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TenjouUtena posted:Don't look at this as "How Much Refund do I get" but "How much tax do I pay" Meaning you pay less taxes MFJ? I realize the overall goal everyone should have is not so much getting a refund as it is getting as close to zero as possible (so you aren't giving an interest free loan to the government).
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Jan 26, 2014 00:32
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This is moving into a realm where you're asking for very specific tax advice, whereby you should go see a tax accountant if you want someone to figure it out for you. Both people claiming zero will maximize your refund, but it probably not the best case tax scenario. it's hard to tell, in your exact tax situation what you should do. If you follow the instructions on the W-4 you'll probably come out OK, but it's hard to tell without analyzing your exact situation, which is in that 'go take all your stuff to a tax accountant' situation.
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Jan 26, 2014 05:20
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scribe jones posted:It doesn't matter. If you type it in one way and it gets rejected, try it the other way instead Sounds like a plan.
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Jan 26, 2014 21:26
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nwin posted:I'm trying to determine why my refund went into the Owed column this year. Some basic info:...
 nwin posted:Meaning you pay less taxes MFJ? Regarding taxes owed, following the 2013 1040 I show a tax of $6007 MFJ, but $6178 and $500 MFS. There's a pretty clear winner there. I've known people to not get married because filing as separate single people carries less tax liability, but the tables suggest that only works for higher AGIs. All these numbers are terrible approximations on the grounds mentioned by TenjouUtena. Things like pretax 401k and health care deductions change much, so you either need to plod through the public documentation on how withholding and taxes work, or you need to pay someone to do it for you.
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Jan 27, 2014 18:09
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Alright, so I just found out about the "Saver's Tax Credit" that you can get for contributing to a Roth IRA or other retirement account. I opened a Roth IRA around the first week of January this year and contributed $5,000. I put it in my name. I found out that I am not eligible for the Saver's Tax Credit because I was a full-time student in 2013 (WTF?). Anyway my husband and I are really low income and if I had put the Roth IRA in his name, we would get back a 50% tax credit! Whoa! Is there anything I can do about this? Can I move the money from a Roth IRA in my name to a Roth IRA in his name and claim the credit since he wasn't a student? Also, I already filed and submitted our taxes in TurboTax - doesn't the IRS start with the tax stuff on the 31st? So I have like... three days to do this (if I can do it at all, or can I cancel my tax stuff going through?) It says my tax returns are "pending" and I can't change them until they go through? Also I filed a 1040EZ. I can only get this credit if I file a 1040. Can I go back and change this? I just want to be able to start completely over with my taxes! Is there any possible way I can still get this tax credit? It's a lot of money! razz fucked around with this message at 20:56 on Jan 27, 2014 |
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Jan 27, 2014 20:18
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I was trying to get my feet wet with stocks for the first time this year, and I made only $1.02 from a single sale. I have a form 1099-B, but I'm trying to file my taxes using software, which is now informing me I have to upgrade to a paid edition of the software in order to input that information. I feel like I should still file the form even though it was such a small gain, but it's going to cost $50 to file now. Is there any free software that will support inputting this information? Edit: I also apparently made a whopping $.14 in interest off one of my bank accounts, which I hadn't even noticed. From what I can tell with the software, it rounds figures to the nearest dollar. Is it necessary to report that interest? JulianD fucked around with this message at 21:17 on Jan 27, 2014 |
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Jan 27, 2014 21:09
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razz posted:Alright, so I just found out about the "Saver's Tax Credit" that you can get for contributing to a Roth IRA or other retirement account. I opened a Roth IRA around the first week of January this year and contributed $5,000. I put it in my name. I found out that I am not eligible for the Saver's Tax Credit because I was a full-time student in 2013 (WTF?). You should have until April 15th to undo your Roth contribution and make a Roth Contribution to an account under your husband's name.
