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June 10, 2014 8:30 am

Income averaging for all taxpayers was a way to effectively lower the tax rate on this year’s income by spreading it over a number of prior (lower-income) years to find an average tax rate for it. T...

May 27, 2014 8:30 am

Sorry about your personal loss. The inheritance isn’t taxable, but receiving funds from the annuity is because your cousin never paid tax on this income. Sounds confusing, but it’s the same thing ...

May 27, 2014 8:30 am

Yes. While there are certain ordering rules for applying capital losses against capital gains, ultimately, long-term capital losses can offset any short-term gains....

May 27, 2014 8:30 am

No. It was your property that was donated, so the donation belongs to you. You could have given the items to your brother as a gift and let him make the donations....

May 13, 2014 8:30 am

Sorry about your personal loss. The settlement is tax free to you because it is compensation for personal physical injury. However, if any part of the settlement is for punitive damages, those are tax...

May 13, 2014 8:30 am

The payments are taxable wages to you; effectively, you are an employee of your state....

April 29, 2014 8:30 am

If you itemize deductions, likely the convenience fee is tax deductible. The IRS hasn’t said whether this specific convenience fee is deductible as part of your real estate taxes (which has no incom...

April 29, 2014 8:30 am

There’s no clear answer, and you may have to argue your position for this deduction if your return is questioned. On the one hand, the Tax Court allowed a deduction for the extra cost of organic foo...

April 15, 2014 8:30 am

No. This lump-sum death payment is tax free....

April 15, 2014 8:30 am

A capital loss must be applied in a set order at a set time. In the year in which it is realized, it offsets capital gains and, if there is any excess loss, up to $3,000 of ordinary income (such as sa...

Income averaging for all taxpayers was a way to effectively lower the tax rate on this year’s income by spreading it over a number of prior (lower-income) years to find an average tax rate for it. T...

Sorry about your personal loss. The inheritance isn’t taxable, but receiving funds from the annuity is because your cousin never paid tax on this income. Sounds confusing, but it’s the same thing ...

Yes. While there are certain ordering rules for applying capital losses against capital gains, ultimately, long-term capital losses can offset any short-term gains....

No. It was your property that was donated, so the donation belongs to you. You could have given the items to your brother as a gift and let him make the donations....

Sorry about your personal loss. The settlement is tax free to you because it is compensation for personal physical injury. However, if any part of the settlement is for punitive damages, those are tax...

If you itemize deductions, likely the convenience fee is tax deductible. The IRS hasn’t said whether this specific convenience fee is deductible as part of your real estate taxes (which has no incom...

There’s no clear answer, and you may have to argue your position for this deduction if your return is questioned. On the one hand, the Tax Court allowed a deduction for the extra cost of organic foo...

A capital loss must be applied in a set order at a set time. In the year in which it is realized, it offsets capital gains and, if there is any excess loss, up to $3,000 of ordinary income (such as sa...

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