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I'm self employed but my jobs are varied within an industry (all 1099 though). I started commuting exclusively this year by train. I'm wondering if I can deduct the travel? I've heard varying opinions..To be clear I'm not using public transit to commute to one specific office everyday, rather I'm traveling, sometimes via different methods (NJT, LIRR, Metro North, etc) to go do work for hire and incurring the cost of travel out of pocket 70-80% of the time with the other 20% or so being successful negotiations for travel to be covered by the contractee. Being able to deduct travel would be a big deal.. I'm also wondering if debit/credit transactions from an official bank statement are viable records on the off chance you were to get audited or if you would need physical receipts exclusively. Thanks!
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Dec 29, 2011 00:06
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quote:I'm self employed but my jobs are varied within an industry (all 1099 though). I started commuting exclusively this year by train. I'm wondering if I can deduct the travel? I've heard varying opinions..To be clear I'm not using public transit to commute to one specific office everyday, rather I'm traveling, sometimes via different methods (NJT, LIRR, Metro North, etc) to go do work for hire and incurring the cost of travel out of pocket 70-80% of the time with the other 20% or so being successful negotiations for travel to be covered by the contractee. Being able to deduct travel would be a big deal.. You are able to deduct travel expenses for work, presuming that it is not part of a normal office commute, and you aren't doing it for personal reasons. Your situation sounds fairly textbook. Just remember to not expense reimbursed travel expenses unless you are also including the reimbursement as income. As for records, I would assume a bank statement would be sufficient. Just make sure to record the locations of the various locations you travel to.
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Dec 29, 2011 01:09
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zer0spunk posted:
You need the receipts moreso than the bank statement. Without receipts, how is the IRS supposed to know your $1,000 you dropped at Best Buy was really for a laptop and not a plasma TV?
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Dec 29, 2011 18:02
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AbbiTheDog posted:You need the receipts moreso than the bank statement. Without receipts, how is the IRS supposed to know your $1,000 you dropped at Best Buy was really for a laptop and not a plasma TV? My expense is the exact same amount every time throughout the entire year and I have most of the receipts. I don't think they'll look at a $30 train ticket transaction and think I was actually on a jetliner to paris, but I guess that's a risk I'll have to take? The only thing that changes on the actual receipts are the dates purchased, which are shown anyway in the transaction record on my itemized bank statement each month. I figure if I have an actual record somewhere of the travel purchase and then multiple documents to show that the date of the transaction corresponds to the date I did that job that should be more then enough prove in an audit no? In any case: I'm switching over to printing hard copies of the invoice for the job and then putting in the travel receipts and filing them together starting 1/12. Better to have a little filing to do then get screwed. zer0spunk fucked around with this message at 19:19 on Dec 29, 2011 |
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Dec 29, 2011 19:16
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It depends on the transaction. Office depot, etc., probably not an issue. Target, Best Buy, Costco, etc. where you can buy almost anything under the sun? More likely to need a receipt to show what was actually purchased.
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Dec 29, 2011 20:53
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I'm married and have a son as of summer 2011. This will be my first time filing taxes (turbotax) with a dependent. I'm assuming turbotax will walk me through most of it, but my question is about a custodial account we set up in his name. In a non-529 account ( I think it's utma? I can't remember which acronym ), will dividend income be taxed in his name, or will the taxes be under my wife and I because it's custodial? It's a relatively small dollar amount, if that matters.
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Dec 30, 2011 15:04
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I plan on going to an accountant to get this all sorted out, but I figured asking here wouldn't hurt either. Despite being on my parents' health insurance until May, I've been supporting myself financially since August of 2010. When I sat down to fill out my W4s for the Army and for my current job, I went ahead and claimed myself as an exemption since I wasn't really a dependent anymore. Of course, my parents decided to claim me as a dependent anyway. For this reason, I'm guessing that I've been underpaying on my taxes. I'm anticipating getting almost all of them back, anyway, because only earned roughly half of what my projected annual salary would have been, but I'd like to know if this will cause any major problems for me when I file in February.
