The IRS Deductions Blog

Archive for May, 2010

Question: Is there specific rules for collecting donations (cash & misc Items) for abused wom. & teens?

I have been collecting donations to help not just abused women but women who are just having a hard time starting over and if they have teen age children. I have gotten large amounts of cash plus many stores have donated new clothing, school supplies, furniture, and a lot of stuff people use daily. I am just not sure if I have a legal responsibility for $ amount of donations, or do I just take these things into different shelters and let them handle any filings for these companies to rec a tax deduction. Can someone help me find out? Maybe I should get a office bldg. to store all the things I have and maybe make it so that the receipient has to be reffered to be and picks up what they want by appointment only.
I am running out of space in my own home. Thank You.

Answer: Most states have a regulatory agency for a situation such as this. Persons donating items are allowed to use the donation as a tax deduction therefore they must receive a receipt. Your state regulatory agencies can give you the information to register as a non-profit entity.

Items on Amazon Right Now for Donation Tax Deduction Rules:

Charitable Giving Law Made Easy $19.99 This authoritative guide presents in-depth discussions on such hot topics as the timing of charitable deductions, estate and gift tax considerations, special property rules, and planned giving. Packed with practical tips and hard-to-find advice, Charitable Giving Law Made Easy sheds light on complex legal issues concerning charitable giving with plain-language explanations of laws and regulations …

The Tax Law of Charitable Giving (Wiley Nonprofit Law, Finance and Management Series) $170.00 The Tax Law of Charitable Giving, Third Edition is completely revised, revamped, and updated. Written in plain English, it can help lawyers, managers, and development directors in tax-exempt organizations make sure they are up to date on all current regulations pertaining to charitable gifts, and that they are well prepared to make decisions about their organization’s fund-development program.Wr…

Supporting worthy causes through the enhanced deduction: examine the benefits in excess inventory.: An article from: The National Public Accountant $5.95 This digital document is an article from The National Public Accountant, published by National Society of Public Accountants on June 1, 1993. The length of the article is 3720 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web brow…

Demolish or deconstruct?

Taking apart a house piece by piece can keep junk out of the landfill by Kate Daly

Tax deduction donation-how do I know I will get my tax refu

Question: Can you send the IRS money directly without using payroll deduction?

This year we made some extra income via dividends and capital gains via stock sales. This led to a fairly substantial amount of extra income which threw our withholding off. We did try to estimate our tax to basically avoid a penalty for being underwithheld by using a company affiliated with the IRS (got to the company via the IRS website) to pay our estimated tax.

Is it possible to send a check directly to the IRS and avoid having to pay the service fees associated with this?

Answer: Yes just download the Estimated Tax Form and send in quarterly payments
Can be done for both the Federal and State. Properly can even do it online using an echeck

Items on Amazon Right Now for Tax Deduction Estimate:

Quicken – Home & Business 2012 $54.50 Now organize your personal and your home based business finances, all in one place with the Quicken® Home and Business 2012 from Intuit®. This software categorizes your personal and home business expenses so you know where your money is going. It shows your profit and loss at a glance, so you know how your home based business is doing at any time. Also, create professional looking invoices, esti…

Tax deductions: further estimates of taxpayers who may have overpaid federal taxes by not itemizing $14.13 Original publisher: Washington, D.C. : U.S. General Accounting Office, [2002] OCLC Number: (OCoLC)53404373 Subject: Income tax deductions — United States. Excerpt: … Appendix: Methodology for Estimating the Number of Returns on Which Taxpayers Overpaid Taxes by Not Itemizing Deductions income class and imputed this class average to each nonitemizer in the same income class in the SOI sample…

Treatment of certain reimbursed flight training expenses : report (to accompany H.R. 1168) (including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office) (SuDoc Y 1.1/8:102-693) …

Who benefits from marriage penalty and child tax credit relief in H.R. 6: Estimates by state and congressional district (Report of the Heritage Center for Data Analysis) On March 29, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 6, the Marriage Penalty and Family Tax Relief Act of 2001, by a vote of 282-144. The legislation, sponsored by Representative Jerry Weller (R-IL), proposes tax relief for millions of American families by alleviating part of the marriage penalty and expanding the child tax credit in the current Internal Revenue Code. The Senate is expected …

Just Energy Reports Fiscal 2010 Results

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – 05/20/10) – Just Energy Income Fund (TSX: JE.UN – News ) – Highlights for the year ended March 31, 2010 included: — Customer base reached 2,293,000 RCEs, up 28% year over year. Gross additions through marketing (excluding acquired customers) were 505,000 up 36% from 372,000 in fiscal 2009, and up from 313,000 in fiscal 2008. — Net customer additions through …

Child Tax Credit Amount Calculator 2009, 2010

Question: How much can I contribute to a Spousal IRA for contribution yr 2009?

Hi,
My tax filing status is Married filing Jointly.
I have a non-working spouse. I have an employer provided retirement plan (401K) which
I contributed approx 5000$ to. I also funded another Roth IRA for another 5000$.

Given the 401K contribution and the Roth IRA contribution, can i contribute
to a spousal IRA for 2009? Our combined wages are less than 88000$.

How much can I contribute and what portion thereof would be deductible?
I am assuming I can contribute until April 15th.

Please let me know
Thank you.
Thanks for the answers!..
This helps a lot.
Can I file my return (and claim the spousal IRA deduction ) before I actually oepn &fund the IRA account?

