The Tax Questions Blog

Archive for the ‘Non-Taxable Items’ Category

Question: I am trying to find out how much mortgage I can finance on a disability income. Pension, SS, and worker's comp

The only calculators I can find are one's that ask for "before tax" income. I only pay a small tax on my pension, the rest of my income is non-taxable. I make 4200.00 per month AFTER taxes. How can I find out how much house I can afford. My only monthly payments are my car, which is 550.00 per month. I have about 12,000.00 as down payment. Thank you

Answer: Well the income is good and if all you owe is a car payment then you are in good shape. If you are good about not having a lot of debit then figure about 1/4 th of your income for a house payment. I like to stay around 20% of my income, but It sounds like I have a little more debit than you, plus I'm not on a fixed income. What area do you live in? maybe I could be of some help And how big of a home are you looking for.

Noncompetition payments are taxable to donor of CRUT.(charitable remainder unitrust): An article from: The Tax Adviser $5.95 This digital document is an article from The Tax Adviser, published by American Institute of CPA's on April 1, 2001. The length of the article is 912 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Citation DetailsTitle:...

The rules of the sale: non-competition payments are now taxable as income. Make sure you take this into consideration when structuring a sale.(Tax Tips): An article from: CMA Management $5.95 This digital document is an article from CMA Management, published by Thomson Gale on October 1, 2004. The length of the article is 1012 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Citation DetailsTitle: The rules of...

Ohio to Borrow as Part of $736 Million Debt Restructuring Plan

Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Ohio is coming to market with as much as $280 million in tax-exempt bonds due beginning in 2013 as part of the state’s first plan to ease near-term costs by delaying principal payments on existing debt.

FREE HUGS Housemates 2008 Manila Philippines

We all love to receive and give gifts. There are some gifts that we discard after a while and then there are those that we cherish throughout our life. Giving someone a gift is rather easy. Making it special takes some effort. Some of the most memorable gifts are received and given during wedding ceremonies. Newly married couples cherish their wedding gifts like anything. If someone puts in the time and effort to present unique gifts to a couple during their wedding, the chances of the couple retaining these gifts for ever are very high.

As humans we have a problem choosing wedding gifts. We choose something and then discard it the next moment thinking that the couple will have no use of it or that someone else is going to choose the same gift. What we end up doing is, as some people will testify to, to buy a gift voucher for some garments or other brand and then present them as gifts. The couple also finds the vouchers convenient and they go and shop for whatever they need. But the sanctity of the occasion gets diluted because they are very likely to forget in a month that someone gave them a gift voucher. What we really need to do is choose some unique gifts for the newly married couple.

Choosing unique gifts is easier said than done. We may buy something that we think is unique and then see that other people at the wedding party also decided that the same items were unique and thus present them as wedding gifts. The item doesn't remain unique after all. Choosing unique gifts takes time and energy and in some cases, money. If we really want our wedding gifts to be remembered and cherished, we need to put in the effort to buy unique gifts.

There are some websites that specialize in stocking unique gifts for any occasion. They have gifts for everyone – from infants to adults and for both males and females. The gifts are also categorized according to the occasions. So, going through one of these websites for wedding gifts, one might just stumble upon something that is really unique. Of course, it is difficult to determine what is unique, but there are so many interesting choices in these websites that it is very likely that very few people will actually think of those items as wedding gifts.

If someone puts in the time and effort, then unique gifts can be bought at various ranges. Some people like to splurge on gifts and some don't like to. These websites have an array of products that are suitable wedding gifts in almost any budget range. One has to choose the right product at the right price. The choices are unlimited.

Choosing wedding gifts that are memorable is easy if one knows how. Many retail shops have gift registry systems where the bride and groom can list their choices. You may gift anything from the list as that will be highly appreciated by the recipients. Unique gifts presented during wedding ceremonies will have the new couple remembering the presenter with fondness for years to come. That is the whole essence of gifting something to someone.

