Tax season is here and making it easy for taxpayers to understand and file their taxes is a top priority for the North Carolina Department of Revenue (NCDOR). Providing the correct information and remembering a few simple tips will help ensure you have an error-free tax return that can be processed quickly and correctly.

NCDOR offers the following easy tips and recommendations as you prepare your taxes this year.

The Franklin Board of Realtors held its Christmas Celebration Dec. 14, at the Dillard House.

Several achievement awards were bestowed during the event.

Jamie Stamey with Unique Properties was voted Realtor of the Year, Derik Shuler of Keller Williams Realty received the Rookie of the Year Award and the three inductees to the Hall of Fame were April Moore of Unique Properties and Ron Markham and Lori Newton of Prudential Markham Bankston Realtors.

To achieve investment success, you don’t have to start out with a huge sum or “get lucky” by picking “hot” stocks. In fact, very few people actually travel those two routes. But in working toward your investment goals, you need to be persistent — and one of the best ways to demonstrate that persistence is to invest automatically.

How do you become an “automatic” investor? You simply need to have your bank automatically move money each month from a checking or savings account into the investments of your choice. When you’re first starting out in the working world, you may not be able to afford much, but any amount — even if it’s just $50 or $100 a month — will be valuable. Then, as your career progresses and your income rises, you can gradually increase your monthly contributions.

After a campaign by consumer advocates and state leaders, a bank dropped its harmful payday lending program in North Carolina.

Payday loans have been illegal in North Carolina for more than a decade, but that hasn’t stopped all payday lending. For the past year, Regions Bank has used federal banking law to offer payday loans that are illegal for any other lender to make in our state. These loans carried, on average, an annual percentage rate (APR) of 365 percent. Now, after significant pressure from consumer advocates and the state Attorney General’s office, Regions has quietly dropped its payday lending program for North Carolina customers.