HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: lvandyke@balboa.eng.uci.edu (Lee Van Dyke)
Subject: Re: Tax Programs
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Organization: University of California, Irvine
Date: 11 Jan 93 18:10:28 GMT


Has anyone checked the wuarchive for the 92 shareware programs?

I'll try next time I ftp from it. 

--
Lee Van Dyke
      lvandyke@balboa.eng.uci.edu,
UUCP: infotec!Infotec.COM!lee@sunkist.West.Sun.COM
From: leigh.melton@ehbbs.gwinnett.com (Leigh Melton) 
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: HELP: using parents as de
Date: 9 Jan 93 09:36:00 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: Ed Hopper's BBS - Berkeley Lake, GA - 404-446-9462
Reply-To: leigh.melton@ehbbs.gwinnett.com (Leigh Melton) 


AC>My parents are getting old, and I have been giving
AC>them approx $10.00 last year for Medical expenses,
AC>and living assistance!  Although they are still working
AC>(self employed ), is it possible for me to claim those
AC>amount as tax deduction????


I take it the $10.00 was a typo.  Anyhow, you cannot take this gift to
your parents as a medical expense deduction unless they can be claimed
as your dependents.  As they are still working, this is highly unlikely.
Just chalk it up to your good karma account.  :)

L.

---
 . SLMR 2.1a . I've already told you more than I know.
                                                     
----
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Xref: sparky misc.taxes:3932 misc.invest:15693
From: stgprao@st.unocal.COM (Richard Ottolini)
Newsgroups: misc.taxes,misc.invest
Subject: Re: is itemizing always better than fixed deductions ?
Date: 4 Jan 93 05:00:23 GMT
Organization: Unocal Corporation

In article <1huv2gINN57r@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> jxs18@po.CWRU.Edu (Jerry Sy) writes:
>
>Is it true that itemizing deductions is always better (meaning less taxes
>to pay) than just taking the fixed deductions (say from 1040EZ) ?

No.
Compute taxes both ways and see which is less.
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
From: ask@cbnews.cb.att.com (Arthur S. Kamlet)
Subject: Re: stock losses
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories,  Columbus, Ohio
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 08:19:11 GMT

In article <2437@mcdbos.UUCP> vinceg@mcdbos.UUCP (Vince Grove) writes:
>I sold stock this past year at a loss. Can I deduct that loss from my
>taxes even if I don't have any gains to offset it against. I'm wondering
>if losses on the sale of stock are like gambling losses in that they can
>only be deducted to the extent that they offset any winnings.

You can deduct net losses  (losses less gains) up to $3,000 each
year, and carry forward to next year(s) all losses above that.


>If it is the case that deductions for stock losses can only be offset against
>any gains, does interest earned on CD's count as a gain?

Interest on CDs or even dividends on stocks do not offset investment
gains/losses.

Capital gains are reported on Schedule D of Form 1040, not Schedule B.

(Now if you want to complicate things, if you have mutual fund
dividends which include long term capital gains distributions,
you can report them on both schedules!  It ends up OK, as they will
only get counted once (subtracted from gross Fund dividends on
Schedule B but added back in as long term gains on Schedule D.)
-- 
Art Kamlet  a_s_kamlet@att.com  AT&T Bell Laboratories, Columbus
From: bdtyler3%budget%ALBNYDH2.BITNET@SHSU.edu
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: What! The President pays NO Tax
Date: 11 JAN 93 13:59:33 EST
Organization: Fedtax-L<==>Misc.Taxes Gateway
X-Gateway-Source-Info: Mailing List

Hello FedTax-L'ers

I am sure that the President of the USA (whether she or he be Republican,
Democrat, or 'Perotian') pays income tax on her/his salary and other
forms of income. (i.e. speaches, book royalties, endorsments...)

Just wanted to offset the posting about the 'presidential exemption'.

Thomas Tyler                                 State of New York
518-474-4925                               Division of the Budget
BDTYLER3@BUDGET                                 Albany, NY.
From: newwave@desire.wright.edu
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: Interest on Student Loan - Tax Deductible?
Date: 9 Jan 93 12:36:29 EST
Organization:  Wright State University 



Please email response.  I will post summary of responses.

Q- Is the interest on Student Loans (GSL, Stafford, etc.) tax-deductible?
I was charged a lot of interest on these loans last year and I would like
to know if I can some how reduce the numbers...

Thanks
Ketan
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
From: davew@willow03.cray.com (Dave Wagner)
Subject: 1993 W4
Followup-To: misc.taxes
Originator: davew@willow03
Organization: Cray Research, Inc.
Date: 12 Jan 93 14:47:30 CST


Is the W4 worksheet for 1993 the same as 1992?

(i.e. has the $2500 number changed any?).  Also, about that $2500, what do
you do to it to get the additional amount in take-home per yr for each
allowance (assuming 28%).  - is it 2500 or .28*2500?


-- 
Dave Wagner                               "Tongue-tied and twisted,
davew@cray.com , uunet!cray!davew          just an earth-bound misfit, I"
(612) 683-5393                                  -- Pink Floyd
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
From: cep@taligent.com (Christophe Pettus)
Subject: Re: Amend return even if no $$ change?
Organization: Taligent, a little subsidiary of two really big companies.
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 21:34:27 GMT

I'd advise against it.  It's a lot of work, and the only thing bad
thing that could happen if you don't is the IRS might audit you, or
send you a notice of proposed assessment.  Since your records are in
order, you need not worry about that excessively.

The point of an income tax return is to calculate your tax liability;
an error that doesn't affect your liability is inconsequential, and you
don't have to go through the bother of an amended return.
--
-- Christophe

"Bad analogy!  No biscuit!"
From: art@acc.com (Art Berggreen)
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: Re: Uniform Deduction???
Date: 8 Jan 93 17:34:02 GMT
Organization: ACC, Advanced Computer Communications

In article <1993Jan05.154716.24617@rchland.ibm.com> kmill@vnet.ibm.com writes:
>My wife is a manager at a restaurant where she is required to wear a white shirt and dress
>pants and I was wondering if this "uniform" is deductible.  I know that it's not a formal
>uniform like a nurse is required to wear, but it seems like required dress should qualify as a
>uniform.  Any ideas?  Thanks in advance.

I believe that only if it is clothing that would not be worn for any other occasion
will the IRS allow a deduction.  Since your wife's clothing is probably useable for
other occasions, I'd doubt that the IRS would allow a deduction.

Art
From: "hilary miller" <hilary.miller@execnet.com>
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: is this worth an amen
Date: 9 Jan 93 04:49:18 EST
Reply-To: "hilary miller" <hilary.miller@execnet.com>
Distribution: misc
Organization: Executive Networks Information


Richard Detweiler, in a message to All on 01-06-93 at 10:25pm, said:

RD>|My mistake was including the value of the land in with the
   |value of the property when calculating my basis for the
   |property.  This resulted in an approximate $80 overstatement
   |of the depreciation for the property.
   |____________________________________________________________

               You file an amended return on Form 1040X for the
               year in question.  You will be liable for the ad-
               ditional tax and interest (peanuts), but probably
               not for any penalties.  The audit risk is low.


   L A
 I    R        Hilary B. Miller of Greenwich, Connecticut
  H/\Y         CIS: 76040,1743
    
---
  DeLuxe/386 1.25 #11645  Nietzche is pietzche, but Sartre is smartre.
--
Executive Network Information System  (914) 667-4567
International ILink Host
Newsgroups: misc.taxes,misc.invest
From: cep@taligent.com (Christophe Pettus)
Subject: Re: tax on tax refund
Organization: Taligent, a little subsidiary of two really big companies.
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 19:43:34 GMT

In article <93011.105856SHERE@SLACVM.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU> <SHERE@SLACVM.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU> writes:
>The 1992 1040EZ form has no provision for listing a state tax refund.
>Any comments on this?  Does one simply forget about one's state refund
>if using the 1040EZ?

You only have to declare a State income tax refund as income if you
itemized in the year the refund is for.  Since you don't itemize with
a 1040EZ, you're OK.
--
-- Christophe

"Bad analogy!  No biscuit!"
From: rdyreng@oodis01.hill.af.mil (Russell I. Dyreng;OO-ALC/LILEP)
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: Re: IRA setup fee, tax deductable?
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 93 11:59:31 -0700
Organization: Fedtax-L<==>Misc.Taxes Gateway
X-Gateway-Source-Info: Mailing List

In your message of  7 Jan 1993 at 0900 MST, you write:
> As the subject says, I just opened an IRA with Janus last year and paid the
> $100 lifetime management fee.
> My question is: Is it tax deductable?
>
> Email Response preferred. Will summarize if needed.
> Thanks!
>
> --
> Burzin Engineer
> Teradata Business Unit
> bne@elsegundoca.ncr.com
>
I believe that this would be somewhat analogous to buying a front-end
loaded fund for an IRA.  You pay out $100.00, of that $91.50 is
actually invested and $8.50 goes for a "management fee" (read that:
sales commission).  The IRS still allows you to claim a deduction for
$100.00.

Bear in mind also that IRA custodial fees are also deductible if paid
directly by you, ie not deducted from your IRA balance.

Russ
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
From: cep@taligent.com (Christophe Pettus)
Subject: Re: Placed in Service?
Organization: Taligent, a little subsidiary of two really big companies.
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 23:28:04 GMT

In article <CARL.93Jan5174820@atlantis.Cayman.COM> carl@Cayman.COM (Carl Heinzl) writes:
>Hmmm, how would a self-funded start up company work then?  I can't
>believe that you can't declare any deductions until you get income.
>There are a lot of companies that may take several years to realize
>income from research being done now.

WARNING: THIS IS A GUESS.  I'll do some research when I get home and can
look through my references.

My suspicion is that this rule applies, in effect, only to sole
proprietorships and partnerships.  It could well be that a corporation
is considered operating once it is formed.  I don't remember any
explicit note to that form, but it makes sense, since one of the
purposes of this rule is to determine the capitalization in the
business.
--
-- Christophe

"Bad analogy!  No biscuit!"
From: leigh.melton@ehbbs.gwinnett.com (Leigh Melton) 
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: Income tax on US citizen
Date: 9 Jan 93 09:36:00 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: Ed Hopper's BBS - Berkeley Lake, GA - 404-446-9462
Reply-To: leigh.melton@ehbbs.gwinnett.com (Leigh Melton) 

KS>What is the basic idea on income taxes for a US citizen residing
KS>overseas?

KS>I am a US citizen, living in Sweden.  This year I have investment and
KS>employment income in both countries.  I have heard that such a person
KS>must pay income taxes in BOTH countries, but that each country credits
KS>the other country's taxes to you - thus one ends up paying a rate
KS>somewhere in between the two.  Is there any truth to this?

KS>I have also heard a story about one not having to pay *ANY* income
KS>taxes in *EITHER* country for the first partial year of residence in
KS>the other country?  Any truth to this?

Quoting from that old standby, _Publication 17_:
"Generally, you can take either a deduction or a credit for income taxes
imposed on you by a foreign country or a U.S. possession.  However, you
cannot take a deduction or credit for foreign income taxes paid on
income that is exempt from tax under the foreign earned income exclusion
or the foreign housing exclusion."

It also suggests you get a copy of Publication 54, _Tax Guide for U.S.
Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad_.

So it looks like that you can take credit for Swedish tax paid on Form
1116 (on the back of your 1040) or deduct it on your Schedule A, if you
itemize.

As far as Swedish taxes go, geez, I sure don't know.  It took me years
to learn the U.S. tax labyrinth.

Cheers!

Leigh


disclaimer: this is not meant as professional tax advice and should not
be treated as such till world's end amen
---
 . SLMR 2.1a . Good Intentions Paving Co. Ltd: "We did the road to Hell"
                                                                                                    
----
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
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From: leigh.melton@ehbbs.gwinnett.com (Leigh Melton) 
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: Uniform Deduction???
Date: 9 Jan 93 09:36:00 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: Ed Hopper's BBS - Berkeley Lake, GA - 404-446-9462
Reply-To: leigh.melton@ehbbs.gwinnett.com (Leigh Melton) 


KM>My wife is a manager at a restaurant where she is required to wear a white s
KM> and dress pants and I was wondering if this "uniform" is deductible.

If she is *required* to wear it and it is "not suitable for everyday
wear" (according to Pub. 17 - great bathroom reading) then you can
deduct the cost of the uniform under "Unreimbursed Employee Business
Expenses" on your Schedule A.