I will be funding the IRA before April 15th but I was curious if can actually file the return & claim the deduction before that with the expressed “intention” to open the IRA before April 15th.

Thx in advance.

Answer: if you contribute to a Roth, nothing
a reg IRA will reduce your gross income by the amount you contribute to your wifes’ non working amount
and yes, by the 4/15/10 date as long as you indicate to the institution which year you want it to apply

Items on Amazon Right Now for Non Deductible 401k Contributions:

There are ways to track down past contributions to retirement accounts

Q. How can I find out my contributions to my 401(k) and IRA for past years? I do not have the records and the companies are not in business. Where can I get it and how? — Al B. A….

Question: Who’s in the better tax bracket, employees or contractors?

Assuming same annual pay and no Tax Deductions for the contractor who pays less in taxes?

Employee?
Contractor?
Contractor with LLC?

Does it differ by states?

Thanks

Answer: Technically the work for an employee and a contractor can’t be the same. If it is, the contractor is misclassified and the company will pay dearly during a payroll audit.

For an employee, they get workman’s compensation, unemployment insurance coverage, paid vacation, insurance, etc. A contractor must supply his own insurance and pay for his own downtime.

For an employee, most expenses are covered by the company so the fact that it’s difficult to deduct expenses on schedule A is moot. A contractor is expected to provide his/her own equipment so the ability to deduct them on schedule C is logical.

A contractor with an LLC is still just a schedule C filer. The payer CANNOT use the fact they are an LLC as a reason not to issue a 1099-Misc. The form W-9 should still show the facts.

If I ever do contract work again, I’ll want 50% more than the equivalent employee job to make up the difference.

Items on Amazon Right Now for Contractors Tax Deductions:

TurboTax Home & Business Federal + e-File + State 2010 [Download] [OLD VERSION] $97.99 TurboTax Home & Business was designed to help you take full advantage of your personal and business deductions so you get the biggest tax refund possible, double-checking for accuracy and identifying missing deductions and credits. Includes free Federal E-File. Everything you need to easily do your personal and business taxes. Guides you Step by Step through Self-Employment Income, Deductions, an…

Working for Yourself: Law & Taxes for Independent Contractors, Freelancers & Consultants $7.24 Be your own boss — easily, efficiently and successfully — with this bestseller! Whether you’re an independent contractor, freelancer, or consultant, it all adds up to the same thing: You need to be more aware of laws and taxes than the average person. Fortunately, Working for Yourself provides all the information you need to stay on top of it all. An independent contractor himself, Stephen Fishm…

Surprisingly Simple: Independent Contractor, Sole Proprietor, and LLC Taxes Explained in 100 Pages or Less $8.64 Find all of the following, explained in plain-English with no legal jargon:Business Taxation 101: A brief primer on tax topics in general, especially as they apply to businesses.Home Office Deduction: How to ensure you qualify for it and how to calculate it.Estimated Tax Payments: When and how to pay them, as well as an easy way to calculate each payment.Self-Employment Tax: What it is, why it exi…

Self-employed Tax Solutions: Quick, Simple, Money-Saving, Audit-Proof Tax and Recordkeeping Basics for the Independent Professional $4.78 A how-to book of practical know-how for the some 25 million Americans who are self-employed — about business deductions, easy recordkeeping, estimated taxes, pension plans — everything an independent professional needs to know about the tax consequences of his or her business. …

Measure against corruption riles foes

In Alaska, where prosecutors have sent a string of politicians and bribe-payers to federal prison in recent years, who could oppose what has been billed as an anti- corruption ballot measure?

How To Increase Your Tax Return 2011

Question: High Deductible Health Plan vs. Traditional Insurance?

My wife is offered two plans at work.

A High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) and a Traditional Health Plan with co-pays

Here is the rub though:

The company will pay 100% of the premium if she chooses the HDHP.
-The deductible will be $6000 for the family per year.
-The plan will pay for preventative doctor visits (basically 1 physical per year) and nothing else until the deductible is met.

If we choose the traditional health plan with co-pays, we have to pay the premiums (which will run $255 per month).
-This plan is your run of the mill health plan with $20 co-pays.

I would REALLY love to hear from somebody who works in the industry.

I thank you in advance.

Answer: The premiums with the traditional plan will be $3060 per year.

If you expect the family to need at least $4000 of medical care, then get the traditional plan, because the premiums and co-pays will be less than what you would be paying on the deductible with the HDHP.

If you expect the family to need less than $3060 of medical care, then get the HDHP. Even if it pays for nothing, and you have to pay for everything 100% out-of-pocket, but doing so will cost less than the premiums for the traditional plan.

Personally, I would get the HDHP, but for reasons that have nothing to do with health insurance. If you get the HDHP and no other health insurance, then you can contribute thousands of dollars to a Health Savings Account (HSA), and deduct that money on your income taxes. I was actually in a situation where I had the option to have an employer pay 100% of the premium for a traditional plan or to pay the premium myself for an HDHP, and I still took the HDHP, because the tax savings from the HSA offset the cost of the HDHP.

Items on Amazon Right Now for Health Insurance Deductible Vs Premium:

Recent Premium Increases Imposed by Insurers Averaged 20% for People Who Buy Their Own Health Insurance, Kaiser Survey …

Facing Such Increases, Some Enrollees Switched to Lower-Cost Coverage People with Pre-Existing Conditions Much More Likely to Report Problems MENLO PARK, Calif.

High Deductible Health Plan