J.K. Lasser's Homeowner's Tax Breaks: Your Complete Guide to Finding Hidden Gold in Your Home

Cover......Page 1
Contents......Page 10
Preface......Page 16
Part I Sheltering Your Income with Home Deductions......Page 18
1.1 Overview......Page 20
1.2 Real Estate Taxes in the Year You Buy: Get Your Proper Share......Page 21
1.3 Mortgage Points: How to Assure Deduction......Page 24
1.4 Moving Expenses: Does Your Move Qualify for Deduction?......Page 28
1.6 Purchase Expenses: The Importance of Records......Page 29
1.7 Purchaser\'s Tax-Planning Checklist......Page 31
2.1 Overview......Page 33
2.3 Deduct All Your Real Estate Taxes......Page 34
2.4 Tax Magic of Home Mortgages: Your Interest Deductions......Page 36
2.5 Re.nanced Home Mortgage-Watch Out for Interest Deduction and Points......Page 37
2.6 Home Damaged? Let the IRS Help Pay!......Page 39
2.7 How to Boost Your Damage Loss Deduction......Page 43
2.8 When Your Damage Is from a Presidentially Declared Disaster......Page 45
2.10 Eligibility of Employees......Page 47
2.11 Eligibility of Business Owners......Page 50
2.12 Figuring the Deduction......Page 51
2.13 If You Work outside Your Home: How to Get Home Of.ce Deductions......Page 60
2.14 How Home Of.ce Makes Commuting Costs Deductible......Page 62
2.15 Deduct Your Home Of.ce Equipment Cost-Up Front......Page 64
3.2 How to Get Tax-Free Income from Short-Term Rental......Page 65
3.3 How to Make Your Credit Card and Car Loan Interest Deductible......Page 67
3.4 How to Deduct Cost of Medical Home Improvements......Page 71
3.5 Deductible Home Improvements for the Disabled......Page 74
3.6 How an Employee Gets a Tax Break for a \"Sideline\"Business......Page 75
3.7 Deduction of Fees for Home Tax Advice......Page 78
3.8 Tax-Wise Borrowing against Your Home for Business......Page 79
3.9 Renting a Part of Your Home......Page 81
3.10 Your Home as a Retirement Nest Egg......Page 82
Part II Tax Shelter When You Sell Your Home......Page 84
4.1 Overview......Page 86
4.2 How to Plan for the Sale......Page 87
4.3 Exclusion of Up to $250,000 or More of Gain......Page 88
4.4 How to Qualify for the Exclusion......Page 89
4.5 Exceptions to the Two-Year Rule: Job Change, Health Problems, or Unforeseen Circumstances......Page 92
4.6 Married Couples: How to Get the $500,000 Exclusion......Page 96
4.7 Is Your Home Your \"Principal Residence\"?......Page 100
4.9 Vacant Land Can Qualify......Page 102
4.10 Snowbirds: How to Deal with the Southern Home Trap......Page 103
4.11 Gain in Excess of the Exclusion......Page 105
4.12 How to Cope with a Depressed Market by Rental before Sale......Page 107
4.13 How to Avoid Reporting to the IRS......Page 108
4.14 Seller\'s Tax-Planning Checklist......Page 112
5.1 Overview......Page 113
5.2 Upper-Middle-Class Victims......Page 114
5.3 Tax Time Bomb......Page 115
5.4 Tax Idea 1: Deferred Sale Approach......Page 116
5.5 Tax Idea 2: The Leasehold Carve-Out......Page 117
5.6 Tax Idea 3: The Installment Sale......Page 120
5.7 Tax Idea 4: Conversion to Rental and Exchange......Page 124
5.8 Summing Up......Page 125
6.2 Don\'t Lose the Exclusion on Principal Residence Sale!......Page 133
6.3 Transfer of Home to Spouse......Page 134
6.4 Is It Smart to Sell Prior to Divorce?......Page 135
6.5 How to Avoid Gain on a Vacation Home......Page 136
6.6 Splitting Up Marital Property: Beware the Tax Trap......Page 137
Part III Tax Shelter from Homeowner Loopholes and Vacation Homes......Page 140
7.2 The Super Loophole: How to Use Home Sale Exclusion to Shield Gain on Other Real Estate from Tax......Page 142
7.3 How to Buy Vacation Home with Tax-Free Dollars from Sale of Rental Property......Page 145
7.4 Avoiding Tax When Your Land Includes Both House and Investment Property......Page 149
7.5 Your Appreciated Residence Is a Tax Treasure: How to Trade Up and Get Tax-Free Cash......Page 151
7.6 Home Improvements: Handyman\'s Special Tax Shelter......Page 152
7.7 Home Improvement Business: Tax-Free Income for Renovators......Page 154
7.8 When a House Is Not a Home: How to Deduct Loss on Sale of Home......Page 155
7.9 How to Get a Charitable Deduction for Your Home-And Still Live in It......Page 157
7.10 Every Home Owner\'s Hidden Loophole: Nontaxable \"Imputed\" Income......Page 161
8.1 Overview......Page 164
8.2 Scenario 1: Use of Vacation Home Exclusively as Vacation Home......Page 165
8.3 Scenario 2: Use for Vacation and Rent for 14 Days or Less......Page 166
8.5 Tax Loss from Rental Not Allowed......Page 167
8.6 Figuring the Amount Deductible......Page 170
8.8 Need for Pro.t Motive......Page 174
8.9 Figuring Amount of Tax Shelter......Page 175
8.11 Depreciation: The Deduction without Cash Outlay......Page 177
8.12 Tax Shelter Rules......Page 181
Part IV Retirement Bene.ts and Estate Planning......Page 184
9.1 Overview......Page 186
9.3 How Trading Down Increases Cash Flow......Page 187
9.4 How Much Cash from Trading Down?......Page 188
9.5 The Tax Bene.t......Page 189
9.7 What Is a Reverse Mortgage, Anyway?......Page 190
9.8 The Tax Bene.t......Page 191
9.9 How Much Cash Flow Can You Get?......Page 192
9.10 What Type of Reverse Mortgage Is Best for You?......Page 193
10.1 Overview......Page 195
10.2 Should Spouses Own Home Jointly?......Page 196
10.3 Do You Need Estate Tax Planning?......Page 197
10.4 Larger Estates: How Not to Lose the Second Exemption......Page 199
10.5 How Parent Can Cut Taxes on Vacation Home......Page 201
10.6 Estate Planning for a Parent\'s Home: Using Sale-Leaseback to Shift Appreciation in Value......Page 204
10.7 How Parents Can Escape Estate Tax on Their Homes:The Quali.ed Personal Residence Trust......Page 208
Epilogue......Page 212
Appendix A Instructions for Form 8829......Page 214
Appendix B IRS Publication 521: Moving Expenses......Page 219
Appendix C IRS Publication 530: Tax Information for First-Time Homeowners......Page 239
Index......Page 252