Sheesh, I've even seen people take *dry cleaning* of their uniform as a
deduction, but I personally wouldn't be willing to risk it.  :)

Leigh


dislaimer: this is not meant as professional tax advice and should not
be taken as such till world's end amen
---
 . SLMR 2.1a . Reality is a sandwich that I did not order.
                                                           
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+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
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+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
From: holmertz@ike.navo.navy.mil (Steve Holmertz)
Subject: Can I deduct travel for job interviews?
Nntp-Posting-Host-[nntpd-19478]: ike.navo.navy.mil
Keywords: travel deduction
Organization: Naval Oceanographic Office
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 19:49:24 GMT

I have heard that it is possible to deduct all or part of 
your travel expenses if the trip includes at least one
job interview. Is this true? If so then what documentation
is required?

Also the trip in question began on December 30th but the 
actual interview was on January 3rd. Can I deduct it for 
1992 or 1993?
From: cep@taligent.com (Christophe Pettus)
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: Re: No FICA for S-corp shareholders?
Date: 11 Jan 93 20:00:07 GMT
Organization: Taligent, a little subsidiary of two really big companies.

In article <C0pDqt.1I9D@austin.ibm.com> larryhow@austin.ibm.com () writes:
>I understand that S-corp shareholders don't have to pay FICA taxes (social
>security) on income distributions.  But if they draw a salary from the
>corporation they do.  Is this true?

S-corporations pass _tax income or loss_ along to their shareholders.
No money actually changes hands with this pass-along, so no FICA is
due.  If you actually take money out, you must pay it either as a
dividend (which the S-corp cannot deduct from its taxes) or as salary,
on which you must pay FICA (and the S-corp must pay FUTA).
--
-- Christophe

"Bad analogy!  No biscuit!"
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
From: ask@cbnews.cb.att.com (Arthur S. Kamlet)
Subject: Re: LT vs ST Cap Gains Distributions
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories,  Columbus, Ohio
Distribution: usa
Date: Sat, 9 Jan 1993 20:28:03 GMT

In article <1imt0bINN6n1@early-bird.think.com> barmar@think.com (Barry Margolin) writes:
>
>When my mutual funds distribute capital gains, they distinguish short-term
>and long-term gains.  The Schedule B and D instructions seem to be
>inconsistent about which of these are to be reported.  The instruction for
>Schedule B, Line 7 just refers to capital gains distributions, which seems
>like it should be the sum of LT and ST gain distributions.  The instruction

No.  This should be long term gains only.

>for Scnedule D, Line 14 specifically says "paid to you as a long-term
>capital gain".  But the instruction for Schedule B also says that the
>number on Line 7 should also be entered on Schedule D.

Right.  That's why Sched B is LT Cap gains only
-- 
Art Kamlet  a_s_kamlet@att.com  AT&T Bell Laboratories, Columbus
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
From: trocklin@news.weeg.uiowa.edu (Tom Rocklin)
Subject: Re: CONSULTING and TAXES
Organization: University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 22:19:47 GMT

obrien@hri.com (Jim Obrien) writes:

>During the summer I was consulting part
>time for a few nights at small computer
>comany. This is the first time I have done
>part time work this way. Now that its tax time
>I'm not sure what to do. It looks like I should
>file a Schedule SE form, but is this the only way?
>If so, I think I will ask my part time employer to
>pay me as a part time emplyee from now on.

I assume that you would rather be an employee than a consultant to avoid
paying the self employment tax.  Your employer/customer was, I'm sure,
happy to avoid paying their half of the social security taxes.     

There may be a bright spot here, though.  (Emphasis on "may".)  If you are
not an employee, you are probably running a business.  You normally file
not only a schedule SE, but a schedule C.  On schedule C, you show your
income from consulting and your business expenses.  You may find that your
expenses reduce your profit to near zero.  Many expenses that are not
deductible as an employee (or are subject to the 2?% AGI floor) are deductible
on schedule C.

Just for example, I imagine that working as a consultant to a computer company
might require that you own and maintain a computer.  You might have bought
supplies for this computer in order to run your business.  These might be
deductible.

Whether you are better off as an employee or a consultant will depend on the  
particulars of the situation.

Also, the distinction may be ambiguous but it is not arbitrary.  In other 
words, whether you are a consultant (i.e., independent contractor) or 
an employee depends on your activities and your relationship to the person
paying you, not on which you prefer to be.

