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Dragyn posted:I got all the way to the end of this only to find out that you can't find a non-resident state through them. I would be surprised to hear if there were a free site that would be able to handle a non-resident state return. Googling might be your best option here.
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Jan 20, 2013 00:55
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Dragyn posted:I got all the way to the end of this only to find out that you can't find a non-resident state through them. I think TaxAct is a pretty reasonably priced online tax prep site. I used their professional product one year a while ago and it is bare bones but adequate for most returns.
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Jan 20, 2013 18:31
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Assuming DOMA is declared unconstitutional this year, what are the tax implications? In 2012, I had $5227 in imputed income, and then another $2075 in post-tax (versus pre-tax) insurance premiums because of DOMA. Over the last 3 years, this has added up to around an extra $5000 paid in taxes (possibly more. I haven't looked that deep into it). I can't imagine the government could claim to keep tax revenue it collected using an unconstitutional law, but I don't know if there are precedents for this sort of thing.
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Jan 21, 2013 01:40
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Toe Rag posted:Assuming DOMA is declared unconstitutional this year, what are the tax implications? In 2012, I had $5227 in imputed income, and then another $2075 in post-tax (versus pre-tax) insurance premiums because of DOMA. Over the last 3 years, this has added up to around an extra $5000 paid in taxes (possibly more. I haven't looked that deep into it). Typically you can file protective refund claims to secure refunds of wrongful overpayments from the statute of limitations, although I'm not an attorney and am not familiar with the specifics of when/how you would go about in order to file such a claim.
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Jan 21, 2013 01:49
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Thanks for this thread, it's always a great help! Two questions: 1) I'm active duty military. My home of record does not take state taxes out of my paycheck (Arizona). I think I filed state taxes back in 2006 when I first joined up, but there doesn't seem to be any reason I should now...nothing is getting withheld from me by the state on my paycheck, and I wouldn't get anything back by filing with them. Should I file with them anyways just to keep a record? 2) My wife was in the military and got out a few years ago and has been using her Post 9/11 GI Bill. Because of the GI Bill, all her tuition is paid. If we get a 1098-T from the school, should we claim that tuition on our taxes? I've received conflicting reports from other military members on this.
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Jan 21, 2013 03:44
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I have a weird situation, and I'm wondering if you guys think it's complicated enough to just go to a tax place and have them work through it with me rather than try to figure things out myself. My mom died in November, and I am her next-of-kin/heir named in her will. Firstly, I assume I will have to file her taxes for 2012, is that correct? Secondly, she owned a house (still had a mortgage) - the death was in 2012, but the court date that officially put the house in my name will be in 2013. Do I file my taxes as a homeowner for 2012 or not until 2013? Thirdly, you tell me - tell me anything you think I would need to know. I also inherited a large IRA, brokerage accounts, etc. I'm starting out pretty lost and have done next to no research, but figured I should start early this year because it's a weird year.
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Jan 21, 2013 06:09
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M3wThr33 posted:I found a list of online sites to do it and FreeTaxUSA was on there. Usually spent $200+ to get it professionally done. (Used my father's CPA, he used to run a business) I can vouch for FreeTaxUSA, I used them about 4 years running and they're one of the IRS' recommended efile providers. The only reason I switched to Turbotax is because of the credit union discount and the sheer number of extra forms I have to deal with. FTUsa's site can handle some curve balls but kind of falls down if you have too many types of income and/or deductions, IMO.
