All about loans - tax

Lesser of two tax burdens?

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 23:40:51 +0000

My partner and I need to pay off some debt, and unfortunately we need to dip into our retirement funds. Our tax accountant is on vacation and we can't find the answer to our question. We have two sources–either sell some stock or cash out a couple of short-term IRA CDs. Which is the lesser of two evils? The service charge on either transaction would be about the same (~$50). We understand that the painful part would come in the form of the taxes on the amount we receive. Is there a difference in how the two types of transactions would be taxed? If we took a theoretical amount of $10k from either transaction, which would be taxed at a higher rate? What is the tax rate on either of these. I'm in California, and we'd need to do this before the end of 2008. If it matters, the money would go directly to pay off credit cards, car, student loans.

Lesser of two tax burdens?

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 23:40:15 +0000

30-year investment portfolio which has to start before the end of the year and wants to be left alone afterwards?

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:59:30 +0000

If you had a very strong incentive to invest money before the end of the year with a 30-year outlook, and a further strong incentive to not adjust your investment strategy over that timeframe unless absolutely necessary, what kind of portfolio would you assemble? I live in Germany, which has an effective 0% capital gains tax on long-term capital gains from financial instruments. The government has finally decided to end this peculiar state of affairs and will start to tax long-term capital gains at 25% or more starting in 2009. Investments made before 1/1/2009 and held for more than a year will continue to be (un)taxed under the old system. But, naturally, if you redistribute the portfolio at any point, what was redistributed will come under the new law, so there is a strong incentive to leave it alone if at all possible. I don't see this as a suicide pact, and would make changes that were necessary without sweating the tax too much, but I am trying to design a portfolio to put a little money in now that has decent odds of not requiring rejiggering and having acceptable performance over the long timeframe which is available.

30-year investment portfolio which has to start before the end of the year and wants to be left alone afterwards?

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:59:05 +0000

Help me make sense of small businss tax forms!

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 04:09:24 +0000

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 a family with a kid on the way?

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:27:50 +0000

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.

How do I get old W2s?

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:38:41 +0000

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.

Being taxed as a business, despite being a public employee

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 02:28:47 +0000

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.

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 21:57:26 +0000

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.

are my business expenditures deductible?

Tue, 23 Jan 2007 22:01:31 +0000

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?

Vancouver accountants?

Fri, 15 Sep 2006 01:51:34 +0000

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,

Vancouver accountants?

Fri, 15 Sep 2006 01:51:03 +0000

How do you prove you used IRA money for home purchase?

Fri, 04 Aug 2006 15:10:20 +0000

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?

One roommate owns, one doesn't; how to handle?

Tue, 14 Feb 2006 00:25:31 +0000

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.