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Jan 27, 2014 21:17
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furushotakeru posted:You should have until April 15th to undo your Roth contribution and make a Roth Contribution to an account under your husband's name. So I can do this and then just amend my tax return and fill out the 8880 form for the credit, correct? I think I'll definitely be hiring someone to help me with this... I've always just done the EZ form on TurboTax for free. So is it not... shady or weird to open a Roth IRA, then take out all the money and close it less than a month later? Should I keep my "empty" account open, or will I be able to open a new Roth IRA under my name in the future? Obviously I know very little to nothing about investments. THANK YOU! Oh one more thing - I filed my taxes 3 or 4 days ago, so that will all just go through and I'll get my tax return (the amount that doesn't include the Saver's Tax Credit), and then I can still file the amendment? So I'll basically be getting 2 tax returns? Or do I have to cancel everything or what? I'm literally a child. razz fucked around with this message at 21:24 on Jan 27, 2014 |
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Jan 27, 2014 21:22
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American Opportunity Credit question: if my classes required me to buy access to an online homework/study guide/e-book site like McGraw-Hill Connect or Pearson Mastering, is that a qualified education expense?
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Jan 27, 2014 21:41
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Kilty Monroe posted:American Opportunity Credit question: if my classes required me to buy access to an online homework/study guide/e-book site like McGraw-Hill Connect or Pearson Mastering, is that a qualified education expense? From http://www.irs.gov/uac/American-Opportunity-Tax-Credit discussing how the American Opportunity Credit replaced the HOPE Credit: "It also adds required course materials to the list of qualifying expenses" The content of your homework website sounds like a required material, so I would say definitely yes. EDIT: Also this from http://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/ch02.html#en_US_2013_publink1000204341 "However, expenses for books, supplies, and equipment needed for a course of study are included in qualified education expenses whether or not the materials are purchased from the educational institution." So still yes.
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Jan 28, 2014 00:22
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razz posted:So is it not... shady or weird to open a Roth IRA, then take out all the money and close it less than a month later? Should I keep my "empty" account open, or will I be able to open a new Roth IRA under my name in the future? Obviously I know very little to nothing about investments. I can't help you with the tax questions, but regarding the Roth IRA it doesn't really matter if you close it or not, there's no limit on the number of Roth IRA accounts you can have at various institutions, only a limit on your yearly contributions. And double check the rules with the institution--there is often a fee for selling shares that you don't hold a certain amount of time. Check this penalty against the tax credit and make sure you come out on top (you probably will if the tax credit is really 50%).
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Jan 28, 2014 00:31
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If a 1099-MISC is sent to the wrong address (wrong state), but is still received, do you need to request the company to send a new one, or does it not matter as long as the EIN is correct?
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Jan 28, 2014 00:51
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JohnnyPalace posted:From http://www.irs.gov/uac/American-Opportunity-Tax-Credit discussing how the American Opportunity Credit replaced the HOPE Credit: Practical reality is that unless you're going part-time or to a community college the tuition for a standard four year university or college will max you out on the eligible costs for the credit anyways, so any additional effort might be wasting your time.
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Jan 28, 2014 01:23
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SurgicalOntologist posted:I can't help you with the tax questions, but regarding the Roth IRA it doesn't really matter if you close it or not, there's no limit on the number of Roth IRA accounts you can have at various institutions, only a limit on your yearly contributions. Gotcha, that makes sense. I called Vanguard and got it all worked out. I had literally just put the money in a target retirement date fund (like, 3 weeks ago) and it didn't have any earnings (actually lost 90 bucks) so I didn't have any penalties. So now I have an empty account but I'll just put the extra tax return money back in there when we get it  Now I have to do my taxes again, but oh well it's worth it. The credit for a couple filing jointly with our income (<$36,000) is 50% of the IRA contribution up to $2,000. Since the amount we will be contributing to the IRA is $5,000 we should get the full $2000. You can get this credit filing jointly up to $55,000 but then the credit goes down to 10% instead of 50%.
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Jan 28, 2014 02:56
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JohnnyPalace posted:From http://www.irs.gov/uac/American-Opportunity-Tax-Credit discussing how the American Opportunity Credit replaced the HOPE Credit: Thanks. I thought so, but I really wasn't sure how strict their interpretation of "books, supplies, and equipment" was. AbbiTheDog posted:Practical reality is that unless you're going part-time or to a community college the tuition for a standard four year university or college will max you out on the eligible costs for the credit anyways, so any additional effort might be wasting your time. This is actually my last semester at community college, and employer tuition assistance benefits on top of low costs has left me with a good amount of room left in my eligible expenses this year.