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Jan 21, 2013 07:23
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Toe Rag posted:Assuming DOMA is declared unconstitutional this year, what are the tax implications? In 2012, I had $5227 in imputed income, and then another $2075 in post-tax (versus pre-tax) insurance premiums because of DOMA. Over the last 3 years, this has added up to around an extra $5000 paid in taxes (possibly more. I haven't looked that deep into it). http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/Same-sex-couples-should-file-protective-refund-claims-64804-1.html drat Bananas posted:I have a weird situation, and I'm wondering if you guys think it's complicated enough to just go to a tax place and have them work through it with me rather than try to figure things out myself. Whether you own the house is somewhat irrelevant for income tax purposes, although it might matter for property tax purposes. Yes, you will file a final return for your mother. Technically you should report income earned by your mother up to her death on her personal tax return and file an estate tax return to report any income accrued after her death (ie, interest and dividends on accounts, etc.), but there is a $100 filing threshold for an estate or trust so if the income after death was minimal you might not actually have to file a 1041. furushotakeru fucked around with this message at 18:21 on Jan 21, 2013 |
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Jan 21, 2013 18:18
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I purchased a house in October of 2012 that has a separate basement unit that has been rented. It has been rented since taking possession of the house. How do I handle claiming the rent as income? I have received about $1900 for rental income in 2012. Is it going to be beneficial to itemize this year even though I only had the house for a few months in 2012? I do not foresee any other significant deductions for 2012.
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Jan 21, 2013 19:18
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So my tax situation is a lot more grim than I expected, and I'm wondering if there is anything I can do to offset this. Here's my basic situation, in the form of distilled W2s and a 1099-G: TurboTax free edition thinks I owe $647, presumably that's via the standard deduction. Filing single. I'm wondering if there's anything I can do to minimize that number. I'd even be willing to hire a preparer to get this fixed for me, but I'm thinking my situation is so simple that I don't have a lot of wiggle room. Not sure what sort of monetarily significant events from last year I could take as deductions. I bought a used car, which came with registration fees and significant sales tax, and I have $261 in student loan interest in the form of a 1098-E, but that doesn't come close to approaching the 5950 of the Std Deduction.
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Jan 21, 2013 19:33
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Deviant posted:So my tax situation is a lot more grim than I expected, and I'm wondering if there is anything I can do to offset this. Here's my basic situation, in the form of distilled W2s and a 1099-G: Student loan interest comes off the front of the 1040, not as an itemized deduction. Unless you're willing to drop into an IRA you're probably going to owe what you see.
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Jan 21, 2013 19:47
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Reginald posted:I purchased a house in October of 2012 that has a separate basement unit that has been rented. It has been rented since taking possession of the house. You're going to have to fill in Schedule E to calculate the net income/loss for the property; there's specific rules about the property treatment although it sounds like it's a pure rental in the basement space (that is, it wasn't used for personal purposes for X amount of days this year) so you shouldn't get capped in terms of expense deductions. And assuming that you've taken out a mortgage and have paid interest on it, you're more than likely going to itemize and take the home mortgage interest deduction on Schedule A (as well as the charitable contribution deduction, if you made any, and possibly others; note that the total qualifying itemized deductions should exceed your standard deduction for the year in order to justify taking it). Horseshoe theory fucked around with this message at 19:56 on Jan 21, 2013 |
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Jan 21, 2013 19:48
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AbbiTheDog posted:Student loan interest comes off the front of the 1040, not as an itemized deduction. Unless you're willing to drop into an IRA you're probably going to owe what you see. This is what I was afraid of. If I had IRA droppin' money laying around, paying that wouldn't be a big deal. Guess I'll save up, got plenty of time.
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Jan 21, 2013 19:48
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Deviant posted:This is what I was afraid of. If I had IRA droppin' money laying around, paying that wouldn't be a big deal. Guess I'll save up, got plenty of time. If you're working two jobs at the same time the withholding tables will fall apart for you. FYI.
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Jan 21, 2013 21:49
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AbbiTheDog posted:If you're working two jobs at the same time the withholding tables will fall apart for you. FYI. Nah, I got the axe from W2 #2 in...March? Dunno if that changes anything.
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Jan 21, 2013 21:55
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rentilius posted:Also, I don't know if it was touched on, but the IRS has announced a simplified option for claiming the home office deduction. This new option can be, at max, $1,500. Additionally, you cannot use the pro-rated amount of home mortgage interest and real estate taxes on that section of the house. This may affect any alternative minimum tax liability, but that's always a crapshoot.
