3rd Annual AT Tax Time Thread

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: CPA

Originally posted by: spidey07
Thanks eaglekeeper...

So a single bet win in 2005, but not cashed until 2006 can be filed in 2006? Normally cashing it in 2006 is when you sign the papers. I ask because I hit a single bet 2,000 winning ticket on 12/31/05 but of course couldn't cash it becuase I didn't have my social security card with me and am wondering if I should claim that on 2005 or 2006.

"bet win finally completed" means exchange of winning ticket for cash, correct?

to that end, what audit flags would be raised? I'm not trying any funny business as i can verify that loss > win. Just wanting to know.

-edit-
you guys rock for doing this every year. Ever need network or AV help please PM me.
:thumbsup:

If you received the W2g with a 2005 date, then you will need to report it in 2005. And you can report losses to the extent of your winnings. So my guess is you won't have to pay any taxes on your winnings (you can show $2k in losses, can't you?)

Thanks. Just want to make sure I get my wins/losses in the correct year.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger
My wife worked as a teacher for a Christian Academy for a few months last year. They didn't take any Federal taxes from her paycheck. Does this qualify as "Religious Work?" I'm thinking not, as the School is run separately from the Church and charges tuition, etc.

Were no taxes withheld or just no Federal Income tax.
Are you basing this info from her W2 or her last paystub in 2005?

Either way; tax will be required on the income; hopefully you will not be hit with any underpayment penalties.

On her W2. Just no federal income tax - SS and Medicare were both deducted. We're only talking about $~1500 total. I figured my taxes both ways, and we're only talking about a ~$200 difference in refund.

I assumed we'd have to pay those taxes, I just wanted to make sure we weren't shooting ourselves in the foot by paying too much.

Thanks.

 

[cpals]

Originally posted by: cpals
Quick question... I 'retired' from my previous job and they had ESOP plan and I cashed in all my stock early. A couple days ago I got two 1099-B slips stating the two cash numbers that I got back. Today I received a 1099-R and in the gross distribution box it is the total of the two slips and then in the taxable amount it's a smaller number.

What do I use for my taxes?? All three (which doesn't make sense) or just the 1099-R?

Thanks.

I got skipped.

 

[horatiub]

If I'm a realtor, on Schedule C, do I use the name of the business as my name, and my business address as my home office? I'm a little confused about this. I'm not sure if I have to use my broker's address. Can somebody help me? Thanks

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: horatiub
If I'm a realtor, on Schedule C, do I use the name of the business as my name, and my business address as my home office? I'm a little confused about this. I'm not sure if I have to use my broker's address. Can somebody help me? Thanks

The information is more for your reference than anything else.

Sometimes one will have a seperate place of business (office location) and "proper business name".

Just use your name and mailing address.

 

[horatiub]

thank you. Also, can you tell me if it's a good idea to write off my home use as a business deduction? I know that certain criteria have to be met. Can I also write off things that i use in the house such as Internet line, fax line ? Cell phone use I'm assuming is deductible, anything else that I'm missing?

 

[Mark]

im sure this has been asked plenty of times, but what sthe fastest way to get my refund back? i heard there was a way to do it electronically? also, im not comfortable doing my own taxes.


thx

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: horatiub
thank you. Also, can you tell me if it's a good idea to write off my home use as a business deduction? I know that certain criteria have to be met. Can I also write off things that i use in the house such as Internet line, fax line ? Cell phone use I'm assuming is deductible, anything else that I'm missing?

(hopefully, I'm helping Eaglekeeper and CPA with this one) Some of the tax software goes through this fairly thoroughly. Do you use a room in your house for business purposes? If so, then I believe the square foot percentage of the house can be applied to utilities, mortgage, etc. You do not get to write off the whole home as a business expense.

 

[DrPizza]

Thanks for the help earlier in the thread!

