Category Archives: Basis

Parents’ Rental Property

Today TaxMama® hears from KH in the TaxQuips Forum, with this question.  “My parents are willing to give me a rental property they own. The house is in their name and they currently claim it on their taxes. There is a mortgage on the property as well. We are currently trying to refi the house […]

Foreign Taxes and Basis

Today TaxMama® hears from RJ in the TaxQuips Forum, who asks an intriguing question. “I understand that both reinvested dividends and reinvested capital gains distributions get added into a mutual fund’s Cost Basis. But what about Foreign Tax Paid? Does Foreign Taxes Paid also get directly added into a fund’s Cost Basis?”

eBay Sales for Friends

Today TaxMama® hears from Judecat in the TaxQuips Forum who is helping a sick friend. Without going into detail – “Judecat is selling his personal treasures on eBay because he is too ill and doesn’t have access to the Internet. She wants to know the tax implications.”

Sold Family Home

Today TaxMama® hears from Madeline in the TaxQuips Forum with this situation. “My siblings and I just sold our family home in New Hampshire. I live in California. We each got $40,000.00. How will this affect my taxes next year?” 

Claiming My Investments

Today TaxMama® hears from Jeff in the TaxQuips Forum who is becoming an investor.  “Last year I invested in $20k a business & $5k this year. In return I have a 25% share of the LLC. I did not claim any of it on this year’s tax return. Can I? And how do I claim […]

Courts Protect Taxpayer Basis and Audit Limits

Here are a couple of tax-related court cases you might find interesting. Attorney Ronald Marini writes about a very recent Supreme Court decision that limits IRS’ audit powers in a way you’ll like. The IRS is limited to three years to audit you or your business when it comes to determining the basis of anything […]

Converting to Rental

Today TaxMama® hears from Connie in the TaxQuips Forum with this question “What is the cost basis that should be used for property that had a HUD cost of $63,000 back in 1997 when the current owner acquired it? It was recently (2011) converted to a rental property. The 2011 value of the property is […]

Utility Offers to Buy Home

Today TaxMama® hears from Dean in the TaxQuips Forum with this odd question. “The local power company wants to purchase my home, payoff my mortgage, allow me to live rent free for 12 months; then allow me to purchase the house back for the market value to avoid capitol gains tax. Is this legit? They […]

Timing of Purchase

Today TaxMama® hears from Insha in the TaxQuips Forum with this question. “I run a daycare center in my home. I file a Schedule C on the cash basis. In February 2011, I bought an asset for my business that cost $2,000. I’m making payments of $100 per month on it. So, on my 2011 […]

Giving Away the Farm

Today TaxMama hears from Richard in the TaxQuips Forum who is generous to his son. “My Son retired from the Army and moved into a house that is on a small farm I inherited. He wanted to make improvements to the house and didn’t want to wait until we passed on to the happy “hunting ground” […]