5 common retirement planning mistakes and how to avoid them

With the economy still struggling to gain momentum, the stock market often fluctuating dramatically day to day, and people leading increasingly complex lives, it’s more important than ever to plan carefully for retirement.

Question: As the owner of a company I reimburse employees for fuel on a daily basis, can I claim this as non taxable?

My employees do not fill out mileage logs, I do not want to tax them on their per diem gas reimbursement since they pay tax at the gas pump. Is there a way to do this without having them fill out a gas/mileage log?

Answer: Unless you are running an accountable expense reimbursement plan, any reimbursements you make to your employees MUST be included in their gross wages on their Form W-2. It's then up to them to claim the expenses using Form 2106 and taking an itemized deduction for any out of pocket expense. (For most employees this will mean that they won't get any deduction since the majority of taxpayers don't have enough expenses to itemize in the first place.)

If you are running an accountable plan you are restricted to reimbursements for allowable business expenses and the reimbursements must be fully documented. That includes mileage logs for their personal vehicles, and you may only reimburse them for business miles driven, not commuting. You should base your reimbursement on the number of miles driven, not a reimbursement for fuel. Your record keeping requirements will be somewhat reduced if you use the Federal reimbursement rate, currently 55¢ per mile.

In order for them to take a deduction for the use of their vehicle, they're going to have to keep mileage logs anyway so you might as well make it easy on them and reimburse the Federal rate and require them to turn in the logs monthly. That way you don't add the money to their W-2s, their tax prep job is much simpler, and if they don't keep proper records, they get no reimbursement from you.

Not sure what you mean by "they pay tax at the gas pump" since the fuel taxes have nothing to do with income taxes.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Will Use TriZetto's NetworX Suite to Move Toward Value-Based Reimbursement ...

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.----The TriZetto Group, Inc. today announced that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota has licensed TriZetto’s NetworX Suite® of applications for further insight into providers’ case mix and greater flexibility in payment methodology and provider reimbursement.

Question: Foster grandparent program - anyone knows income eligibility to be eligible for stipend?

This is a volunteer program available offered to 'income-eligible' seniors 60 or older. A low monthly stipend (non-taxable) and transportation allowance are offered to help offset cost of volunteering.
I've searched in related sites for answer but couldn't find it. Organization wants you to call them directly to interview you. Just wondering if anyone has / had any experience with them. Would appreciate getting feedback on income eligibility requirement, as well personal experience with this group.
Thank you in advance!

Answer: Hi
I saw a few places that offer the program. I'm thinking that they are putting the actual requirements because they want people to come in an talk first.

It could be that after you talk with them - they can decide what the eligibility requirements are. I do know that agencies such as this are pretty flexible.
Example: if you go in and talk, they just love you then they'll do whatever they can do to get you to commit.

Hope this helps,

GEO combats UIC tax policies

The way UIC interprets the difference between tax waivers for in-state Graduate Assistants (GAs) and out of state/international GAs continues to be an issue for the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO). ...

Question: what is the non taxable products?

Answer: Common goods that are not taxable

Here are examples of the most common goods that are not taxable to anyone

* basic groceries such as flour, sugar, spices, breads, cereals, eggs, butter, margarine, cheese, peanut butter, jam, honey, fruits, vegetables, milk and yogurt
* food products (except for candies, confections, snack foods and soft drinks)
* prepared foods sold by an eating establishment for $4 or less
* children's clothing (including diapers)
* footwear costing $30 or less
* feminine hygiene products
* newspapers
* drugs and medicine sold under a doctor's prescription
* goods designed solely for people with physical disabilities
* vitamins and minerals.

Fitch Affirms Hollywood, Florida CRA Revs (Beach CRA) at 'BBB+'; Outlook Stable

TAMPA, Fla.----As part of its continuous surveillance effort, Fitch Ratings affirms the City of Hollywood, Florida Community Redevelopment Agency's redevelopment revenue bonds series 2004 and 2007 at 'BBB+'.

Avoiding Common Sales and Use Tax Problems - Pt. 2