As always, this advice is worth what you paid for it and should be confirmed
-- 
Tom Rocklin                                  374 Lindquist Center
319/335-5570                               The University of Iowa
319/335-5386 (fax)                            Iowa City, IA 52242
From: ddl@burrhus.harvard.edu (Dan Lanciani)
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
Subject: expense software betas?
Date: 12 Jan 93 07:18:48 GMT
Article-I.D.: burrhus.1993Jan12.071848.29895
Organization: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA


	Here's maybe a slightly different question.  What's the
best way to deduct the cost of software beta distributions?  More
and more products and ``dev kits'' are being distributed this way and
buying them is usually unavoidable if you want to stay in business.
Such betas have the following characteristics:

1.  They are often expensive enough to worry about, especially if
you have to buy several for different products and versions.

2.  They generally have a useful lifetime much less than a year.  This
is usually enforced by license, software time-out, or both.

Depreciation over 5 years (isn't that typical for software?) seems
unreasonable as does using up part of the section 179 expense.  For
all practical purposes these are expenses and not capital assets.
Is there any category into which they seem to fit?  Perhaps they are
analogous to license fees or similar costs of doing business.  Or
maybe they are more like bribes to encourage the manufacturer to
support you :)

				Dan Lanciani
				ddl@harvard.*
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
From: acheng@ncsa.uiuc.edu (Albert Cheng)
Subject: Re: HELP: using parents as dependents?????
Originator: acheng@shalom.ncsa.uiuc.edu
Organization: Nat'l Ctr for Supercomp App (NCSA) @ University of Illinois
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 16:08:03 GMT


In article <1993Jan4.175628.1939@iplmail.orl.mmc.com>, artc@iplmail.orl.mmc.com (Art Chang) writes:
>...
>My parents are getting old, and I have been giving 
>them approx $10.00 last year for Medical expenses,
>and living assistance!  Although they are still working
>(self employed ), is it possible for me to claim those
>amount as tax deduction????
>HELP -> just received my 1040 form.....   YUK!
>        is it that time of the year already????

[Chang has posted a correction that the figure was $10,000.]

All these are spelled out on page 12-13 of the new year greetings
from your IRS i.e. 1040.  To claim dependents for tax deduction, it
has to pass 5 tests first.

1) Relationship--Must be relatives.
2) Married Person--not claimed by his/her spouse.
3) Citizen or resident--must be U.S. citizen or resident; Or residents
   of Canada or Mexico; or adopted children.
4) Income--gross income less than $2300.
5) Support--provided over half of the total support for the whole yea.

If you have all these five tests passed, you still need receipts for
all those medical expense clearly marked PAID BY YOU.  If you send the
$10K directly to your parents who paid the bills, the money will be
count as GIFT and not tax deductible for you.

Since this may mean a few thousand dollars in tax, you should consult
a tax accountant.
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
From: cep@taligent.com (Christophe Pettus)
Subject: Re: Taxes on Gifts
Organization: Taligent, a little subsidiary of two really big companies.
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 19:55:00 GMT

In article <1993Jan8.140151.401@head-cfa.harvard.edu> ov@head-cfa.harvard.edu (Olaf Vancura) writes:
>A couple of questions on gift taxes.  Does the giver or receiver potentially
>pay taxes on monetary gifts?  And, is there some maximum below which the
>gift is tax free to both?  Does the IRS consider the sum of all gifts to/from 
>an individual in determining taxes, or is each gift considered separately?

Gifts are taxed to the giver, not the recipient.

A total of $10,000 can be given by an individual to another individual
in a tax year, tax-free; above that, taxes are due.  A married couple
can, in effect, give $20,000 to an individual, if they declare it to be
a joint gift.  The IRS looks at the aggregate amount of all gifts
during the year, not just individual gifts.

Note that if you receive something in return for your gift, it's not a
gift, it's income taxable to the recipient.
--
-- Christophe

"Bad analogy!  No biscuit!"
Newsgroups: misc.taxes
From: ohumukin@spectra.com (Kawika Ohumukini)
Subject: Equipment Returns
Organization: Spectragraphics Corporation
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 93 00:58:15 GMT

I purchased a computer board for my business on December 13, 1992.
I returned the board to the retailer on January 4, 1993.

Are there any tax consequences I should be aware of?

Please email responses, thanks.

Kawika 
Newsgroups: misc.taxes