lbbwest

Please note; some in Canada are and some aren't. Criteria per IRS is the same as the last time I checked: Eligible Education Institution. In general, an eligible educational institution is an accredited college, university, vocational school, or other postsecondary educational institution, including accredited, public, nonprofit, and proprietary (privately-owned, profit-making) postsecondary institutions. Additionally, in order to be an eligible educational institution, the school must be eligible to participate in a student aid program administered by the Department of Education. The educational institution should be able to tell you if it is an eligible educational institution

It has been said that one is judged by the company one keeps.

Since the lady friend has provided service of at least her name on the titular title of this dubious enterprise, is she subject to s/e tax and associated income on the dubious value of this enterprise; or has her knight in shining armor filed a gift tax return? lbb

IF the Mustang Ranch is in the part of Nevada where it is a legal enterprise (I believe it is) AND the trucker entertains a client at The Ranch, wouldn't the cost of the activity be M & E deductible expense, AND the cost of the internet access to find The Ranch would also be deductible?

Finally, a post that revealing.

Once again you disappoint me, there are so many more amusing responses possible. I am considering it a trajedy of my day that jainen didn't respond. lbb

"Client owns a single stand alone property which is leased to a single tenant (a nursing home). Does that fall under residential rental property (27.5 years) or nonresidential real estate (39 years)?" As always the correct answer is "it depends." Nursing home implies skilled care as opposed to residential retirement facility. Perhaps all posters responded to facts not presented. lbb

I am not familiar with the Liquor Control Laws in Wisconsin, however in Michigan they are VERY strict; your scenario at first blush does not appear reasonable. A kinder, gentler lbb

I misunderstood, AGAIN; I thought that the deadbeat listed THE CLIENT in the bankruptcy for the amount THE CLIENT paid on the debt. lbb

Topic 453 - Bad Debt Deduction If someone owes you money that you cannot collect, you may have a bad debt. For a discussion of what constitutes a valid debt, refer to Publication 550, Investment Income and Expenses, and Publication 535, Business Expense. To deduct a bad debt, you must have previously included the amount in your income or loaned out your cash. If you are a cash basis taxpayer, as most individuals are, you may not take a bad debt deduction for income you expected to receive but did not because the amount was never included in your income. For a bad debt, you must show that there was an intention at the time of the transaction to make a loan and not a gift. There are two kinds of bad debts – business and nonbusiness. A business bad debt, generally, is one that comes from operating your trade or business. A business deducts its bad debts from gross income when figuring its taxable income. Business bad debts may be deducted in part or in full. All other bad debts are nonbusiness. Nonbusiness bad debts must be totally worthless to be deductible. You cannot deduct a partially worthless nonbusiness bad debt. You must establish that you have taken reasonable steps to collect the debt and the debt is worthless. It is not necessary to go to court if you can show that a judgment from the court would be uncollectible. You may take the deduction only in the year the debt becomes worthless. A debt becomes worthless when the surrounding facts and circumstances indicate there is no longer any chance the amount owed will be paid. You do not have to wait until a debt is due to determine whether it is worthless. A nonbusiness bad debt is reported as a short–term capital loss in Part 1 on Form 1040, Schedule D (PDF). It would be subject to the capital loss limitations. A nonbusiness bad debt deduction requires a separate detailed statement attached to your return. For more information on nonbusiness bad debts, refer to Publication 550, Investment Income and Expenses. For more information on business bad debts, refer to Publication 535, Business Expenses.

If the majority is going to win, I vote commercial property. lbb

A salesman lie??? I don't know if my weak heart can process this information so early in the day. lbb

Personal loss; Schedule D, subject to normal cap loss rules (3000) per year, can carryforward loss not utilized by offsetting capital gain. lbb

"Can they actually have that big of a loss without a trigger?" Two different questions.

