Tag Archives: davidmellemea@yahoo.com

Return Changed by Preparer Prior to E-Filing

Courtesy of David & Mary Mellem, EAs A PMTA is a document that contains legal advice signed by attorneys in the National Office of the Office of Chief Counsel and issued to IRS personnel who are national program executives and managers.  They are useful for taxpayers since they explain what the rules are in certain […]

IRS Approves New Per Diem Rates Effective October 1 2009

Courtesy of David and Mary Mellem, EAs IRS has approved new per diem amounts for meals and lodging effective October 1, 2009. These are the same rates which the Federal government uses to reimburse Federal government employees and that we referred to in an email sent out on September 10, 2009. Here are some of […]

Transferring an IRA Triggered 10% Penalty

Courtesy of David & Mary Mellem, EAs We’re not talking about a normal transfer of an IRA here. We are talking about a taxpayer who transfers an IRA from which the taxpayer was taking substantial equal periodic payments. First an overview: A taxpayer is generally subject to income tax on distributions from an IRA account […]

Cash For Clunkers

Courtesy of David & Mary Mellem, EAs Cash for Clunkers (not a tax issue but…) This is not a tax issue, but contains a part you may be interested in knowing about. We have already heard from clients asking about this so we figured we’d share what we found. HR 2346 was passed by the […]

Casual Gambler Can Net Wins Against Losses on a Per Visit Basis

by David & Mary Mellem, EAs We all know gambling winnings are Other Income, while gambling losses are deductible on Schedule A but only up to the amount of winnings. Some tax professionals have interpreted the regulations to require each individual bet to stand on its own. Now IRS has addressed this issue a little […]

1st Time Homebuyer Credit Allocation For Unrelated Co-Owners

by David & Mary Mellem, EAs Overview ­ The 1st Time Homebuyer Credit was created in 2008. Basiically it allows a refundable credit of 10% of the cost of a principal residence, up to a maximum credit of $7,500 ($3,750 for MFS). The credit is reported on the Form 1040, line 69. (The credit is […]

Social Security and Medicare Changes for 2009

The Social Security Administration and Department of Health & Human Services have announced the new amounts for 2009. SOCIAL SECURITY CHANGES Social Security benefits increase 5.8% for 2009. The amount of earnings subject to Social Security taxes increases from $102,000 for 2008 to $106,800 for 2009. The amount of earnings required in order to receive […]

New Rules for Qualifying Child

Tax Provisions in HR 6893 Signed Into Law Oct 7, 2008 In addition to the Emergency Economic Act of 2008, President Bush has signed a little known Act which contains a clarification of the uniform definition of a qualifying child for purposes of the dependency exemption, EITC, dependent care, and HH filing status. This change […]

Amended Returns Do Not Affect Stimulus Checks

Courtesy of David & Mary Mellem, EAs & Ashwaubenon Tax Professionals IRS issued a press release (IR-2008-103) which addresses common errors and the Stimulus checks. Here are a couple of highlights. Some taxpayers have filed two returns to make sure they get their check. IRS takes longer to try to figure out what to do […]

AMT Patch Passes Congress

courtesy of: David & Mary Mellem, EAs & Ashwaubenon Tax Professionals Congress has finally agreed on an AMT patch for years beginning in 2007. President Bush has indicated he plans to sign the bill. The bill is titled the “Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2007”. There are two parts to the bill: 1) The tax […]

S Corporation and Health Insurance for Shareholders

IRS Notice 08-01, recently released, discusses the treatments of various arrangements of health insurance in connection with an S Corporation and its 2% shareholder/employees. This Notice clarifies an issue from two years ago. First ­ a review of law involving the health insurance deductions. Section 162(l) permits a self-employed person, a partner, and an S […]

Like-Kind Exchange Rules Do Not Apply to Vacation Homes

By David & Mary Mellem, EAs Mr. & Mrs. Moore purchased real estate (vacation home) in 1988. This property was located approximately 3 hours from their principal residence. About 1996 they changed their principal residence to another city in the opposite direction from the vacation home. Due to the longer travel to get to the […]