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Jan 21, 2013 23:31
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Small White Dragon posted:Any of you tax guys looked at this in further detail? Rev Proc 2013-13, 2013-6 IRB, IR 2013-5 In a Revenue Procedure, IRS has provided an optional safe harbor method that individuals can use to determine the amount of their deductible home office expenses, effective for tax years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2013. The safe harbor—$5 × square feet of qualified use (up to 300 square feet)—provides an alternative to the calculation, allocation, and substantiation of actual expenses required under Code Sec. 280A. Background. The general rule under Code Sec. 280A(a) is that no deduction is allowed for the business use of a dwelling unit that's also used by the taxpayer as a residence during the tax year. But under exceptions, if strict requirements are met, deductions are allowed for direct expenses and the business-use part of the indirect expenses relating to business use of a residence: • Home office expenses are deductible if part of the home is used regularly and exclusively as (1) a principal place of business, or (2) as a place to meet or deal with customers or clients in the ordinary course of business. Taxpayers who are employees must meet an additional test—their use of the home office must be for the convenience of the employer. (Code Sec. 280A(c)(1)) • Expenses that are allocable to space within the dwelling unit used on a regular basis for the storage of inventory or product samples held for use in the taxpayer's trade or business of selling products at retail or wholesale are deductible if the dwelling unit is the sole fixed location of the trade or business. (Code Sec. 280A(c)(2)) • Expenses that are attributable to the rental of the dwelling unit or a part of the unit are deductible. (Code Sec. 280A(c)(3)) • Expenses that are allocable to the part of the dwelling unit used on a regular basis in the taxpayer's trade or business of providing day care for children, for individuals who have attained age 65, or for individuals who are physically or mentally incapable of caring for themselves are deductible. (Code Sec. 280A(c)(4)) These deductions are limited to the activity's gross income reduced by all other deductible expenses that are allowable regardless of qualified use (e.g., mortgage interest, real estate taxes, and casualty losses) and by the business deductions that aren't allocable to the use of the home itself (e.g., expenses of advertising, wages, and supplies). Expenses disallowed solely because they exceed business income can be carried forward, subject to the gross income limitation in the later year. (Code Sec. 280A(c)(5)) New safe harbor. To reduce the administrative, recordkeeping, and compliance burdens of determining the allowable deduction for the qualified business use of a residence under Code Sec. 280A, Rev Proc 2013-13 provides a safe harbor method under which an individual determines his allowable deduction for the qualified business use of a home by multiplying a prescribed rate ($5) by the square footage of the part of this residence that is used for business purposes, not to exceed 300 square feet. “Qualified business use” for this purpose is a business use that satisfies the requirements of Code Sec. 280A(c)(1) through Code Sec. 280A(c)(4)—that is, uses for which a deduction under Code Sec. 280A would otherwise be allowed. The $5 rate may be updated from time to time, as warranted. Adjustments are provided for determining the allowable square footage for a taxpayer with a qualified business use of a home for only a part of a year. (Rev Proc 2013-13, Sec. 3, Rev Proc 2013-13, Sec. 4) RIA observation: Thus, the maximum deduction under the safe harbor is limited to $1,500 ($5 rate × 300 square feet). For purposes of the safe harbor, “home” means a dwelling unit used by the taxpayer during the tax year as a residence (as defined in Code Sec. 280A(d) and Code Sec. 280A(f)(1)), including a dwelling unit leased by a taxpayer. However, only a dwelling unit that is Code Sec. 1250 property (generally depreciable real property) and MACRS property (generally defined in Reg. § 1.168(b)-1(a)(2) as tangible, depreciable property subject to Code Sec. 168 that is placed in service after Dec. 31, '86) qualifies as a home. (Rev Proc 2013-13, Sec. 3.03) The safe harbor method doesn't apply to an employee with a home office if he receives advances, allowances, or reimbursements for expenses related to the qualified business use of the employee's home under a reimbursement or other expense allowance arrangement with his employer. (Rev Proc 2013-13, Sec. 4.01(4)) The