2019 (for 2018) Income Tax Thread

[zork 629]

if you had to pay to have someone watch them(not likely but possible) you could qualify for some relief I believe.  you are right that the Personal and Dependent Exemptions went away though.  

But wait(in bold )

Quote

...

How to Fight Back

 

The TCJA doubles the child tax credit (CTC) from $1,000 to $2,000 for those who qualify, including parents with higher incomes than in the past. Income thresholds for 2018 are $200,000 for single parents and $400,000 for those married filing jointly. The child tax credit is refundable, which means that even if you don’t owe taxes due to low income you can still receive a partial credit, providing (or increasing) a refund. Remember, this is a tax credit so, unlike a deduction, which reduces taxable income, this comes directly off the taxes you owe. In addition, a new $500 tax credit is available for dependents age 17 and older.

 

 

New Higher Standard Deduction

The TCJA raises the standard deduction for 2018 from $6,350 to $12,000 for individuals and to $24,000 (from $12,700) for married couples filing jointly. The standard deduction for those filing as head of household will rise from $9,550 to $18,000. (Seniors who are age 65 or older get an extra $1,600 beyond the standard deduction as single or head-of-household filers or $1,300 per spouse for married filing jointly – $2,600 if both are 65 or older.)

...

https://www.investopedia.com/tax-deductions-that-are-going-away-4582165

I did not know that. /Johnny Carson

Edited February 21, 2019 by zork

[Brew 3049]

On 2/21/2019 at 6:49 AM, XYZ said:

So what’s the point of listing a child in the “dependents” table if he/she is older than 17 and doesn’t qualify for the child tax credit?

You still get the $500 per dependent credit that was established this year.

[CooterBrown 18244]

Just got done.  Owed $4,700 this year vs $600 last year.  Lost a lot of deductions compared to last year...around $18K worth due to SALT and some other shit.  Overall, I made $6K more than last year but paid $11K less in taxes so fuck the health of the country and economy. 'Merica! Derp Derp Derp!

 

[zork 629]

6 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

Just got done.  Owed $4,700 this year vs $600 last year.  Lost a lot of deductions compared to last year...around $18K worth due to SALT and some other shit.  Overall, I made $6K more than last year but paid $11K less in taxes so fuck the health of the country and economy. 'Merica! Derp Derp Derp!

 

~$917 per month extra is significant.  The receipts for the government were very close to the previous year before the tax cut, SALT deduction cut.  Spending went up and interest expense went up significantly due to rate increases.

Spoiler

 

Look at already projected spending for the next 5 years(in billions of $, with the first number being for FY'18):

Total Spending

4,173.0

4,406.7

4,595.9

4,754.1

4,996.5

5,164.6

https://www.usgovernmentspending.com/federal_budget_interest

How can the government justify that level of spending increases going forward with the last 10 years or so of anemic growth?(even Trump's Fed growth rates would not be considered robust) 

How about, at minimum, when in deficit spending years the projected rate of growth percentage of the federal government spending, across the board, should be less than the last year of growth percentage of federal government receipts?  Or even hold the budget the same as last year if you are running deficits.  Or hold the budget the same as last year or at a slower rate of growth percentage than the level of receipts growth percentage?

It is asinine to raise spending at rates of growth higher than projected receipts.

 

 

[Paper_jam 840]

I'm single with no dependents. Typically I have ~ $9 or 10k in itemized deductions (combination of property tax, mortgage interest, and sales tax) plus my $4k (or so) personal exemption. So effectively that was a ~ $14k deduction.

This year, I can't seem to get my itemized deductions above the new 12k standard deduction, and there's no more personal exemption. So the bottom line is it looks like my taxes are actually going up. I did buy a new car this year; is there any way to claim the sales tax on that as a deduction outside the normal itemized deduction process?

 

[Brew 3049]

On 3/18/2019 at 10:58 AM, Paper_jam said:

I'm single with no dependents. Typically I have ~ $9 or 10k in itemized deductions (combination of property tax, mortgage interest, and sales tax) plus my $4k (or so) personal exemption. So effectively that was a ~ $14k deduction.

This year, I can't seem to get my itemized deductions above the new 12k standard deduction, and there's no more personal exemption. So the bottom line is it looks like my taxes are actually going up. I did buy a new car this year; is there any way to claim the sales tax on that as a deduction outside the normal itemized deduction process?

 

If you went from $14k to $12k in deductions, with the lowering of the rates your taxes can’t be going up on equivalent income. Your taxable income may have gone up. There is no way to take the sales tax deduction without itemizing.