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Dec 30, 2011 15:43
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I just got some stock options pay. My normal salary tax deduction is 26%, but the deduction on the stock options pay is 37%. Any idea why? Thanks
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Dec 30, 2011 16:27
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ixo posted:I'm married and have a son as of summer 2011. This will be my first time filing taxes (turbotax) with a dependent. I'm assuming turbotax will walk me through most of it, but my question is about a custodial account we set up in his name. If its less than $800 for the year it won't be taxed. If it is more than that you should be able to report it on your tax return using the "Parents election to report child's income" form, as long as there aren't any stock sales to report.
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Dec 30, 2011 16:45
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psydude posted:I plan on going to an accountant to get this all sorted out, but I figured asking here wouldn't hurt either. Despite being on my parents' health insurance until May, I've been supporting myself financially since August of 2010. When I sat down to fill out my W4s for the Army and for my current job, I went ahead and claimed myself as an exemption since I wasn't really a dependent anymore. Of course, my parents decided to claim me as a dependent anyway. You will have about $3600 more taxable income than originally planned, that's all. So your tax bill will be higher by whatever your tax bracket is (I'm guessing 10 or 15%) x $3600.
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Dec 30, 2011 16:47
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Qaz Kwaz posted:I just got some stock options pay. My normal salary tax deduction is 26%, but the deduction on the stock options pay is 37%. Any idea why? The IRS requires employers to withhold income taxes from bonuses, stock options, etc at 25% regardless of what your normal rate of withholding might be.
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Dec 30, 2011 16:49
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furushotakeru posted:If its less than $800 for the year it won't be taxed. If it is more than that you should be able to report it on your tax return using the "Parents election to report child's income" form, as long as there aren't any stock sales to report. Good to know, thanks. for future reference -- if I sell stock in that account in the future, is it just like normal short term/long term capital gains, just a different form?
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Dec 30, 2011 17:24
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ixo posted:Good to know, thanks. for future reference -- if I sell stock in that account in the future, is it just like normal short term/long term capital gains, just a different form? If you sell stock in the account you will need to file a separate tax return for your child.
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Dec 30, 2011 17:27
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furushotakeru posted:If you sell stock in the account you will need to file a separate tax return for your child. Note on this - the "kiddie tax" form shows the parent's income on it, so be careful. Some parents don't like to show their kids what their income is.
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Dec 30, 2011 18:18
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AbbiTheDog posted:Note on this - the "kiddie tax" form shows the parent's income on it, so be careful. Some parents don't like to show their kids what their income is. The good news is that for at least the next 14-18 years or so the parents will likely just be signing the return on behalf of their kid.
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Dec 30, 2011 18:55
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Edit: Doh, just found out the page I was on had a typo. All other pages said 100% of income.
Daeus fucked around with this message at 21:59 on Dec 30, 2011 |
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Dec 30, 2011 21:09
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Daeus posted:I have a question concerning over-contribution to Roth IRAs. IRA contribution limits are the lesser of $5,000 or 100% of your earned income for the year. You are fine. furushotakeru fucked around with this message at 07:08 on Jan 19, 2012 |
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Dec 30, 2011 21:25
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I'm a little confused about what to do with taxes this year for a couple reasons.  I held a job last year that didn't give me my last check and deducted taxes from my checks for amounts over what they gave me (for example, if I earned $1000 they would put that on my paystub and deduct for that and then include a check for $500 less the amount of taxes on the $1000). I'm also doubting I'll receive a w-2, so I held onto my last paystub for those numbers. Basically, I'm not sure if my last check has to be accounted for. Also, I'm not sure how to list my income since the amount that is on the final check isn't the amount I was actually given. And if I do receive the money that I'm owed, does that count as income during 2012 or does it go back to 2011 since that's when it was earned? I'm not sure how to proceed or who would be able to answer my questions, so if I should be going elsewhere I hope someone can point me in that direction. ):
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Jan 1, 2012 22:18
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I took a loss on some investments on my '09 return, but got the tax form from my investment co. late (after filing that year) and never filed an amendment. I just got a notice from the IRS asking for taxes on the full value of the sales or an explanation. Should I be fine just filing the amendment if I know the proper gain/loss, or should this go to a pro due to the status. In other words, does the fact that it's late and they're asking for the money/explanation now change anything, or is it no different than if I had amended it earlier?
