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quote:Hey guys, small non-profit income tax question but kind of a weird one. Disclaimer: my experience with nonprofits isn't extensive. That said, your landlord can't "write-off" free rent to a charity. He has no incentive to do this for you, outside of being nice. Where were you getting this $5,000 value? -it's not true. Filing requirements can vary, but if you're an active nonprofit, you're going to invariably have some flavor of filing to do. If you really want to do this, you're better off just running it, doing slightly more than break even every year and just reporting it all on schedule C. Plus I doubt "letting people play bejeweled and browse facebook on old computers" would count as a charitable mission in the eyes of the feds. edit: you may be thinking of the 25,000 gross receipts threshold - but that's just a simplified filing, not a nonexistent filing. quote:I recently completed a Masters Degree in Managing IT while working full time in IT. Is the cost of my education tax deductible in some way since I was paying for education to improve my job skills? There was a case last year where a nurse won a lawsuit with the IRS because she had written off her MBA as career related but my situation should be more straight forward, no? You will want to read this: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/ch12.html But short version is: unless you're leaving something particularly relevant out, probably not. Besides, if you're claiming the lifetime learning credit (which is much more advantageous), any expenses you used towards that credit would be ineligible for use to be deducted elsewhere. Education benefits/deductions vary widely from state to state, but at the federal level you're covering your tax benefits with that credit. Admiral101 fucked around with this message at 23:59 on Dec 2, 2011 |
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Dec 2, 2011 23:49
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Zero VGS posted:Hey guys, small non-profit income tax question but kind of a weird one. Your potential landlord won't pay any tax on any rent he doesn't collect, but he cannot deduct this lost rent. That would be double dipping. The $5,000 rule is for gross receipts, not net profits: http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=123067,00.html e;f;b, but Admiral you have just been lawyered.
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Dec 3, 2011 00:17
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quote:e;f;b, but Admiral you have just been lawyered. That will teach me to attempt non-profit questions  - though I make it a point to stay ignorant in that area. Aggravating work with little real payoff.
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Dec 3, 2011 00:49
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scribe jones posted:people who don't google "<x> scam" before investing all their money in <x>, apparently A friend of my mom's tried to convince her to "invest" in dinars - there are so many sites going around swearing that the dinar will RV ("revalue") by dropping 3 zeros, thereby making anyone that holds dinars 1,000x richer. What all these people seem to consistently fail to consider is the fact that this would instantly make every Iraqi a millionaire (and that it contradicts every example in history of how currency has changed in value). Google "dinar daddy" for a very entertaining read - watch out guys, the UN is going to change Iraq's currency in their computers, despite the fact that they have absolutely nothing to do with currency whatsoever!
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Dec 3, 2011 09:42
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I'm an Amazon affiliate. If I get paid in an Amazon gift card instead of cash, is that still taxable income?
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Dec 3, 2011 18:11
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FCKGW posted:I'm an Amazon affiliate. If I get paid in an Amazon gift card instead of cash, is that still taxable income? Yes, and they will 1099 you (and report to the IRS, by extension) if you take more than $600 in a year.
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Dec 3, 2011 20:00
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Alright, so I'm a bit confused about my situation. Perhaps some of you can help? I am a 20 year old, full-time college student. I live in the same state (Tennessee) as my parents, and they pay for my car insurance, medical insurance, and cell phone bills. This semester, I began renting a house close to campus, with my name on the lease. As far as my tuition goes, I get a refund from my scholarships (no loans), and that pays for the tuition and puts about $1500 in my pocket. Up until this point, my parents have claimed me as a dependent on their taxes. I have worked 2-3 different jobs pretty much the entire year, but have made less than $5000. I think that if I were to file my taxes separately, I would be able to qualify for some government grants for college to further take care of my expenses. My questions are: 1. Now that I am renting a house (with roommates), am I still considered a dependent? Keep in mind that my parents own my vehicle and pay my car insurance, medical insurance, and phone bill. 2. Would it be a good idea to file my taxes separately? If so, what are some things I would need to take care to note while filing taxes? As you can tell, I've never filed taxes before, so I'm just trying to start so that I won't an idiot in the real world.
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Dec 5, 2011 01:04
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Wagonburner posted:OK. she was KS if that matters. Also, the bonds are non-taxable in Oklahoma.
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Dec 5, 2011 02:24
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Mattism posted:Hey, another OK goon. Your grandmother more than likely wasn't reporting the increase in redemption value as income each year, so there is no federal tax effect until you sell the bonds. The bank will also issue you a 1099-INT whenever you do sell them. US bond interest isn't taxable in any states. My understanding is the federal government forbids states from taxing it.
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Dec 5, 2011 02:51
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Shadow225 posted:Alright, so I'm a bit confused about my situation. Perhaps some of you can help? 1) if you are under 23 and a full time student it is irrelevant where you live. If your parents are providing more than 50% of your financial support you can be considered their dependent for tax purposes. 2) From a strictly tax standpoint, not really. Your parents probably benefit more from claiming you than you would if they did not.
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Dec 5, 2011 06:36
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Just a quick simple question: I recently got a job in June with a major insurance company with a major HQ in San Antonio, Texas. Because the campus property is so large (and part of it underground), all mobile carriers' signal (except AT&T) is basically non-existent in about 75%-85% of the building. I found out that the company pulled a deal with AT&T to set up their antennae around and inside the building. Most of the employees have AT&T phones because of this. I recently dumped my Nexus S on T-Mobile and bought a brand new iPhone on AT&T just to be able to have a usable phone between the hours of 7am and 6pm. Can I write this off as a work related expense? If so, would I need to do anything specific?
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Dec 5, 2011 06:52
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notMordecai posted:Just a quick simple question: Personal expense, not deductible
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Dec 5, 2011 07:29
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quote:2. Would it be a good idea to file my taxes separately? If so, what are some things I would need to take care to note while filing taxes? In addition to what Furu said, note that even as a dependent you have to file your own taxes if you have income. You're always "filing separately" regardless of if you're they're dependent or not.
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Dec 5, 2011 13:42
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I should have started researching this before I started researching home re-financing, but does re-financing my home (should I find a way to make it work) mean I have to pay back the first time homebuyer tax credit? I will still own and live in the same house. It just seems like a bit of a loophole.
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Dec 6, 2011 20:52
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tadashi posted:I should have started researching this before I started researching home re-financing, but does re-financing my home (should I find a way to make it work) mean I have to pay back the first time homebuyer tax credit? I will still own and live in the same house. It just seems like a bit of a loophole. No, only if you sell within 3 years of claiming the credit or if it stops being your primary residence within that same time frame.
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Dec 6, 2011 20:56
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If it makes any difference, WA state (so no state taxes) and no assets other than wages. I own nothing! Woo! No investments or anything fancy. The only things on my taxes that will make them anything other than mindlessly simple is the bankruptcy and some student loan interest that I can deduct. I had some debt discharged through Ch7 bankruptcy this year, including a mortgage. So far, I'm thinking that I need to file a 1040 and a 982 and that I don't need to count my discharged debt as income. Is this correct? Does anyone have any other advice for me? Do you think I can use Turbo Tax, or will my bankruptcy make it explode? Almost forgot: How long do I need to wait for 1099-c forms to finish rolling in before filing my taxes? I'm one of those people who like to file on the absolute first day possible. I'm crazy like that. Haji fucked around with this message at 22:49 on Dec 7, 2011 |
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Dec 7, 2011 22:47
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Haji posted:If it makes any difference, WA state (so no state taxes) and no assets other than wages. I own nothing! Woo! No investments or anything fancy. My CH 7 clients haven't even been getting 1099-Cs. Or 1099-As for that matter, the banks are so messed up. TT should handle it fine (note I said "should"). You can wait until early february to make sure you get all the 1099s, but even then you can't be sure. See my note about the banks above.
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Dec 7, 2011 22:52
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AbbiTheDog posted:My CH 7 clients haven't even been getting 1099-Cs. Or 1099-As for that matter, the banks are so messed up. It isn't the banks being messed up in this case. The debt gets transferred to the bankruptcy estate and the estate is the one that has the debt cancelled, meaning the taxpayer should not get a 1099-C. The bankruptcy estate has its own FEIN and files a 1041.
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Dec 7, 2011 23:19
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furushotakeru posted:It isn't the banks being messed up in this case. The debt gets transferred to the bankruptcy estate and the estate is the one that has the debt cancelled, meaning the taxpayer should not get a 1099-C. Sorry, should have clarified more. My clients that even settle the debts before bankruptcy aren't getting anything either.
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Dec 7, 2011 23:30
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AbbiTheDog posted:Sorry, should have clarified more. I'm sure they will get it one or two years later just to make your life interesting 
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Dec 8, 2011 00:08
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Thank you! Do you think I could fill out the 982 preemptively and avoid having to redo my taxes later if the 1099 forms show up late? Or should I just fill out the 982 if/when I get the 1099 forms?
