The IRS Deductions Blog

Archive for June, 2010

Question: What are the personal income Tax Deductions?

My husband is on salary every 2 weeks, it didn’t change at all, but now he has an extra $200 income tax deducted each cheque. This started in June 2008. He has been fighting with the company since saying he is making less now than before and they say that there are new tax laws in effect and that it is correct. I can’t find any table anywhere does anyone know where to find one? Our accountant says $200 more is a huge amt. and must be wrong, but we need some proof….any help would be appreciated. We live in Alberta, and I am looking for personal income tax deductions.

Answer: There were NO changes to Alberta Province taxes in June 2008 nor to the Federal rates. Most changes take place starting either Jan 1 of July 1.

Most of the time when this type of thing happens it usually an increase in Group Insurance or another Company sponsored deduction (Social club or Party Fund).

The easiest thing to do would be to take a pay stub (listing all the deductions) from before June and comparing it to a current pay slip. If you husband did not keep his old pay slips, ask the payroll person at his office to photocopy on of his Payroll register postings.

Now I also do not know how much your husband makes but $200/pay is A LOT. My first guess would be a Group Health Insurance Plan, or pension plan deduction.

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Penn West Energy Trust Confirms June Cash Distribution

CALGARY, ALBERTA–(Marketwire – 06/18/10) – Penn West Energy Trust (Penn West) (TSX: PWT.UN – News ) (NYSE: PWE – News ) confirms that its June 2010 cash distribution will be CDN$0.15 per trust unit payable on July 15, 2010 to unitholders of record on June 30, 2010. The ex-distribution date is June 28, 2010. The CDN$0.15 per unit is equivalent to approximately US$0.145 per unit (before deduction …

Funny Car Ad – Vehicle tax deduction or cra auto reduction?

Question: filing 2009 federal tax return with cash income?

My earning in 2009 was about $20000 in cash. I briefly worked out the number with the jointly filing status and found out my taxable income is 0 after the standard deduction. I do not owe any to IRS if this is the case, right?

Answer: What do you mean by “in cash”? Are you a W-2 employee? If the employer did not withhold taxes from your income, you are independent contractor. In that case your income is subject to 15.3% SE tax.

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ABCs of Post-Storm Tax Recovery: Assess, Bounce Back, Continue

KANSAS CITY, MO–(Marketwire – 06/15/10) – The emotional toll of severe storms is difficult to quantify, but property damage is well-documented. In 2009, damage due to extreme weather totaled $7.5 billion, a fraction of the $26.5 billion in damage reported for 2008 * or the $52.8 billion in damage Louisiana sustained in 2005 ** when Hurricane Katrina hit. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric …

IRS TAX TIPS: Standard Deduction for Non-Itemizers ( ASL, CAPTIONS & AUDIO))

Question: Delivery Driver Tax Deductions?

I have driven 32,512 miles in 2009 for delivery.
I have a detailed mileage report of my starting miles, and ending miles each day.

Answer: If you take the IRS standard mileage rate of 54.5 cents per mile that will be OK and you won’t have to keep track of other expenses. I’ll bet that after doing this you will find you are working for free..

http://www.taxdeductionsbenefit.com/

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ARRL Board Considers Celebrations, Changes and Conferring of Awards at 2010 Second Meeting

The ARRL Board of Directors held its Second Meeting of 2010 July 16-17 in Windsor, Connecticut, under the chairmanship of President Kay Craigie, N3KN. International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Secretary Rod Stafford, W6ROD, and Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) President Geoff Bawden, VE4BAW, were guests of the Board. At the two-day meeting, the Board considered a number of reports and acted on sev…

Current Allowable Automobile Mileage Tax Deduction 2009, 2010

Question: How do you compute your deductible and non-deductible IRA contributions over many years?

For many years I have contributed to my IRA. At first the contributions were deductible…now they are not. Predumably anything above and beyond my contributions is tax-deferred income. How do I figure out the right solution that matches what the IRS has on record? Before too long, I plan to retire and don’t plan on hiring a CPA to try to figure all of this out.

Answer: Yous should have filed a form 8606 every year you made a nondeductible IRA contribution and based on those 8606 forms you should be able to determine the total of your nondeductible IRA contributions.

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Independent 401(K): The Great Retirement Vehicle For Sole Proprietors

The SEP-IRA is dead. At least it should be for every sole proprietor who is looking for the best retirement vehicle. There are very few slam dunks in this industry, but choosing an Independent 401(K) (also known as an Independent 401(k) or solo-401(k)) over the SEP IRA is clearly one of them.

Retirement Plans & Investments : Taxation of Nondeductible IRA Contributions

Question: I’m making a donation for someone else, can they get the tax deduction?

A friend gave me a gift card to sell on ebay (they don’t have an account) and told me to send the proceeds to a specific charity instead of writing them a check, cashing it, then they have to write out another check to the charity. Can I send the proceeds to the charity and have them use the receipt from the donation at tax time for the deduction??

Answer: Depending on the amount the card sells for, it may not be worth it to deduct it. If your friend is filing the short form, meaning he or she has no specialized deductions or other donations, that friend will have to file on the long form to take the deduction and if it’s a small amount of money, it may not be worth the extra effort.

That said, you can make the donation in his or her name, but if you make it by check or credit card, your name and address will have to be used to verify payment so it could get a little difficult to get a receipt with his or her name on it.

What you might be able to do is donate cash in person to a local charity and have them put your friend’s information on the receipt.

Really the most sure fire way to ensure that receipt is in order for tax purposes is to have the friend donate the money his or herself.

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Dog park, ice rink clear hurdles

The Stillwater City Council on Tuesday gave the thumbs up for two different organizations to start exploring additions to the city: a dog park and an outdoor hockey rink.

Get Tax Deductions for Holiday Donations -TurboTax