9th Annual Tax Thread - 2011

[EagleKeeper]

Ah, thanks a lot. The transfer taxes and government recording charge I had no idea about.

What about the appraisal fee?

I am asking because when I was trying to using the H&R block, it *did* mention and have a section to place a deduction for home appraisals. It was $450 paid by me directly prior to closing.

I have Block at home, will check and respond

 

[EagleKeeper]

Desktop computer, one laser printer.

last year i deduced the appropriate energy/internet/phone based on the square footage of the office/vs my home

Maintenance costs for house/property
House insurance (proportional)
Furniture depreciation
Depreciation
Internet & Phone for one person does not require a percentage
Vehicle Expenses (proportional based on mileage) as related either direct or mileage based, depending on which is better. Expenses include insurance/registration/maintenance.

 

[j&j]

Maintenance costs for house/property
House insurance (proportional)
Furniture depreciation
Depreciation
Internet & Phone for one person does not require a percentage
Vehicle Expenses (proportional based on mileage) as related either direct or mileage based, depending on which is better. Expenses include insurance/registration/maintenance.

I have no idea how to depreciate furniture/computer assets, and they wouldn't be all that big really.

Vehicle expenses seems very vague to me, I did do some maintenance on my jeep which i use to go back and forth from UPS/to meet customers, but never really recorded exact mileage and couldn't prove it...

I also replaced my HVAC system, so I could write that completely off? It was over 3K.

Anyway, I need to figure out how to drop my AGI by over 10K, so I'm still skeptical I can get there...

 

[spidey07]

Sold wife's house, bought new one, kept mine (but will be selling this year). She passes the ownership test of her house living there at least 3 years of the last 5. Drivers license and everything else(bills, banking, etc) proves this.

No cap gains tax on proceeds of her sale, correct? What should we keep for documentation in case of audit many years down the road? Or can I simply rely on drivers license/DMV record keeping.

Are there any deductions I can take on the sale of hers and/or purchase of our new one? Agent fees, costs of getting house ready to sell/repairs, moving expenses to new one, etc. This is all personal, no business reasons.

Thanks.

 

[mwtgg]

I bolded the ares in your HUD-1 that are deductible.
Taxes are paid out in advance - should be under #107

Real Estate Taxes and Daily Interest Charges are deductible. Transfer taxes (stamps) and government recording charges are not deductible. They add to the basis of the property.

 

[mwtgg]

Ah, thanks a lot. The transfer taxes and government recording charge I had no idea about.

What about the appraisal fee?

I am asking because when I was trying to using the H&R block, it *did* mention and have a section to place a deduction for home appraisals. It was $450 paid by me directly prior to closing.

Appraisal Fees are not deductible either. Since there seems to be a ton of confusion regarding what is and isn't deductible when it comes to the purchase/sale of homes, please see this chart:

http://www.filedropper.com/settlementsheetdeductibilitysummary

 

[AznAnarchy99]

If your W2 income puts you above the dependent level; she can not claim you.
If your income is below the dependent level and you pass the other tests; she has the option to claim you.

Maybe you can agree to cover the difference in her taxes if you are not a dependent (only if she can legally claim you)

Look at the detailed rules for claiming a dependent and go over it with her if there is a dispute.

If you claim single and she claims dependent; the IRS will send a statement asking for clarification. If the two of you do not come to an agreement they will look at what ever documentation is provided and make a decision. It is also a perfect way to trigger an audit for the next few years

Well I tried talking to her and she wants to claim me as a dependent to take whatever credits she can. Im pretty annoyed at this point. She gets a nice hefty refund every year but doesnt aid me financially in anyway. I havent lived with her in years and she doesnt pay for anything in my life.

What's the W2 income level that would put me above the dependent level?

 

[EagleKeeper]

Real Estate Taxes and Daily Interest Charges are deductible. Transfer taxes (stamps) and government recording charges are not deductible. They add to the basis of the property.

You may be right - I have always used that it if is listed as TAX and paid to the government and not a private party, it is deductible.

IRS provided that advice when I purchased first house.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Well I tried talking to her and she wants to claim me as a dependent to take whatever credits she can. Im pretty annoyed at this point. She gets a nice hefty refund every year but doesnt aid me financially in anyway. I havent lived with her in years and she doesnt pay for anything in my life.

What's the W2 income level that would put me above the dependent level?

Below are the IRS guidelines for dependency as a child.

1. The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother,
stepsister, or a descendant of any of them.

2. The child must be

• under age 19 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse, if filing jointly),
• under age 24 at the end of the year, a full-time student, and younger than you (or your spouse, if filing jointly), or
• any age if permanently and totally disabled.

3. The child must have lived with you for more than half of the year. (unless a student)

4. The child must not have provided more than half of his or her own support for the year.

5. The child is not filing a joint return for the year (unless that joint return is filed only as a claim for refund).




If #3 or 4 applies to you - point it outIRS 501 - Table 5

 

[alkemyst]

Anyway I can clear out $2200 I owe? I only paid about $1000 in mortgage interest so I am not hitting the deduction threshold despite close to $6000 in donations

I did have a side business for 3 months assisting another trying to get his consulting company off the ground. That made $900, but had less than 70miles of mileage.