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Jan 2, 2012 14:08
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For the last half of 2011, I contributed a percentage of my paycheck into an ESPP. I get a 15% discount on the lower of the closing stock price on July 1/December 31 2011 (the shares have already been purchased). Now, assuming that I am completely risk averse, is it completely stupid to sell the stock immediately or soon after it has been acquired? I understand that the short term gains tax is 25% versus the 15% tax if I hold it for a year, but what are the income implications? I have to count the difference between my acquiring price and FMV as income on my taxes, correct? Is there really any situation where I'm losing money, all things considered (assuming the stock price remains stable)?
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Jan 2, 2012 23:22
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john mayer posted:I'm a little confused about what to do with taxes this year for a couple reasons. You might need to file off your last paystub, and include that last check. You might read up on the following form as well. You should list what you received, not what you were owed. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4852.pdf
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Jan 3, 2012 17:49
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clockworx posted:I took a loss on some investments on my '09 return, but got the tax form from my investment co. late (after filing that year) and never filed an amendment. I just got a notice from the IRS asking for taxes on the full value of the sales or an explanation. Should I be fine just filing the amendment if I know the proper gain/loss, or should this go to a pro due to the status. In other words, does the fact that it's late and they're asking for the money/explanation now change anything, or is it no different than if I had amended it earlier? You probably got a CP2000 matching notice (will say on the top right of the front page of the letter). Write them a response letter (do not send in an amended return, it will screw them up) and explain what happened, and what your actual loss on that particular stock was. In about 60 days they'll re-run your numbers and send you a response. Beware, if you live in a state with income taxes they'll get a copy of the initial letter but not of any follow-up, so you might get stuck arguing with your state revenue department as well.
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Jan 3, 2012 17:51
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illcendiary posted:For the last half of 2011, I contributed a percentage of my paycheck into an ESPP. I get a 15% discount on the lower of the closing stock price on July 1/December 31 2011 (the shares have already been purchased). If you don't feel like holding onto the shares then there is nothing wrong with selling them. The 15% discount becomes compensation, and gets added to your W-2 income. You would have a capital gain or loss on anything beyond this.
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Jan 3, 2012 19:17
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Is there a good guide somewhere for finding a tax accountant, like what to look for and what to avoid? My situation is going to be complicated this year and going forward and I'd like to have a professional involved.
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Jan 4, 2012 04:27
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Dr. Kyle Farnsworth posted:Is there a good guide somewhere for finding a tax accountant, like what to look for and what to avoid? My situation is going to be complicated this year and going forward and I'd like to have a professional involved.
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Jan 4, 2012 05:54
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My grandfather passed away this year, and my mom inherited a sizable chunk of cash from the sale of his home and his IRA account. She wants to send some of it so my wife and I can pay off some student loans I accumulated while going to nursing school. She was considering sending me a check for $20,000. My question for BFC is this: how much taxes am I looking at having to pay for this? Some Googling shows that she could possibly send me up to $13000/yr without me having to pay taxes on it, and any amount over that is what I'd pay taxes on. So I'm looking at paying taxes on $7000. If that money was deposited into the joint account of my wife and I, could we claim that she gifted to us $10,000 each, and thus avoid the entire tax penalty? Would I have to pay taxes if she just sent the money to the federal gov't directly, to pay off my student loans, by-passing me entirely? Finally, are there any tax loopholes one could use to avoid losing a pretty big chunk of cash?
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Jan 5, 2012 05:41
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Oxford Comma posted:My grandfather passed away this year, and my mom inherited a sizable chunk of cash from the sale of his home and his IRA account. She wants to send some of it so my wife and I can pay off some student loans I accumulated while going to nursing school. You have it backward, she can give $13,000 to you before SHE has to pay gift tax on anything. The recipient never pays tax on a gift. So have her give you $13,000 and your wife $7,000, or however you want to divvy it up as long as no one gets more than $13k. Problem solved.
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Jan 5, 2012 05:43
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furushotakeru posted:You have it backward, she can give $13,000 to you before SHE has to pay gift tax on anything. The recipient never pays tax on a gift. Thanks. 
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Jan 5, 2012 06:00
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Oxford Comma posted:My grandfather passed away this year, and my mom inherited a sizable chunk of cash from the sale of his home and his IRA account. She wants to send some of it so my wife and I can pay off some student loans I accumulated while going to nursing school. Be careful - the "chunk of cash from the home sale" won't cause her tax problems, but the IRA funds are all taxable as ordinary income. She might have a large tax problem, especially if she gives all the money away.