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Jan 28, 2014 04:07
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Mortgage Interest Deduction Question: I'm unmarried and bought a small house with my partner in January 2013 because I like committing to large amount of debt at my age. For the most part we keep our finance separate except for a joint account that we opened in November 2013. He paid the down payment on the house and I paid the monthly mortgage out of my own savings until December 2013. Our mortgage was sold twice (local group, then Sallie Mae, Wells Fargo) and I've got the Form 1098s from the first and the third in that list. I don't believe I made any payments to Sallie Mae while they had it. Anywho, his name/SSN are on the original lender's 1098 and both of us are on the WF 1098. From what I've seen online, the person with the higher income can claim it if the other doesn't. Or, splitting it up by amount of interest paid and using a Schedule A? If possible, I'd rather just put it on my and save the hassle. I'm still waiting on some 1099 forms so I'm not in a rush quite yet.
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Jan 28, 2014 05:16
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razz posted:So I can do this and then just amend my tax return and fill out the 8880 form for the credit, correct? I think I'll definitely be hiring someone to help me with this... I've always just done the EZ form on TurboTax for free. Not really, Roth IRA contribution eligibility is limited to income below a certain threshold. It isn't that uncommon to make a Roth contribution early in a year only to find out when you file your return that you aren't allowed to make a Roth IRA contribution, which is why the mechanism exists to undo the contribution by 4/15.
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Jan 28, 2014 07:24
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Kitsch! posted:Mortgage Interest Deduction Question: You can divvy up the interest between the two of you however you wish. Just be sure that the one who isn't first on the 1098 reports the mortgage interest as non-1098 interest to avoid matching notices from the IRS.
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Jan 28, 2014 07:26
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My (unlicensed) contractor installed a gas boiler for our new gas hookup in 2013 and he mentioned there's a federal tax credit for this. However, i noticed my boiler has an AFUE efficiency of 91.2: http://www.weil-mclain.com/en/weil-mclain/pd-gv-90-plus-gas-boiler/ The only thing i can see for tax credits on high efficiency boilers is for AFUE 95% or more: https://www.energystar.gov/?c=tax_credits.tx_index Is he blowing smoke up my rear end on this?
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Jan 28, 2014 19:54
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Mister Fister posted:My (unlicensed) contractor installed a gas boiler for our new gas hookup in 2013 and he mentioned there's a federal tax credit for this. However, i noticed my boiler has an AFUE efficiency of 91.2: Sounds like you already have your answer.
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Jan 28, 2014 23:24
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A neat tidbit I found in doing my prep for this year's return: This year the home office deduction has a new option for schedule C filers. You can continue to do the normal-style home office deduction, but the IRS now offers a simplified $5/square foot calculation for a total of $1500 maximum (300 square feet). For a small schedule C type like me, this will make things much easier as it means much less paperwork to keep track. You can't depreciate your home when used for business using this method. Since I have an area of my apartment that I use as my art/photo studio area, this new method will make both my life and my accountant's life easier. I had been previously using the old, complicated method for my studio. http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Simplified-Option-for-Home-Office-Deduction kefkafloyd fucked around with this message at 23:39 on Jan 28, 2014 |
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Jan 28, 2014 23:32
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I pay a college student $200 a month to look after my kids for an hour in the mornings when I go to work. I suspect this is a "cash under the table" sort of agreement and that she's likely not going to claim this as income (its only come out to about $700 total since we just started in September). If I get her SS number to take the Child and Dependent Care Credit is the IRS going to hunt her down and demand she claim that income? Would love the credit but don't want to screw her over in case she doesn't claim that income on her return.
