Personal Tax

Upcoming tax questions

catgirl — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:54:52 GMT

Hello -I'm from Massachusetts and haven't been on boards/forums for quite some time-thankfully no legal issues lately.

However, I do have a couple questions regarding tax credits for refinancing home and buying a new car -in my state it shows that all sales/state taxes for buying a new car can be used as credit/deduction and there is mention of some type deduction/credit for refinancing a mortgage-I did both in 2009 (purchased brand new car and refinanced mortgage)and would like to know what credits/deductions I may receive? And what paperwork accountant would expect from me.

Taxagent has always been helpful-look forward to hearing-thankyou in advance.

Complicated Relocation + Taxes???

dewsar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:04:17 GMT

I graduated from nursing school in May 2009. Unfortunately there were no jobs in my home state and I was forced to move for in order to work in my field. (I did have a part-time job for one month before moving). My husband is living in the house we own in MN and I am renting an apartment in WV. I am wondering what type of tax credits I can legally claim. I heard that because I was forced to find work in another state, and that this is a second residence that my living expenses are tax deductible. If this is true, would my ability to claim a tax deduction change if I claimed residence in my new state (to avoid paying taxes to MN), but my husband continues to live in the house we own in Minnesota?

Thanks.

False 1099 filed on me.in 2001 still can't resolve this???

Longstick44 — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:53:11 GMT

Worked for a Guy in 98' 99' on Martha's Vineyard...He filed a 1099 on me in 2001 when I had lived and worked back in NH for 2 years. The amount was for $7000. I filed my return for 2001 without knowledge of the extra employer on my record....The IRS then threw out my filing with deductions and filed their's for me including the extra ..false 1099 for $7000. add on penalties and fees and I'm currently sitting on $11,000 debt to them...... The system is so broken and messed up that I am currently biting off my nose to spite my face. The IRS says its my word against his and that you need to get him to file a 1099-c (corrected) to get anything done....I got him to send me a 1099-c stating that I earned 0 income form him in 2001 with his tax ID and my S.S. # he said he sent me copy b and the IRS their copy. I have the envelpope and dated post mark too. He never sent the IRS a copy so the game continues. The IRS wants me to make payments on this but I refuse until they acknowledge my copy of the 1099-c... &... can't get any results...after spending the equallivent of days on the phone with the IRS and having them transferre me to somebody who I have to repeat my whole story too...and then have them tell me the person from which I was just transferred from and can not recontact is mis-informed .makes me understand why people become angry.....I am angry but I need help any info is appericated ..Thank you in advance

No W2

sharkhuntersfo — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:13:37 GMT

I worked for a compay that went into chaper 7. Now it looks like they will not issue a W2 for the salery I was paied. They also did not pay the last pay check, or accrued vacation.

My questions are:

1) how do I handle the lack of a W2?

2) Can I claim a lost for the unpaied wages?

How are deductions required to be split on a joint mortgage?

tandsandl — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:55:30 GMT

My fiance and I are applying for a mortgage and have a question about filing our state/federal taxes.

If we are both on the mortgage loan/note and both on the title/deed, can we decide to have only one of us deduct real estate and mortgage taxes? Or, do we _have_ to split the deductions 50-50?

We are not married yet and file separately. When married, we will still file separately. One person makes more money than the other and thus would benefit more from deducting the real estate/mortgage tax.

I guess our other option is to have the one who makes more money apply for the mortgage (however, have both on title/deed), and thus have all of the benefit of the deductions.

tax

robin shepherd — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:55:39 GMT

I work for a company and my husband own's his own business, I had heard of relief from past due tax's before and would like to know how to go about having this done for him, is this possable. NEED HELP ASAP!!!!!!!!

Audited while over in Iraq

salsagev007 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:43:05 GMT

Just got informed that the IRS wants to do an audit for last years taxes in person at their office in San bernadino. Only problem is that im over in Iraq (as a contractor) and wont be home until my contract ends in August 2010. Im able to provide them copies of all stock statements and 1040's they requested.

My question is what can they do if i won't travel around the world to meet them? and can i pause the audit it until i return to the states or force them to do it by phone? I cant find anything on their site about incidents like this.

Question about Charitable Donation & Tax Deduction

LegalSecy — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:03:45 GMT

We donated an old vehicle to one of the charities that accepts donations of used vehicles (right before the Cash For Clunkers program was announced ... oh well). It was a 1995 Chevy Lumina minivan, still runs, never in an accident or flood or anything else that would reduce its value.

