mshen11 said:charitable donations...

it says if it exceeds $500 we need to keep special record on form 8283. is that $500 per donation ( say you donate 5x a year at $100 each and have receipts for it) or the entire amount for the year?

The 8283 applies if you make more than $500 in noncash donations in total, regardless of the amount per donation.

sloth911 said:This is a question about marital status and student loan interest:

Me: $1300 student loan interest ($61k GI)
Wife: $5300 student loan interest ($49k GI)

With my income, I am OVER the $50k threshold that begins the phase out of student loan interest

My wife is UNDER the $50k threshold.

"Married filling jointly" w/ the combined income limits our student loan interest credit to around $2300 with our combined AGI.

Is there some way around this?

Am I allowed to file "married filling separately"? Or is that term reserved for "seperated" married couples.

Where does this $50k amount come from? For 2007, the married filing jointly phaseout begins at $110,000, which it appears you just tapped.

Returns marked married filing separately are not eligible for the student loan interest deduction at all.

Depending on how everything else works out, you should get close to the $2,500 maximum as it is. Just file jointly and be done with it.

Ive got a quick tax question. Both my employer and my mother own their own business. However come tax time my mother complains about having to pay the irs while my boss takes the whole company down to vegas for a weekend "training seminar" instead of paying the irs.

Now I understand the basic concept of a write off but whats my boss doing my mother isnt? Ive mentioned to her many times that she should spend this money to do some of the many improvements her business needs and write it off. She doesnt seem interested and its frustrating me to death. So I want to gain a bit of knowledge so I can explain to her how to improve her situation. Telling her you should really be doing this thing to save you money but Im not sure how to do it just isnt helpful.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

vstrt said:How do you report a Gifting a condo to a family member? If I'm the Gifter and the Family Member is a receiver, would I report it as a "sale" of a home or just simply a gift of a home?
Assuming you got nothing in return for the condo (you didn't receive any goods or services, you didn't trade for another property, the Family Member didn't take over the mortgage or pay off the mortgage), there is no sale and no sale needs to be reported. Simply report the gift on Form 709 (unless the family member is your U.S. spouse).

However, if you accepted something in return, you must report it as a sale for the value of what you accepted plus a gift for the difference between the Fair Market Value of the property and the value of what you accepted. Note that if the FM agrees to take over or pay off the mortgage, the value of the debt assumed is considered to be a form of payment. Since this is a transaction with a related party (and since the condo might have been for personal use), no capital loss is allowed.

You should get the property appraised as of the gift date. You will need this information to file your gift tax return. The FM will also need this information when they finally sell the property. You should also give the FM whatever documentation you have concerning your purchase of the condo and how much you paid plus any adjustments to basis over the years you owned the condo. They will also need this information when they sell the property, whether it's right now or decades from now.

For tax purposes, it makes no difference how you transfer title to the property. Most people use a quit claim deed in these circumstances, but this is not required.

Thanks. Seems like I really have no alternative and I will loose out... If we were NOT married, I could get the $1300 credit and my wife would get the full $2500 credit.

Bei

JimTravel73 said:sloth911 said:This is a question about marital status and student loan interest:

Me: $1300 student loan interest ($61k GI)
Wife: $5300 student loan interest ($49k GI)

With my income, I am OVER the $50k threshold that begins the phase out of student loan interest

My wife is UNDER the $50k threshold.

"Married filling jointly" w/ the combined income limits our student loan interest credit to around $2300 with our combined AGI.

Is there some way around this?

Am I allowed to file "married filling separately"? Or is that term reserved for "seperated" married couples.

Where does this $50k amount come from? For 2007, the married filing jointly phaseout begins at $110,000, which it appears you just tapped.

Returns marked married filing separately are not eligible for the student loan interest deduction at all.

Depending on how everything else works out, you should get close to the $2,500 maximum as it is. Just file jointly and be done with it.

Thanks for the input. I have done my own taxes for the last 15 years and am pretty good at it, but being married AND filing taxes is taking some re-education. I used the tax tables and the difference between one married/joint return vs. two single returns is almost a wash. As noted, though when the student loan interest is factored in, I am "losing" $300ish.

The rest of our taxes are pretty typical, RE taxes, mortgage interest. We have no kids or dependents.

This next question sounds stupid, but if we are married, can we still fill to separate turns that are "single" instead of "married filing separately"

JimTravel73 said:sloth911 said:Thanks. Seems like I really have no alternative and I will loose out... If we were NOT married, I could get the $1300 credit and my wife would get the full $2500 credit.

It's an adjustment to income, not a credit. But keep in mind that your total tax burden may actually be lower now that you're married (depending on your circumstances), in spite of the fact that you're losing out on about $325 from not being able to take the extra student loan interest. You'd have to do the math to be sure based on your particular circumstances, but it's possible.

Hey guys,

My wife is attending School of Cosmetology.

Can I deduct her tuition fees? If so, how? This is the first time I'm thinking of deductions after my marriage. Do I deduct all of her tuition fee from my total income? or would it be better if I speak to someone in H&R Block?

Please let me know.

Thanks,

HyperX

hi i recently got a interest income form 1099 from my local IRS. I couldn't believe the form was real at first because it is the first time that I have ever got something like this from irs directly, and in the past I receive a interest form from each of my financial institution individually. Can anyone tell me what the new form is?

fatweah said:I was on w2 income last year until August, then I became a sole proprietor and only have 1099 income. Can I make my sole proprietor's fiscal year starting from 9/2007 and only file my 2007 w2 income on 4/15/2008? Then I can file my business income as sole proprietor around 12/15/2008?
The sole prop and you, the individual, must use the same tax year. While the sole prop can elect to change its tax year, that means you would also be on the same tax year.

I believe you still have a little time left to elect the new year. If your application is approved (there are procedures for automatic approval, but I won't opine as to whether you qualify), however, that also means that your prior tax year ended 9/?/07. Thus, your income tax due and tax returns for that stub period are due 12/?/07-1/?/08 , unless extended. So you may already be late and subject to interest & penalties. Also, bear in mind that you should be making estimated quarterly payments for your sole prop income, so it's possible that you are already behind for your 1st quarter payment unless you made an estimated payment based on if you were operating with a calendar year.

Whether that's worth the hassle to you, only you can answer.

davidbeckham said:hi i recently got a interest income form 1099 from my local IRS. I couldn't believe the form was real at first because it is the first time that I have ever got something like this from irs directly, and in the past I receive a interest form from each of my financial institution individually. Can anyone tell me what the new form is?

I got one the other day as well.

Did you get a refund from the IRS in 2007 (for your 2006 return)? If so, and if it was delayed by the IRS, they would have paid interest on the refund that they owed you, and you need to report this interest on your return as income.