@weatherman2111 wrote:
You can split the difference a bit to. You can do the millage deduction and then separate out repairs and some depreciation, so long as you don't add one to the other and had some records. I use my oil change and repair records. It helps to have software to help with all the tax issues as they cover a lot of the problem areas for you.
I signed up for it last night! They will be sending further info...@guysmom wrote:
Did anyone get the email from Credit Karma that they are going to have a FREE online Federal & State efiling tax program this year?? I got the email earlier this week....wonder if it will be any good. Just thought I'd throw that out here to see if any others think it will be adequate for simple tax returns.
@SunnyDays2 wrote:
MA Smith: How long does it take for you to do your taxes if you use an online Tax Program? Just curious! I want to set aside a few hours for this.
@MA Smith wrote:
@weatherman2111 wrote:
You can split the difference a bit to. You can do the millage deduction and then separate out repairs and some depreciation, so long as you don't add one to the other and had some records. I use my oil change and repair records. It helps to have software to help with all the tax issues as they cover a lot of the problem areas for you.
Sorry, but this is just bad advice. This type of skating around the rules made me crazy when I prepared taxes professionally. One of my friends did this on the advice of his CPA. He ended up mortgaging his paid for condo and had the credit rating from H E double hockey sticks for a solid 10 years.
Mileage went down this year, but we still get it. I never recommended my clients take depreciation, if they weren't saving the money to pay the gov't back when the major depreciated item was sold. I had clients that thought they could work real estate rentals When the properties sold, they didn't put aside the depreciation they took and were in debt for years.
I applaud weatherman2111 if you have figured it out. But please don't tell people it can be done, because 9.999 times out of 10 it can't.
I LOVE your idea about printing out the Schedule C and pre-fill it out. I will be new to Turbo Tax and nervous.... so any of bits of advice are appreciated. I tend to be the ":very prepared" type but since I have never done this TT before, I will try to get as much as I can ready.@ceasesmith wrote:
This is just so funny. It (the time to prep) will vary wildly; mostly based on if you've been keeping your records up to date all year. And if you don't have to leave the tax prep area to get up and go look for that piece of paper/receipt you "forgot" you needed.
As for me, when I sit down I will have already filled out the Schedule C (which I print off the IRS website for FREE) in pencil....so I will already have organized and totaled mileages, gross income from 1099's (and from companies I made less than $600), all business-related deductions, etc., etc.
However, my return is simple, and more complicated ones take longer. Mine takes 20 minutes, and that includes printing out a hard copy for me to keep on hand.
@weatherman2111 wrote:
@MA Smith wrote:
@weatherman2111 wrote:
You can split the difference a bit to. You can do the millage deduction and then separate out repairs and some depreciation, so long as you don't add one to the other and had some records. I use my oil change and repair records. It helps to have software to help with all the tax issues as they cover a lot of the problem areas for you.
Sorry, but this is just bad advice. This type of skating around the rules made me crazy when I prepared taxes professionally. One of my friends did this on the advice of his CPA. He ended up mortgaging his paid for condo and had the credit rating from H E double hockey sticks for a solid 10 years.
Mileage went down this year, but we still get it. I never recommended my clients take depreciation, if they weren't saving the money to pay the gov't back when the major depreciated item was sold. I had clients that thought they could work real estate rentals When the properties sold, they didn't put aside the depreciation they took and were in debt for years.
I applaud weatherman2111 if you have figured it out. But please don't tell people it can be done, because 9.999 times out of 10 it can't.
Umm, ok? I ran everything through Turbo Tax this past tax season ad there wasn't a problem. Am I missing something? There was a deduction for millage, and a separate section for maintenance and depreciation on the car. They didn't seem to clash with each other.
@MA Smith wrote:
@weatherman2111 wrote:
@MA Smith wrote:
@weatherman2111 wrote:
You can split the difference a bit to. You can do the millage deduction and then separate out repairs and some depreciation, so long as you don't add one to the other and had some records. I use my oil change and repair records. It helps to have software to help with all the tax issues as they cover a lot of the problem areas for you.
Sorry, but this is just bad advice. This type of skating around the rules made me crazy when I prepared taxes professionally. One of my friends did this on the advice of his CPA. He ended up mortgaging his paid for condo and had the credit rating from H E double hockey sticks for a solid 10 years.
Mileage went down this year, but we still get it. I never recommended my clients take depreciation, if they weren't saving the money to pay the gov't back when the major depreciated item was sold. I had clients that thought they could work real estate rentals When the properties sold, they didn't put aside the depreciation they took and were in debt for years.
I applaud weatherman2111 if you have figured it out. But please don't tell people it can be done, because 9.999 times out of 10 it can't.
Umm, ok? I ran everything through Turbo Tax this past tax season ad there wasn't a problem. Am I missing something? There was a deduction for millage, and a separate section for maintenance and depreciation on the car. They didn't seem to clash with each other.
TT may or may not catch everything. The rule is if you use mileage, you cannot use anything else, aka, oil changes, a new transmission, new tires etc. I've never ran mileage and upkeep through TT so I don't know if there is a glitch in the system.
I do know that it's better to run mileage if you're an independent contractor.
I mentioned what happened to the old boyfriend. What happened to my family when we moved from Florida to Texas, took about 3 years to get straight and it had nothing to do with federal taxes. Unfortunately the IRS did their best to hang us out to dry, because Florida was doing its best to grab money from us.
My advice is this...take what you can get, but don't push the envelope.
Download the C schedule and the information from IRS.gov. As I mentioned before I can't make heads or tails out of some of the rules for the schedule C. Read, read, read...take a nap and start reading again.