Today we received the receipt/Thank You letter from the charity. I was surprised (and a little concerned) at what it says.

"This donation is tax deductible. It enables you to deduct the value of your car up to $500. No goods or services have been provided in return." (and it gives the charity's Tax ID #)

It was the following paragraph that concerned me:

"Please note: Charitable organizations are required by law to file with the IRS on the sale of any donated item with a value of more than $500."

What does that mean? Does this mean that the charity to which we donated the vehicle is somehow playing games with the IRS? I believe the value of the vehicle is > $500 (not that I really care - we wanted to donate it to the charity involved anyway). Are they saying that they are only valuing the vehicle at $500 in order to get around having to report it to the IRS?

That would concern me.

IRA LLC question

rickbei — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:36:56 GMT

A few years ago I formed an IRA LLC, and have made only one investment. I'm at a point where I do not want to make any further investments. In fact, I'd like to move all uninvested funds over to a conventional self-directed IRA. Is this possible? I'm assuming that I'd have to leave the IRA LLC open for the life of the one investment that I have made.

Nephew Eligible for 1st Time Home Tax Credit?

LegalSecy — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:18:18 GMT

My nephew is 29 years old and lives in a rental home owned by his mother. He has a good job (but I suspect he has a lousy credit score) and pays FMV rent, the same rent she would be charging any other tenant. If he were to buy the house from his mom on land contract would he qualify for the $8000 first time homebuyers tax credit? He has never owned a home before.

Questioning my first time home buyer status.

questioning home decision — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:08:54 GMT

I am a first time home buyer and I am purchasing a home. I started the process with the intent of qualifying for the federal Tax credit. The process dragged out and in the meantime I got married to a woman who owned her home. I have no rights to the home nor do I want them- they are her assets she came into the marriage with. I was married in late July of this year and I close on the house tomorrow. I AM the ONLY person on the note and mortgage my new wife will NOT be on the mortgage. WE plan on keeping our finances separate. Will I still be eligible for the 8000 credit?

IRS Trumps Decree? Who claims kids?

Joe Bob — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:31:18 GMT

divorced '06

2 kids - 6 and 3

Me = 55%...her = 45%

decree states "she shall be entitled to claim the tax exemptions for the children in 2006 and all subsequent years in which such exemptions may be claimed."

I have kids more than 50%, and the IRS says that means I must get deductions. Granted, we can AGREE to let her claim them, but I'm tired of agreeing. Thus, if I claim them, the IRS trumps the decree as it is FEDERAL LAW.

so what do ya'll think? how do I get around this? she will NOT simply agree to let me have the deductions, so what is my recourse?

Me and 22 Co Workers won the Lotto

markfinneran — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:56:47 GMT

Hello. About 4 months ago me and 22 of my co workers won 2nd prize in the Mega Millions Lottery which was for $250,000. Now the Lotto only cuts you 10 checks no matter how many people you have in your group so we couldnt just go to Lotto and cash the ticket. Now the guy that actually ran the lotto pool made a BIG MISTAKE. He gave control to one of the big bosses who was also in the pool. She obviously doesn't need the money because she makes ALOT of money. She let the ticket sit there for about 2 months and about 2 months ago she finally got in touch with a CPA Attorney who supposedly was supposed to make a trust for us. We're still getting the run around and now our boss says the lawyer isnt returning her calls so she might look elsewhere. This is getting ridiculous we've been waiting 4 months already and alot of us really need the money. I also heard that our boss and some other people that make alot of money are trying to stretch this out until the new tax season which would be until January. I heard this rumor as soon as we won which was in the beginning of July and I brushed it off as a joke but it's almost November now so it looks like it might be true. Is there any legal action that I can take to get my portion of the winning? LIke can i force them to give me my money because I really feel like my money is being held hostage now and it's not fair to me and the other people that need the money. please get back to me ASAP.. Thank you.. Or give me some information on how we can get the money fast.

