| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
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| filing status | 11/17/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: i've been married for 25 years and my wife has never worked during that time. i['ve always filed my ... A: Flip: If you file as "Married, filing separately" you will lose half of your standard deduction and ...
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| Tax on a Company Car | 11/5/2009 | Richard Stolp |
Q: I am provided a car by my company and understand that I must pay tax on personnel use. Question; is ... A: So, I assume you are in sales. I would ask the other sales people how they do it. My experience says ...
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| capital gains | 10/30/2009 | Richard Stolp |
Q: Mr. Stolp, My ex husband has recently refinanced our home so he could pay me off and put our home in ... A: You have two years to apply the profit from the sale of the house towards buying another house, but ...
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| Tax on Investment Gains | 10/29/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: Im looking to buy a computer in order to research and trade more easily. I recently set myself up ... A: In that case, Bill, you are limited in your deduction. Your deduction would come in on Schedule A ...
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| Tax on Investment Gains | 10/29/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: Im looking to buy a computer in order to research and trade more easily. I recently set myself up ... A: Bill: If you are in the business of trading (or your LP is in the business of trading) and it is a ...
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| energy efficiency tax credit | 10/26/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: I am currently having a new heating system installed in my home and hoped to take advantage of ... A: It's always good to check with a tax professional rather than someone who may or may not know the ...
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| Father's Estate | 10/17/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: New York State: Hi, I will be getting about $50,000 from my father's estate. I live in NY State. ... A: Shelley: You do not have a Federal taxable event when you inherit money. Any taxes would be paid ...
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| Tax on selling a car | 10/16/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: I am considering "trading down". I have a cash offer of $25,500 from carmax for my old car. I can ... A: Jo: You don't say whether this is a personal use vehicle or for business use. Since you didn't ...
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| gift tax | 10/8/2009 | Richard Stolp |
Q: My mother has some money she wants to give to me - about $400,000 - do I pay tax on this? If yes, ... A: You asked a lot of questions. Yes, your mother can give each of you the $12000. As far as filing ...
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| gift tax | 10/8/2009 | Richard Stolp |
Q: My mother has some money she wants to give to me - about $400,000 - do I pay tax on this? If yes, ... A: You would have to pay taxes on any amount from her that is over $12,000 annually. If you are a ...
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| passive losses | 10/2/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: I have taxable income (line43-1040) of $30,000 from wages only. I am a passive limited partner in a ... A: Rod: This is an excellent question. Here is the rule: As you have surmised, if you fully dispose ...
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| Self-Employment and Quarterly Tax Payments | 9/28/2009 | Richard Fritzler |
Q: My last day at the corporation I work for will be 10/30/09. I will then be self-employed from 11/1 ... A: If you have already capped out SS, than you are definitely due to convert from contractor as an ...
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| Self-Employment and Quarterly Tax Payments | 9/28/2009 | Richard Fritzler |
Q: My last day at the corporation I work for will be 10/30/09. I will then be self-employed from 11/1 ... A: That statement is made based upon the assumption of a January 1 start date. You are starting before ...
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| Business Special Assessment | 9/25/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: We own a small business and have received a special assessment for road improvements. I understand ... A: Debbie: You didn't say whether the assessment was for your home (maybe your business works out of ...
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| 1099 | 9/24/2009 | Richard Stolp |
Q: We are short selling our house for 80k and we might get 1099. 193k is what we owe. Should we just ... A: Sorry, I was out of town for a few days. I really can't give advice on this big a decision - but ...
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| Sold small business for a loss | 9/22/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: In 2007 we bought 50% of a retail store for 120K. The business is structured as an LLC. In 2008 we ... A: Brian: I am assuming that you are being taxed as a partnership, but you may be taxed in another ...
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| Company Structure | 9/21/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: Owen, Many thanks for your time. Wish to clarify just a point that you seem to have misunderstood, ... A: Ryan: You're welcome. Hope it helped somewhat. Please be sure to fill out the rating survey. ...
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| Business Structure | 9/20/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: My wife (home maker) and I (retired corporate executive & professional engineer) are both Canadians. ... A: Ryan: It appears you have done quite a bit of research on the subject at hand. There are many ways ...
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| Business Structure | 9/20/2009 | Richard Fritzler |
Q: My wife (home maker) and I (retired corporate executive & professional engineer) are both Canadians. ... A: You have a number of the facts correct. PHC, LLC can be taxed as a real corporation, taxes are ...
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| donating used car vs. private sale | 9/18/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: I live in Massachusetts and am wondering how I can best evaluate whether to sell my 96 Corolla (for ... A: Tom: I'm happy to answer this question for you. Take the cash because it is worth more to you. ...