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Jan 5, 2012 18:51
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AbbiTheDog posted:Be careful - the "chunk of cash from the home sale" won't cause her tax problems, but the IRA funds are all taxable as ordinary income. She might have a large tax problem, especially if she gives all the money away. The IRA is something she's aware of having to pay taxes (and some other fees) upon.
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Jan 6, 2012 16:35
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I'm fairly eager to file my taxes but do not yet have my w-2 from my company. I do, however, have my last paystubs. Is there any way I could file with that so that I can get my refund earlier?
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Jan 6, 2012 18:16
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Koppite posted:I'm fairly eager to file my taxes but do not yet have my w-2 from my company. I do, however, have my last paystubs. Is there any way I could file with that so that I can get my refund earlier? You are legally not allowed to file until you have your W-2 in hand. If you feel like getting bent over and ripped off you can try one of the retail preparer offices and sometimes they will give you an advance based on your pay stub.
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Jan 6, 2012 18:18
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quote:You are legally not allowed to file until you have your W-2 in hand. If you feel like getting bent over and ripped off you can try one of the retail preparer offices and sometimes they will give you an advance based on your pay stub. Isn't that illegal now?
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Jan 6, 2012 22:19
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Admiral101 posted:Isn't that illegal now? I don't know, but then I don't do RAL's so I wouldn't necessarily know.
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Jan 6, 2012 22:34
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furushotakeru posted:I don't know, but then I don't do RAL's so I wouldn't necessarily know. the big places still offer something like this. HRB's page says "offer expires 2/04/12", maybe that's when the legislation kicks in? http://hrblock.com/offices/tax-services-refund-options.html
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Jan 6, 2012 22:46
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scribe jones posted:the big places still offer something like this. HRB's page says "offer expires 2/04/12", maybe that's when the legislation kicks in? http://hrblock.com/offices/tax-services-refund-options.html More likely after that clients are supposed to have their W-2's.
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Jan 6, 2012 23:19
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Over the past few years I've always used Turbo Tax (free) to file my taxes. I'm single and currently not in school, just working. But within the last year or so, I received a promotion and a raise. I opened up a Roth IRA and (maxed out for 2011 and 2012), and I also have a savings account which made about $100 in interest. I did get a small dividend from my Roth IRA. Also, I've been contributing alot of money into my company's 401k. Would the free Turbo Tax still be a good option for me in terms of getting the biggest return and ensuring I don't owe the IRS money? From the OP, all my income is wages, I'm not self employed, do not own property, and no one is claiming me as a dependent. I just remember Turbo Tax never asking about my investments, so I'm a bit worried that I might have to state that somewhere on my return.
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Jan 7, 2012 11:51
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What do I do if I need to file as married separately but don't have any way of getting my ex-wife's social security number (We're on very bad terms right now) and I don't have time to get a copy of a prior return that would have this information. Long story, but I'm on a deadline to file some back tax returns that slipped through the cracks. I've done some research and it appears that A) I can't file as single because that would be perjury and B) the IRS will possibly just penalize me $50 for failing to provide her social security number on the return if I do file as married separately. Apparently, I could just leave it blank and provide a note disclosing that I was unable to get the number, but I don't know if that will fly with the IRS.
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Jan 7, 2012 16:47
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Encryptic posted:What do I do if I need to file as married separately but don't have any way of getting my ex-wife's social security number (We're on very bad terms right now) and I don't have time to get a copy of a prior return that would have this information. Long story, but I'm on a deadline to file some back tax returns that slipped through the cracks. I paper filed with a note once for my sister in law (her ex is illegal and doesn't have a TIN as far as I can tell). It went through eventually, and she wasn't penalized that I know of.
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Jan 7, 2012 19:36
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I am a grad student and I don't know how to get my maximum tax refund. I've heard about a "lifetime learning credit" but the information I've found online is confusing. Stuff about me: My stipend is $25,495. This includes tuition which is taxed. I've got ~$18,000 in student loans from undergrad that are in deferral. I did not buy any text books in 2011. Is there any deductions or anything I should know about that pertain to being a graduate student and/or having student loans? I'm not paying interest on the loans at this point. Thanks!
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Jan 8, 2012 07:20
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