IRS levied bank account due to alimony not reported

OhioCP — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:57:41 GMT

State is PA. My brother was divorced in 2002 and ordered to pay alimony. He paid without fail and claimed the alimony accordingly as a tax deduction. This past April the IRS levied his bank account and pulled a significant amount of money out. His CPA was able to determine that this was due to his ex-wife not claiming receipt of the alimony thus not paying taxes on it. They submitted all of the documentation (copies of divorce decree indicating that he was court ordered to pay, cancelled checks showing that he had paid the court ordered amount, etc.). To date, notification has been rec'd from the IRS that they have rec'd the documentation and that it is under review. His question is, when they finally do refund the money that they levied (assuming he prevails on this), will he be entitled to collect interest as well? Also, this levy was for the 2006 tax year. There are 2 other years where the ex has done the same thing (he knows as he has seen the IRS returns pursuant to CS modification). &n... the chances high that this situation may be repeated when the other 2 yr's tax returns don't match up (hers and his) or will there be some kind of notation in his file regarding the divorce decree and the outcome of this review? &nb...

please help . tax custodial parent non-custodial parent

fladawg — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:15:43 GMT

i am the custodial parent of my son from my first marriage and the non-custodial parent of my daughter from my second marriage . when i file my taxs can Florida take my return" as well as the tax credit from my son of my first marriage" and give it to my second wife for arrears for my daughter

Steps to vacating a judgement in Ohio Student Loans

ShawnB419 — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:11:02 GMT

I graduated from High school in 2000. I went to college for a couple of years, then I took some time off. I recently became aware that my old student loan from UC had defaulted and a suit was taken against me. My original loan was for 2,400.00. I contact the Ohio Attorney General (their Law Offices took the suit against me) to get more info on the situation. They stated that the only way to resolve this issuse is to pay this Debt off in full. After speaking with them I also contacted the UC Bursars office. They stated that there was a possible way to resolved my debt and become eligible for finacial aid. I was told that the Lawyer who took the suit our against were able to vacate the judgement by there own ommision. I immediately called the Attorney General office and got informed that I was mislead and ill informed. I want if there is such a way to resolve debt off without paying in full in lump sum payment. I wanted to get back in and need to become eligible for Finacial aid. Please Help me if you know anything about Ohio Law!!!!

Deduct Health Insurance Premiums?

atkinson40 — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:11:08 GMT

I know that an individual can claim health insurance premiums over 7.5% of AGI on federal taxes but was wondering if I could do the following. I own a rental that I manage myself and receive rental income. There's a line where you can deduct management fees on the Schedule E (Income from rental real estate). I would pay myself a management income and then declare myself self employed and deduct the health insurance premiums from the income I pay myself. Health Insurance premiums are deductable from self employment income. Thanks kevin

Income required to file fed tax

Oreo13 — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:57:13 GMT

How much money can you make before you have to file federal taxes. Work very little, make about $600/month, live with parents. At what amount would I have to file?

How does severability work ? (Penna)

Drew — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 18:06:24 GMT

How does severability work given the tax ordinance contains a severability clause ? And one sentence is a major blooper. In --Out --BOTH in and out?

Example in PA:

City passes an earned income tax of 1.50% on EVERYBODY --NO distinction as to resident or nonresident.

This is clearly a permissible rate by state law for City to impose on its residents.

This is clearly NOT a permissible rate by state law for City to impose on NONresidents who work there, the allowable rate is capped under Act 511 at 1.00% And that cap clearly applies under Home Rule Act and City is clearly under Home Rule.

1. Does the fact that law seems defective as written negate the one sentence law (which that part is) as a WHOLE or is it negated only as it applies to one class of persons subject to the tax where it is a defective fit ??

Remember the law fails to make a distinction among classes and state law is quite clear separate rates can be set for separate classes of persons (and must be set separate if rate on residents is to be above cap on nonresident rate.)

2. Given that the tax rate on nonresidents cannot exceed 1.00% --does the tax rate default to 0% given the language is fatally defective or does it somehow become 1.00% when no such rate was imposed as written?

3. OK, after smoke clears what tax rate on residents remains? If that one sentence is struck the entiire tax falls out!

Thanks

(The guy that wrote this tax ordinance was previoulsy president of school board so now you know why some local taxes are a mess as is local education.)

Definition of Qualifying Child for Adoptions

LoneOne — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:41:42 GMT

Facts:
Foreign Adoption
Placement Agreement filed with Agency: June of 2009
Adoption finalized: August 2009
Child first living in taxpayers home: September 2009
Taxpayer provides >50% of support for year
Child's age < 10

Initial thought is no child tax credit is allowed due to section 152(c)(1)(B) requirement of >6 months in the taxpayers home.

