JohnnyM2 Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Talk to a tax accountant. They will tell you this doesn't work. You can't use the condo as a home office because you don't conduct business from there. You just live there while working for that employer. You can deduct the cost of travel to this employer if it is far enough away from your home, but if you buy another home (the condo) you can't write it off just because you only use it when working for that employer. The very fact that you live there means you don't use it regularly and exclusively to conduct business. Your plan may make sense to you but IRS rules are carefully written to exclude your idea. Sorry. Sent from my KFAPWI using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted February 26, 2015 Moderator Share Posted February 26, 2015 So why are RVs a deduction for folks in the same situation? I know someone who bought an rv to commute to same job and they write off mileage and all RV related expenses(including cost of purchase) with their accountants blessing because they only drive it to and from this job and only live in it at the hospital.. FWIW my accountant has been ok with me writing off mileage/hotel/food to this job for the last 8 years. I was not planning on writing off groceries for the new condo, but was going to do utilities, mortgage, HOA fees in addition to mileage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorpsmanUP Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 I would ask his reasoning for why he is ok with it. He may be considering the argument that the rural site is a "temporary" work location and eligible for the deduction, yet with you working there for over a year, and a stated intention of staying there I just dont see it. The IRS has really been tighening up in this area with rule revisions over the past couple of years. As for the RV situation, while it quals for a 2nd home deduction, the other deductions are sketchy. Much like financial advisors, some tax advisors can offer some dubios propositions because ultimately they are not the ones who get burned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatswain2PA Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 I'm considering buying a small RV for the same thing and am under the assumption that I would be able to amortize the price, plus write off all expenses for it. I guess I better check with my accountant.E- I think you're standing into dangerous waters. Odds are you will never get audited, but if you did it could get painful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted February 26, 2015 Moderator Share Posted February 26, 2015 I'm considering buying a small RV for the same thing and am under the assumption that I would be able to amortize the price, plus write off all expenses for it. I guess I better check with my accountant. E- I think you're standing into dangerous waters. Odds are you will never get audited, but if you did it could get painful. I was not planning on writing off the 25% down payment, just the ongoing expenses. I have not done my taxes yet for this year and will re-examine this issue carefully. thanks all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorpsmanUP Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Boats, As a 1099 you would be good to go for your plan on amortizon and deduction of expenses, it is simply as a w2 your only real option for the RV is the second home interest and registry tax deduction Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyM2 Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 So why are RVs a deduction for folks in the same situation? I know someone who bought an rv to commute to same job and they write off mileage and all RV related expenses(including cost of purchase) with their accountants blessing because they only drive it to and from this job and only live in it at the hospital.. FWIW my accountant has been ok with me writing off mileage/hotel/food to this job for the last 8 years. I was not planning on writing off groceries for the new condo, but was going to do utilities, mortgage, HOA fees in addition to mileage. It may not appear equitable but writing off all travel expenses, including, hotel is different from purchasing a home and writing off all costs. Of course you would be able to treat the condo (or RV) as a second home. Your tax guy may find a way to make it work but I'm pretty skeptical about that. I just wouldn't want you to end up with a tax problem over this issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 You may actually benefit from some tax advice. If there is a significant disparity in your income and spouse's, you may actually benefit from filing separate but married. If you have already filed, you can refile. Happens all the time. Dont forget that the child is your new tax write off in many forms. This year you will be able to write off your property taxes and your mortgage interest plus any points you paid on your mortgage. Look at you deductions on your W2. You should likely declare just one. Maybe your husband can declare 2. Last, are either you or your husband saving any pretax monies in retirement savings? My philosophy is that if you are not maxing out your pretax savings and still owe money at tax time, that money you have to pay, you can afford to put the similar amount into pretax retirement. But everyone's tax situation is different. While I use turbotax and do my own, I have a pretty good handle on what my situation is and it is rather static right now. Your situation has changed dramatically tax wise, ie child, new home, income gap amongst you and your husband. One last thing to consider. If you are paying for daycare, you can deduct this cost based upon AGI limits. Sometimes when you run the numbers it actually makes sense to not pay daycare and have spouse stay home. I have multiple colleagues whom have made that decision because their spouses could not find anything highpaying enough to make up that daycare cost, especially if you start talking about more than one child. Good Luck. GB PA-C Thank you. I am actively looking for a CPA in my area because I agree, I need some help. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbrothers98 Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 I'm considering buying a small RV for the same thing and am under the assumption that I would be able to amortize the price, plus write off all expenses for it. I guess I better check with my accountant. E- I think you're standing into dangerous waters. Odds are you will never get audited, but if you did it could get painful. All of this is in need of tax accountant review. The more I read about the 1099 tax issues, the more it sounds like a gray area that is hard to navigate especially when it comes to deductions. The issue with the RV and the condo is that I would think no IRS investigation would believe that 100% of all costs surrounding this is attributable to a 1099 job especially if have a primary residence and 1099 is an adjunct to primary job. And if the RV is your sole place of residence, then how is it deductible in comparison to my home or if not, then comparable to a second home I own? But the interest paid on an RV loan is deductible just like mortgage interest. Now if you were set up as a corporation and had the corporation buy the RV or condo, I bet there could be some amortization of costs and expenses over the reasonable life of the equipment/purchase. Now I think Boats goes to different places frequently but I would hazard a guess there is some lodging provided? Or a stipend for that? If not then prolly the RV costs associated with that one posting could be deducted. But the whole enchilada I would question. As for accountants signing off on deductions, while they may say it is ok, I think the final responsibility falls on the taxpayer. One can get all the advice they pay for and the accountant may be available to defend but in the end, if there is a finding of underpayment, the check is written out of your checkbook. Or the accountant could potentially say, I asked my client for his receipts for deduction and he/she told me these were the expenses to deduct, I just prepared the form. I would assume that in the accounting world, there is prolly some measure of unsurety and risk just like in ours. It probably will be fine, it probably doesnt mean anything, it probably wont be consequential, it is all a matter of whom is interpreting the data, what are the odds. Same as sending home that low risk chest pain. It is low risk but not NO risk. Accountants probably think the same way, unlikely to be an issue, sounds legit, tax law is open to interpretation and if in the slim chance of an audit, can likely explain away or justify it all. In the end, the likely penalty may just be dont deduct that again and my client owes the IRS a few sheckles after some negotiation. GB PA-C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatswain2PA Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 I spent two hours with my accountant yesterday and discussed some of these issues. It looks like I get to pay for one of the illegal alien families who, if President Obama gets his way, will be able to claim the earned income credit and child tax credit for the past 4 YEARS and get up to $35K back on their tax returns this year. (slight exaggeration there, I won't be paying for the entire family, but.....) E-we even talked about your situation a bit. Her opinion was that since you had a two W-2 jobs, then you would simply be commuting to both of them (even if it was >50 miles), and you can't write off commuting costs. She said you could use the 2nd home write off for the mortgage, but that would be it. But of course, I'm not you, she's not your accountant, and we don't have all of the information on your situation, so we were just talking "in general" about your situation.G- She said with what I'm doing I would be fine with an RV. I would amortize the purchase cost over 5 years just like if I bought a vehicle that I strictly used for business. All expenses for the RV (gas, maintenance, etc) would be tax deductible. We also discussed the occasional weekend at the lake with the RV, and she said we would just have to figure out what percentage of time it was business, and what percentage of time it was for pleasure.I think you are absolutely right about who the risk ultimately falls to if an accountant gives you bad advice. They are like lawyers in that they tell you what to do and how to do it, but they have no accountability. The good thing in all of this is that since the IRS is not responsible for much of the implementation of Obamacare, and the Republicans are trying to starve Obamacare, the IRS keeps getting it's funding cut....so we all have less chances of getting audited! Makes that low risk chest pain just a little bit less risky, doesn't it! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paula Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Let's just do away with the IRS and pay a flat tax. It would cause massive lay-offs with the IRS and contribute to unemployment, but who cares? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatswain2PA Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Yeah, and instead of giving away the EIC, and CTC, we give every kid $5K a year to put in their HSA until they turn 20, then it's up to them to add to it and figure out coverage. The average 20 year old would probably have $150K in their HSA at that age, and could afford to have a simple catastrophic coverage policy. But it's never going to happen. We're driving on a broken engine that's sounding worse and worse every day, but we're going to drive it until it completely stops running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paula Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Yeah, Boats, will be interesting to see where this country lands or who owns our lands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyM2 Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 The following link contains various scenarios for writing off an RV and may be helpful to those of you who have an interest. http://robergtaxsolutions.com/2012/10/can-i-claim-my-rv-as-a-business-expense/ Sent from my KFAPWI using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatswain2PA Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Yeah, that's interesting. It looks like I can do it, which is good because I just made an offer to a guy for one. I will likely use it for some of the closer-to-home hospitals that I go to. An RV of my own will certainly have more 'creature comforts' than staying in a hospital room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delco714 Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Got our taxes back..first full year of being PAs and with 2 mortgages/houses and got married. Uncle Sam and the state owed us a very nice sum :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatswain2PA Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Delco - while it feels good to get a return, look at how much was withheld from you throughout the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbrothers98 Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Got our taxes back..first full year of being PAs and with 2 mortgages/houses and got married. Uncle Sam and the state owed us a very nice sum :) Delco - while it feels good to get a return, look at how much was withheld from you throughout the year. True, the bank of uncle sam does not pay interest nor grants access to that money until filed for. On the other hand it could serve the purpose as surprise savings otherwise spent throughout the year. GB PA-C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delco714 Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Yup bw the two of us, $700 a month. So we'll have to talk to HR about this.. I'd rather take it up front.. but a pleasant surprise none the less! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatswain2PA Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 $700 a month for federal income tax, plus social security tax, plus state tax....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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