Related question:
Last year, purchased a new house; we rent out our first house.
Major hassles involved in the purchase of the property (a foreclosure property)...
Lender required a signed lease from our future tenant for the rental of our first home, in order to secure a mortgage commitment for the 2nd home - time was of the essence, we didn't have time to avoid this with another lender)

Lease went into effect after *anticipated* closing date.
Unfortunately, as things go, closing was delayed.
To fulfill our obligations under the lease, we moved all of our stuff to storage units and moved in with my in-laws until we closed.
Otherwise, we'd have moved our possessions directly from house 1 to house 2.

The question: As the storage expense was due to the contractual obligation to our tenant, can it be claimed as an expense toward renting that home out? Or does it fall under some sort of "unforeseen moving expenses" (which we can't claim because we only moved 20 miles)

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: Mark
im sure this has been asked plenty of times, but what sthe fastest way to get my refund back? i heard there was a way to do it electronically? also, im not comfortable doing my own taxes.

thx

Electronical filing will have a refund back in about 2-4 weeks at the present time.
If you are able to get a drivers license (reading comprehension) and have a HS education you should be able to tackle your taxes.

Tax S/W (PC or Web) will pretty much walk you through all the steps needed.
Unless you have a complicated setup you should be able to finish within an hour after all paperwork had been collected related to income and expenses.

If you are flush with money; tax prep services like Jackson Hewlitt (WalMart), H&R Block and a multitude of others will be happy to remove between $50-$100 from your pocket to do your taxes (Federal Only - State +$35) and e-file them for you.

 

[DrPizza]

Waited to pay city property taxes (due August) until they were re-levied with the county taxes - so, I paid the 2005 taxes, but the payment was actually made in Jan 2006. - I deduct this *next* year?

(for what it's worth, the payment was a day late (ooops), and rather than just billing me for $2.60 in late fees, they returned the entire payment. I was irritated with the city, so while they whined about people paying late, I ate the $20 in total fees for paying it late. Take that, city!)

 

[GoPackGo]

If I bought a manufactured home in 2002 for 63000 and sold it for 57000 in 2005 (the amount I owed - I received no cash) - what are my tax implications?

Any way I can deduct the loss?

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Thanks for the help earlier in the thread!

Related question:
Last year, purchased a new house; we rent out our first house.
Major hassles involved in the purchase of the property (a foreclosure property)...
Lender required a signed lease from our future tenant for the rental of our first home, in order to secure a mortgage commitment for the 2nd home - time was of the essence, we didn't have time to avoid this with another lender)

Lease went into effect after *anticipated* closing date.
Unfortunately, as things go, closing was delayed.
To fulfill our obligations under the lease, we moved all of our stuff to storage units and moved in with my in-laws until we closed.
Otherwise, we'd have moved our possessions directly from house 1 to house 2.

The question: As the storage expense was due to the contractual obligation to our tenant, can it be claimed as an expense toward renting that home out? Or does it fall under some sort of "unforeseen moving expenses" (which we can't claim because we only moved 20 miles)

Moving Expenses are intended for change of location due to work requirements.

The storage fees would be directly related to the rental unit.
Tax S/W using Schedule E will walk you through most of the line items for rental property.
Remember that automobile use related to the retnal becomes an expense against the rental income.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Waited to pay city property taxes (due August) until they were re-levied with the county taxes - so, I paid the 2005 taxes, but the payment was actually made in Jan 2006. - I deduct this *next* year?

(for what it's worth, the payment was a day late (ooops), and rather than just billing me for $2.60 in late fees, they returned the entire payment. I was irritated with the city, so while they whined about people paying late, I ate the $20 in total fees for paying it late. Take that, city!)

Property taxes are deductible for the year based on the date paid.
The $20 satisfaction penalty :evil: is not

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: GoPackGo
If I bought a manufactured home in 2002 for 63000 and sold it for 57000 in 2005 (the amount I owed - I received no cash) - what are my tax implications?

Any way I can deduct the loss?

The loss on a sale of primary housing can not be deducted.
At least you were able to deduct any interest and property taxes on it when you had it.