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Jan 29, 2014 04:32
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Hawklad posted:I pay a college student $200 a month to look after my kids for an hour in the mornings when I go to work. I suspect this is a "cash under the table" sort of agreement and that she's likely not going to claim this as income (its only come out to about $700 total since we just started in September). It looks like you will owe FICA taxes on her if you pay $200/month but won't owe FUTA or state UI. You'll want to withhold social security and Medicare and file Schedule H with your 1040 and get her a W2. If you pay her under the table then she files for unemployment after you let her go, your rear end is grass. The FICA reporting threshold in 2014 is $1900. If you need more specific advice, let me know. Your exact situation is what I look at all day every day. Xibanya fucked around with this message at 05:10 on Jan 29, 2014 |
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Jan 29, 2014 05:07
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I hadn't even really thought about that part of it (her filing unemployment). I'll have to have a chat with her about paying FICA going forward. Definitely don't want to expose myself to audit/tax evasion issues. As for 2013, I looked at Schedule H and since I only payed her a grand total of $700 in 2013 I don't think I need to file it (though I will for sure this year). So it sounds like I'm good taking the credit and she can claim the income as "other income"?? Or since I'm over $600 do I need to issue her a 1099-MISC? Thanks for the advice!
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Jan 29, 2014 05:33
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Hawklad posted:I hadn't even really thought about that part of it (her filing unemployment). I'll have to have a chat with her about paying FICA going forward. Definitely don't want to expose myself to audit/tax evasion issues. You'll want to either have her repay you for FICA for the wages you already paid her in 2014 or "gross up" from the net you already paid her this January. Once you cross the threshold, you both owe FICA from the first dollar paid that year. It's 7.65% of her gross wage. It's better to withhold from the beginning and refund her the taxes if you don't cross than have to ask her to cough up the SS and Medicare once you do. You really shouldn't give her a 1099. She's not an independent contractor but an employee, and listing her as a contractor essentially lets you skip out in paying FICA and sticks her with all 15.3% of the bill. I'm on a phone now, so instead of listing IC vs employee stuff, I'll direct you to IRS publication 926, the Household Employer's guide. A babysitter is specifically named there as an employee. You should furnish her with a W2 if you want to report those wages this year for certain. usually the DCA receipt will ask for the tax ID of the entity providing care. In the case of a day care, a FEIN. In the case of a domestic employee (babysitter) a social security number. PM me your email and I'll get you a PDF of a DCA receipt tomorrow. Oh yeah and you def have to give her social for the child care tax credit. (Pub 503) A few edits the next day since I now see how disorganized that looks. Still on my phone. Oh well. Xibanya fucked around with this message at 17:01 on Jan 29, 2014 |
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Jan 29, 2014 06:19
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Hawklad posted:I pay a college student $200 a month to look after my kids for an hour in the mornings when I go to work. I suspect this is a "cash under the table" sort of agreement and that she's likely not going to claim this as income (its only come out to about $700 total since we just started in September). To answer your other question, the child care credit is basically a paid snitching program - if you make any amount of decent money, the credit is reduced to pocket change. So yes, your "employee" will need to report the income.
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Jan 29, 2014 17:45
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AbbiTheDog posted:To answer your other question, the child care credit is basically a paid snitching program - if you make any amount of decent money, the credit is reduced to pocket change. By pocket change, Abbi means 20% of spending on child care up to $3000 for one kid or $6000 for two. So...$140 bux! Woohoo!
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Jan 29, 2014 18:37
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Never mind.
Stalker fucked around with this message at 20:53 on Feb 1, 2014 |
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Jan 29, 2014 18:41
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Does anyone have any info or resources on deductions you can take based on relocation fees from Canada? A neighbor in my apartment building moved to the US from Canada in 2013 and estimates her expenses were around $5,000. I've searched google but the results were all just generic "yes, you can claim this" without any dollar amounts.
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Jan 29, 2014 19:26
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hot sauce posted:Does anyone have any info or resources on deductions you can take based on relocation fees from Canada? A neighbor in my apartment building moved to the US from Canada in 2013 and estimates her expenses were around $5,000. I've searched google but the results were all just generic "yes, you can claim this" without any dollar amounts. Out of pocket moving costs for a move from a foreign country into the US should qualify as long as they meet the work requirement. Moves out of the US do not qualify.
