App for Tracking Tax-Deductible Donations

Ever made a donation of goods to a charity and wondered how to track and value those donated items?  Now there is an App for that.  UDoGood, available on the Apple AppStore allows you to track your donations of clothing, household items, cash, etc.  UDoGood is a simple way to document, photograph and record your charitable donations.  UDoGood also gives suggestions for determining the fair market value of your donations. At the end of the year you can email your list of donated goods to your tax preparer or to yourself. Read more

IRS Launches First Smartphone Apps

The IRS announced it has released its first smartphone application, IRS2GO. The app allows people to check their refund status, get daily tax tips, and follow the IRS news feed on Twitter all through their Apple or Android platform smartphones.

To check a refund status, users will need their social security number, filing status, and expected refund amount from their 2010 tax return. Per the IRS website, sensitive information such as social security numbers will be masked and encrypted for security. If you e-file your return you can use the app to check the status of your refund within 72 hours of the IRS’s acceptance of the return. Paper filers will have to wait 3-4 weeks.

The app will also let users subscribe to Tax Tips. The IRS issues tax tips daily during the filing season and periodically during the rest of the year. The tips are designed to be easy to understand and provide users with information on tax planning and preparation.

Finally, if you are so inclined, you can follow the IRS Twitter news feed, @IRSnews. The Twitter feed provides the latest news, tax law changes, and information on IRS programs in short, timely messages.

The app is free and can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or the Android Marketplace.

Useful Apps – Mint.com

This posting is the first in a line of posts dedicated to useful applications available through iTunes or other online application stores for use on your mobile devices or on the computer. Look for future posts flagged under the “Apps” category at LMGW.com!

This week’s App:

Mint.com

Mint.com is an online website that will aggregate various account information you have in order to put together a complete financial picture for you. After registering for a free account with mint.com, you will need to follow a simple setup process to register all of your financial accounts with mint.com. The vast majority of these require your online login and password that your normally use to access your accounts. You can supply mint.com with your checking and savings accounts, credit card accounts, auto loans, investment accounts, and other items. After you have registered, you can donwload and install the mint.com app on your mobile device. Now with the touch of a button you can easily access your account balances, receive notifications of expenses and withdrawals over your pre-defined limits, low balance alerts, and multiple other items all in one place! For those of you with accounts at several different institutions and who are looking for real-time data on their account balances, mint.com is a great (and free!) solution.

Of course mint.com does not take the place of normal financial housekeeping duties like budgeting, account reconciliations, and so forth. We always recommend you continue these best practices in order to stay on top of your spending and investment habits, but mint.com can be an added tool to keep you more aware of where you stand at any one moment.