US Income Tax Thread: Bank error in your favor! GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > US Income Tax Thread: Bank error in your favor! GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL.

Hillridge: Aug 3, 2004; WWheeeeeee!

This year I received a $6000 rebate from NH for installing roughly 5kW of solar panels on my home. I got a 1099-G from the state listing the $6000 as a "Taxable Energy Grant".

Is a rebate considered the same thing as a grant? I'm a little annoyed because I feel like I'm getting taxed twice - Once on the income I used to pay for the system, then again on the $6000 rebate of post-tax money.

# ¿ Mar 27, 2011 21:28

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# ¿ May 2, 2024 11:15

Hillridge: Aug 3, 2004; WWheeeeeee!

It's not free money, it's money I got back after paying for everything up front and meticulously keeping records and filing paper work. You're right that I get a nice federal credit too, but I think if the state is going to treat this as grant money, they should call it a grant and not a rebate.

Out of curiosity, If I went to Best Buy and got a new TV that costs $2000 but has a $500 mail in rebate, would I have to pay taxes on that $500 I got back?

# ¿ Mar 29, 2011 01:51

Hillridge: Aug 3, 2004; WWheeeeeee!

Are there restrictions on how much/what I can donate to a 501c3 if I'm a board member of that 501c3?

I'm thinking about donating my old truck to the non-profit I help run, but a friend thought there may be a law forbidding me to claim it as a deduction. If it matters, the non-profit would be keeping the truck to use, not selling it.

To further complicate things, we're not a 501c3 ourselves, but operate under a parent 501c3 as a group exemption.

Hillridge fucked around with this message at 02:45 on May 7, 2011

# ¿ May 7, 2011 02:43

Hillridge: Aug 3, 2004; WWheeeeeee!

I'm a director of a NH non-profit (not a 501c3), and we want to start offering classes through our organization. The current plan is to have each class run by whichever person wants to teach it, with the class fees being handled by our organization. We keep 40%, the instructor keeps 60%. What do we need to do as far as tax paperwork goes when we pay the 60% to these instructors? Would we need to fill out a 1099-MISC for each one?

# ¿ Jul 25, 2011 15:24

Hillridge: Aug 3, 2004; WWheeeeeee!

Thanks. So if the payment is under 600, we aren't required to do anything with regards to the instructor? It'll be in our financial records since it's technically money we spent, but I expect we'll have a decent number of under $600 payouts, and not having to deal with paperwork (collecting SSNs, etc.) would be great.

# ¿ Jul 26, 2011 16:55

Hillridge: Aug 3, 2004; WWheeeeeee!

I'm trying to determine the tax implications of putting my girlfriend on my insurance as a domestic partner, and the 3rd party HR company based out of Mexico that we use sucks balls at answering anything more than rudimentary questions. I'm hoping you can help with this one:

Basically, our "Summary of Tax Treatment of Coverage Provided for Domestic Partners and Children of Domestic Partners for Benefit Program for U.S. Employees" document states that:

quote:

Tax Consequences of Coverage for Domestic Partners and Children of Domestic Partners
Under federal tax law, if your domestic partner or the child(ren) of your domestic partner does not qualify as your tax dependent for health coverage purposes (as defined below), you will be required to pay your contribution for that coverage on an after-tax basis under the Plan. The company�s contribution for the coverage provided to such individuals will be included in your gross income, subject to federal income tax withholding and employment taxes, and will be reported on your Form W-2.
If your domestic partner or child(ren) qualifies as your tax dependent for health coverage purposes (as defined below), then you will be able to pay for the applicable coverage on a pre-tax basis under the Plan and no portion of the contribution made by the company will be included in your income or be subject to federal withholding or employment taxes. Note that if your domestic partner or child(ren) fails to qualify as your tax dependent for health coverage purposes for the entire year because of a change in his or her tax status during the year, the value of the applicable coverage for the portion of the year prior to the change will be included in your gross income and related income tax and employment tax withholding will be charged to your pay as rapidly as possible. The catch-up on withholding will reduce your take-home pay for some periods.
You should also note that state tax treatment may differ. For example, some states exclude same-sex spouse or domestic partner coverage from gross income for state income tax purposes, even if the same-sex spouse or domestic partner is not a tax dependent for health coverage purposes under federal law. See your CPA, attorney, or other tax advisor for more information.

Who Is a Tax Dependent for Health Coverage Purposes?

The following conditions must be met in order for your domestic partner to qualify as your tax dependent for health coverage purposes under federal tax law:

� you and your domestic partner have the same principal place of abode for the entire calendar year;
� your domestic partner is a member of your household for the entire calendar year (the relationship must not violate local law);
� During the calendar year you provide more than half of the total support for your domestic partner;
� your domestic partner is not your (or anyone else�s) �qualifying child� under Code � 152(c); and
� your domestic partner is a U.S. citizen, a U.S. national, or a resident of the U.S., Canada, or Mexico.

Your domestic partner could be your federal tax dependent for health coverage purposes even if you do not claim an exemption for him or her on your Form 1040. [Company] will also consider your opposite-sex domestic partner to be your federal tax dependent for health coverage purposes if he or she meets the above requirements for the first portion of the year, then you marry, and he or she remains your legal spouse for the remainder of the year.

I bolded and italicized the bit at the end that interests me. Am I correct in reading that, so long as we meet the 5 bullet points, I can claim them as a dependent for health coverage purposes, and thus avoid taxation on their benefits, even if I do not claim them as a dependent for tax purposes (we file taxes completely separately)?

Hillridge fucked around with this message at 17:46 on Sep 12, 2012

# ¿ Sep 12, 2012 15:23

Hillridge: Aug 3, 2004; WWheeeeeee!

Thanks.

For now we're just looking into adding dental, since she is covered on her parents' plan medically. I think that may make it so that bullet point #4 isn't true though, since she is probably a "qualifying child" on her dad's plan. Paying tax on the dental wouldn't be a big deal since it's so cheap ($88 out of pocket and $260 of extra income a year) it would still work out to overall savings. She'll age out of her dad's medical soon enough and then it becomes more of an issue since it would be hundreds of dollars a month in additional "income" if I put her on my medical.

Hillridge fucked around with this message at 19:25 on Sep 12, 2012

# ¿ Sep 12, 2012 19:18

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# ¿ May 2, 2024 11:15

Hillridge: Aug 3, 2004; WWheeeeeee!

In addition to a W-2 for a retail job, my girlfriend works as an independent contractor. It's a confusing setup though. She works out of a salon, by appointment, but they handle collection of payment and then pay her (she makes a % of each service). Her income is reported on a 1099-MISC and they don't take out taxes. Is this a situation where she can deduct mileage for having to drive to the salon and back for each appointment, or does the IRS consider her an employee of the salon and her driving is just a commute like any salaried job?

Hillridge fucked around with this message at 15:34 on Feb 11, 2013

# ¿ Feb 11, 2013 15:27

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > US Income Tax Thread: Bank error in your favor! GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL.