HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: rpitts@emperor.gatech.edu (Richard Pitts)
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: Re: Income from renting a primary residence
Keywords: income, sublet
Date: 31 Jul 92 14:41:00 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: CERL-EE, Georgia Institue of Technology

In article <1992Jul31.134501.15568@eagle.lerc.nasa.gov> smjeff@lerc05.lerc.nasa.gov (Jeff Miller) writes:
>In article <64706@hydra.gatech.EDU> rpitts@emperor.gatech.edu (Richard Pitts) writes:
>>Rent is taxable income, unless you use the rental property a specified 
>>amount of time (which I can't really recall) during the year.  So
>>I believe if one rents out part of a residence and uses part of it,
>>the usage rule applies only to the part which is rented.
>
>Doesn't sound quite right.  Rent is always taxable income.  I think
>you are confusing this with the issue of whether or not a second home
>is a second residence or rental property.

Again - check the IRS Publication 17 - I don't have it handy and do not
speak for the IRS, but I believe there are exemptions to whether or not
it is declared as income or not.

Sincerely,
Richard Pitts
-- 
rpitts@cerl.gatech.edu       |    
Atlanta, GA                --|-- 
                        -|-  |  -|-
                         |   |   |
From: smorrow@hpmwtd.sr.hp.com (Steve Morrow)
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 20:41:38 GMT
Subject: Re: Capital gains from primary residence
Organization: HP Santa Rosa Site (NMD MTA MWTD)
Newsgroups: misc.taxes

Along the same line, if I sell a house for $200,000 and I pay off a
$50,000 mortgage, leaving me with $150,000 which I then use to buy
a $150,000 house outright, I owe NO capital gains tax because I
reinvested all my profit...right?  A friend told me his accountant
told him he owed on the $50,000 he "made" on his first house, but
he owed $50,000 mortgage, so how can you pay on something you didn't
make?  In other words, he thinks that because he didn't buy another
$200,000 house, he owes capital gains, but I say he only made
$150K and should be able to buy a $150K house and have no penalty.

Steve (I'm not a tax accountant, and I don't play one on TV) Morrow

Newsgroups: misc.taxes
From: acheng@ncsa.uiuc.edu (Albert Cheng)
Subject: Re: FICA payments...NOT
Originator: acheng@shalom.ncsa.uiuc.edu
Organization: Nat'l Ctr for Supercomp App (NCSA) @ University of Illinois
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1992 04:54:12 GMT

In article <1992Jul26.140436.19464@crd.ge.com> joseph@c2a.crd.ge.com (joseph) writes:
>  I have always thought that it is sort of unfair that those of us in the
>  private sector (the engines of the economy) pay those taxes, and those
>  in the governement (beuraucrats - the brake pads of the economy) do not
>  pay it.  (No offense meant to individual goverment employees).  My
>  understanding is that state employees covered under a state retirement
>  system and federal employees do not pay FICA taxes.  Is that correct ?

Yes, that is correct for Illinois State employees.  But have no envy--
Our rate is 8% which is higher than FICA.  The State matching fund is
probably one decade behind.  In '89, the state legistration passed a
law that the state must provide the matching fund.  What happened then?
Nothing.  The deficit goes on.  What can you do?  Throw the state
congress and the governor in jail?  They sure can pardon themselves.

I have no illusion that I will collect anything from those "pension"
fund.  Consider them tax and gone for good.

>
>  james joseph        joseph@c2a.crd.ge.com
From: crandle@hera.Berkeley.EDU (Christina Crandlemire)
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: Who is in the "top 2%"?????
Date: 30 Jul 92 17:18:36 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: University of California at Berkeley
NNTP-Posting-Host: hera.berkeley.edu

Hello,

With all the talk about "raising taxes on the upper 2% of income
earners in the country", I was just wondering exactly who these
people are.

I have heard that this is anyone who earns more than $86k/year.
I have also heard that that the $86k figure is wrong, and that it is
actually people who earn $200k/year.

I imagine that it might not be as simple as either one of the above
two figures, but is there some sort of ball park figure $  to use
instead of "upper 2%"???

Thanks,

ps. If you are going to send email please send it to the address in my
    sig, as I am using another account and it might not get to me.
    Thanks.

-John

John Schubert
schubert@united.berkeley.edu
From: wwsantos@COLBY.EDU (Wayne W. Santos)
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: Re:  Wierd CA Sales Tax Law
Date: 30 Jul 92 16:33:53 GMT
Organization: Fedtax-L<==>Misc.Taxes Gateway
X-Gateway-Source-Info: Mailing List

Beginning this month in Maine snack foods are taxed in supermarkets.
I understand this is true for California.

