ATOT's Second Annual Tax Time Thread!

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: SuperTool
I got a 1098-T statement from my grad school, where they say amount billed is 10000, and Scholarship and grants is 5000.
Does it mean I can deduct 5000?
Also, my company paid the remaining 5000 in january 2005, so it is not shown in the statement. Do I go ahead and deduct 5000 this year, and then pay tax on it next year?

Proper procedure - YES

Find out if your company will list the payment on your W2. If they will then follow proper procedure. Otherwise you can just ignore everything and pretend that your were paid for in Dec by your company.

 

[SuperTool]

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper

Originally posted by: SuperTool
I got a 1098-T statement from my grad school, where they say amount billed is 10000, and Scholarship and grants is 5000.
Does it mean I can deduct 5000?
Also, my company paid the remaining 5000 in january 2005, so it is not shown in the statement. Do I go ahead and deduct 5000 this year, and then pay tax on it next year?

Proper procedure - YES

Find out if your company will list the payment on your W2. If they will then follow proper procedure. Otherwise you can just ignore everything and pretend that your were paid for in Dec by your company.

The thing is, the company never pays me directly, and does not include this in W2. It pays directly to the university. I never have to pay the bills that the uni sents me.

 

[SuperTool]

I personally would rather not deduct it now and pay next year, because I got a raise that will put me in a higher bracket.
If I don't deduct anything this year, I won't have to repay anything next year, am I right about that?

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: SuperTool
I personally would rather not deduct it now and pay next year, because I got a raise that will put me in a higher bracket.
If I don't deduct anything this year, I won't have to repay anything next year, am I right about that?

If the company will not put the payments on the W2, then as you state: no deduction, no problem.

 

[SuperTool]

I held an ESPP stock for over a year, but it's still added to my income? I thought if I held it over a year it should be long term capital gains at a lower rate.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: SuperTool
I held an ESPP stock for over a year, but it's still added to my income? I thought if I held it over a year it should be long term capital gains at a lower rate.

Define "added".

Stock sales show on serperate Schedule.

If you took control of stock from your company that you did not contribute to, then it would be classified as income.

If you paid for it out of income, then it should not be on a W2.

That is why the request for meaning of added

 

[SuperTool]

I just noticed it was at 15% It's some long worksheet that turbotax does.

 

[IGBT]

..I overfunded my roth IRA..had to take money out and roll it into a cd. If I left the roth overfunded..what would happen?? What would the IRS do?? Fines/intrest/whipping post..what would they do??

 

[Muse]

I worked up my federal return in Turbotax Deluxe but thought there were some funny goings-on. My job is very part time and me employer requires me to work out of my home office. I got a letter from my employer stating this and that I need computers, peripheral computer equipment and software to do my job.

So, I expensed my home office in the return. I was asked the square footage of the office, the square footage of the house, the cost of my utilities, office furniture costs, etc., however I wasn't asked about computer equipment, etc. In another part of the Turbotax interview I was asked if I used computer equipment to do research for my investments. I have some investment accounts and definitely do a lot of online stock investment research, so I went for this and expensed my computers, my monitor, etc. I think this is pretty weird. Why wasn't I asked to expense the computer equipment as job related expenses? It's true, I use the computer stuff for both. Should I just accept the way this turned out or should I go back and change some stuff or go back to an earlier saved version of the return and do it differently? Did I miss something? Thanks!

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: Muse
I worked up my federal return in Turbotax Deluxe but thought there were some funny goings-on. My job is very part time and me employer requires me to work out of my home office. I got a letter from my employer stating this and that I need computers, peripheral computer equipment and software to do my job.

So, I expensed my home office in the return. I was asked the square footage of the office, the square footage of the house, the cost of my utilities, office furniture costs, etc., however I wasn't asked about computer equipment, etc. In another part of the Turbotax interview I was asked if I used computer equipment to do research for my investments. I have some investment accounts and definitely do a lot of online stock investment research, so I went for this and expensed my computers, my monitor, etc. I think this is pretty weird. Why wasn't I asked to expense the computer equipment as job related expenses? It's true, I use the computer stuff for both. Should I just accept the way this turned out or should I go back and change some stuff or go back to an earlier saved version of the return and do it differently? Did I miss something? Thanks!