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Jan 29, 2014 19:45
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Do you know if there is a dollar amount limit?
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Jan 29, 2014 20:28
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hot sauce posted:Do you know if there is a dollar amount limit? There is none that I am aware of. For international moves I have had $15K+ deductions. I'm sure it draws some attention but it isn't illegal to deduct that much.
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Jan 29, 2014 20:32
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Xibanya posted:By pocket change, Abbi means 20% of spending on child care up to $3000 for one kid or $6000 for two. Considering the phaseout tops out at $43,000 of AGI, it is crazy low, unless you're a single mom working minimum wage, and that's not really my client base.
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Jan 29, 2014 21:23
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AbbiTheDog posted:Considering the phaseout tops out at $43,000 of AGI, it is crazy low, unless you're a single mom working minimum wage, and that's not really my client base. I know. Maybe I should have written "Woohoo!  "
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Jan 29, 2014 21:45
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Question about IRA recharacterizations and contributions I can't seem to get straight from googling or the IRS site. I had been contributing max amount to a roth IRA every year. A couple of years ago I had some stock stuff come up that pushed me over the magi max for that year. So at tax time I went back and recharacterized the roth contribution for that year to a traditional ira. Last year I had quit my job and have low income for this year. I recharacterized it (original amount + gains) back into my roth because 1. I expect to be at a higher bracket later and 2. I like consolidation of my stuff. My question is, does that rechar count towards my general contribution limit to the roth ira for last year? My magi won't be anywhere near the limit. Also, I think I pay tax on that rechar... as I understand it I pay tax on the original amount put into the traditional IRA, and not the additional gains it made while it was there that are being put into the roth ira as well?
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Jan 29, 2014 21:46
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I sold some stock and realized some gains inside a rollover IRA and used that money to buy different stocks in that same IRA. Will I be paying capital gains tax?
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Jan 29, 2014 23:54
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Xibanya posted:I know. Maybe I should have written "Woohoo! I don't know, sarcasm doesn't seem to go over well on the internet.
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Jan 30, 2014 01:18
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Quick question because this is my first year I've worked full time the entire year. I'm a MA resident, MA drivers license and plates on my car. I was living in RI in an apartment with friends and worked there from 01/2013 until 09/2013. This job had adequate state and federal tax taken care of. In October, I moved to NY for a better job. It was a contract position, but I still received a W-2 and they took out taxes. Just got my W-2 from my job in RI, so I went to Turbo Tax to fill out my stuff and get a nice fat full time big boy job tax return. And it says I owe $1800 to NY. So, I'm going to be really upfront because this doesn't seem right to me: RI I made $29K and I paid $1K in State Income Tax. NY I made $16K and I paid $820 in State Income Tax. I find it very strange that I made less in NY, already paid almost as much as I did for RI and still owe more than double what I've already paid.
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Jan 30, 2014 15:51
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Strange question, but I've been playing a LOT of charity poker tournements, and the general vibe I get from the other players is that they just deduct the full entry fee for the year and mark the company that runs the tournys as the charity. Is that correct? I've been trying to get the name of the specific individual charities that each tournament goes to, but it's sometimes hard to figure out. I have all the reciepts as my tax guy always asks for full documentation for all cash donations, and I'm sure he'll be able to answer this, but I thought I'd get a jump on seeing what I need to compile before I sit with him. Thanks for any help, as this is the first year that I've played a substatial amount of charity poker. The website of the poker company is here in case it helps: http://www.easternpokertour.com/
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Jan 30, 2014 16:06
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I know this question was touched upon on the OP, but I'm still a little unclear. I'm completely oblivious about filing taxes, since I used to simply throw my papers at my family accountant and let him take care of everything, so this is undoubtedly a dumb question. I just recently moved from New Jersey to Virginia and will be doing my taxes on my own for the first time. The move was right at the beginning of the new year, so I didn't pay any taxes in VA before the end of 2013. I'm assuming I should just go about things as if I'm still in NJ, with my mailing address being the only change? Does anything need to be done on the VA side of things, if I haven't earned any income or paid any taxes in the state?
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Jan 30, 2014 16:27
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