Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with deduction

Charitable Contributions, Pending Exemption and Deductability

Falconetti — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:45:50 -0800

If you have filed for exemption with the IRS for a nonprofit you are starting and your status is pending while they review, I understand that you can still solicit donations and generally when your exemption is granted your exempt status applies retroactively to your date of incorporation. But how are the donor's charitable contributions treated? Can they deduct the tax year they donate or do they have to wait until the tax year in which exemption is granted (if the pending period lasts until a new tax year)? Or is it also retroactive and they would have to amend their previous tax return once the nonprofit gains exempt status?

Tax credit across the border?

purplefiber — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:00:28 -0800

Can Canadians give tax-deductible donations to American non-profit organizations? If a Canadian gives money to a registered non-profit (501c3) organization in the US, is that money tax deductible on their Canadian tax return?

Thanks!

Should I submit by psychiatrist bills to my employer?

Anonymous — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 18:27:03 -0800

It's time to submit my out-of-pocket medical expenses to my employer for reimbursement under the pre-tax medical account program. All my receipts are for psychotherapy, psychotropic medication, and other indicia of mental illness. Is it professionally "safe" for my employer to have this stuff? Does anyone know of a reason why I should not do this? If I don't put in these receipts, I lose the payroll deductions forever. But mental illness still carries a stigma in the workplace. I'm an attorney at a fairly large firm, if that matters, and the person in payroll processing these receipts has no idea who the hell I am.

Student loan interest deduction

speedoavenger — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 14:31:40 -0800

I recently found out that when filing my tax returns I can deduct interest paid on my student loans. My question is if I have to file my request for a deduction the same year I pay the interest, or can I wait a couple years to actually take the deduction? Here's the twister: I'm a dependent. Can I make interest payments now and deduct them from my taxes a few years down the road when I'm an independent. Does being a dependent bar me from currently taking a deduction? Thank you...I really appreciate any help.

help me help the man

luriete — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 09:55:59 -0800

I'm trying to make my new web project legal in California. After reading through the Nolo press book(s), we thought that perhaps the LLC was the best corporate structure (we are going to issue stock and give the primary developer a portion in lieu of payment). While the Federal government taxes LLCs like sole proprietorships - you aren't taxed unless you make profit, and I don't see our profit outpacing our costs for a year - the State of California charges an LLC "tax" (really a fee) of $800, due almost immediately after your incorporation paperwork goes through, so... Is there a way to legally put off the incorporation until we can afford to exist as a corporate entity? If we have $799 in startup costs before then, can we defer the deduction of those until after we incorporate and pay the $800? Is the $800 in California state tax fee deductible as a business expense on our federal return?

I'd like to consult an attorney but of course cannot afford to, as this project is, at least during its early development, on a shoestring budget. Any suggestions on other tax resources for small businesses?

Can I deduct academic software being used non-academically?

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 10:40:04 -0800

If I use my sister's college-student discount to by computer products at a reduced price, but claim them as expenses for my home business, will anyone care? The problem being that I'm not using the products for the academic uses proscribed by the academic licenses. I look forward to being able to pay for the retail versions of these products once this home business starts to have a positive cash flow, but, chicken/egg, but I'd rather have them on academic licenses than no licenses at all. I know that the IRS won't go telling on me to the software makers, but might they decline to approve them as tax deductions if/when they realize they were bought/used under false pretenses?

Is this guy really Dracula?

goodnewsfortheinsane — Sat, 18 Feb 2006 06:47:50 -0800

What's wrong with this logical deduction?

Proof that I am Dracula

(1) Everyone is afraid of Dracula.

(2) Dracula is afraid of only me.

Therefore I am Dracula.

Doesn't that argument sound like just a silly joke? Well it isn't; it is valid. Since everyone is afraid of Dracula, then Dracula is afraid of Dracula. So Dracula is afraid of Dracula, but also is afraid of no one but me. Therefore I must be Dracula!

I don't get it. I've drawn the Venn diagrams in my head, but I don't see the paradox, or why his/her reasoning is valid. Can't Dracula just be afraid of any person or set of persons without that fact having any influence on Dracula's identity according to the given premises?

taxfilter: digital camera vs. film camera

luriete — Mon, 07 Mar 2005 10:55:27 -0800

Can my mother, a corporate travel agent, deduct the cost of her digital camera (as a unreimbursed work expense) since she is no longer deducting film & processing costs? My mother is a travel agent and works for a large international bank doing some corporate and other related arrangements for executives and staff of the bank. In previous years, she had deducted the cost of film and processing, as the vast majority of her photography is of her own travels - scouting hotels, airlines, tour providers etc. for her clients at the bank. She then uses these photographs to help the clients plan their travel. This past year, she bought a digital camera and 2x 256 meg compact flash cards. Since she can no longer deduct film & processing, may she deduct the cards, the camera or both? Probably 50-75% of the use of the camera is professional, and is not reimbursed by her employer.

Question number 14813

Fat Guy — Sat, 05 Feb 2005 17:57:35 -0800

TaxFilter: A co-worker and I both recently relocated and received a relocation allowance. Anything above the cost of the move (excess reimbursement) we were allowed to keep. I know that the excess is taxable income. My co-worker feels that the relocation allowance is like our Meals and Incidental Expenses per diem, we didn't spend all of the allowance, so we get to keep the balance treating it as non-taxable income.

How can I simply explain the difference between a per diem and an excess reimbusrment to him? I've showed him relevant IRS documentation such as Publications 17 and 521 to no avail.