Of course the cashier was not sure what "snack food" was, but my bag
of nachos constituted snack food.

Then, I thought to myself: "Suppose I wanted to make a highly
nutritious Taco Salad? Or have a meal - Tacos, Beans, Chips.

Now I suppose we could say this is food discrimination.  Who
has the right (or skill) to decide what is snack food and what
is whatever their calling everything else? Nachos are a staple
food in the Hispanic diet.

What's next on the tax food hit list: Chow Mein? Watermelon?
Collards?
From: joseph@emmax5crd.ge.com (joseph)
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: Re: Is paying income tax voluntary?
Date: 31 Jul 92 16:25:22 GMT
Reply-To: joseph@emmax5crd.ge.com (joseph)
Distribution: na
Organization: GE Research


In article <CARL.92Jul31094229@atlantis.Cayman.COM>, carl@Cayman.COM (Carl Heinzl) writes:
>
>Like New Hampshire which has no tax in W2 style income (it does tax
>interest income) and also has no sales tax???  Well, they DO have a
>tax on prepared food (7% I believe) but you can always buy groceries
>and cook at home.
>
>Ok, where do they get you?  Try real estate taxes, but I could live
>with that.  The amount extra that they pay in real estate tax is much
>less than the 5.95% income tax plus 5% sales tax that we pay for things
>here in Taxachusetts (that name has less meaning than it used to since
>other states have been watching us and have caught up to and passed us
>in some cases).

 About 6 months or so back, there was an article in the "Money" magazine
 about state taxes.  From what I remember, New Hampshire did not stand
 out as a particularly high tax state in the property tax category.
 The highest property taxes were in some county in New Jersy.  Many of
 the other high tax counties were consistently in New Jersy and New York.

 New York was referred to in that article as the tax hell of America.
 I have to agree.  I moved here from Illinois, and it sure was a shocker.
 
 My state taxes are about half the amount of my federal taxes.
 The property tax I pay on an average 4Br Colonial is $4,400 a year.
 Did I mention the sales tax of 7 percent, which is going to go up to 8% ?
 Then there is the beeper tax, gas tax, lube tax, mortgage tax, speeding
 ticket tax etc.etc.  For just about anything you do, New York state
 wants a cut.  The thing that irked me yesterday was when I received my
 auto insurance premium notice.  There is a new one dollar New York State
 law enforcement fee.

 Well, I guess I have no reason to complain.  Those New Yorkers who live
 in Yonkers and New York City pay income tax to the city also.

 james joseph                joseph@c2a.crd.ge.com
From: "hilary miller" <hilary.miller@execnet.com>
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: def. of investment fo
Date: 25 Jul 92 10:17:30 EST
Reply-To: "hilary miller" <hilary.miller@execnet.com>
Distribution: misc
Organization: Executive Networks Information


Steven A. Moyer, in a message to All on 07-24-92 at 7:43pm, said:

SA>|Can anyone point me to where I can find the legal definition of
   |"investment" for tax purposes?
   |I know that stock market losses are covered here, but what about other
   |speculative purchases.  In particular, I want to know if investment in
   |antique cars falls under this rule.
   |______________________________________________________________________

          I can't point you to any non-technical literature (except
          maybe something like J.K Lasser's "Your Federal Income Tax"),
          but generally speaking *all* capital assets fall under this
          category -- real estate, stamps, coins, etc.


   L A
 I    R        Hilary B. Miller of Greenwich, Connecticut
  H/\Y         CIS: 76040,1743
    
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International ILink Host
From: jim@netlink.cts.com (Jim Bowery)
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: The Two Missing Economic Parameters
Date: 24 Jul 92 14:27:25 GMT
Organization: NetLink Online Communications, San Diego CA

There are a couple of economic parameters that are always missing
from models of the economy even though they are probably as
important as any other parameters we can conceive of in determining
our quality of life:

1) Household Net Present Stable Value:  This is a measure of the
RELIABILITY of the net assets of a households including the discounted
for interest rates and instability present value of future earnings.
When considering having children and the emotional environment of the
family, this may be the most important economic parameter conceivable.

2) Family Labor Hour Availability:  This is a measure of how much
time, adjusted for priority of that time, is available for family
requirements within a family.  This, like 1 is critical for children.