I sold the car that I used for that business, but I am not actively participating in it anymore.

Thanks

 

[highland145]

Anyway I can clear out $2200 I owe? I only paid about $1000 in mortgage interest so I am not hitting the deduction threshold despite close to $6000 in donations

I did have a side business for 3 months assisting another trying to get his consulting company off the ground. That made $900, but had less than 70miles of mileage.

I sold the car that I used for that business, but I am not actively participating in it anymore.

Thanks

Can you retro pay into an HSA and is the whole amount deductible or just the disbursements? $6150 for 2011.

 

[steppinthrax]

I'm missing my W-2. Employer is going to be real late in sending it. Anyway I'm filing out form 4852. I need to calculate my SS wages and Medicare wages. I was told that it's pretty much my Gross wages. But I was also told other things are subtracted from the Gross wage to equal SS and Medicare wages.

 

[steppinthrax]

I'm missing my W-2. Employer is going to be real late in sending it. Anyway I'm filing out form 4852. I need to calculate my SS wages and Medicare wages. I was told that it's pretty much my Gross wages. But I was also told other things are subtracted from the Gross wage to equal SS and Medicare wages.

Never mind, i just got it !!!!

 

[IHAVEAQUESTION]

$28 for state filing? I don't remember TurboTax Freedom charging that much last year. Maybe I had a coupon back then.

Anyone know a cheap or free alternative for Washington, DC resident?

 

[postmark]

Appraisal Fees are not deductible either. Since there seems to be a ton of confusion regarding what is and isn't deductible when it comes to the purchase/sale of homes, please see this chart:

http://www.filedropper.com/settlementsheetdeductibilitysummary

I don't think that link is working, or at least the PDF that is linked there is 0B. Can you upload again?

 

[EagleKeeper]

$28 for state filing? I don't remember TurboTax Freedom charging that much last year. Maybe I had a coupon back then.

Anyone know a cheap or free alternative for Washington, DC resident?

Most tax S/W charges you for state support. Either on the back end or up front.

Best option if you are willing to go w/ paper is borrow someone's CD and install the Federal and then download the state. Enter the necessary data and printout the forms for the state.

Other option is to enter the TT web site through www.statetaxfreedom.com If they have an agreement with your state (list at bottom of page), for filing, that may be the way to go. If no agreement exists and you qualify for free Federal, they charge $15 for a state.

Both options presented require you reentering data. They do not allow you to export from their web system to a raw tax file.

 

[mwtgg]

I don't think that link is working, or at least the PDF that is linked there is 0B. Can you upload again?

Try this link: http://www.qfpost.com/download.do?get=1cb5e11c09dc2a0dd0edf4a044736cbf

 

[mwtgg]

You may be right - I have always used that it if is listed as TAX and paid to the government and not a private party, it is deductible.

IRS provided that advice when I purchased first house.

That's interesting because Pub 530 says:

The only settlement or closing costs you can deduct are home mortgage interest and certain real estate taxes. You deduct them in the year you buy your home if you itemize your deductions. You can add certain other settlement or closing costs to the basis of your home

 

[postmark]

Try this link: http://www.qfpost.com/download.do?get=1cb5e11c09dc2a0dd0edf4a044736cbf

Hmm. Won't download on my phone. I'll try when I'm at a computer.

 

[postmark]

Question on a refinance. Got the tax form from the new bank and it has the interest paid in box 1. Then in box 2 it had a value for points paid. Can I deduct all of box 2 in this year or do I have to amortize it over the 20 yr loan? Also is there anything else from the closing of the loan that I can deduct?

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Do most tax places give an estimate of your return before they charge you?

Or hell can anyone do it here? I only have 2 forms, a W2 and a 1098-E.

 

[mwtgg]

Question on a refinance. Got the tax form from the new bank and it has the interest paid in box 1. Then in box 2 it had a value for points paid. Can I deduct all of box 2 in this year or do I have to amortize it over the 20 yr loan? Also is there anything else from the closing of the loan that I can deduct?

Points on a refi are amortized over the length of the loan. Outta luck, sorry. Generally speaking, like the IRS says, only interest and real estate taxes are deductible for personal use property.

 

[mwtgg]

Do most tax places give an estimate of your return before they charge you?

Or hell can anyone do it here? I only have 2 forms, a W2 and a 1098-E.

Seriously, just use an online tax site. It's not that difficult to follow. I always use www.taxcut.com for returns I do for my friends. I don't do the PA return on there though, as it costs money. However, PA has a way to file directly for free on the Dept of Revenue's website, so I do that for them. Check if your state has something similar.

 

[postmark]

Points on a refi are amortized over the length of the loan. Outta luck, sorry. Generally speaking, like the IRS says, only interest and real estate taxes are deductible for personal use property.

So then if that box is 2213.50 and I made 10 payments on the loan in 2011 then I can for box2 in the tax program I would put in 92.98 (2213.50 / 240 * 10) for this year, then each year after this I can do 111.58?

 

[alkemyst]

Can you retro pay into an HSA and is the whole amount deductible or just the disbursements? $6150 for 2011.

I don't think anything but an IRA can take place after end of year.

I'd gladly wash out $2200 in taxes for $2200 in contact lens solution and misc health products.