Personal Taxes

No. You cannot deduct the loss on the sale of a principal residence on your tax return.

NO. A Publically Traded Partnership whose interests are traded on an established securities market. Passive activity losses from a Publically Traded Partnership can only be used to offset income or gain from passive activities of that same Publically Traded Partnership. The losses cannot be used to offset income of other entities.

In most cases NO. The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 changed the law for the alternative minimum tax due for corporations. For entities whose tax year began after 12/31/97, a "Small Corporation Exemption" was created. A corporation is treated as a small corporation exempt from AMT for its tax year beginning in 1999 if that year is the corporation's first tax year in existence or its average annual gross receipts for the 3 year tax period ending before 1999 did not exceed $7.5 million (5 million if the corporation had only 1 prior tax year). You should speak to your local CPA about the "Small Corporation Exemption" and special rules that apply in determining gross receipts.

NO. Funeral expenses, including the funeral, burial or cremation costs, are deductible on the decedent's federal estate tax return, Form 706.

No. Rent payments are not deductible for Federal purposes. Some states allow a deduction or credit for rent paid. Speak to your local CPA for a possible deduction or credit on your state tax return.

NO. Only the mortgage interest and real estate taxes paid at the closing are deductible in the year paid. The other costs at closing are added to your cost basis of the residence (and improvements over the years) to be used when you sell the residence to determine if there is a gain or loss on the sale.

A casualty or theft loss can be deducted if it is a qualified casualty and the total amount of the loss, minus $100, is more than 10% of your Adjusted Gross Income. Speak to your local CPA about the loss and for his help preparing IRS Form 4684

Nine states are Community Property states. They are Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.

A number of states have community property laws mandating that each spouse legally owns half of the income and property of each other, even if legal title is held by only one spouse. Your tax return preparation is affected by whether you live in a community property state. We recommend you contact a CPA in your area for additional information on how these rules effect you directly.