safe harbor is an alternative to deducting actual expenses. Accordingly, a taxpayer electing the safe harbor method for a tax year generally can't deduct any actual expenses related to the qualified business use of that home for that tax year, with the following exceptions: • Otherwise allowable home-related deductions. A taxpayer who itemizes deductions and uses the safe harbor may deduct any allowable expenses related to the home that are deductible without regard to whether there was a qualified business use of the home for that tax year (e.g., deductions for qualified residence interest, property taxes, and casualty losses). Taxpayers using the safe harbor method deduct these expenses as itemized deductions on Form 1040, Schedule A, and cannot deduct any part of these expenses from the gross income derived from the qualified business use of the home—either for purposes of determining the net income derived from the business or for purposes of determining the gross income limitation under Rev Proc 2013-13, Sec. 4.08(2) (which parallels the gross income limitation under Code Sec. 280A(c)(5)). Taxpayers with a qualified business use of a home who also have a rental use of the same home under Code Sec. 280A(c)(3) must allocate a portion of these expenses to the rental use to the extent required under Code Sec. 280A and its regs. (Rev Proc 2013-13, Sec. 4.04) • Business deductions unrelated to qualified home use. A taxpayer using the safe harbor method for a tax year may deduct any allowable trade or business expenses unrelated to the qualified business use of the home for that tax year (e.g., expenses for advertising, wages, and supplies). (Rev Proc 2013-13, Sec. 4.05) A taxpayer using the safe harbor for a tax year can't deduct any depreciation (including first-year bonus depreciation) or Code Sec. 179 expensing for the part of his home that is used in a qualified business use for that tax year. (Rev Proc 2013-13, Sec. 4.06) If he calculates and substantiates actual Code Sec. 280A expenses for a later year, he must calculate the depreciation deduction by using the appropriate optional depreciation table applicable for the property in the manner described in Rev Proc 2013-13, Sec. 4.07(2), regardless of whether he used an optional depreciation table for the property in its placed-in-service year. (Rev Proc 2013-13, Sec. 4.07) A taxpayer using the safe harbor method for a tax year can't deduct any disallowed amount under Code Sec. 280A(c)(5) carried over from a prior tax year during which the taxpayer calculated and substantiated actual Code Sec. 280A expenses. He can deduct the carried-over amount in the next succeeding tax year in which he calculates and substantiates actual Code Sec. 280A expenses. (Rev Proc 2013-13, Sec. 4.08(3)) Electing the safe harbor. A taxpayer may elect from tax year to tax year whether to use the safe harbor method or calculate and substantiate actual expenses under Code Sec. 280A. A taxpayer elects the safe harbor by using the method to compute the deduction for the qualified business use of a home on his timely filed, original federal income tax return for the tax year. Once made, an election for the tax year is irrevocable. A change from using the safe harbor method in one year to actual expenses in a succeeding tax year (or vice-versa) isn't a change in accounting methods. (Rev Proc 2013-13, Sec. 4.03)
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Jan 21, 2013 23:48
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Small White Dragon posted:Any of you tax guys looked at this in further detail? It doesn't apply for 2012, so no I have not paid too much attention to it. It starts in 2013 though so I'm sure we will all hear a lot about it in our continuing education classes, etc.
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Jan 22, 2013 00:08
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AbbiTheDog did you take that straight from CCH
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Jan 22, 2013 00:11
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rentilius posted:AbbiTheDog did you take that straight from CCH Whhhaaaaattt? Edit: For the $5k a year I pay them, they can deal with some copy and paste. AbbiTheDog fucked around with this message at 02:06 on Jan 22, 2013 |
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Jan 22, 2013 00:28
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My wife is in grad school, and the 1098-T she received doesn't match what was paid in 2012. I assume it is all right to put down what was actually paid, and not what the 1098-T reflects. The school reports Box 2, which only included fall tuition. We paid for spring tuition at the end of December.
