOT the IRS government site. It is an independent tax source, providing information, forms and useful links. It also provides a link to tax professionals and contains filing software.

US Treasury Service One of the most frequently visited sites in America. The Internal Revenue Service has more than you would ever want to know regarding taxes. This government site contains information about taxation and forms that can be downloaded. Publication 17 (Your Federal Income Tax) provides instructions for completing Form 1040. Publication 554 (Older American's Tax Guide) offers detailed discussion of taxation issues of special interest to seniors. Publication 915 (Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits) offers a comprehensive discussion of the taxation of Social Security and railroad retirement benefits.

The Weather Channel This site provides weather local, national, and international weather forecasts.

Reverse Auction Sites
Ebay Ebay is one of the largest Internet companies that allows users to buy and sell goods. But beware...try as they might some users are not on the up and up.

Respond.com This reverse auction site allow you to tell many companies what you want and they will bid to get your business.

Research
AARP The Money and Work section of AARP's website contains information on financial planning, low-income help, reverse mortgages and Social Security.

Benefits Calculator This calculator is provided by the Social Security Administration.

Bob Brinker.com Bob Brinker leading you to the land of critical mass.

Bureau of Labor Statistics Economy at a glance, career guides, jobs, inflation and spending.

CNN News sites do not get more thorough than this. You will find up-to-the-minute coverage of the latest news events, complete with audio, video, and tons of links to related stories and background material. CNN Remote delivers news updates to your Desktop every five minutes.

Dave Ramsey Life & Money | Business & Leadership | Kids & School Curriculum | Church Leaders

Estate Planning Links A helpful consumer site regarding general estate planning information.

Faith Communities Many faith communities fulfill a strong social role in providing services to seniors. Churches may run adult day care programs or provide meals or shelter. Organizations such as Catholic Charities and Jewish Family Services often have some care management and companion services available for seniors.

Federal Non-For-Profit Status Is my donation deductible? Verify charity exemption status:

Federal Trade Commission Check out the FTC's section on "Consumer Protection," including a quiz on investments.

Financial Engines Financial Engines offers a web-based calculator, developed by Nobel Prize winner William F. Sharpe, professor emeritus at Stanford University. The calculator analyzes relative portfolio risk and the probability of reaching retirement financial goals with a given portfolio. It also allows the user to modify assumptions about returns, asset class selections and retirement dates to project the likelihood that certain actions will increase the likelihood of achieving retirement goals.

Find Law This site provides general information on estate planning and the opportunity to locate an attorney who specializes in estate planning.

Forbes Read up on the latest business news, then check out the Starting Your Own Business articles in the Small-Business Center for ideas and advice.

Khan Academy With over 3,200 videos on everything from arithmetic to physics, finance, and history and hundreds of skills to practice, we're on a mission to help you learn what you want, when you want, at your own pace. 

Kiplinger's Surf Kiplinger's website for new ideas on investing, managing money, spending, and informative articles.

Last Wishes Final Arrangements I know no one likes to think about this, as if thinking about it might cause it to happen, but your physical existence is going to end one day. More often than not, it's a total surprise when it happens and no one, including the deceased, is prepared for all that comes next.Personal Fact Sheet | Simple Will | Living Trust | Pour Over Will | Advance Health Care Directive | Living Will | Health Care (Durable) Power of Attorney | Power of Attorney | Organ Donation | Funeral Home Arrangements | Treatment of the Body | Memorial Services | Notification | Additional Information | Links

Medicare Medicare's website offers detailed information on its programs, as well as Medicaid enrollment, qualifications and benefits.

Money Magazine Click on "Retirement"

MSSP The Market Segment Specialization Program focuses on developing highly trained examiners for a particular market segment. A market segment may be an industry such as construction or entertainment, a profession like attorneys or real estate agents or an issue like passive activity losses. An integral part of the approach used is the development and publication of Audit Techniques Guides. These Guides contain examination techniques, common and unique industry issues, business practices, industry terminology and other information to assist examiners in performing examinations.

National Association of Enrolled Agents A network of 10,000 tax experts serving individuals and companies. Responsive and respectful to diversity and client needs. Representing over 5 million US taxpayers.

National Network of Estate Planning Atorneys This site provides general information on estate planning and the opportunity to locate an attorney who specializes in estate planning.

National Society of Accountants "Bringing you the latest on the accounting and tax profession."

NOLO - Law for All This site contains broad information on estate planning, trusts, probate, wills, estate and gift taxes and incapacity.

OSHA OSHA's pages provide a wealth of information related to the agency's workplace safety standards and regulations.

Qualified State Tuition Plans (Section 529 Plans) QSTP earnings will be tax-free if spent on qualifying education -- in this case college only. Each state has its own, and there are several differences in the details from state to state.

Resource for Non-Profits Scanned images of all 990's and 990PF's filed with the IRS

Self Growth.com Extraordinary tools for self-improvement and natural brilliance.

SmartMoney, Estate Planning section This site includes consumer information, articles and calculators for net worth and estate taxes.

Social Security - When is the Right Time? A Web site developed by Boston University professor Laurence Kotlikoff and other economists. You find the case studies by first clicking on the "Learn More" link at the site.

Suze Orman What You Need Today To Protect Your Tomorrows

Tax Prophet News, articles, interactive research, monthly articles and published writings.

Tax Scams The IRS established a web site designed to alert tax practitioners and taxpayers to tax scams and fraud schemes. The website highlights priorities for Criminal Investigation (CI). Current focus is abusive foreign and domestic trusts, employment tax evasion, and nonfilers.

TAXSites.com This site is a tax and accounting site directory and features an extensive list of federal guidelines to help with tax preparation.

Test Your Money $marts The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has developed an interactive quiz for students, "Test Your Money $marts." And for those already in the stock market, check out the information on consumer protection, listed under "Investor Assistance and Complaints."

THOMAS - Contact Info for all Members of Congress THOMAS Library of Congress Website - Government contacts. THOMAS was launched in January of 1995, at the inception of the 104th Congress. The leadership of the 104th Congress directed the Library of Congress to make federal legislative information freely available to the public. Since that time THOMAS has expanded the scope of its offerings to include the features and content listed below. Bills :: Resolutions :: Activity in Congress :: Congressional Record ::Schedules :: Calendars :: Committee Information :: Presidential Nominations :: Treaties :: Government Resources For Teachers :: Help and Contact

Truth About Frivilous Tax Arguments Quatloos! Why pay taxes? "The Truth About Frivolous Tax Arguments" responds to some of the more common frivolous "legal" arguments made by individuals and groups who oppose compliance with the federal tax laws. These arguments are grouped under six general categories, with variations within each category. Each contention is briefly explained, followed by a discussion of the legal authority that rejects the contention. A final section explains the penalties that the courts may impose on those who pursue tax cases on frivolous grounds.

US Government Search This is a search engine specifically for U.S. Government information.

US House of Representatives Keep up with active legislation in the House.

USA TODAY.com Timely information for small business people.

White House This is the web site of the President of the United States. Want to hear, first hand, what the President is saying? Or want a tour of the White House? This is the place.

Worker Status Classify independent contractors at inception.