It may be better to expense the computer gear on the 2106.

Many tax S/W packages will not specifically ask you for these items w/ respect to a home office. You have to look for the proper areas.

 

[The Sauce]

Am I required to file State taxes for my stepdaughter? She made a total of $2325 in PA and $896 in WV. It would suck to have to file two state returns for such measley income.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: Snatchface
Am I required to file State taxes for my stepdaughter? She made a total of $2325 in PA and $896 in WV. It would suck to have to file two state returns for such measley income.

You are not required to file for her.

She should determine if she is required to file.
If taxes are owed to the Fed or a state, then she must file.
If she chooses to ignore a refund, then that is up to her.

 

[Tash]

ok, I had a big loss on stocks that I sold in 2002. Of course, I am limited to taking $3000 per year as a loss, and have to carry over the rest. On the 2003 return I only entered the carry-over amount as $3000, instead of the larger amount that I should have. Now I want to carry over the remaining amount to the 2004 return. Can I do that, or do I have to file an amended return for 2003 first?

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: Tash
ok, I had a big loss on stocks that I sold in 2002. Of course, I am limited to taking $3000 per year as a loss, and have to carry over the rest. On the 2003 return I only entered the carry-over amount as $3000, instead of the larger amount that I should have. Now I want to carry over the remaining amount to the 2004 return. Can I do that, or do I have to file an amended return for 2003 first?

Follow the rules.

Fix the 2003 return.
Then do your 2004.

And HURRY UP.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Hey guys
I know this one is late, but I"ve got a question for my gf.
She's a 20 year old dependant, but has had about $35,000 invested by this "Raymond James" company (You're supposed to know what that is :confused. She ended up only losing about $2000 and only made a little below $3,000 during the year from her regular jobs. We're using TurboTax Online (1040EZ) and are wondering what we need to do to put in that loss information, if anything. Its asking about "Taxable Interest Income," and I figure that wouldn't have to do with her investments since she lost money on that.
Any advice on how to handle the investment loss on her tax forms would be greatly appreciated, as always
Thanks

 

[fbrdphreak]

Addition:
She hasn't e-filed ever before, so IIRC she'll have to print out that form, sign it, and mail it. If she doesn't mail until Tuesday, will she be considered late?
TIA

 

[TheNinja]

I apparently owe some "penalty" from last year to the state of california. However to get past the "error" I need to enter 1) the date I plan to pay my taxes and 2) 2003's "tax liability". My question is:

What line on last year's form is "2003's tax liability"?????

TIA

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: TheNinja
I apparently owe some "penalty" from last year to the state of california. However to get past the "error" I need to enter 1) the date I plan to pay my taxes and 2) 2003's "tax liability". My question is:

What line on last year's form is "2003's tax liability"?????

TIA

State question - Sorry we are not qualified in that; Maybe some-one that lives in CA may be able to help you.

The tax liability on the Fed form is the tax that you will owe before taking into account taxes paid during the year.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Hey guys
I know this one is late, but I"ve got a question for my gf.
She's a 20 year old dependant, but has had about $35,000 invested by this "Raymond James" company (You're supposed to know what that is :confused. She ended up only losing about $2000 and only made a little below $3,000 during the year from her regular jobs. We're using TurboTax Online (1040EZ) and are wondering what we need to do to put in that loss information, if anything. Its asking about "Taxable Interest Income," and I figure that wouldn't have to do with her investments since she lost money on that.
Any advice on how to handle the investment loss on her tax forms would be greatly appreciated, as always
Thanks

Addition:
She hasn't e-filed ever before, so IIRC she'll have to print out that form, sign it, and mail it. If she doesn't mail until Tuesday, will she be considered late?
TIA

Answers in reverse order.

She has until mid-night Fri (15th) to get the mail stamped by the Post Office.
She also has until midnight to e-file. If she has never filed before, then her Adjusted Gross Income for the 2003 is ZERO. That can allow her to meet the e-file requirements.

Was this 2K loss reported on a tax from from the broker, or is that just a loss in the value of the investment?

