Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-08-16
Eleventh Of q Series.

other town, live in cooperative
housing projects. or get income
in advance for a future Pc
Rod :. =
All, these groups may find tax
benefits for them hidden in the
hundreds Of thousands of words
OF the new tax revision act.
Most Of the changes are ef-
fective last January /, and will
show up in tax returns due next
April Is. Here is a rundown
on possible tax cuts for these
special groups:
WIDOWS AND WIDOWERS-
For two years after the death
OF a wife or husband. you may
still split your income for tax
purposes as most married cou-
Piles do. This often puts you
IN a lower tax bracket. But to
claim this provision. you must
be supporting a dependent son
or daughter.
Single heads of households
You may now qualify for this
tax status if your are single and
support a parent who lives away
from your own home.
Help For Policemen.
Under the old law, the parent
had to live in your home. The
single head of household" status
!. gives you one-half the benefits of
income splitting. explained above.
Policemen - Now can deduct
ibsistence allowances up to SIS
day, which were counted as
exable income under the old
Nv. This could mean a tax cut
b about 1854 a year for many
Federal, State and local officers.
4 Ministers-Cash payments to a
minister for rental of a home
were counted as income under
the old law, although the rental
! value Of a parsonage provided
for the minister was exempt.
Under the new law. the cash al.
l0Wance also is exempt to the ex-
tent it is actually used for
hDusing.
4 fdnventors, Writers, Artists
under the old law, income from
"a project which took less than
three years to complete was taxed
in the year in which it was re-
ceived. Income from projects
which took three years or more,
even though received in one year,
could be spread for tax purposes
over three back years. Under the
new law, income may be spread
over a period of years if the prof.
ect takes only two years or more
to complete. This means income
from more such work may be
spread, and thus taxed at a
lower rate. Writers and artists
may spread income over the ac-
tual period of work up to So
months. The time spread for in
ventors has been increased from
SO to go months. You qualify
for this advantage only if 80
per cent or. more of the income
from the project is received in
one year. Otherwise. you pay
taxes on the income as it is re-
ceived year by year.
Sale Of Homes Affected.
Sale Of Homes-Profit from
sale OF a personal residence is
taxed unless invested in another
home. Even then, the profit is
kept in the record. If you later
sell the second home, or a third
or fourth or fifth, and don't re-
invest all your profits in another
home, the total profit on all the
transactions can be taxed. In
figuring your profit, the new law
permits you to deduct such SELL
Ing expenses as real estate COM
missions and fixing up" costs
painting and other improvements
completed 80 days before the
sale, in order to help make the
house salable.
Cooperative Housing-Yf you
live in a cooperative housing
project. the new law permits you
to deduct your share of interest
and taxes paid by the co-opera-
tive. The old law granted this
deduction only to taxpayers liv-'
Ing in cooperative apartments.
Business Partners-Partners
who meet complex list of quail
f1cations may choose to pay taxes
as corporation, rather than in