Thrifty Thinking: Tax Tips

Are you working on your taxes this week and next? If you have last-minute questions, you can use JKLasser.com to find some answers.

Some examples of what you'll find there...

Q:Are moving costs or relocation costs tax deductable?
A:Moving expenses and relocations costs, if you're taking a new job or starting a new business are tax deductible. They are above the line tax deductions, which means if you don't itemize you can still deduct them. But they are not deductable when you are retiring and relocating to another place.

Q:Can I claim my mother as a dependent even if she lives alone?
A:She may be claimed as dependent if you pay more than half of her support and meet other requeirements. She doesn't have to live with you to be your dependent. If she doesn't qualify as dependent, you can still be able to treat medical costs you pay for her as your own payments if you itemize your medical dedudctions

Q:We sold our home in CA last year. This year we moved to NY. Will this negatively effect our taxes?
A: Moving doesn't change the federal income tax treatment of the sale.
You can exlcude gains of up to $500k on a joint return if you owned and used the home as your prinicple residence for at least 2 of the 5 years before the date of sale. Unfortunatley, if you sold at a loss, it's not tax deductable. For state income tax purposes you'll need to check the rules in each location - the portion of the year you lived in each state can affect the results.