--                    
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From: blosser_cy@lrc.edu
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: TAXES JUST PLAIN *SUCK*!!!!!!
Date: 21 Jul 92 20:01:49 EDT
Organization: Lenoir-Rhyne College, Hickory, NC

'NUFF SAID.
From: joseph@emmax5crd.ge.com (joseph)
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: Re: FICA payments...NOT
Date: 26 Jul 92 14:04:36 GMT
Reply-To: joseph@c2a.crd.ge.com (joseph)
Organization: GE Research


In article <NXuHoB4w161w@cdthq.UUCP>, gary@cdthq.UUCP (Gary Heston) writes:
>youngs@osiris.cso.uiuc.edu (D.Youngs) writes:
>
>> I have been paying into a state retirement account for several years.
>> Recently I moved out of state and am being forced to make FICA payments.
>> Does anyone know how I can avoid these payments?  Otherwise, I must wait 3
>> months to qualify for a 401K plan from my employer to kick in
>
>You can avoid them by not working. Further, when you can start on the
>401K, the FICA does *not* go away; you still pay it.
>
>Welcome to the private sector.

  As Gary, pointed out FICA is insensitive to almost everything (and almost
  all working people, I might add).  The only way you can avoid paying it
  is by not working.  You can put money into 401(k) to defer federal
  and (most ?) state taxes; You can buy a house and deduct the mortgage
  interest from your taxable income.  None of these will reduce your
  FICA payments.

  The only things that can help in reducing your FICA payments are
  pre-tax flexible spending accounts (for child care or health care upto
  a pre-determined limit).  If you are fortunate enough to make more money
  than the FICA limit ($55K/125K ?), even the flexible spending accounts
  will be less effective or may indeed be totally useless as far as FICA
  reduction is concerned.

  I have always thought that it is sort of unfair that those of us in the
  private sector (the engines of the economy) pay those taxes, and those
  in the governement (beuraucrats - the brake pads of the economy) do not
  pay it.  (No offense meant to individual goverment employees).  My
  understanding is that state employees covered under a state retirement
  system and federal employees do not pay FICA taxes.  Is that correct ?

  james joseph        joseph@c2a.crd.ge.com
From: <bh287@cleveland.Freenet.Edu>
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: a mindless test
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 92 14:24:48 -0400
Organization: Fedtax-L<==>Misc.Taxes Gateway
X-Gateway-Source-Info: Mailing List


If this hadn't worked .. this message would be followed by a long
AHHHHHHHHHHHH+++
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
From: matth@progress.COM (Matthew J. Harper)
Subject: Re: What is tax-deductible in closing cost.
Organization: Progress Software Corp.
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 19:40:55 GMT

rdyreng@logdis1.oo.aflc.af.mil (Russell I. Dyreng;OO-ALC/LILEE) writes:

>In your message of 29 Jul 1992 at 1953 MDT, you write:
>> Is there any part of closing cost tax-deductible?
>>
>> If I pay some points to lower the interest rate, can the point-paid be
>> deductible from income tax in the next year or amortize over the next
>> 30 years?
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> --
>> Thang Tran  |  Advanced Processor Development      |  thang@positron.amd.com
>>             |  Advanced Micro Devices, Austin, TX  |  (512) 462-5880
>>
>Points are in fact "pre-paid interest" and as such are tax deductible.
> If you are paying the points on a loan to purchase a home then you
>can take the deduction on that year's return.  If the loan is for a
>refinance of a home you already own, then the points are deductible
>over the life of the loan.

>Russ
>(Not yet a tax expert, but working on it.  In the meantime, it doesn't
>hurt to double-check everything I say.)

  Close.  The points from a refinance are deductable in the year they are paid
as well.  If you pay them all up front, they are deductable in full on that
years return.  If the points are rolled into the loan they get amortized over
the life of the loan.

-Matth
--
          Matthew J. Harper ! Progress Software Corp. ! {disclaimer.i}         
   God created heaven and earth to grow barley and hops. Now he homebrews !-)
From: jas@ISI.EDU (Jeff Sullivan)
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: Bad Debt?  Lost Investment?
Date: 27 Jul 92 18:45:39 GMT
Distribution: misc
Organization: USC-ISI


Is there any way to reclaim money lost as membership dues to a company
that goes bankrupt or out of business?

jas
--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeffrey A. Sullivan		| Research Scientist at small
jas@venera.isi.edu		| Information Sciences Institute
jas@isi.edu                    	| University of Southern California
From: dfavor@logan.tivoli.com (David Favor)
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: Re: FICA payments...NOT
Date: 29 Jul 92 11:23:59 GMT