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Dec 8, 2011 15:13
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This might be a weirdly specific question --I'm not a total tax-naif (close!), but I just heard about this and have had some problems independently researching it to my satisfaction. I've read a few people talk about a technique for avoiding quarterly estimated tax payments (and the penalties) by simply making large IRA distributions at the end of the year, with the withholding percentage calculated and hand-crafted to cover the entire year's expected total tax. I guess it makes sense that I haven't heard about this before since the people making IRA distributions aren't running in the same circles as me. The crux of this strategy seems to be that the IRS' test for estimated tax obligation starts with whether or not there is at least a $1,000 difference between total tax and withholding. (like here: http://www.irs.gov/publications/images/15008e12.gif), with it seeming obvious that the IRS for the purposes of this tests is assuming (incorrectly!) that withholding dollars temporally sync up with income. Sneaky? As if this weren't already a bit adventurous, it has been brought to my attention elsewhere on the internet that a young buck not eager to sacrifice his IRA balance might be able to do this, and simply reverse the distribution within the 60 day window (since the withholding isn't reversed or refunded by the trustee, I assume?). OKAY SO Has anybody heard this tactic discussed by a credible source? Any letter rulings or guidance given? It seems like the kind of the thing that should work unless they've specifically said it is too aggressive, but I'm essentially trusting googlebot for ruling out this possibility. I'm responsible enough to know that trusting googlebot isn't good enough, but not responsible enough to realize that trusting forums is probably not good enough either. Thanks!
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Dec 12, 2011 14:22
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juststraightbangin posted:This might be a weirdly specific question --I'm not a total tax-naif (close!), but I just heard about this and have had some problems independently researching it to my satisfaction. You can do this. W-2 and other withholdings (1099-R) are treated as being made pro-rata throughout the year. You miss the 60 day window for the indirect rollover and you're screwed though. Side note - underpayment penalties and interest are not that steep. You're dorking around to avoid a (usually) small charge with a huge potential for messing it up.
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Dec 12, 2011 18:02
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AbbiTheDog posted:Side note - underpayment penalties and interest are not that steep. You're dorking around to avoid a (usually) small charge with a huge potential for messing it up. Is there any danger to getting an underpayment penalty every year? Like increased chance of audit or something?
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Dec 12, 2011 18:17
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taqueso posted:Is there any danger to getting an underpayment penalty every year? Like increased chance of audit or something? You have a near 100% chance of paying an underpayment penalty but there is no additional risk for audit that I am aware of. To add to what Abbi said remember that if you are under 59 1/2 years old a retirement distribution is subject to a 10% federal penalty for early withdrawal, and most states penalize as well (2% in CA). If you miss that 60 day indirect rollover period you will pay that early withdrawal penalty which will be far larger than any underpayment penalty that you would be avoiding. furushotakeru fucked around with this message at 18:28 on Dec 12, 2011 |
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Dec 12, 2011 18:24
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furushotakeru posted:You have a near 100% chance of paying an underpayment penalty but there is no additional risk for audit that I am aware of. Not to mention the taxable IRA money might phase you out of some deductions that are AGI-dependent (child tax credit, medical deductions, mortgage insurance, student loan interest, etc.) Also withdrawing from an IRA will eliminate your saver's credit as well for several year's after 2010.
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Dec 12, 2011 20:02
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furushotakeru posted:You have a near 100% chance of paying an underpayment penalty but there is no additional risk for audit that I am aware of. Ya, I'm not trying to do anything fancy with retirement accounts. I got an underpayment penalty last year and have been withholding more this year to avoid a penalty (in lieu of estimated payments). Turns out I withheld way too much because our profit is much lower this year. So my plan is to go back to normal withholding next year and just pay the penalty (gladly since we made a nice profit) if needed.
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Dec 12, 2011 20:27
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quote:Ya, I'm not trying to do anything fancy with retirement accounts. I got an underpayment penalty last year and have been withholding more this year to avoid a penalty (in lieu of estimated payments). Turns out I withheld way too much because our profit is much lower this year. So my plan is to go back to normal withholding next year and just pay the penalty (gladly since we made a nice profit) if needed. quote:If you did not pay enough tax, either through withholding or by making timely estimated tax payments, you will have an underpayment of estimated tax and you may have to pay a penalty. Avoiding underpayment penalties doesn't need to be a guessing game.
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Dec 12, 2011 21:09
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Admiral101 posted:Avoiding underpayment penalties doesn't need to be a guessing game. I have been withholding enough to equal the amount from last year, as in "the total of your withholding and estimated tax payments was at least as much as your 2010 tax " But, our tax from last year was higher than what it will be this year, so I have withheld more than I actually had to. If we had made a big profit this year, there would be no penalty. But, we didn't, so a bunch of my money is locked up at the IRS. Am I mistaken about this?
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Dec 12, 2011 21:15
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quote:I have been withholding enough to equal the amount from last year, as in "the total of your withholding and estimated tax payments was at least as much as your 2010 tax " I misread your post. You are correctly interpreting the safe harbor rules. Most in your situation handle most of their withholding through a year end bonus of some flavor, though (as opposed to withholding evenly throughout the year).
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Dec 12, 2011 22:46
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Admiral101 posted:Most in your situation handle most of their withholding through a year end bonus of some flavor, though (as opposed to withholding evenly throughout the year). Which is a good idea. I was worried about the situation where there wasn't enough cash flow to do it all at the end of the year and decided to spread the withholding out evenly over the year. I think I was planning on adjusting it if the outlook wasn't so good, but I never did until a couple weeks ago. It seems like this whole thing just isn't really worth worrying about. My father just told me that he used to take the penalty every year and did no estimated tax or additional withholding. :themoreyouknow:
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Dec 12, 2011 22:55
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taqueso posted:It seems like this whole thing just isn't really worth worrying about. It is worth worrying about, but you're going about it the wrong way. For our pass-through clients, if they are unsure of how their year is going to go we contact them in August so we can get the planning going and they can make their third and fourth quarter payments timely, and we can "catch up" the first two payments. As long as they haven't spent the money.
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Dec 12, 2011 23:00
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AbbiTheDog posted:For our pass-through clients, if they are unsure of how their year is going to go we contact them in August so we can get the planning going and they can make their third and fourth quarter payments timely, and we can "catch up" the first two payments. As long as they haven't spent the money. First, thanks everyone for the help. Is this something that you would bring up or does the client have to request this type of service? I feel like our tax accountant acts like a machine that takes our books and some money and spits out a tax return. How proactive do I need to be? Should they be alerting us when we are doing things in the wrong way? Is there another category of "full service" accountants I should be looking for?
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Dec 12, 2011 23:13
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taqueso posted:First, thanks everyone for the help. Depends on the firm, and you might not be asking the proper questions. When you pick up the current year taxes, ask him about the time table for tax planning and when you can expect his office to contact you for the 2012 taxes. If they don't give you an adequate answer (or miss the scheduled time) it might be time to look around.
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Dec 12, 2011 23:19
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Every office will handle things in their own way. Not all will reach out to clients, and if you are not happy with the level of service you should bring it up to them and/or find someone new to work with. Sometimes you get what you pay for however, so a higher level of personalized service might entail higher fees (or it might not). Although it is self-serving to say so I do encourage taxpayers not to make price their PRIMARY criteria when selecting a preparer to work with.
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Dec 12, 2011 23:20
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Thanks guys. Appreciate what you have to say on the matter! You're right about it being a pretty silly tactic in terms of the magnitude of risk v. the pissant reward. I was just trying to take it to what seemed to be a rather extreme and obviously unintended application of the rule to see if had been tested. I don't even a traditional IRA to distribute from. 
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Dec 13, 2011 09:29
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I have a question that has to do with travel deductions. I work from home. My employer has said from the beginning that my home is my office. This is reflected by the fact that they withhold taxes for my city of residence rather than the city that the company is based out of. My company does reimburse for the travel I need to do to customer sites. My question is whether or not travel to my employer's office (160 miles round trip) is deductible or not. It's not my regular place of business. I do not have an office or cubicle there. We do have a "transient area" where they have open work spaces set up with chairs and network jacks, which is where I and others go where we do go to the office. Sometimes I don't go there for months on end, sometimes I'm there for an entire week out of a month. Some of my co-workers say they do deduct travel to the office, others don't. Is travel to my employer's office deductible? Yes? No? Ask an accountant?
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Dec 14, 2011 16:49
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If you have something in writing from your employer stating that you are required to work from home as part of your job then I would say that it is deductible.
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Dec 14, 2011 17:36
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furushotakeru posted:If you have something in writing from your employer stating that you are required to work from home as part of your job then I would say that it is deductible. Problem with that is where it goes on your return (Sch. A, misc. itemized deductions, subject to 2% AGI limitation) that if you don't have anything else that goes in that section you'll probably lose all of the expenses.
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Dec 15, 2011 18:23
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I just moved to Maryland from Virginia and am about to get rear end-raped by the excise tax on registering my car here. Can I claim this as a deduction on my return?
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Dec 16, 2011 20:01
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