irs rules: Before You Move...Tell the IRS
- 07/24/12 02:33 AM
Moving can be fun—or stressful. Yeah, usually it’s stressful, especially if you've just purchased a new house and have tons of other things to worry about.
It's easy to get overwhelmed, but if you aren't careful a sloppy move could hurt your taxes! How are the two related?
Well, the IRS sends notice of errors in the mail, and if you don't change your address with the IRS system or your state tax authority, you might never get the notice and the problem will just get BIGGER.
Usually, IRS correspondence starts out with something small, like a notice that there … (1 comments)
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irs rules: How to Ensure You Get Audited
- 05/04/11 05:09 AM
Have you ever listed your occupation as “retired,” yet you have a W-2, and your tax return includes an Office in Home schedule or Employee Business Expenses?
If so, Equifax Personal Finance Blog expert Eva Rosenberg, aka the Internet's TaxMama, warns that you might be waving a red flag at the Internal Revenue Service that screams, "audit me!"
Here are some other questions Ms. Rosenberg suggests we ask ourselves in order to avoid facing the IRS music:
Is your tax return overrun with errors and inconsistencies? Is your occupation missing or inconsistent (see above)? Is your taxable income zero or less … (4 comments)
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irs rules: It's Time to Review Your Payroll Withholding
- 10/06/10 04:31 AM
Here is the latest from my fellow personal finance blogger Eva Rosenberg:
Recently, I visited my friends at the IRS for ourStakeholder Liaison meeting. This group of representatives from a variety of tax associations is privileged to exchange ideas with the IRS. The IRS updates us on current changes, laws, and procedures—and solicits suggestions for simplifying or improving procedures. The IRS also alerts us to problems it is seeing in the system.
Some people were shortchanged last year, others got in trouble. Whether your income has changed or not since last year, it's time to take a closer look.
One word of warning, … (1 comments)
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irs rules: Tax Paperwork: What Can You Toss And What Do You Keep
- 06/09/10 07:04 AM
An excerpt from TaxMama Eva Rosenberg's Tax Blog on the Equifax Personal Finance Blog:
When it comes to tax paperwork, taxpayers are rightly confused about what you can toss and what you should keep in order to stay in good standing with the IRS.
The two most common tax questions I get are:
1) How long shall I keep my tax records?
2) Which tax records must I keep?
TaxMama says to keep all tax records forever, except, you'd probably run out of room at some point in the not too distant future.
To see a list of the documents … (1 comments)
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irs rules: The Biggest Tax Mistake Real Estate Investors Make
- 03/07/10 04:38 AM
It’s that taxing time of year, so break out your pencils and start sweating.
If you’re a real estate investor, it’s easy to run afoul of the complicated IRS tax laws. To start with, if you own investment real estate, you first have to figure out which category of real estate investor you fit into:
Active Real Estate Professionals make the decisions about buying, selling, and leasing their investment real estate. The IRS says active real estate professionals spend more than 50 percent of their work life actively engaged in the business of buying, selling and managing your properties, which has … (2 comments)
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irs rules: How Long Should You Keep Tax Records?
- 12/23/09 04:58 AM
How long are you required to keep your tax records? The IRS only requires you to hold onto your tax records for seven years. But a lender might want more. Find out what they are looking for, or consider working with another lender.
Even the IRS doesn't require you to keep your tax returns more than 7 years - except if they suspect you of fraud. That's a long way to go back in time and I'm not sure I understand why a lender would want to see write-offs that are that old. (If any lenders reading this column have … (1 comments)
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irs rules: Who Counts As A "Relative" Under The $8,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit?
- 09/02/09 03:34 AM
$8,000 first time home buyer tax credit rules for buying from relatives are very specific. The IRS has specific guidelines on who is or isn't considered a relative for purposes of the first time home buyer tax credit.
For the purposes of helping buyers figure out from who they can buy a property and still qualify for the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit, the IRS defines “relative" on its documentation as a parent, child, grandparent or grandchild.
Siblings, aunts and uncles aren’t mentioned on some of the forms but buyers are referred to IRS Publication 544 … (3 comments)
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irs rules: Estate Planning To Avoid The Gift Tax Dilema
- 08/19/09 03:44 AM
Do you know the amount that one individual can give to another without triggering the gift tax?
According to the IRS, for 2009 it's $13,000.
But what if you wanted to give your child land, and just make the value of that land $13,000? If you owned the Mona Lisa, could you give it a value of $13,000 so that you could give it to your children and avoid the gift tax? I don’t think the IRS would look very kindly on that.
You may have to provide an appraisal or other valuation that would be acceptable … (0 comments)
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irs rules: Don’t Take $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit If You’re Not Eligible Or Jail Time Awaits
- 07/29/09 04:04 AM
It had to happen: With $8,000 in free cash available to first-time home buyers (and those who haven’t owned a home in the past three years), somebody had to take advantage of the situation. The Internal Revenue Service announced this morning its first successful prosecution related to fraud involving the first-time homebuyer credit and warned taxpayers to beware of this type of scheme.
According to the IRS statement, last Thursday, a Jacksonville, Fla.-tax preparer, James Otto Price III, pled guilty to falsely claiming the first-time homebuyer credit on a client’s federal tax return. Price faces the possibility of up to three … (7 comments)
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irs rules: Do You Need to Repay The $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit?
