Archive for Personal
Finally, some sanity on taxing unemployment insurance benefits
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Well, partial sanity for one year anyway. The American Recover and Reinvestment Act of 2009 give a one-year exclusion for unemployment benefits you receive, up to a point.
For 2009 only, you can receive up to $2,400 of unemployment insurance benefits free of tax. There are none of the usual limitations based on your gross income with this provision.
Another important note, the $2,400 is per person and does not automatically double on a jointly filed tax return. For example, if you receive $5,000 of unemployment benefits and your spouse receives $500 you can exclude only $2,900. That is your full $2,400 and $500 of your spouse’s benefits.
It has never made any sense to me that unemployment benefits are taxed by our federal government. Essentially it is the feds deciding to effectively reduce your benefits by taking back part of your payments, possibly a significant portion. My personal opinion, it is kicking someone when they’re down. Bad form. Since this is just a one year change lets hope it may be the start of some sanity in Washington that just might lead to some permanent tax relief for the unemployed.
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Cash for Clunkers, Taxable?
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In June 2009 President Obama signed the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act of 2009 (how much caffeine had they had when they came up with that name?), commonly referred to as “Cash for Clunkers.” Auto dealers that signed up for this voluntary program received vouchers for qualifying trade-ins on the purchase off new cars where the fuel efficiency of the new car is better than the fuel efficiency of the clunker. The vouchers were for $3,500 or $4,500 depending on the how much you stepped up in fuel efficiency and they were treated as part of your down payment on your purchase. This applied for the period of Jul 1, 2009 until November 1, 2009. Read More→
Top Ten Facts About Child & Dependent Care Credit
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Did you pay someone to care for a child, spouse, or dependent last year? If so, you may be able to claim the Child and Dependent Care Credit on your federal income tax return. Below are the top 10 things you should know about claiming a credit for child and dependent care expenses. Read More→
Schedule A for itemized deductions, now Schedule L too
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Not since the direct deduction for some charitable contributions was removed has the standard deduction changed from its basic amount plus its additional amounts for the aged or blind.
In recent years, however, we’ve had three law changes that add to the standard deduction.
- The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 added sales taxes paid on the purchase of a new car to the standard deduction.
- The Housing Act of 2008 added the property tax deduction for nonitemizers to the standard deduction.
- The Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 added a standard deduction for net disaster losses.
Of course, all these changes mean more forms to fill out and to review. Read More→
IRS eases (somewhat) rules to claim unrelated persons as dependents
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The IRS has ruled that an individual will no be treated as the qualifying child of a person if that person doesn’t make enough to file a return and either does not file a return or files a return solely to obtain a complete refund of withheld income taxes. The code provides that the term “dependent” means a “qualifying child” or a “qualifying relative.” Among other requirements, a qualifying relative cannot be the qualifying child of any other taxpayer.
So, to put it into an example. Jennifer supports as members of her household an unrelated friend, Rick, and Rick’s four-year-old child, Lisa. Rick has no gross income and is not required to file a return. Jennifer can claim both Rick and Lisa as qualifying relatives, provided all other requirements are met (provide more than one-half of their support, etc.).
IRS Publication 501 provides more detail if you need some lite nighttime reading.
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How to get your home office deduction
Posted by: | CommentsHave you wondered whether or not you’re entitled to a home office deduction? With tax time here again maybe you should take another look.
A few years back, more liberal rules came into play for home office deductions, allowing more people to qualify for the write-off. Specifically, the old, hard-to-meet “principal place of business” bar was lowered to a much more taxpayer-friendly level.
If you use your home office space regularly and exclusively for your sole proprietorship, LLC or partnership business, there are several ways to qualify for the deduction: Read More→
New rules for divorced parents & depedent deductions
Posted by: | CommentsThe IRS issued in 2007 regulations addressing various issues pertaining to 
divorced parents and who can claim the dependent exemptions. These new rules take affect for most divorced parents with the filing of your 2009 income tax return.
Beginning for years beginning after July 2, 2008 (so 2009 for calendar year individual taxpayers) the IRS will no longer accept a divorce decree in lieu of Form 8332, Release of Claim to Exemption fro Child of Divorced or Separated Parents, even if the decree contains all of the information otherwise found on the Form 8332 and is not conditional in any respect (for example, conditioned on child support payments being current, etc.). Read More→
Watch out for taxes if you sell your life insurance contract
Posted by: | CommentsThe IRS has issued two new rulings addressing the sale and surrender of life insurance contracts from the point of view of policyholders and the investors. In this down economy, it can make good economic sense to sell an insurance policy that is no longer needed, or maybe can no longer be afforded.
The sale of an insurance policy is the sale of an asset; however, the gain could be either ordinary income (taxed like wages) or capital gain income (generally a lower tax rate). You will also need to take into account your investment in the policy (your tax basis).
Now, this discussion does not pertain to someone selling their insurance policy when they are either chronically ill or terminally ill. In those circumstances special exclusions generally will apply.
There are three situations under which you may be selling your policy.
- Surrender of the policy to the issuer for cash value.
- Sale of the policy with cash surrender value to an unrelated person.
- Sale of the policy with no cash surrender value to an unrelated person.
Here are the examples for each situation which demonstrate how the tax bite is determined. Read More→
You’re being audited and you’re missing records, now what?
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So you’re facing an audit and your records, or a portion of them, have gone missing. Or, you’re just a normal entrepreneur chasing from one project to another and your record keeping habits were just, well, not habits at all. You may not be able to produce receipts, bills or other written documentation for all the items on your tax return. That’s when you must turn to reconstructing your records or gathering together the best proof you have for the IRS.
The law does not require perfect record keeping habits—it’s just simpler that way. It’s perfectly legal to reconstruct your records in any way to provide adequate evidence that what you claimed on your return was, in fact, accurate. Read More→
New deduction for sales taxes on a new car purchase
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The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides that for vehicles purchased on or after February 17, 2009 and before January 1, 2010 you can deduct, as an itemized deduction or as an addition to the standard deduction, sales taxes on the purchase of a qualifying new vehicle — on the first $49,500 of the purchase price. Qualifying vehicles include the following. Read More→