 

[Starbuck1975]

Seperate returns just split the interest earned however you choose to. Either 50/50 or based on income precentage. You had better make sure that you can file her as a dependant. There are a set of test conditions that must be met. If any one answer is in the grey area and Uncle comes a knocking; there will be heck to pay.

Thank you all for your assistance so far...as an extension of this discussion, would it be easier for us to just file a joint return?

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: Starbuck1975

Seperate returns just split the interest earned however you choose to. Either 50/50 or based on income precentage. You had better make sure that you can file her as a dependant. There are a set of test conditions that must be met. If any one answer is in the grey area and Uncle comes a knocking; there will be heck to pay.

Thank you all for your assistance so far...as an extension of this discussion, would it be easier for us to just file a joint return?

You are not legally married for 2005.

 

[Electric Amish]

Ok, here's my question...

Is the the interest paid towards a loan for a Timeshare deductible?

How about the annual maintenance charges?

TIA

 

[Starbuck1975]

You are not legally married for 2005.

So then we have no choice but to file seperate returns, and then use one of the methods you already recommended to document our joint checkings/savings account?

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: Electric Amish
Ok, here's my question...

Is the the interest paid towards a loan for a Timeshare deductible?

How about the annual maintenance charges?

TIA

The interest better be, because I'm doing it. As long as you don't rent it out, you're safe.

The maintenance charge is not, though the portion paid for property taxes is.

 

[Electric Amish]

Originally posted by: CPA

Originally posted by: Electric Amish
Ok, here's my question...

Is the the interest paid towards a loan for a Timeshare deductible?

How about the annual maintenance charges?

TIA

The interest better be, because I'm doing it. As long as you don't rent it out, you're safe.

The maintenance charge is not, though the portion paid for property taxes is.

Ok, cool!

Now to get an interest statement from RCI. I haven't seen one yet.

 

[upsciLLion]

I'm trying to determine if my parents can still claim me as a dependent. I'd really rather not have them do so because I lose $800 off my return including a deduction for $1500 of tuition I paid for out of pocket in September.

My dad paid for two quarters of tuition last year, and I paid for one as well as books for the entire year. I lived at home for 9 months, the other 3 I had moved for an internship and paid for everything myself (rent was $560/mo + utilities on top of that). I pay my own auto insurance, gas, cell phone bill, and buy all my own clothes.

Any insight would be appreciated.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: upsciLLion
I'm trying to determine if my parents can still claim me as a dependent. I'd really rather not have them do so because I lose $800 off my return including a deduction for $1500 of tuition I paid for out of pocket in September.

My dad paid for two quarters of tuition last year, and I paid for one as well as books for the entire year. I lived at home for 9 months, the other 3 I had moved for an internship and paid for everything myself (rent was $560/mo + utilities on top of that). I pay my own auto insurance, gas, cell phone bill, and buy all my own clothes.

Any insight would be appreciated.

Why not work together with your parents - calculate the taxes both ways - with you as a dependent, and with you individually. Go with whichever combination has the highest total return.

 

[anno]

my son is a freshman in college.
for 2005 taxes, he has scholarships = 3250 and allowable expenses on his 1098 = 3847.50, so there was no taxable income there.
he took a disbursement from a mutual fund (3600) to cover some of his room/board expenses so there is some dividend income but well below the amount of income that would be taxable.
he had no other income.
so I'm thinking there's no need for him to file. correct?

what I'm wondering is if we can claim the hope credit.. since it's only good for first 2 years.. for that not quite 600 difference between his scholarship funds and his eligible expenses.

also there was information in a response to fooshkee on 1/24 regarding scholarship income indicating that the cost of textbooks could be excluded/considered eligible expenses and I believe that used to be the case but what I'm reading in publication 970 seems to indicate that is no longer true. verification on that? my daughter is more generously funded and due to weirdnesses in the university's reporting methods, is looking at a taxable overage in excess of 10k this tax year and while it isn't a huge help, being able to minus her book costs from that would help some.. but it doesn't look to me like it's allowable.


anno

 

[DAM]

Is there a way to efile if your AIG is more than 50K?



dam(thanks)