In article <NXuHoB4w161w@cdthq.UUCP>, gary@cdthq.UUCP (Gary Heston) writes:
|> youngs@osiris.cso.uiuc.edu (D.Youngs) writes:
|> 
|> > I have been paying into a state retirement account for several years.
|> > Recently I moved out of state and am being forced to make FICA payments.
|> > Does anyone know how I can avoid these payments?  Otherwise, I must wait 3
|> > months to qualify for a 401K plan from my employer to kick in
|> 
|> You can avoid them by not working. Further, when you can start on the
|> 401K, the FICA does *not* go away; you still pay it.
|> 
|> Welcome to the private sector.
|> 
|> Gary Heston, at home....
|> gary@cdthq.uucp

another way to avoid FICA, FUTA, SUTA, Medicare, Workers Compensation is
to adjust your revenue stream to passive income only.
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
From: mills@adobe.com (Dan Mills)
Subject: 401k & 403b - total allowable contribution
Organization: Adobe Systems Incorporated, Mountain View
Distribution: ca
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 19:27:38 GMT

I have a 401k plan at my work in private industry, and my wife is
eligible to contribute to a 403b plan as an employee of the University
of California. Do my contributions to my 401k limit the amount my wife
can contribute to a 403b, and vice versa: if she starts contributing
to a 403b, will that limit the amount I can put into my 401k?

Thanks.
Dan
mills@adobe.com
From: ak860@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (William E. Steiger)
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: Re: Capital gains from primary residence
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 92 15:06:07 -0400
Organization: Fedtax-L<==>Misc.Taxes Gateway
X-Gateway-Source-Info: Mailing List


>
>Along the same line, if I sell a house for $200,000 and I pay off a
>$50,000 mortgage, leaving me with $150,000 which I then use to buy
>a $150,000 house outright, I owe NO capital gains tax because I
>reinvested all my profit...right?  A friend told me his accountant
>told him he owed on the $50,000 he "made" on his first house, but
>he owed $50,000 mortgage, so how can you pay on something you didn't
>make?  In other words, he thinks that because he didn't buy another
>$200,000 house, he owes capital gains, but I say he only made
>$150K and should be able to buy a $150K house and have no penalty.

Heres how it works:
Net sale price of old  home         200k
Less:
   Cost of old home +
              improvements   150k

   less prior defered gain     0    150K
                               ------------
Gain on Sale of old home             50K     (realized gain)
=================================================================
Net sale price of old home          200K
Less:
    Fix up expenses from old home     0K         200K
                                   -----------
Less:
Price of new Home+improvments                    150K
                                               -------------
Sale Gain                                         50K

Taxable Gain is minimum of realized gain
or the sale gain                                   50K

In other words the mortgage has nothing to do with the formula as it is
already included in the original cost of the house plus improvements.  If
the taxpayer used an equity loan for anything other than improvements or
fixing up expenses, then he loses.

as a rule of thumb, reinvest the sales price.  Unless there is a real loss
on the sale.  ie the cost was greater than the sales price.

One last thing.  There is a one time exclusion up to $125K for seller if he
is 55 years old or older on the date of sale.

Bill
From: rpitts@emperor.gatech.edu (Richard Pitts)
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: Re: Income from renting a primary residence
Keywords: income, sublet
Date: 30 Jul 92 20:06:34 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: CERL-EE, Georgia Institue of Technology

In article <yuditsky.712520532@acf9> yuditsky@acf9.nyu.edu (Eugene Yuditsky) writes:
>
>Suppose I rent an apartment as my primary residence and I want to sublet it.
>

I've rented out part of my house, while living there as did my wife-to-be 
did with her house, and now we rent out all of her former house.


Get IRS Publication 17 (I believe) - there are others, but this is
the main one.

Rent is taxable income, unless you use the rental property a specified 
amount of time (which I can't really recall) during the year.  So
I believe if one rents out part of a residence and uses part of it,
the usage rule applies only to the part which is rented.

However, I believe one can deduct rent you paid for something you
are renting out, as can you deduct the interest on the loan you have
for a house you are renting out.

You may want to note the distinction in the IRS publications of 
'rental property' and 'rental real-estate' - the former not being 
real-estate.  Real-estate allows for a loss ($25,000/year for singles,
I think), whereas, the former does not allow for a loss.  There
are also notations of active and passive gains and losses.  Most
likely you will be an active participant and so you will be able
to take a loss, but passive participants cannot.  Unless you have
a go between (a management firm or person) and you make the decisions
on how and when things happen, you most likely are an active participant.

