Taxes usually aren’t on your mind in the summertime. You’ve already filed your 2011 return or obtained an extension and do not have to do so until October. However, there are some actions you may ...
The answer to this important question matters because a real estate professional may be able to deduct losses from real estate activities, such as rental properties, while a non-real estate profession...
If you are a victim of a disaster, the last thing on your mind is taxes. But tax obligations don't disappear. Fortunately, you may be entitled to tax relief if you suffered property loss or destructio...
The marital residence may be the single largest asset and the biggest bone of contention during the course of a marital dissolution. Couples may own their home jointly, or it may be in the name of onl...
Selling your home at a profit? You may be eligible to notpay tax on the first $250,000 of gain from the sale, or up to $500,000 on a joint return. To do this, you must meet answer "yes" to key tests. ...
Your home may be your single largest asset. However, this asset, as grand as it may be, is highly illiquid — you can't easily use it as a source of income. There are certain strategies that can ...
Some seniors face a cash crunch even though they're sitting on considerable equity in their home. They don't want to take out a new mortgage because they may not be able to make the monthly payments. ...
If you or someone in your household has a condition that requires certain capital improvements, you may gain an immediate tax break. Normally, home improvements, other than certain energy upgrades tha...
If your home is too big for you and your family, you may decide to rent out a room or other living space for rental income. For instance, say you have a two-family home, so you rent out one unit. The ...
Homeowner's insurance may not cover all of your losses resulting from a storm or other unexpected catastrophe. Fortunately, the tax law can help by allowing you to deduct the uninsured loss. Here's wh...
In order to lower the interest rate on a mortgage, you may be able to make an up-front payment, called "points." A point is a type of interest charge that represents 1% of the mortgage amount, so two ...
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 42 million people move in this country each year. Individuals move on average 11.7 times in their lifetime. Odds are, sooner or later, you'll be moving. The cost o...
The desire to join the nearly 70% of Americans who are homeowners entails various intangibles: pride of ownership and becoming a part of a neighborhood. Home ownership also has a direct impact on your...
Raising enough cash for a down payment and closing costs can be challenging with all the other expenses you have to pay on an ongoing basis. Typically, the down payment is at least 20% of the price of...
- For purposes of the 3.8% additional Medicare tax on net investment income in 2013, how does this relate to rental income?
- Can I make a direct transfer of my IRA to my church and qualify for tax-free treatment (up to $100,000)? I’m 72 years old.
- I sold my residence at a loss. How do I report this on my tax return?
- We had a cleaning service clean our home because my wife could not because of her medical issues and my being away on business. Can I deduct this cost?
Don’t Assume Your State Income Tax Refund Is Taxable
Just because you’ve received a Form 1099-G from your state, reporting the prior year’s refund of state income tax to the IRS doesn’t make it taxable. You report the refund only if and to the extent you had a tax benefit from deducting it. If you didn’t itemize that year, you didn’t get a tax benefit and none of the refund is taxable now.
The IRS is holding more than 104,000 regular refund checks totaling about $103 million; they were returned by the U.S. Postal Service due to mailing address errors.
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