Looking at the regs though, under reg 1.152-2(c), it looks like by the example under reg 1.152-2(c)(3) that the year the placement agreement is filed would possibly "define" the child as a "qualified child" based on the uniform definitions in place since 2005. The example does use a U.S. citizen, but I'm not seeing why a child's qualification as a dependent based on section 152(b)(3)(B) would matter as reg 1.152-2(b) specifically states an agency authorized to place children by a foreign country.

Really just annoyed as to why it was obvious to claim an adopted child as a "qualified child" before 2005, but after 2005 they didn't make specific exemption from the residency requirement in the code section similar to the one for a new born.

Any thoughts on my laymen's attempt to look at this?

Start-up cost

KB Park — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:41:01 GMT

One of my client formed a single-member LLC in 2007 and tried to purchase a real property but failed. He spent $100K as a legal and professional fee in 2007 and reported/deducted the expense on '2007 Form 1040 Schedule C. But, he renogiated the deal and puchased the property with his partner in Apr. 2008. He filed '2008 Form 1065 and reported start-up cost paid in 2008 as capitalized expense.

Now, the IRS auditor says that 2007 expense ($95K exceeding $5000) reported on 2007 Form 1040 Schedule C should be amortized over 15 years, not fully deductible.

Please advise.

Preliminary Determination denial for Innocent Spouse Relief

moolicious — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:13:12 GMT

I was advised by IRS after applying form 8857 and requesting innocent spouse relief for tax years, 1998, 1999, and 2000. The denial stated no later than two years after the date they start collection proceedings. IRS states they sent a notice on march 7, 2005 to offset. They very well may have mailed notice to my address and it may or may not have been signed by me- However, I did not open the mail my husband did. IRS also stated that their records show on May 26, 2007 the Service first initiated collection activity against me. I filed for Innocent Spouse September 1, 2009.

I did find out about this in the later part of 2007. My husband hired Effectur as are go between for tax issues and help with IRS. I had repeated asked for them to help me with the Innocent Spouse Relief- as they were not doing their job. We paid them a large some of money and they rarely if ever returned phone calls. They told us not to contact IRS.

I had no idea about the two year ruling or I would of filed sooner. My husband is in total agreement that he kept privledged information from me and kept me in the dark for years regarding back taxes. My husband says he will absorb the back tax debt and because he blind sided me with this and I did not know about it- that he would take the whole responsiblity.

My question is can I appeal and win even though IRS states I did not file in a timely manner? As IRS is holding me under joint liability. I did not earn any income in 1999 or 2000. The income I made in 1998 and the tax portion that was mine I gave to my spouse with the understanding that he would pay the balance and his portion for the 1998 taxes.

What are my options?

I am in the process of going through a divorce and my husband agreed legally to nocontest and he would take on the debt that way. IRS stated that even though he agrees to take all the debt and a judge appoves it in the divorce decree that IRS can still hold me liable.

Can any provide me with something positive and educate me in what i need to do.

Thank you.

IRS "Tax Home" - Married Filing Jointly?

LegalSecy — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:38:45 GMT

I am probably extremely confused so please bear with me.

Situation: A couple lives in state "A" and owns a home in state "A" and one spouse works in state "A", while the other spouse works for a consulting firm located in state "A" but is assigned to work long term for a client in state"B." The spouse who works as a consultant flies out every Sunday eve to the consulting site in state "B", and arrives back home in state "A" every Thursday night for a long weekend.

We were told that after a year, the IRS will consider the husband's "Tax Home" to be state "B" and will tax all his travel reimbursements as income. The company he works for will pay him an additional amount which is supposed to compensate him for the additional taxes that will be due.

How does that work for a couple that is married filing jointly? Can the 2 of them have "Tax Homes" in different states and still file jointly? Does it matter that they own a home together in state "A" which is their permanent legal residence, where they live and vote, pay property taxes, etc.?

What exactly is an IRS "Tax Home" anyway?

I got a long explanation from a company accountant today and I am more confused than ever.

Thanks for any insights.

Mississippi Employer-Paid Taxes

Phillip In NY — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:42:49 GMT

What are the mandatory taxes required to be paid by employers who employ people in Mississippi?

Fire Casualty loss

taxesman — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:29:30 GMT

I was wondering if I could take a casualty loss deduction for a personal home and property from a fire, the fire was started by the owner by accident while removing brush.