What criteria did you use to claim the mom was insolvent if the house is still in the mom's name? IF the house has equity of $100K and the credit cards total $20K the asset (equity in the house) is used to pay the creditor's BEFORE the inheritors receive proceeds from estate. In other words your client can't claim the house until the estate balance sheet is done. lbb

As a respected lending professional I'm sure you are much more aware of the lending laws than I. In my area which has as poor a foreclosure record as CA, the problem isn't that the lenders agreed to 100% financing; the problem has been as follows using the numbers in your scenario: Rental property is worth 42K, buyer has no money. Lender requires 30% downstroke on loans of commercial property, which would require $12,600 cash. Aggressive broker has seller agree to sell property at 60K rebating purchaser 18K at closing. NO money exchanges hands. Lender pays $42K and has financed property 100% equity, when lender policy is on 70%. Buyer walks, has no equity interest in property, bank forecloses. If the lender has knowledge that it is 100% financing, no problem. (In this day and age VERY unusual.) The problem has been that the lender was UNAWARE that it was financing 100%, that's where the f word comes in. f=fraud Taxation issue: seller reduces sale by $18k rebate, buyer reduces basis using a pro-ration between building and land, pesky 1099 requires documentation. Documentation proves 100% financing. lbb

Never. All of my clients contact me when they open/close a business, get married, divorce, have children, children leave home, change jobs, change withholdings, etc. etc. etc. And BTW my friend, even my hindsight is fading with age. lbb

"Sure. I can see how that would work for you. My problem is that I can almost never find anyone to agree with me!" It's truly the unfairness of life; in addition to good looks, an acerbic sense of humor, and vast intelligence, some are graced with charm. PS Agreement happens ONLY when the subject is elimination of penalty, reduction of tax, or increase in credits. lbb

I don't know what you are talking about jainen, when the program doesn't want to do what I think it should do to erase penalties, lower taxes, or increase credits; I just post on this board, find somebody to agree with me, and overwrite the entry. It works really well. lbb

"In order for him to not pay gift tax, they gave him 50% of ownership of their house." This is a MAJOR can of worms. (1) Are you even sure brother would be subject to gift tax, and not simply the reduction of the unified credit. Has he even heard of the unified credit? So now, brother legally owns 1/2 of the interest of the primary residence. (2) What happens if the couple gets divorced? (3) How is the title held, joint ownership? Rights of survival? (3) What happens if one of the spouses die? (Especially the one he is NOT related to.) (4) What happens if the generous brother decides he needs the cash back? Good Luck, if my crystal ball weren't in the shop I would loan it to you to describe in detail to your clients what they have done. Hillbilly tax/estate planning ROCKS! lbb

Per IRS "Frequently Asked Questions" I am renting a house to my son and daughter-in-law. Can I claim rental expenses? In general, if you receive income from the rental of a dwelling unit, such as a house, apartment, or duplex, there are certain expenses you may deduct. Besides knowing which expenses may be deductible, it is important to understand potential limitations on the amounts of rental expenses that may be deducted in a tax year. There are several types of limitations that may apply. ... Not for profit activities: If you do not rent your property to make a profit, you can deduct your rental expenses only up to the amount of your rental income. Any rental expenses in excess of rental income cannot be carried forward to the next year. Refer to Publication 527, Residential Rental Property and Publication 535 , Business Expenses . Rental of a dwelling unit: The tax treatment of rental income and expenses for a dwelling unit that you also use for personal purposes (renting to a relative may be considered personal use even if they are paying you rent) depends on whether you use it as a home. Refer to Publication 527, Residential Rental Property . Expenses in connection with rental of a dwelling unit for less than 15 days per year . Refer to Publication 527, Residential Rental Property .

During a visit to the mental asylum, a visitor asked the Director how do you determine whether or not a patient should be institutionalized. 'Well,' said the Director, 'we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub.' 'Oh, I understand,' said the visitor. 'A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup.' 'No.' said the Director, 'A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?' DO YOU WANT THE BED NEXT TO MINE?

That same guy...his name is Someone calls me and says the same darn thing. I check my records and I sent it to the last address I had in the employee records. He says his ex-roommate, girlfriend, mother-in-law, or mom must have got it and could I send him another one since it's not his fault he never updated his address on our records. I tell him to print out another one will cost him $25; (not really, but I would like to.) lbb aka "The voice of experience." It's great because then I have something to DO during tax season besides post on this board. So as to reply with all seriousness and not be considerated a frivolous poster, the company CAN charge a transaction fee for reprocessing a W2 if the employee did not update his address with the company. If he is a current client and worth your time, YOU can call the company and ask them to fax or scan you the information. If he isn't a client let him deal with it.

If you are self-employed C, if you are an employee A. Silly goose.

We have and continue to get A TON. Back window dark, covered with snow, all schools in the area are closed. It's gray today, as it usually is from October until June. lbb