The IRS Deductions Blog

Posts Tagged ‘tax.deduction’

Question: Is an artifical lawn a tax deductible expense?

We live in the desert in AZ & for energy efficiency & due to the extreme heat in the summer, we installed a small artifical lawn instead of real grass. Even though it’s fairly small, it was a big expense. It should pay for itself in the long run, by saving in watering expenses & not having to buy a mower & other lawn maintenance expenses. Does this qualify as a energy-efficient home improvement tax deduction or any other type of tax deduction? I cannot find any information on this online. Thanks.

Answer: Good question. I am pretty sure energy efficient mean improvements that either produce or use less electricty. I do not believe you can deduct the cost of the lawn.

Home improvements are added to your basis in the property and then reduce the gain on the sale when you sell the home.

You might try www.irs.gov to see if you can find the answer. You can call the IRS at (800) 829-1040. (Long wait on hold this time of year) Or, you can write to the IRS and ask your question. Writing is what I would do.

If you have not received an answer by the time you file your return. File with out deducting the lawn. If the IRS writes back and says you can deduct the lawn then file Form 1040X.

Items on Amazon Right Now for Tax Deduction For Home Improvement:

Pulaski Financial Reports Improved Linked-Quarter Earnings

Pulaski Financial Corp. today reported net income for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 of $1.7 million, or $0.11 per diluted common share, compared with net income of $1.1 million, or $0.05 per diluted common share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 and net income of $3.2 million, or $0.25 per diluted common share, for the June 2010 quarter.

William Raabe Tax Tips Part 2

Question: Step by Step process of donating to goodwill or similar charity?

Can someone tell me the step by step process of donating clothing to goodwill store or similar style places and bing able to get the tax deduction. I have to use the long form for tazes anyway so might as well get the deduction if I can. Oh, This is mainly for used clothing and household goods. Good clean stuff thats left over from multi family house cleaning and yardsale.
Thanks!
I’ve never donated anything to get the deduction before, my prvious deductions have been drop offs. So I dont know what to expect.Also, Does it matter for taxes when the donation takes place? Such as there is a goodwill store close by in the next state.
Thanks again for any helpful answers!

Answer: 1. Each time you donate, make sure to obtain a receipt
2. Keep a record along with your receipt with a list of items donated
3. At the end of the year, make an estimate of the total value you are trying to claim. IRS allow Fair Market Value. Use this sheet as a guideline.

http://www.cincinnatigoodwill.org/donating/FMV2005.pdf

4. If the total is less than $500, then deduct the value in Schedule A Line 16
5. If the total value is greater than $500, you have to use Form 8283

Best wishes.

Items on Amazon Right Now for Tax Deduction Goodwill:

Retailers Have New Help With Overstocks

Retailers in the U.S. have over $65 Billion worth of inventory annually in an overstocked position, causing a drain on profits and taking time and focus from personnel. The Retail Orphan Initiative announced today the launch of an online charity locator to match up retailers looking to donate overstocked merchandise with local charities, thus receiving a potential tax deduction for items that …

Goodwill of DE & DE County Donations

Question: If I, as a business, contribute to helping a friend pay for her child’s preschool, can I deduct it from taxes?

I’m a small business owner in Missouri and have a friend who happens to be a single parent. She’s finding it difficult to pay for her child’s preschool and I’d like to help her out. I intend to help her regardless, but I was curious whether I can somehow claim it as a deduction. If not directly this way, are there any creative ways for her to get assistance with preschool for her child?

Thanks!

Answer: I agree, we donated some money once, and even though it was to a charitable organization it was only deductible for us on the personal side of the taxes and only if we Itemized Deductions. Do you have employees? Or does she have skills? Maybe you could hire her to do some work for you either as an employee or an independent contractor and then that would help her financially and be deductible. But of course she would have to be able to use the money for whatever she wanted.

Items on Amazon Right Now for Tax Deduction Preschool:

Question: Tax deduction question?

I work for a company as a bookkeeper and I use my perosonal vehicle when taking deposits to the bank or mailing invoices/statments. Its uaually around 5 total round trip miles per day 4 days/week. I do not currently charge them for my miles. Since I do not do this can I claim my vehicle or mileage on my tax refund?

Answer: It can vary. I would call a local tax place like H&R block. There’s also a link for you> http://www.irs.gov/ which would have the correct answer for you.

Items on Amazon Right Now for Tax Deduction For Mileage:

High prices fuel increase in gas mileage deduction

The Internal Revenue Service is increasing the tax deduction motorists can take for using private vehicles for business, a rare midyear move sparked by high gas prices.

Mileage

Question: Regarding Tax Deductions for an RV?

From personal experience, I know that the interest on an RV loan is often tax-deductible like a mortgage loan, as the RV is construed as a second home. I also know that if one were to cash out some investments to purchase other investments, one would not have to pay taxes on the proceeds.

So, my question is, since a second home could be considered an investment, if one were to cash out investments to purchase an RV, would the proceeds be non tax-deductible?

Answer: If you sell a capital asset at a gain you will owe taxes on that gain regardless of what you do with the money. The repurchase of another asset, motor home included, will not make it non-taxable. I assume that’s what you mean by “non tax-deductible”.

Items on Amazon Right Now for Tax Deduction Second Mortgage:

Borrow against your home to pay credit card debt?

Should home equity be used to pay down credit card debt?

How to Organize Your Tax Papers