[burntorangebongos 10809]

Can anyone recommend a tax CPA in Austin? My dude messed up my cap gains tax estimation from the rental home I sold that he did for me in September and then caught it now... some bullshit reclamation of rental income shit that he failed to take into account I forgot the form number he said. I think that difference and the withholding changes from my employer and the fact that I have less itemized deductions overall(of coarse) had an impact. But damn! 

Any recs would be appreciated. I'm gonna pay but I want to make sure I pay the right amount.

[Kennythetiger 9523]

Form 4797 probably 

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2762]

GLG20

[NeverMarryAStripper 22191]

18 hours ago, burntorangebongos said:

Can anyone recommend a tax CPA in Austin? My dude messed up my cap gains tax estimation from the rental home I sold that he did for me in September and then caught it now... some bullshit reclamation of rental income shit that he failed to take into account I forgot the form number he said. I think that difference and the withholding changes from my employer and the fact that I have less itemized deductions overall(of coarse) had an impact. But damn! 

Any recs would be appreciated. I'm gonna pay but I want to make sure I pay the right amount.

He was probably talking about the depreciation recapture.  Previous deductions for depreciation get taxed at a higher rate than the capital gains rates

[burntorangebongos 10809]

Yeah, that is it. WTF? That sounds like a Bullshit tax. You'd think the rich people would have made that rate lower. Fuck.

[NeverMarryAStripper 22191]

The theory is that depreciation is used to offset ordinary income when taken and therefore gains later from the reduction in basis caused by that depreciation shouldn't get taxed at the lower capital gains rates.

[burntorangebongos 10809]

It seems wrong. I paid money to maintain the property. One time, I bought a new AC system and took a hit that came at a bad time but I had to do it. If I got some kind of tax break, I sure as shit didn't feel it much. It seems weird that they want to take more of a draw for what was basically bringing my property back to where it was before the fucking AC went kaput.

[Kennythetiger 9523]

They're "re-capturing" the expense that you took when you put the new AC unit in, whether you wrote it off all in one year or depreciated it out over time.  Sounds like your tax dude is doing things correctly this time around.  Not recapturing depreciation in the 2018 estimate was a fuck-up, but fuck-ups happen.  

[Dbeasy 15461]

Does the recapture apply to maintenance expenses like changing the ac? I thought it was just for the building and other capitalized assets. Of course the ac may have to be capitalized. Not 100% sure.

[phdhorn 6224]

I'm in hock $3,200 to Uncle Sam, almost exclusively because I lost a dependent to adulthood.  This year, as I figured, the Standard Deduction was better than my itemizations.  I might run it through a CPA or some such but I doubt they can find $3K of further deductions.  But if someone can get it down a bit that will help ease the emery board up my ass right now.

Guess I'll have to find a numbers nerd.  Not that they're busy or anything right now...

[NeverMarryAStripper 22191]

Does the recapture apply to maintenance expenses like changing the ac? I thought it was just for the building and other capitalized assets. Of course the ac may have to be capitalized. Not 100% sure.

New AC should be capitalized, but maybe Section 179 depreciation

[CO Horn 171]

2 hours ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

New AC should be capitalized, but maybe Section 179 depreciation

Can’t take sec 179 on a residential rental, but can take a partial asset disposition of the structure. 

[Apep 645]

11 hours ago, CO Horn said:

Can’t take sec 179 on a residential rental, but can take a partial asset disposition of the structure. 

 

You can take 179 on a residential rental, but just for 1245 property, not for HVAC. That was one of the TCJA changes. 

[ousuxndallas 65]

FYI, grendel rule of thumb for most expenditures is $2500 for expensing vs. capitalizing ($5000 for repairs/maintenance). Less than that, expense. More than that, capitalize and depreciate over time. 179 exclusions notwithstanding.

 

 

[Llano Estacado 1257]

FYI, grendel rule of thumb 

Grendel was a tax accountant? I thought PO1D worked at some super important state job growing roses and riding bikes.

[wild_turkey 3244]

I'm finally getting around to doing my taxes with TurboTax. I signed up for the Premier version for $64.99. 

Cryptocurrency reporting is a big mess for me. I dabbled a little bit in the latter part of 2017 and cashed out in early 2018. I know I bought BTC through Coinbase, moved BTC to Poloniex, converted BTC to XRP, watched XRP increase in price, converted back to BTC, moved back to Coinbase, converted back to USD, then cashed out. I can get a .CSV file from Coinbase that covers my transactions there and that imports easily to TurboTax. I can't get anything like this for Poloniex and the transaction history there is very confusing. My math keeps coming in low on what I think my cost basis should be, plus I have no idea how to factor in transaction fees, etc. I also see that Coinbase is showing transactions with GDAX and I have very little memory of actually doing that. I made a small profit on the crypto experiment, but not very much and I don't want to pay more on taxes and turn that small profit into a small loss.

