Fed Income Tax Question

[chalee94]

I thought the teacher's/education credit is limited to $250 a year???

yep - past that point, you have to put it under misc unreimbursed job expenses (item 21 of schedule A)...of which only those over 2% of AGI are deductible. the first 2% of AGI is on you.

 

[ICF]

Very easy, they send 4 or 5 IRS agents to each of your neighbors, they tell your neighbors they are investigating you for tax invasion, and ask if they have ever seen you using your riding mower to mow your lawn. They remind your neighbors that lying to federal agents carries a prison sentence. You neighbors then sign an affidavit stating they saw you using your mower for personal use.

See they have more money, more time and more lawyers then you…

or they just drive past his house during the summer and see him using it in his yard.

IMO, it wouldnt be hard at all to get busted for this.....if they were so inclined.

And also IMO, I would guess the "reward" of cheating the IRS out of some $$'s isnt worth the risk of getting caught.

 

[HHSTigerFan]

or they just drive past his house during the summer and see him using it in his yard.

IMO, it wouldnt be hard at all to get busted for this.....if they were so inclined.

And also IMO, I would guess the "reward" of cheating the IRS out of some $$'s isnt worth the risk of getting caught.

I was thinking they could stake out the place for the entire week, 2 trained agents, working 12 hour rotating shifts.. would make sense, IRS spending $6000 to collect $35 from my 2003 return.. oh wait, then I could just tell them that during the depreciated years of the mower I used my little Lawnboy... and then when they spend another $4K seeing what I used to mow my yard, I would tell them I am going to amend my 2008 and 2009 returns so I can deduct a few things I could have, but didn't.. (mileage on my truck, a % of the internet) and a few other things I am too lazy to keep track of..

Seriously, some of you people need to get off your high horse unless you are willing to post your returns for everyone to see.

 

[jedijohn]

I was thinking they could stake out the place for the entire week, 2 trained agents, working 12 hour rotating shifts.. would make sense, IRS spending $6000 to collect $35 from my 2003 return.. oh wait, then I could just tell them that during the depreciated years of the mower I used my little Lawnboy... and then when they spend another $4K seeing what I used to mow my yard, I would tell them I am going to amend my 2008 and 2009 returns so I can deduct a few things I could have, but didn't.. (mileage on my truck, a % of the internet) and a few other things I am too lazy to keep track of..

Seriously, some of you people need to get off your high horse unless you are willing to post your returns for everyone to see.

I have taken the liberty of send the IRS links to your posts admitting that you lied on your taxes. I am sure they will be able to partner with the FBI to trace down who you actually are.

 

[HHSTigerFan]

Actually, I didn't lie...I handed all my stuff to my accountant and he did the rest, I had never actually even thought about it until now..

So again, I am sure the IRS is going to go through the legal process of tracking my IP to collect $35 from 2003.. Seriously dude, get a life..

 

[sam_gordon]

Actually, I didn't lie...I handed all my stuff to my accountant and he did the rest, I had never actually even thought about it until now..

So again, I am sure the IRS is going to go through the legal process of tracking my IP to collect $35 from 2003.. Seriously dude, get a life..

HHS... I'm guessing jedijohn was just trying to poke some fun (as I was I).

The point is you're only supposed to write off the portion of something that you use for work. I used to work in TV News. There were people that would write off their TVs and/or cable/satellite bill because they "need to keep up with technology". Others would write off a computer and/or internet fees because they use the computer to keep up with news. For some, this is done with the acknowledgment (if not the suggestion) of their accountant/tax professional.

I see these kinds of things (what I described, not what you were doing) kind of like speeding... yes, it's against the law, and yes, many people "do it". However, that doesn't make it right or without consequences if you get caught.

 

[pearlieq]

So again, I am sure the IRS is going to go through the legal process of tracking my IP to collect $35 from 2003.. Seriously dude, get a life..

You're bragging about cheating on your taxes (however "small" the issue might be) and you're getting indignant because people are calling you on it?

Seriously, why even bring it up? If you're going to do wrong, it's between you, whoever you wronged, and your moral guide. Why air it out in a public forum?

 

[tlbwriter]

Actually, I didn't lie...I handed all my stuff to my accountant and he did the rest, I had never actually even thought about it until now..

Which means that either you lied to your accountant when he asked if that lawn mower was used only for business, or he didn't ask, and that means you have a lousy accountant and who knows what else he's done that will get you into trouble. Either way, I don't think anyone on this thread is willing to give you the "hero" button that you seem to expect for cheating on your taxes!