>	My rent is $1500 and I charge a subtenant $1500 (so I dont
>	receive anything from subletting).
>	Is my "income" taxable? (Well, I hope, not)

I think you have zero taxable income here.  

>CASE 2:
>	My rent is $1500 and I sublet an apartment fully furnished,
>	so I can charge 10% more. Subtenant pays $1650.
>	Is any of my income taxable?

The $150 (1650-1500) is taxable, but you possibly can depreciate
the furnishings.

>Suppose I own a co-op as my primary residence and I rent it.
>
>	My mortgage payment is $2000, interest part of it is $1800
>	Maintenace $700. Tenant pays $1600.
>	Is anything taxable?

Rent is declared as income, if it fits the above catagory - the interest, 
taxes, insurance (renters?), utilities, sanitation, maintenance, and 
practically anything else you payout yourself is deductible, along with 
the depreciation.

Again - get the IRS publication(s).

>Thank you.
>
>--Eugene.

Sincerely,
Richard Pitts

-- 
rpitts@cerl.gatech.edu       |    
Atlanta, GA                --|-- 
                        -|-  |  -|-
                         |   |   |
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
From: acheng@ncsa.uiuc.edu (Albert Cheng)
Subject: Re: Read my lips!
Originator: acheng@shalom.ncsa.uiuc.edu
Organization: Nat'l Ctr for Supercomp App (NCSA) @ University of Illinois
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 05:20:16 GMT

>> If you have lived long enough, the last time the Democrates controlled
>> both branches, 1976-1980, U.S. achieved the economic impossible, trible
>> digits in INFLATION, INTEREST RATES, and UNEMPLOYMENT.
>
>And if you've lived long enough, you recall that when Carter left the
>White House after 1980, the United States was the largest creditor
>in the world.  (We are now the largest debtor.)  And if you've lived
>long enough, you know that neither Reagan nor Bush ever submitted a
>balanced budget to Congress.  And if you've lived long enough, you
>know that during his first term, Reagan enjoyed a majority in the
>Senate and (with the Boll Weevils) an effective majority in the House,
>and the deficit ballooned.

Oh, yes, I have lived long enough to see both.  I also know that all
along the Democrates controlled the House since epoch (well, before I
care to watch the economy).  Republicans controlled the Senate for two
years (81-82) due to the backlash of the impossible Carter
administration.  And once again, the President CANNOT legistrate a
budget, he/she can at most veto it.  The Congress can even override the
President veto if those spinless politicians (Democrates and Republicans)
 want to.  It is the Congress that makes the budget.

In the last two decades, we have tried the combinations of
	Republicans President, Democrates Congress
	Democrates President, Democrates Congress

and they failed.  Would the combination of Republican President--Congress
do any better?  May be, but four more years of Bush econmonic is
very scary.

>So what's your point, and what does it have to do with misc.taxes?

Hope you see my point already.  I just followed on someone else initial
posting.  (Yes, playground execuse, "He started it first.")
>  uucp: richter@milano.uucp     arpa: richter@mcc.com
>"The panic ... was not due to anything fundamentally weak in either business
>   or finance.  It was confined to the market itself."   - WSJ, Oct. 31, 1929
From: rdyreng@logdis1.oo.aflc.af.mil (Russell I. Dyreng;OO-ALC/LILEE)
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: Re: What is tax-deductible in closing cost.
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 92 08:24:00 -0700
Organization: Fedtax-L<==>Misc.Taxes Gateway
X-Gateway-Source-Info: Mailing List

In your message of 29 Jul 1992 at 1953 MDT, you write:
> Is there any part of closing cost tax-deductible?
>
> If I pay some points to lower the interest rate, can the point-paid be
> deductible from income tax in the next year or amortize over the next
> 30 years?
>
>
>
> --
> --
> Thang Tran  |  Advanced Processor Development      |  thang@positron.amd.com
>             |  Advanced Micro Devices, Austin, TX  |  (512) 462-5880
>
Points are in fact "pre-paid interest" and as such are tax deductible.
 If you are paying the points on a loan to purchase a home then you
can take the deduction on that year's return.  If the loan is for a
refinance of a home you already own, then the points are deductible
over the life of the loan.

Russ
(Not yet a tax expert, but working on it.  In the meantime, it doesn't
hurt to double-check everything I say.)