Yes. Qualified education expenses such as tuition are deductible via one of the following: 1. Hope credit 2. Lifetime learning credit 3. Tuition and fees deduction (Note that the Hope credit is generally only available during your first two years of postsecondary education, so you're probably just concerned with numbers 2 and 3 above.) Check out Publication 970 (2005), Tax Benefits for Education Hope Credit: There is identical language (in the publication linked above) in the sections related to the Lifetime Learning Credit, and also the Tuition and Fees Deduction.
Where can I find information about writing off non-reimbursed subscrptions to business journals and things like that that are essential for work, but the company does not pay for? Sachin
WASHINGTON — Taxpayers across the nation will have until Tuesday, April 17, 2007, to file their 2006 returns and pay any taxes due, the Internal Revenue Service announced today. Taxpayers will have extra time to file and pay because April 15 falls on a Sunday in 2007, and the following day, Monday, April 16, is Emancipation Day, a legal holiday in the District of Columbia. By law, filing and payment deadlines that fall on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday are timely satisfied if met on the next business day. Under a federal statute enacted decades ago, holidays observed in the District of Columbia have impact nationwide on tax issues, not just in D.C. Under recently-enacted city legislation, April 16 is a holiday in the District of Columbia. Officials recently became aware of the intersection of the national filing day and the local observance of the new Emancipation Day holiday after most forms and publications for the current tax filing season went to print. http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=167194,00.html
I worked this summer for 12 weeks (am in grad school). I spent six weeks in NY, six weeks in London, but was paid from the NY office the entire time. I know I file on Federal taxes for the whole period less any credit for British tax, but do I have to file for the whole period in NYC and NY or just the period when I lived there?
One more question. My parents filed early and just received an additional 1099 form that they had forgotten about. Is there a special form that they need in order to update/re-file?
If they didn't report the activity or earnings on their return, there is a very real possibility they will be receiving a letter from the IRS (at some point). They need to file an amended return. Assuming we're talking about their personal return (as opposed to a partnership or corporate return - those entities may receive 1099s also), they need to file a Form 1040X. Form 1040X (Rev. December 2006) Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return Instructions for Form 1040X (12/2006)
I filled out my first Form 8885 yesterday for the Health Coverage Tax Credit and saw my first Form 1099-H. It wasn't pretty.
Are you referring to the difficulty of filling out the form? Or are you saying that it wasn't worth the time for the amount of tax credit received?
One more thing about filing the amended return. You have to wait a minimum of 30 days after filing the original return to file the amended return.
I'm not familiar with this requirement. Can you provide a link that suggests a "minimum time before filing" requirement?
I believe you just need confirmation that the original return has been filed (i.e. a check in your hand or your check has been cashed) before filing an amendment. The IRS website simply says: File Form 1040X only after you have filed your original return. In my experience, the only way to know for sure is when money has changed hands.
When I worked for one of the national preparing firms, they used 30 days, and I have abided by that since then. However, I just finished talking to a representative at the IRS. The following is the general rule regarding amended returns for 2006 original returns: Original return was for a refund: Wait until you receive the refund (8-15 days on e-file), then it is OK to file the amended return. If the amended return results in a payment, a check should be mailed with the amended return - and no later than the original due date in order to avoid penalties and interest. Original return was for a balance due: Wait until your payment clears the bank (for e-file, it is approximately two weeks), then it is OK to file. The same rule applies in the previous paragraph regarding a payment. I did not find out how long it would take if the amended return results in some of the balance due being refunded.
And I've always thought it was no more than a 'rule of thumb' used by the McTaxCorp I worked for Learn something new every day...
When I buy and sell the same stock in multiple increments and at varying buy prices & sell prices, how do I calculate the initial cost when figuring the capital gains? Is it first-in, first-out for the shares, or is there a more elaborate method? I have a joint brokerage account that was modified in late January of last year so that I'm no longer the top line on the account. How does this affect my tax return, and the return of the joint account holder (who's now on the top line)? T.I.A.
http://www.irs.gov/faqs/faq-kw184.html "If you can identify which shares of stock you sold, your basis is what you paid for the shares sold (plus sales commissions). If you sell a block of the same kind of stock, you can report all the shares sold at the same time as one sale, writing VARIOUS in the "date acquired" column of Form 1040, Schedule D (PDF). However, what you enter into the "cost or other basis" column is the total of all the acquisition costs of the shares sold. If you cannot adequately identify the shares you sold and you bought the shares at various times for different prices, the basis of the stock sold is the basis of the shares you acquired first (first-in first-out). Except for certain mutual fund shares, you cannot use the average price per share to figure gain or loss on the sale of stock. For more information, refer to Publication 550, Investment Income and Expenses."
A general question for the board: Let's set aside any scenarios in which one actually has to write a check to the IRS at tax time. Given that... Do you prefer a large refund at "tax time," or do you derive pleasure in seeing a refund of, say, only $25. I'm sure we're all aware that a minimal tax refund means that we maximized the "personal use" of our dollars throughout the year. And, logically, we should be happy (setting some other issues aside) to see that we did not allow the government the free use of our monies. And yet....isn't it always nice to get a check for a few thousand dollars? I'm curious. Where do you all stand personally?
2007 is my first year out of college, and the first year I won't be claimed as a dependant. Since I started working, which were all part-time or summer jobs from 2000 to last November, I've always gotten a refund. It is a nice boost to get a decent size check this part of year. It allows me to purchase something (this year it will be Revolution season tickets) or do some spending I haven't budgeted for. However, especially last year, since I am entitled (is that the right word to use?) to a refund, there are times I would have rather had no tax withheld than to get it all back as one check. Last year I could have used the cash more week to week than I could now as one big check. So to answer your question... Yes, I do enjoy getting a big check for a tax refund. But at times I would rather have no tax withheld than to get it all back at once.
I don't want to owe money. Unplanned expenses drive me crazy. Ideally, I'd like to be within $100 either way. Realistically, I tend to be conservative with my withholdings, so that I don't have to cut that check in April.
I work it to pay in the minimum to avoid penalties and then pay the govt in April. I really under withhold early in the year, and the catch up in the last quarter.