A loss in the value does not get declared until the investment is sold.

 

[fbrdphreak]

The loss is not reported on a tax form, it was just a loss in the value of the investment and she has since then removed her money from that investment company. She has a printout from the company stating that they aren't reporting her information and it is not an official tax form; it just lists each investment the company made with her money line by line, in the end being a loss of about $2000. Playing around with TurboTax Web, we added the $700 she made in interest from her money being put in a money market for a month after she pulled it from the investment company; that of course reduced her federal return. We then put the loss of about $2000 as " -2,000 " under "Taxable Interest Income" and that brought her Federal return value back up to what it was originally. Is this the correct thing to do? Thanks!!

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
The loss is not reported on a tax form, it was just a loss in the value of the investment and she has since then removed her money from that investment company. She has a printout from the company stating that they aren't reporting her information and it is not an official tax form; it just lists each investment the company made with her money line by line, in the end being a loss of about $2000. Playing around with TurboTax Web, we added the $700 she made in interest from her money being put in a money market for a month after she pulled it from the investment company; that of course reduced her federal return. We then put the loss of about $2000 as " -2,000 " under "Taxable Interest Income" and that brought her Federal return value back up to what it was originally. Is this the correct thing to do? Thanks!!

The $700 should be listed on the Schedule B as Interest.

The $2K loss should be listed on the Schedule D as capital gains/losses.

She will have to enter the date the investment was started and the initial amount.
Then she will need to enter the date the investment was sold and the amount received. The difference becomes the loss and will automatically be filled in by the tax s/w.

 

[MeanMeosh]

i'm asking this question for my dad:

he lives in india at the moment and is a green card holder. in india, he has three types of income - business income, rental income (not his business, just plain rental income), and interest income. he pays income tax on all this income in india. he does not have any income in the united states as he has not moved here yet.

his questions are:

1) where does he report this income on his 1040?
2) a tax accountant friend of his in the US said that he didn't have to pay income tax in the US for this income (the friend said no taxes on foreign income up to $80,000 - my dad makes about the euquivalent of USD $35,000 in indian rupees) and that he only had to pay social security taxes and medicare taxes on this income. is this true?
3a) if it is true, where does he look up the amount of social security and medicare taxes he has to pay?
3b) if it is not true, where does he look up the amount of US income tax he owes on his indian income? does he still have to pay social security and medicare taxes? if so, where does he look up how much he has to pay for those?

thanks in advance, and feel free to quote and / or PM if you have any further questions that need to be clarified before you answer.

 

[fbrdphreak]

The $700 should be listed on the Schedule B as Interest.

The $2K loss should be listed on the Schedule D as capital gains/losses.

She will have to enter the date the investment was started and the initial amount.
Then she will need to enter the date the investment was sold and the amount received. The difference becomes the loss and will automatically be filled in by the tax s/w.

So does that mean we can't use the 1040EZ? Will regular 1040 work? Keep in mind we're using the TurboTax for the Web, the "free" one. Thx

 

[razor2025]

I searched the thread and didn't find anything regarding scholarships.

I'm currently enrolled in a state college and I have a state-wide scholarship that pays all of my tuition and small part of book fees / other fees. If you're familiar with GA's HOPE scholarship, that's what I'm receiving. I'm also getting about $900/yr Pell Grant to supplement the expenses. I received my 1098-T form few weeks ago and was puzzled at the numbers. My total educational expense was ~$4k on the form, but I only received $2700 in scholarship according to the form. I didn't pay anything to cover the reaminder according to the form (which is true, because somehow, they missed the Pell Grant and HOPE Book allownace / school fees).

So, here's the question. If I receive a state-scholarship that covers only whatever I'm charged by a state college (as far as tuition goes) and also Federal Grant, do I need to report the total amount scholarship on my tax? I thought that if scholarship < total expense, then you didn't need to report the scholarship. Also, is my 1098-T form incorrect? I've called my school's bursur office and they said it was correct.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: MustISO
On my schedule K-1's I have "Ordinary Dividends" and "Qualified Dividends". Do I put both of these on my federal return or just "Ordinary"?

Thanks!

Can you be a little more specific? I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to get answered?