Ask a CPA

Common expenses are:
Work clothes suitable for street wear
Commuting expenses
Credit card fees or Interest
Club dues
Divorce Legal fees
Political contributions
Cost of entertaining friends
Telephone expenses of first main line
Tax exempt income expenses
Funeral expenses
Gambling losses in excess of gambling winnings
Hobby expenses in excess of hobby income
Homeowner's association assessments
Pet and animal expenses
Residence repairs and improvements
Residence Loss on Sale
Life Insurance
Parking tickets and fines

Common fully deductible deductions not subject to the 2% AGI limitation are:
Amortizable premium on taxable bonds
Casualty and theft loss from income producing property
Estate taxes on income in respect of a decedent
Gambling losses, up to the amount of gambling winnings
Special job related expenses of the handicapped
Unrecovered cost of annuities on a decedent's final return

Yes. Taxable alimony payments qualify as compensation for purposes of making an IRA contribution. You are subject to the same IRA contribution limitations as one who is working.

Yes. Taxable alimony payments qualify as compensation for purposes of making an IRA contribution. You are subject to the same IRA contribution limitations as one who is working.

No. You cannot make a contribution to a "traditional" IRA in the year you reach 70 1/2. However- you can make a contribution to a Roth IRA. Of course you must have earned income and the same rules that limit Roth IRAs and traditional IRAs apply. For additional details contact a local CPA.

In 2013, the maximum contribution is $5,500 if you are under age 50 and $6,500 if you are older than age 50. However, you are subject to the phase out rules, based upon your income level. Please find the information on phase out rules or contact a local CPA for greater details and how it impacts our situation.
In 2014: The AGI phase-out range for taxpayers making contributions to a Roth IRA is $181,000 to $191,000 for married couples filing jointly, up from $178,000 to $188,000 in 2013.
For singles and heads of household, the income phase-out range is $114,000 to $129,000, up from $112,000 to $127,000.
For a married individual filing a separate return, the phase-out range is not subject to an annual cost-of-living adjustment and remains $0 to $10,000

Treasury bond and U.S. Savings bond interest is tax-free only on your state returns but not your federal tax returns.

Treasury bills are short term U.S. obligations of a year or less ( 4 weeks, 13 weeks, 26 weeks and 52 weeks). A Treasury Bond has a maturity of over 10 years. Treasury notes have a maturity of 2, 5 or 10 years,

No. The last E Bonds were issued in 1980 and U.S. Savings bonds have a maturity of 30 years.

Interest that is earned on these savings bonds is taxed to the child, even if the parent paid for the bonds.
The interest earned will be taxable to the child when the bond is redeemed unless an election was made to report the income annually. When the bond is redeemed, the child will receive a 1099-INT form at the end of the year.
This will tell you the amount of interest to report on your child's tax return. If the interest was reported annually over the years, then you will need to separately identify and subtract the previously reported income on Schedule B of the tax return.
Please speak with a local CPA about how to report this and other savings bonds you may not have cashed in yet.