Okay, here’s your chance to ask me your questions about tax and the Tax Code. And yes, there are caveats. What did you expect? I am, after all, an attorney.
- Keep your personally identifiable information out of your question. This is the internet, remember? If you say things like “I’m the only doctor in my town and my wife is blind,” folks may know it’s you. I’m not going to redact your questions. So use a little common sense.
- I’ll answer as many questions as I can, hopefully at the pace of about one per week. Don’t resend the same question and don’t get annoyed if I don’t answer your question in the first place. I could be researching it. I could be saving it for a specific time of year (i.e., end of year planning). I could be clueless. I could think it sucks. Hey, it’s my blog, I’ll do what I want.
- I live in Philly. I don’t know the local tax laws in Burgaw, NC; Castine, Maine, or any other place outside of my locality. I can’t answer state and local questions, sorry.
- Keep it short. This isn’t War & Peace. It’s “Ask the Tax Girl!” It’s meant to be a quick stop for information. Give me as much information as you think I’ll need without boring me and the other readers to death… For the most part, leave dollar figures out (unless it’s absolutely relevant). Just ask your question.
- I really like to answer tax policy questions. Yes, that means I like to tell you what I think. So, please, please, please ask me.
- I also like to talk about being a tax attorney. You can ask questions about that, too. But don’t ask me for a job, an internship, a reference, a letter for your mother. I won’t answer you.
- This is meant to be a quick answer, to get you thinking or looking in the right direction. It is not a substitute for consulting with a competent tax professional, i.e., if you’re being audited, if there are IRS collections agents on your doorstep, if you are considering fleeing to Namibia to avoid criminal charges, don’t ask me what I think, contact your tax professional. That’s like bleeding profusely from a severed limb and writing into to the folks at Web MD to see what they think – they’re going to tell you to see a freakin’ doctor!
- If you’re looking for representation, this isn’t the place to ask me. This is an advice column. If you want to find out more about my practice, you can check out my web page. Otherwise, please don’t offer to pay me to answer a question or send me an email asking if I can go to court for you. There’s no attorney-client thing going on here. If you don’t have a representation letter from me, I don’t represent you. Capiche?
- I reserve the right to add more caveats as we go along, so check back often.
With all of that in mind, ask away! Note that, to protect your privacy, I prefer that you ask questions via email.
Hiya Tax Girl, I stumbled here by mistake but am glad I did.
I’m a first time home owner about to file his first 1040. I know I can legally claim my interest paid on my return but while reading about that, I also read that “real estate taxes” charged by the county can be deducted.
Is that true for Bexar county, TX? What documents would I need for that if I could claim it?
I’m currently working at Ford and am accepting a buyout (1 year’s salary, about $100k). I already have another job lined up. So in 2007 I’ll have double my normal income. Any suggestions on softening the tax blow? My wife currently isn’t employed. Not sure if she’ll take employment in our new location.
I would like some help to finding a web site that could help me find amount that your can use for charitable items such as clothes and household items. We sold our house this year and really down sized to what we are taking.For exsample I gave 42 shirts to a nonprofit trift shop
Howdy Taxgirl,
I’m an part-time, adjunct instructor of World Literature at a local university. Given that I’m not reimbursed for my expenses, can I deduct things such as commuting gas, books, classroom supplies, etc from my federal taxes? Also — and I know this might sound a bit hard to believe — the only reason I keep satellite television (Dish Network)is so I can watch and record programs from stations like A&E and History International which relate to books I teach in my classes. In addition to the research material the programs provide, I also use the recordings from time to time in class to suppliment my lectures. By the same token, I use my home computer and Internet access primarily to keep in touch with students and as a further research source. My question is: If I can deduct classroom expenses, can I also deduct my cable bill, RW-DVDs, DVD recorder, etc? How about my Internet bills, computer, etc.?
Thanks for the info, and thanks for the great site!
Taxed Teacher
Hi Taxgirl,
I’ve been claiming lots of dependents (that don’t exist), but not filing or paying any Federal income taxes for the past three years. What is going to happen to me?
M in Arkansas
Rent to own. Are the cost deductible to us? It wasn’t meant to be a rent to own, but it happened due to a neglectful lender. We are now owner of the property. We had financing approved, but the guy did not complete the paper work in time for the closing date. The realtor who was selling the house for the family purchased the house for us so we did not breach contract with the selling party. We signed a agreement that we were responsible for everything. We paid the mortgage, taxes, repairs, utilities, closing cost, deed search, attorney fees, taxes, etc. We paid everything as if the home was our own.
We invested $8000.00 in repairs in the home to make it livable. The rent was and is paid to us by renter. We did find a lender and we were able to purchase the home from her for the amount she barrowed. She had no financial gain at all. It was right to the dollar of what she purchased it for. Are we able to claim all this on our taxes? Yes, we had a written agreement of the terms. Everything transpired in 2006. Purchase in our name did not take place till 2007. Loan approved 2006. Attorney was unable to do it until 2007.
I do live in Pennsylvania.