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| Avoid/Minimize Taxes on Cancelled Debt on Recourse Home Loan | 9/15/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: I am going on a foreclosure and expected to finalize it by mid November since NOD has been filed ... A: Teatro: There are a few things at work here. First, is this your primary residence? If so, this ...
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| amount of federal tax due | 9/1/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: I am withdrawing 50,000 from my IRA to purchase a home I am 60yrs so no penalty applies other than ... A: Candice: I will give you an estimate based on 2008's tax rates (which are substantially similar to ...
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| Stock Loss Write Off on Taxes | 9/1/2009 | Richard Stolp |
Q: I had a little under $8K invested in stock with a company I used to work for. Last year the company ... A: Assuming you actually owned the stock (not an option), then you can claim the loss on the stock ...
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| amount of federal tax due | 9/1/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: I am withdrawing 50,000 from my IRA to purchase a home I am 60yrs so no penalty applies other than ... A: Candice: It is nearly impossible for me to give you a figure for what your taxes would be without a ...
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| quarterly tax payments | 8/28/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: I was a full-time employee of a company through Feb 2009, received only unemployment payments from ... A: Larry: There is no exemption for quarterly estimated payments, first year or otherwise, unless you ...
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| 108(d)(3) determining insolvency | 8/27/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: To avoid income on the cancellation of indebtedness, one exemption is where the tax payer is ... A: Steve: First, just to clarify, I'm not a CPA; I am an Enrolled Agent. Second, your original ...
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| 108(d)(3) determining insolvency | 8/27/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: To avoid income on the cancellation of indebtedness, one exemption is where the tax payer is ... A: Steve: One has to be careful in picking out specific points from a Tax Court case to support ...
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| 108(d)(3) determining insolvency | 8/27/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: To avoid income on the cancellation of indebtedness, one exemption is where the tax payer is ... A: Steve: Under Section 108 of Internal Revenue Code, 401(k)s and IRAs are included. For a helpful ...
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| Capital gains/losses | 8/23/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: In July a stock fund that I held for 12.5 months sold for a $20,000 loss. Is it true that only ... A: Linda: It is true that you are limited to a $3,000 maximum deduction for capital losses each year. ...
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| Lease or finance electronics for business | 8/21/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: I'm trying to figure out from a tax standpoint is it better to lease or finance electronics for my ... A: Jack: One of the factors to take into consideration would be what type of lease it is. There are a ...
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| Day Trader tax calculation | 8/17/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: I am a day trader with LLC this year. My question is when I file income tax (I usually file it by ... A: Jim: As a day trader, since you're looking for simplification, the best arrangement for you would ...
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| Taxes when living outside of the US | 8/11/2009 | Richard Stolp |
Q: Stolp: I am employed in California, but living in Colombia. I have not found a tax accountant that ... A: If I understand correctly you are living outside the US by choice, not because your employer ...
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| tax rate schedule | 8/3/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: What are tax rate schedules used for? Can they be used to give someone an idea of what their income ... A: No; taxable income is a figure with a lot of adjustments. In short, it is your total income from ...
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| tax rate schedule | 8/2/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: What are tax rate schedules used for? Can they be used to give someone an idea of what their income ... A: Danielle: As long as you know your TAXABLE income, tax rate schedules can, indeed, give you an idea ...
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| tax lien | 8/1/2009 | Richard Stolp |
Q: I have a small business ( Corporation) in Texas - I am the only employee. I owe 941 taxes for a ... A: Have you spoken with a representative with the IRS? An Offer in Compromise is usually only accepted ...
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| Deferring collections | 8/1/2009 | Richard Stolp |
Q: If the IRS has filed a tax lien on unpaid taxes and if you had entered into a repayment plan, but ... A: Usually the IRS only defers collections if you can't afford to pay. Is that your case? There are a ...
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| social security | 7/27/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: I am a babysitter, and I don't file taxes because I don't make enough money to... My clients were ... A: OK. If I understand you correctly, since your parents can claim you on their tax return, the people ...
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| social security | 7/24/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: I am a babysitter, and I don't file taxes because I don't make enough money to... My clients were ... A: Felicia: First off, I don't have enough information to properly answer your question. How old are ...
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| Accountant's Responsibility? | 7/20/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: I have been using a CPA for several years to do my 1040 and Schedule C. He seems to be competent ... A: Jon: This is a fantastic question! I would love to find hundreds of small business owners like ...
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| EE Bonds | 7/14/2009 | OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA |
Q: I have some EE bonds purchased in Feb of 1993 for my daughters college education. My eldest daughter ... A: Marshall: Answers below: a) Line 37 & 38 (1040 TY 2008) is your adjusted gross income (the line ...
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