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Jan 22, 2013 16:25
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My wife and I are going to be given a gift of 100 thousand USD from her relatives overseas and we are looking for the best legal but tax advantaged way to receive the money. It is our understanding that if the money comes from a foreign account via wire transfer from the gifters that there should be no issue and that my wife can receive 14K from each gifter and I can receive 14k as well. The people sending the gifts are her two brothers and their wives so it seems that we could do 12.5k from each of the four parties and have it destined half and half to my wife and I. Is this basically correct? Does there need to be an accounting of the origins of this money? Does it matter where the money originates from? It can either come from Belarus or Russia. We are thinking of having it come as a bank transfer from Russia since relations are somewhat more normal between the US and them.
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Jan 22, 2013 17:29
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demonachizer posted:My wife and I are going to be given a gift of 100 thousand USD from her relatives overseas and we are looking for the best legal but tax advantaged way to receive the money. It is our understanding that if the money comes from a foreign account via wire transfer from the gifters that there should be no issue and that my wife can receive 14K from each gifter and I can receive 14k as well. The people sending the gifts are her two brothers and their wives so it seems that we could do 12.5k from each of the four parties and have it destined half and half to my wife and I. There's a form for foreign gifts received, but I don't recall what it is. Talk to the google about it.
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Jan 22, 2013 17:50
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AbbiTheDog posted:There's a form for foreign gifts received, but I don't recall what it is. Talk to the google about it. http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Gifts-from-Foreign-Person
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Jan 22, 2013 18:29
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demonachizer posted:My wife and I are going to be given a gift of 100 thousand USD from her relatives overseas and we are looking for the best legal but tax advantaged way to receive the money. It is our understanding that if the money comes from a foreign account via wire transfer from the gifters that there should be no issue and that my wife can receive 14K from each gifter and I can receive 14k as well. The people sending the gifts are her two brothers and their wives so it seems that we could do 12.5k from each of the four parties and have it destined half and half to my wife and I. If the relatives overseas are not US citizens or legal residents (that is, foreign citizens), there is no tax implications on their end (that is, the exceptions and Estate/Gift Unified Credit wouldn't be relevant since they can gift as much as they want, subject to their own country's gift tax rules). You would just have to file the aforementioned Form 3520 for informational purposes.
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Jan 22, 2013 18:42
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I have a relatively simple question. My employer forgot to take the extra 2% out of my first check of the year. They then took it out of my second check. Is this legal? California, if it matters. I have been under the impression that an employer can only take out as much as you give them permission to on the W4 and if they make a mistake in your favor, it is on them.
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Jan 22, 2013 22:05
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kansas posted:I worked for two employers this year. Between the two of them I contributed $17,080 in total across the two 401k traditional, non-roth plans (my mistake). Re-posting this because I am making no progress in my own research. It is like both the custodian and my employer have never heard of this before, seriously its like I am speaking a foreign language. Both of them say the other one has to help me and they cannot do anything. Does anyone who who is accountable for getting this fixed? Also what will happen if I do nothing?
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Jan 22, 2013 22:43
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kansas posted:Re-posting this because I am making no progress in my own research. It is like both the custodian and my employer have never heard of this before, seriously its like I am speaking a foreign language. Both of them say the other one has to help me and they cannot do anything. Does anyone who who is accountable for getting this fixed? Also what will happen if I do nothing? You'll need to take out the excess contributions plus any attributable earnings. The custodian will issue you a 1099-R with the distribution code P. The problem is that this will be a 2013 1099-R but the income is technically taxable in 2012 so you will need to amend your 1040.
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Jan 22, 2013 22:48
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Waltzing Along posted:I have a relatively simple question. The 2% is your FICA tax obligation to the federal government. The W-4 handles the amount of allowances you want to claim when withholding federal income tax. The two taxes are unrelated in this case. If he didn't withhold the extra on your next check, your W-2 at the end of the year would show less than 6.2% withheld from your gross wages and I'm pretty sure the IRS would collect it then as Unreported Social Security tax.