Any way to easily sort this out? Can I just pay to upgrade to TurboTax Live and get one of their CPAs to help, or will they be equally clueless?

Edited March 29, 2019 by wild_turkey

[Dbeasy 15461]

I have a stock I own in an Ira that is actually a partnership that has a k-1. My tax accountant said don’t have to worry about that for the taxes but said there might need to be a form filed by the brokerage for the Ira? Never heard of this before.

[CooterBrown 18244]

I'm finally getting around to doing my taxes with TurboTax. I signed up for the Premier version for $64.99. 
Cryptocurrency reporting is a big mess for me. I dabbled a little bit in the latter part of 2017 and cashed out in early 2018. I know I bought BTC through Coinbase, moved BTC to Poloniex, converted BTC to XRP, watched XRP increase in price, converted back to BTC, moved back to Coinbase, converted back to USD, then cashed out. I can get a .CSV file from Coinbase that covers my transactions there and that imports easily to TurboTax. I can't get anything like this for Poloniex and the transaction history there is very confusing. My math keeps coming in low on what I think my cost basis should be, plus I have no idea how to factor in transaction fees, etc. I also see that Coinbase is showing transactions with GDAX and I have very little memory of actually doing that. I made a small profit on the crypto experiment, but not very much and I don't want to pay more on taxes and turn that small profit into a small loss.
Any way to easily sort this out? Can I just pay to upgrade to TurboTax Live and get one of their CPAs to help, or will they be equally clueless?

Just say fuck it. Binance doesn’t report to the IRS. Unless you are a Crypto-whale, the IRS doesn’t give a shit about you.

[CO Horn 171]

On 3/29/2019 at 4:37 AM, Dbeasy said:

I have a stock I own in an Ira that is actually a partnership that has a k-1. My tax accountant said don’t have to worry about that for the taxes but said there might need to be a form filed by the brokerage for the Ira? Never heard of this before.

If the K-1 generates a certain type of income, the IRA has to file a return, which would be the Trustee’s responsibility. 

[Spur08 382]

I have a stock I own in an Ira that is actually a partnership that has a k-1. My tax accountant said don’t have to worry about that for the taxes but said there might need to be a form filed by the brokerage for the Ira? Never heard of this before.

Form 990-T

[BillyBadAss 196]

My taxes are pretty plain-jane, nothing "strange" in general. But I had large deductions under medical expenses this year which decreased my tax bill quite a bit. I filed through turbo tax with no supporting documentation for these deductions. I thought it likely the IRS would request additional info from me.

I received my refund today. I realize you can be audited up to 3 years later (more in some instances), but does the issuance of the refund indicate that they were likely satisfied and will not be requiring anything more unless I get selected for random audit or something? 

Or is the refund issuance completely separate from any review process? 

 

 

[Gene Parmesan 4057]

You can still be audited, but if your income is also plain jane, there is very little chance of that.  When you say no supporting documentation, do you mean you don't possess any or you just didn't provide any?

[BillyBadAss 196]

I did not provide. I should be able to get everything if required, depending on the form of documentation they need. 

[Chewbacca 7817]

10 minutes ago, BillyBadAss said:

I did not provide. I should be able to get everything if required, depending on the form of documentation they need. 

You provided it on your return.  Odds of an audit are extremely low, but if you are audited, you're going to want that info.  I would gather it all now and throw in a folder just in case.

[NeverMarryAStripper 22191]

The refund process is pretty automated and any audit/inquiry will come later. That said, the chances of getting an audit are very slim.

[orangecat92 306]

I think I am headed for audit.  I do taxes the old, old way.  I calculate math using calculator.com as I read through the 1040.  Normally takes me about 1 hour for entire process, including printing forms  from internet.  The govt jacked with the forms so much it took 5 hours.   I kept going over the AOTC, because it seemed too good to be true.  Ended up with the 500 $ credit for college son and the max. AOTC, 2500 $.  Total credits, a record 5000$.   This was the last year for mortgage credit certificate, sold home.  Mailed return, also something very few people do.  Refund allegedly due in May.

 

 

[52-80 19362]

fecking hell, i put in an amendment to an older filing.  math says im owed a 5 digit refund.  it wasnt guaranteed -- contingent on the IRS actually accepting it -- so i wasnt banking on it.

 

finally got around to checking up on it, and my tax guy says refund was accepted, processed, and distributed..... to an old address on the original filing.  whoops.

 

tax guy says IRS "will research and make sure the check wasn't cashed".  fucking hell -- what if it was?!?!?! these motherfuckers couldnt bother to ACH the funds because 50 year old technology is too new for the government?