Starting a small, part-time, home-based eBay business in New York. What are the implications of registering for a Sale & Use Tax certificate? It looks like I'm going to need this certificate (DTF-17, I believe) before I deal with most wholesalers. I'm having trouble wrapping my head around the purpose/implications of all these wonky tax forms, especially the "sales & use" tax. Could somebody possibly explain this one to me in my right-brained kind of English? What will it mean once tax time rolls around in April? Unfortunately, I was not born with a gift for this kind of stuff, and I envy all of you who were.

What is the best financial/tax situation for us? Kid on way, financial aid eligibility concerns. Me: grad student for 2 more years, on a teaching assistantship (this covers tuition, fees, health insurance, and gives me a $1600/mo. stipend) and with some student loans on top (less than $10k/year). I also work in the summers, but make less than $5k. I also receive research grants sometimes ($5k-$15k). In 2008, I will only have been in the country for 2 months and will have an income of less than $5k. In 2009 and 2010 I will be be back on the normal track with $1600/mo. and some loans with perhaps 2-3 months of a travel grant of ~$6k.

Tax Filter (surprise surprise!): I didn't pay my taxes in 2000 or 2004 and I need to get my hands on the W2s from those years. I want to pay those taxes (mostly to fix my credit, although I doubt I owe much because I wasn't making much), but I need the W2s. The companies I worked for have already destroyed the W2s from 2000 and are lagging on getting the W2s from 2004. I went to the IRS website AND called the IRS to find out what forms I need to request those, and I have received several different answers. I have sent a check to them requesting the W2s, but have had it sent back to me several times, because I used the wrong form to request those W2s.

Los Angeles is hitting me for a big chunk of money for business taxes... this despite the fact that I am a public employee. (In advance: The answer to this question may very well be "get a lawyer/accountant," but I'm not flush with cash at the moment and would like to know what steps I can take short of that.) I'm a teacher, and I do a small amount of work as a musician. I moved to CA in 2005, and filed taxes for that year here. I included 1099 forms (all from work done in FL, no less) in my tax filings for that year. I also did a small amount of musical work as an independent contractor in CA during 2006.

Tax planning advice for the self employed. The web is full of articles, the bookstores are full of guides. But there is so much "get rich quick" and "pay zero taxes" crap out there that I am not sure where to go for good, solid tax planning advice. Is it better to operate as an LLC? An s-corp? What expenses are deductible? What is a good system of recordkeeping? What records should be kept? If I have two related business pursuits, should I keep track of them separately or together? And so on. I know I need to see an accountant, but I'd like to be as educated as possible. Right now I am paying a rather high percentage of a rather small income in taxes. I'm not anti-tax, but I am very pro-eating.

How can I tell whether or not the expenses incurred by my new LLC, which I'm filing taxes for as a partnership and which is operating at a loss this year, can be claimed by the members as deductible business expenses? So supposedly filing as a partnership is the usual thing for an LLC, which is fine with me, except that there seems to be one way in which you have to differentiate-- since the members liability is limitted, not all losses of the company can be distributed among and claimed by the members as deductible business expenses. My business is new this year. It had a lot of startup costs including purchasing a building (which I will depreciate if possible), improvements to the building, and legal fees, and actually hasn't even opened yet so has not made any income. The money for these costs was put in by the members, so the company is not in debt, but is definitely operating at a loss. I am really hoping to be able to apply my share of this loss as a business expense on my personal taxes, because I spent money on my business assuming I would be able to deduct it. How can I tell whether I can deduct this, or which expenses are elligible?

Possibly a longshot : can anyone recommend an accountant in Vancouver? I'm looking for one that can advise me on tax issues and possibly do some document preparation for me, particularly with regard to my lengthy and continuing expatriate status. Also, a follow-on question: I've never actually sat down with an accountant who wasn't just a professional friend helping me out. My expectation is that I might be able to sit down with one to lay out my requirements and get a price estimate for the actual engagement, without charge. Is this the case, or will the initial consultation cost,

Possibly a longshot : can anyone recommend an accountant in Vancouver? I'm looking for one that can advise me on tax issues and possibly do some document preparation for me, particularly with regard to my lengthy and continuing expatriate status. Also, a follow-on question: I've never actually sat down with an accountant who wasn't just a professional friend helping me out. My expectation is that I might be able to sit down with one to lay out my requirements and get a price estimate for the actual engagement, without charge. Is this the case, or will the initial consultation cost,

Tax laws allow you to withdraw money penalty-free from your IRA up to $10,000 if you use it towards a first-time home purchase. We just got the check -- my question is, how do we prove later on that we did use the money for the house?

I own a condo with a mortgage and tax deductions and equity. SO moving in. How do we split expenses fairly? Many other questions about financial logistics. I've owned a condo for several years and have built up extensive equity between putting in more money and the ridiculous local real estate market. SO is likely moving in soon, and my life will be much the better for it. Happy Valentine's Day! It doesn't make sense for both of us to move and get a new place: I have more money than SO does so we just end up with a new problem, we both like the place, SO needs to move anyway because of expiring lease, and the location is great. Also, I just refinanced at a much lower mortgage rate than I could get now, so any move would put us in a downgrade even if I could psychologically accept the loss of sunk costs.