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Jan 22, 2013 22:59
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furushotakeru posted:You'll need to take out the excess contributions plus any attributable earnings. The custodian will issue you a 1099-R with the distribution code P. The problem is that this will be a 2013 1099-R but the income is technically taxable in 2012 so you will need to amend your 1040. Thanks Furu, can I just add the amount ($80) over the $17,000 to line 7 of my 1040 and essentially pay taxes twice, but not have to deal with my HR department/custodian?
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Jan 22, 2013 23:24
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kansas posted:Thanks Furu, can I just add the amount ($80) over the $17,000 to line 7 of my 1040 and essentially pay taxes twice, but not have to deal with my HR department/custodian? You can certainly put it on your return in anticipation of the forthcoming 1099-R next year, and avoid having to amend. You will still need to talk to your custodian however.
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Jan 22, 2013 23:27
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furushotakeru posted:You can certainly put it on your return in anticipation of the forthcoming 1099-R next year, and avoid having to amend. You will still need to talk to your custodian however. That's under the assumption the IRS computers will not screw it up. If it's a small dollar amount I'd probably just let it slide and pay off the notice when it arrives in October.
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Jan 22, 2013 23:46
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Small question. I am single but have a daughter which her mom and I switch exemption each year. I get to claim her for 2012 however I do not have her for more than half of the year. Do I file as single and put her down as a dependent and just receive the child tax credit and her mom would receive the other benefits?
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Jan 23, 2013 01:01
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Harminoff posted:Small question. I am single but have a daughter which her mom and I switch exemption each year. I get to claim her for 2012 however I do not have her for more than half of the year. Sounds correct to me.
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Jan 23, 2013 01:11
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ThirdPartyView posted:If the relatives overseas are not US citizens or legal residents (that is, foreign citizens), there is no tax implications on their end (that is, the exceptions and Estate/Gift Unified Credit wouldn't be relevant since they can gift as much as they want, subject to their own country's gift tax rules). You would just have to file the aforementioned Form 3520 for informational purposes. That is the case. I am just surprised that the IRS doesn't care about this because it seems easily abused. Will it increase the likelihood for an audit or something? Am I also understanding correctly that if the amount was less than 100k I don't have to file any form at all or report it in any way? Demonachizer fucked around with this message at 03:48 on Jan 23, 2013 |
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Jan 23, 2013 03:44
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demonachizer posted:That is the case. I am just surprised that the IRS doesn't care about this because it seems easily abused. Will it increase the likelihood for an audit or something? For best results, make sure to get personal gifts of 99k from China, North Korea, and Libya.
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Jan 23, 2013 03:48
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saltylopez posted:The 2% is your FICA tax obligation to the federal government. The W-4 handles the amount of allowances you want to claim when withholding federal income tax. The two taxes are unrelated in this case. If he didn't withhold the extra on your next check, your W-2 at the end of the year would show less than 6.2% withheld from your gross wages and I'm pretty sure the IRS would collect it then as Unreported Social Security tax. That wasn't my question, though. I'm asking if it is legal for an employer to take EXTRA taxes from a paycheck because they goofed up and didn't do it on an earlier one.
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Jan 23, 2013 04:19
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Waltzing Along posted:That wasn't my question, though. I'm asking if it is legal for an employer to take EXTRA taxes from a paycheck because they goofed up and didn't do it on an earlier one. Yes.
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Jan 23, 2013 04:32
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Waltzing Along posted:That wasn't my question, though. I'm asking if it is legal for an employer to take EXTRA taxes from a paycheck because they goofed up and didn't do it on an earlier one. I don't know about other payroll software, but Creative Solutions will do the same thing you described your employer doing if not enough FICA is withheld from a check. The employer has an obligation to withhold this tax from your wages and pay it to the IRS. Not doing so would just lead to them or their accountant having a headache 3 months from now when they go to file their 941's.
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Jan 23, 2013 04:51
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scribe jones posted:Yes. Thank you for the quick and succinct answer.
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Jan 23, 2013 04:58
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