Today TaxMama hears from Stephen in the TaxQuips Forum who is surprised. “Hang on here, Mama. You’ve raised a question in your answer. I thought that Social Security benefits were not taxable if you waited until full retirement age. Only early retirem

Today TaxMama hears from Jerry in Colorado, with a surprisingly common question. “What allows a spouse to claim the other as a dependent and how is the ‘dependent spouse’s Social Security income accounted for? What would be the filing status of the

Today TaxMama hears from Michael in California with a sensible question. “I have a federal tax liability from past years. For 2009 I own the feds $1,000. I have a refund due from the state of California of $1,700. The state will apply my return to the p

Today TaxMama hears from Madhu in Minnesota who needs help. “I have a peculiar case and need your opinion here. I am living & working in MN and make a lot of money. My wife lives & studies in WI and she has an on-campus job, earning enough to cover her

Today TaxMama hears from PA in the TaxQuips Forum with a quick question. “I recently completed my home construction. I used a loan from my credit card to consolidate other credit card purchases for material. I have a paper trail documenting the transact

Today TaxMama hears from Dawn in the TaxQuips Forum with a simple question. “I donated a vehicle to charity. The vehicle increased in FMV from the time I purchased it 14 years ago. I donated it for the use of the charity (not for resale). It’s a chari

Today TaxMama hears from Joe in the TaxQuips Forum with lots of questions. Edited down he’s asking: “Is it true that you cannot efile prior year returns? I need to file for this year and last year. I expect to owe money for each year, but don’t need

Today TaxMama hears from Suzan in California with is bewildered. “Someone sent me an email stating that they were told by H&R Block that divorced couples can split their children’s dependency exemption based on a new ruling for 2009. That the exemptio

Today TaxMama hears from Joe in the TaxQuips Forum with this question. “How do you calculate the penalty and interest when amending a tax return? I was told by a local chain that does taxes, that only the IRS can calculate these.” http://taxmama.com/f

Today TaxMama hears from Paul in the TaxQuips Forum with this question. “How do I start paying back the $7,500 homeowner credit from 2008? We know we’re supposed to pay it back in 15 installments of $500 each year; but we can’t find a line to enter