joanmcq

adding on info: new cabinets were from IKEA; had to be replaced becasue the old ones were falling apart & had dry rot. Kitchen had dry rot, some black mold behind cabinets. new flooring. so a remodel; definitely not top of the line. everything in there was original (so 50-60 years old). repair? remodel? Client said anything would be an upgrade from what was in there, and the kitchen had to be brought up to code. I do get to break a stove out of the total (see what you get when you interrogate your clients? after tax season?

Ok, they are not a huge expense (I think $3-4K is it including labor; I don't have the file in front of me) and the house rents for $1000/month. I will ask how old they were, why the tenants got cabinets before the owner did (client's wife's complaint) and if it was a full remodel, or what the extent of the remodel was. this reminds me of what I tell my tenants....you'll get heat when I get heat dammit! somehow they always get heat, while I'm still freezing from lack o'insulation and leaky windows though....

I really don't have a minimum. I'm doing a stimulus for about $20. or maybe I won't charge if I'm in a good mood. Two volunteers for an organization I like got free returns. They may send over some Odwalla or organic blueberries from the food closet if they've got extra. Usually the minimum is $55 for a 1040-EZ. I'm in CA and I can't see a $250 min. but then I don't have an office, etc.

Oldjack, I am not of the 'what are the odds of an audit' kind of person. I'm just asking questions, since I was a little overly conservative on some of my rental depreciating, and wanted to get some feedback regarding cabinets. Like I said, my first instinct (and the way the return is prepared at the moment) is depreciating at 27.5 years. So the question to me is why they replaced them. I bought a rental where half the drawers were missing and the countertops were broken...even a 'complete remodel' on that property could easily have been considered a repair..but I depreciated the bathrooms when 2 of the 4 apartments had to be gutted because they were so bad (and the other 2 were half-gutted). So my question to the group was is there an instance where you would NOT depreciate over 27.5 years, and am weighing the advice I've been given. KCs gets a lot of weight because I really respect her opinion. So actually the question is, what is the reason for the remodel, and what was the condition of the kitchen. And most likely, I'll keep it at 27.5 years.

my ex (I do his taxes) just married a girl in Thailand, so I will get to deal with all of this probably next year. Yay.

Ok, so the question is 'were they old and broken down?'.

Ah, I read your answer wrong. I was reading 'I would just document it' rather than 'I would, just to document'. What a difference a comma makes! How is your husband doing?

Oh well, I'm trying. My first gut is to depreciate over 27.5 years, but I thought I'd put it out in case I was thinking wrong, like I was for interior paint all these years.

I'm on hold with the FTB right now. Client got bills for years he didn't file; he was on disability after going through a divorce and didn't have a filing requirement. From a contact at FTB I learned they had sent out requests for returns and had filed their version of an SFR.....on the basis that he had a cosmetology license during that time, and they estimated how much the average cosmetologist makes. Checked w/the IRS and there was $316 in an IRA and $25 of interest. Most letters sent came back undeliverable.

Nah, seems to me he would have owed $300 on the original return, but instead had a $1000 refund which he applied to 2008. So now he owes $1300 because once applied, it can't be pulled back.

The house was converted to a rental about 4 months before the foreclosure. does that change the answer? The tenants didn't pay but one months rernt, and then trashed the place which left it unrentable, and thus caused the foreclosure.

KC, what's your rationale for expensing? I don't think the old ones were trashed, ie unusable. Of course, the client would love to expense 'em or at least not have to depreciate over 27.5 years. Being as they are up there in years, I don't think they will see the end of 27.5 years!

Probably is Medicaid; I was typing very late last night on a return that is a complicated, well not mess, but not what I wanted to be dealing with late night. the extensions are coming back to bite (with a vengeance and I really really need a vacation)

The problem with the IRS records is they don't have state withholding. And I doubt CA has it that far back. So unless you've got W-2s showing the w/h, he's up a creek for CA. Although filing whatever he's got can't hurt.

Should I treat a foreclosure as a sale (subject to 121 exclusion) even if a 1099-A wasn't issued? He got a COD for the LOC on the house, but nothing from the main loan. Nonrecourse I beleive, as it was the origninal loan and this is CA.

Education is for the brother in the field. I'm not sure about the whole 'vow of poverty' thing, because he is giving to the church, not being paid by the church. Odd situation. and, like I said, it was a panicked april 15th extension (he wasn't happy with his preparer who had had his papers for a few months) so called me. If I don't like it, I'll send him on. Too busy for late april as it is. (the extensions are coming home to roost, or at least calling to see if their returns are done)

Can a taxpayer deduct a parent's medical expenses? The parent was a dependent until mid 2006, when medicare took over because she went into a nursing home. TP is still paying for everything medicare doesn't cover.

Fully depreciated.

I got DSL as soon as it was available (which was coincidentally right at the time I was starting my biz at home and started efiling) and just upgraded to a faster speed. I remember the first time I ever got on the internet and it took 20 minutes for a page to download (circa 1995) and now I get antsy if it isn't instantaneous. US internet is utterly pokey by the rest of the techno world from what I hear; in Japan speeds 4X as fast as what we get is routine.

I have a new client who is an abbot/ordinary and gave me a letter from his superior stating he has taken a vow of poverty and donates a minimum of his post-tax income to his community. His income is primarily from social security and a small pension. I am under the impression that his former preparer took a charitable contribution, but I do not have a receipt or letter stating an amount. I am not sure what is or could be customary under these circumstances, and feel he should still have a reciept for the amounts donated. He stated he also gave amounts directly tp a brother (friar-brother, not familial) in the Phillipines towards education, but I am thinking that this is a gift, and not a donation since it is directly to a particular person. Am I correct in this? This client was a last minute pick up/extension on April 15 and I didn't get much time to interview him.

What life would you use for kitchen cabinets in a rental? 27.5 or 5 years?

Looks like they fell for a scam. However, with the CP200 being that old, its likely an NOD was issued and the 90 days passed and the tax assessed at this point, which leaves them SOL.

Ouch. She needs to take a lot out. Now. I've heard file without the penalty and beg for forgiveness.

ID theft is definitely possible. If they haven't pulled credit reports this year, you can get them all at annualcreditreport.com for free. Its the law that you have to be able to get one copy free each year to review.

I used to have possums. They'd come in my kitchen and eat the cat food. The babies would hide out in my stove. You would have to check the stove for possums before you cooked. Then the dog showed up and no more possums.