This is a followup on an earlier posting, with a slightly different
query.

In 2006 we contacted a financial advisor who had been a friend many
years ago. We sought his advice on investing part of the proceeds
from the sale of our residence. He offered us the opportunity to
invest in an out-of-state land development project that he was a
partner in. The development would be sold and we would be paid out in
a few months, at which time we would reinvest the money with him in
more traditional investments. We didn't feel comfortable with that
position, so he offered us instead the opportunity to lend the money
to him on a short-term unsecured promissory note (6 months).

Needless to say, the project failed and he was unable to repay the
loan. After about a year of legal wrangling a settlement was arranged
with him paying about 45 percent cash and giving back a 5-year note
for about 25 percent of the original loan. This leaves about 30
percent uncollectible (assuming the new note pays out).

My mother-in-law recently required transfer to a skilled
nursing facility from independent living. What percent
of her costs (amounts to $90-$110k/yr) can be deducted
as a medical expense. Thanks for any information.

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male,62 on February 28, 2008; has ability to take the pension he earned
from a defined pension plan.. should he take lump sum, discounted so wife
would get a share after his death, or just wait til full retirement.
male is working full time, will not take early retirement, and is making
115,00.00 per year...has a 401 with present employer and Roth account for
himself and spouse. Wife is not employed, has no income and will not
receive any social security as she was never employed and is age 65.
Need to know if this money would just be categorized as ordinary income
and added to taxable income for the years once he takes it...or is there a
way to take this and shelter it in a fund etc. to protect it while it
earns.

Any suggestions?

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I need to determine if the following 2007 transactions are considered wash
sales:

(11/01 Bought 755 sh HOV for $8186)
11/09 Sold 755 sh HOV for $6649

(11/20 Bought 750 sh HOV for $6347)
11/21 Sold 750 sh HOV for $5600

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I have a disabled room mate who qualifies for rent assistance from the
county in which we live. I receive $100 monthly in my name from the
county. The county sent me a 1099-misc at the end of the year reporting
$900 of income to me. Do I have to report this as other income on my form
1040 or can I write it off some how?

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I work two jobs, my first income is 60,000 and my refund was to be
approx 2300 total with state, but when i put in my second job which i
earned 5500 my refund dropped to 715 with me owing state 50.00. My
second job was taking out taxes appropriatly, is this possible? I
used an online tax service?

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Parent requested withdrawal of $38,000 from 529 plan to pay tuition for her
daughter at the Univ. of MI. Basis was about $18,000 and the rest was gain.
The parent requested the check in her name so the 1099-Q was issued in her
name and SSN. She has no offsetting educational expenses but her daughter
has $38,000 in tuition and room and board.

Is this just an administrative issue? Can I ignore this income on the
parent¹s return and treat it like it was reported on the daughter¹s return?
If the expenses had actually been the parent¹s expenses and they offset the
taxable part of the 1099-Q, nothing would appear on the return.

All freely provided advice guarantee correct or double your money back

Frank S. Duke, Jr. CPA
Cincinnati, OH USA

After crunching some numbers I have figured out that it MIGHT work out
better if my wife and I file as "Married Filing Separately" (she has
several part time jobs which significantly under-withheld based on our
combined income).

We have a few shared items in both of our names, including:

-Mortgage Interest
-Property Taxes
-A small amount of 1099-misc income
-A small amount of savings interest

What are our options for these items when filing separately?
Specifically...

-Can we put them on whichever return we prefer (depending on what
works out to the least tax liabliity)?
-Can we "split them up" -- e.g. put half of the mortgage interest on
mine, half on hers? or in a 60/40, etc. split?
-Are there any regulations for how to divide them (e.g. do property
taxes and mortgage interest have to be on the same return?)
-Do we have to somehow document on one return that the "missing items"
are on the spouse's return?

Pub 564 states "If you received a capital gain distribution or were
allocated an undistributed capital gain as a nominee, report only the
amount that belongs to you on line 10 of Form 1040A, line 13 of Form
1040, or Schedule D (Form 1040), whichever is appropriate. Attach a
statement to your return showing the full amount you received or were
allocated and the amount you received or were allocated as a nominee."

In TurboTax if you enter nominee capital gains as a separate 1099-DIV
the statement is created and sent as part of the e-filing. Entering
nominee gain as a separate 1099-DIV or 1099-B entry, neither TaxCut nor
TaxAct generate the required statement.

The IRS suggested I simply not enter the nominee cap gains, e-file the
return, then send the statement with Form 8453-OL so the statement is
linked to the electronic return.

Comments?

How do I calculate the cost basis for short term gains related to the
sale of RSUs? I'm using H&R Block's TaxCut 2007 Premium, but it's
surprisingly unhelpful in this regard.

Thanks in advance for any tips.

jim

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<< The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
<< nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
<< that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
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<< The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts >>
<< to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
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<< Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. >>
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