My fiance', 39 is in a doctoral program. She received a 1098-T form for her tuition paid from her pocket. TurboTax is telling us she cannot deduct this because her AGI is over 80K. Is this correct?
I started life insurance sales part time in the last quarter of 2009 as I do have a full time job as a computer multimedia specialist
While my first life insurance sale was actually made in January 2010, I started to network and build business relationships in the last quarter of 2009 so that once I had all the needed paperwork complete, I could immediately sell. I could of had 2 quick sales in 2009 but the people wanted to wait until the new year.
Can I file Schedule C for 2009 for the following expenses incurred.
This was all done between September - December 2009
- Fee for Life Insurance/Annuity class/material taken at a professional training center - paid sept 8
- Fee for Life Insurance/Annuity exam taken at a testing center - paid nov 23
- Fee for State license for 2 years - paid dec 7
- Fee for Liability Insurance - paid dec 23
My out of pocket expense to start selling life insurance was slightly over $1k
Can I do the following on schedule C - I put $0 for the income section. Under expenses line 15, I put my liability insurance cost. On line 23, i put my state license cost, and in line 27, i put my class/material from the training center fee and exam fee. Is this ok? So my net loss is just slightly over $1k
Any help on how to claim these expenses would be great. Thanks
You have the procedure down pat.
Also, you can deduct the costs related to this from Sept thru Dec.
Expenses to research the decision - any travel costs (mileage or auto related expenses).
Proportional internet, computer, phone (land and cell) costs based on time or use for the insurance vs personal use.
Have you looked at advertising (cards, flyers, ads,internet web page,magnetic signs, etc)
Cost to line up the clients in '09.
I would expect that your net loss will well exceed the 1K that you originally thought.
You have the procedure down pat.
Also, you can deduct the costs related to this from Sept thru Dec.
Expenses to research the decision - any travel costs (mileage or auto related expenses).
Proportional internet, computer, phone (land and cell) costs based on time or use for the insurance vs personal use.
Have you looked at advertising (cards, flyers, ads,internet web page,magnetic signs, etc)
Cost to line up the clients in '09.
I would expect that your net loss will well exceed the 1K that you originally thought.
thanks. someone was telling me to depreciate the cost over 5 years? Is this also correct? I prefer just to take the loss all in 1 year just so that I don't have to remember to depreciate every year. My only issue is since I have no business income in 2009 for schedule C, will I have a greater risk of being flagged for audit as I have a loss. I have all my paperwork to back up the expenses, but just a pain if I have to go through an audit.
Depreciation is used for physical assets obtained for the business.
There is a Section 179 (IRS guideline) that allows a business to write off expenditures on equipment in that year up to a certain limit.
What you initially identified is the equivalent to disposable assets which have no physical value - they get expensed off in the year obtained.
The amount that you are writing off against no income will not be a issue the first year. However, showing no income afterwards would raise a flag.
And you are expect to show some profit in at least 1 out of the first 5 years.
Otherwise such is determined to be a hobby and losses are not allowed to be expensed
My wife owns two houses which one is the primary house and the other is rental. She acquired these homes 10 years ago and they were hers before we got married. We just got a house in January in which it will be our primary, and her old primary will be the secondary. The rental will stay a rental.
Someone told us that we cant qualify for the $8000 first time homeowners credit because I didnt own the home along with my wife but they said that we can qualify for the long term residence credit of $6500 since her primary residence has been over 5 years. Our tax preparer doesnt think we qualify for any. What is the correct assessment for our situation? Are there limitations to the rules? TIA
My wife owns two houses which one is the primary house and the other is rental. She acquired these homes 10 years ago and they were hers before we got married. We just got a house in January in which it will be our primary, and her old primary will be the secondary. The rental will stay a rental.
Someone told us that we cant qualify for the $8000 first time homeowners credit because I didnt own the home along with my wife but they said that we can qualify for the long term residence credit of $6500 since her primary residence has been over 5 years. Our tax preparer doesnt think we qualify for any. What is the correct assessment for our situation? Are there limitations to the rules? TIA
Q. I am a long-time homeowner of a principal residence and my spouse is a long-time homeowner of a different principal residence. Can we qualify for the long-time resident homebuyer credit if we purchase a new principal residence?
A. No. Both spouses must have owned and used the same previous principal residence for five consecutive years out of the eight-year period ending on the date of purchase of the new principal residence to be eligible for the credit. Since you and your spouse owned and used different principal residences, neither of you qualify. (12/14/09)
From a planning stand point. IF you have depreciable items you can take, I would not take the Sec 179 expense election since you have no income. I would use that depreciation in 2010 to offset some of your income then. That is, if you have assets to depreciate : ) Just my opinion.thanks for the info. This year, I'm hoping to show a profit. I have a few policies already under my belt so I definitely made income. Not sure if my expenses would take away all the profit but I still have 9 months to go
So am i good to file then
From a planning stand point. IF you have depreciable items you can take, I would not take the Sec 179 expense election since you have no income. I would use that depreciation in 2010 to offset some of your income then. That is, if you have assets to depreciate : ) Just my opinion.
Making work pay/government retiree credits = $800
I'm using Taxact and it is showing this credit and I'm not sure how my wife and I qualified for it. We are not retirees.
I've ran through the wizard for this deduction and we are asked 2 questions:
1. The economic recovery payment was a one-time payment of $250 made in 2009 to individuals receiving social security benefits, supplemental security income, railroad retirement benefits or veterans disability compensation or pension benefits. Indicate below if this payment was received by you in 2009
Our answer is No for both
2. Government retirees are allowed a $250 credit ($500 for a joint return where both spouse are government retirees). A government retiree is an individual who received a pension or annuity in 2009 for services performed as an employee of the United States Government or any U.S. state or local government from work not covered by social security.
Our answer is No for both
After answering No to both questions it says our credit is $800
We are stuck on this.
It is an extra handout. Some people that fell into those categories received that money during the year
Because the unearned income is over $10; you are required to report it.
File away.
From 568's link, we don't qualify for first time homebuyers, however from your link onza, it would seem that we may qualify for the long term however I don't quite get what the IRS's definition of "ownership interest" per the situation below from their website.
My wife and I have claimed her primary house on our joint tax returns for the past 3 years. Would that be considered "ownership interest" or does "ownership interest" mean by traditional standards, name on title or loan or both?
Q. I am a long-time resident and current homeowner and my spouse is a first-time homebuyer (has had no ownership interest in a principal residence during the three-year period ending on the date of purchase of a new principal residence) and we purchased a new principal residence. Can we qualify for either the first-time homebuyer credit or the long-time resident homebuyer credit if we purchase a new principal residence?
A. No. Both you and your spouse must be first-time homebuyers in order to qualify for the first-time homebuyer tax credit. Since you had an ownership interest in a principal residence during the three-year period ending on the date of purchase, neither you nor your spouse qualifies for the credit. Similarly, both you and your spouse must be long-time homeowners of the same previous principal residence in order to qualify for the long-time resident homebuyer credit. Since your spouse is not a long-time homeowner of your current principal residence, neither of you qualify for the credit. (12/14/09)
I was unemployed for all of 2009. No W-2s, nothing. However, I have a nonqualified account with a mutual fund company that generated a 1099-DIV. The total ordinary dividends and qualified dividends, etc. all add up to about $60 (very small account).
Do I need to file taxes?
I went through the turbotax free edition thing online and at the end, I owed $0 federal and $0 state, but I didn't click "file taxes" yet because I didn't know if I have to.
Thanks Eaglekeeper! One more thing I want to ask - Do I need to file both federal and state?