- 07/23/09 05:47 AM
Under what circumstances do you have to repay the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit? If you bought your first home in 2008, you may have qualified for the $7,500 first time home buyer tax credit that has to be repair in equal $500 installments. But if you bought your home in 2009, you don't have to repay the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit except in certain circumstances. Here are the rules for knowing when you have to repay the tax credit, so you don't run afoul of IRS rules. IRS Form 5405 First Time Home Buyer … (1 comments)
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irs rules: How to Qualify For The 2009 $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit
- 07/13/09 03:56 AM
Because the federal government approved a $7,500 first time home buyer tax credit for 2008 and an $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit for 2009, and each tax credit has different rules, there has been some confusion for home buyers as to which loan must be repaid. Here's how to qualify for the 2009 $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit and where to find the rules for the 2008 $7,500 first time home buyer tax credit.
Quesiton: I love your column and find it very informative and helpful. Here’s my question: My daughter purchased a house and closed on … (1 comments)
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irs rules: Don't Miss First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit!
- 04/14/09 10:32 AM
FIRST-TIME HOME BUYERS, PAY ATTENTION!
If you buy a new home in 2009, and close on or before December 1, 2009, you may qualify for an $8,000 tax credit.
The National Association of Home Builders has created a number of resources to help Americans understand current conditions in the housing market and the advantages of homeownership. Visit www.FederalHousingTaxCredit.com, for detailed information about the tax credit.
The tax credit is available to all first-time home buyers, but you don't have to wait for new construction to be built. According to the NAHB, there is 12.2 month inventory of new homes on … (2 comments)
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irs rules: IRS Tax Rules Change For 2008 And 2009
- 02/19/09 06:48 AM
The Obama stimulus package made some changes to IRS tax rules concerning real estate, home improvements, short sales and foreclosures. If you're a first time home buyer, you'll get either a $7,500 tax credit or a $8,000 tax credit, depending on when you bought your home. In addition, the timing of your home purchase affects whether you have to repay the home tax credit. IRS allows you to continue to take tax deductions for green home improvements and if you had a short sale or foreclosure recently, the money you lost won't be considered income thus saving you tax.
As we … (2 comments)
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irs rules: New Tax Forms from the IRS
- 02/16/09 08:08 AM
The IRS has published the 2008 versions of some important Tax Publications:
Publication 523 Selling Your House
Publication 544 Sale of Rental Property
Publication 946 How to Depreciate Property
Publication 4681 Cancelled Debts, Foreclosures, Repossions and Abandonments
Publication 527 Residential Rental Property
Publication 590 IRAs Go to the www.irs.gov website and type in the publication number you're want in the search engine. MAKE SURE YOU OR YOUR CLIENTS ARE AWARE OF THESE CHANGES!
… (0 comments)
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irs rules: IRS Changes Deductions for Tax Year 2009
- 11/10/08 11:45 AM
Earlier this month the U.S. Internal Revenue Service announced tax changes effective for tax year 2009 (so for tax returns filed in early 2010).
Personally, I think some of these would have been nice to use for this tax year, but perhaps one should be grateful for the breaks one gets.Here they are:
- The value of each personal and dependency exemption, available to most taxpayers, is $3,650, up $150 from 2008.- The new standard deduction is $11,400 for married couples filing a joint return (up $500), $5,700 for singles and married individuals filing separately (up $250) and $8,350 for heads … (5 comments)
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irs rules: Real Estate Taxes: Can You Deduct Them?
- 11/06/08 10:33 AM
Summary: The U.S. Internal Revenue Service allows tax payers to deduct some real estate taxes when they file. Can an owner of multiple properties deduct the property taxes from a recently inherited property? A Think Glink reader asks about deducting the property taxes from a property he inherited with his brother from their mother. Sam and Ilyce say it's pretty unlikely that the real estate or property taxes may be deducted because the property is neither a primary residence nor an investment property.
Q: I own two homes and share ownership with my brother of a third family house and property … (1 comments)
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irs rules: How To Sell Your Own Home To Your Own Child
- 09/02/08 04:24 AM
Summary: A parent asks about how to sell your own home. He has a home he wants to sell to his son at a very low cost and he wants to know his options. Knowing your goals will help you know how to sell your own home. Different tax implications and laws apply depending on how you sell your own home.
Q: I want to let my son purchase my home but I would like to structure the sale where the loan is interest free or at a really low interest rate. I want his payments to be as low as … (0 comments)
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irs rules: Capital Gains Tax On Home Sale
- 08/27/08 09:38 AM
Summary: A home seller asks about paying capital gains tax on a home sale. The home seller thinks she and her husband may be exempt from paying capital gains tax. Ilyce Glink advises that the home seller will have to pay capital gains tax, although less if she's lived there two of the last five years.
Q: We're selling our first home, after living in it for the last 6 years. Is it true that I can take an exemption from paying capital gains only once in my life?
Our payoff balance on the mortgage is $98,500 and the home … (1 comments)
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Moving can be fun—or stressful. Yeah, usually it’s stressful, especially if you've just purchased a new house and have tons of other things to worry about.
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