 

[Swimalie]

Actually, I didn't lie...I handed all my stuff to my accountant and he did the rest, I had never actually even thought about it until now..

So again, I am sure the IRS is going to go through the legal process of tracking my IP to collect $35 from 2003.. Seriously dude, get a life..

Oh but it's not $35 now. Add in all the interest and penalties. Again, it's not the size of the lie. I don't like anyone cheating on their taxes and your accountant shouldn't have let you write off the whole lawn mower. Even though he did it, you still signed the papers so you are still responsible for the content, though.

And yes, the IRS has a good team of investigators. Some are work the floor below my husband's. My husband investigates money laundering. Anyone on here want to admit to that?

I agree with the idea of a flat tax. It would make things so much easier.

 

[Anthony1971]

I am going to say "let the IRS prove that I used that mower to mow my yard"....

I have to anwer this...
The IRS will assume you use this lawn mower for your own lawn go back for all the all the years that you have been writing it off and sne you a bill with high fees etc... It is up to YOU to prove you have a seperate lawn mower.
Hope you have a good lawyer as you will need his/her help.
I know from experience and we were not trying to hide anything just some mistakes.... result from audit-- they look at one month multiple the findings by 12 (12 months in a year) then multiple that by the number of years you have been taking the write off up to 7 and in some cases they can go further plus fees....
The good news is if you write a nice letter they will refund your penalties but not interest after you pay for all the mistakes you made
Not a good idea to lie on your taxes a lot get away but a lot also get caught and if you get caught you will pay $$$

 

[Anthony1971]

Actually, I didn't lie...I handed all my stuff to my accountant and he did the rest, I had never actually even thought about it until now..

So again, I am sure the IRS is going to go through the legal process of tracking my IP to collect $35 from 2003.. Seriously dude, get a life..

tell that to the IRS they will tell you to sue your accountant
you signed the taxes as the information being true NOT your accountant, he only use the information you supplied to prepare your taxes.

As I said above not a good idea.... whatever the amount do not put yourself in a situation where you can be audited and not prove everything it is not worth it in the end.

 

[Vijoge]

My husband investigates money laundering. Anyone on here want to admit to that?

My husband washed the three dollars I had in my jeans pocket last week.

 

[HHSTigerFan]

I have to anwer this...
The IRS will assume you use this lawn mower for your own lawn go back for all the all the years that you have been writing it off and sne you a bill with high fees etc... It is up to YOU to prove you have a seperate lawn mower.
Hope you have a good lawyer as you will need his/her help.
I know from experience and we were not trying to hide anything just some mistakes.... result from audit-- they look at one month multiple the findings by 12 (12 months in a year) then multiple that by the number of years you have been taking the write off up to 7 and in some cases they can go further plus fees....
The good news is if you write a nice letter they will refund your penalties but not interest after you pay for all the mistakes you made
Not a good idea to lie on your taxes a lot get away but a lot also get caught and if you get caught you will pay $$$

Like I said, I have a little push mower sitting in my garage that I can point at and say I use that..

This is a seriously funny thread, people making a stink over a $35 "mistake" 7 years ago...

 

[Cheshire Figment]

IRS will not jump all over you for minor past transgressions, but yuou had better no make the same error on subsequent returns.

Several years ago I had a client who, among other things which complicated her return, had a one bedroom apartment in a luxury high-rise about a block from a DC Metro Station which was a rental. Since the building was 24 stories high, I used a figure of 5% of the cost as (non-depreciable) land and the rest as (depreciable) improvements.

After a few years the client was audited. The examiner said that the 5% was way off, and she was going to redo the computation for that year only at 15%. So she allowed the prior years to stand as the amounts were not really material.

Anyway, both of us separately called the Montgomery County Tax Assessor's office, and both of us were told that for the assessment the land value was actually considered as 24% of the total value of the property. So we acquiesced for that year, did not adjust the year which had been filed, but used the 24% figure for subsequent years. Anyway, the property has since been sold and the Statute of Limitations for the affected years has expired.

My theory is to take all questionable or borderline deductions. But I will not allow a client to claim something which is clearly not legal. For borderline I can always argue the point, but as far as clearly wrong I will not jeopardize my career for a client. Even though I am now a retired CPA, I still have about 20 tax clients carried over from the past and will still not jeopardize my certificate for one client.