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Some tax questions..

pnj

Turbo Monkey till the fat lady sings
Aug 14, 2002
4,696
40
seattle
I have no idea how to do this crap..

I got divorced last year.
sold the house and got the funds from that.
received unemployment.
paid for personal health insurance.
paid for a number of medical bills that insurance wouldn't pay for (co-pays, etc..)
I've paid for schooling for two quarters.

what can I claim? Do I owe money for the sale of the house?
I'll probably have to go to H&R block but I'd rather do this on myself..
has anyone used Turbo Tax or anything?

thoughts/suggestions?
 

geargrrl

Turbo Monkey
May 2, 2002
2,379
1
pnw -dry side
I have no idea how to do this crap..

I got divorced last year.
sold the house and got the funds from that.
received unemployment.
paid for personal health insurance.
paid for a number of medical bills that insurance wouldn't pay for (co-pays, etc..)
I've paid for schooling for two quarters.

what can I claim? Do I owe money for the sale of the house?
I'll probably have to go to H&R block but I'd rather do this on myself..
has anyone used Turbo Tax or anything?

thoughts/suggestions?
I am not an accountant.

You should probably at least consult with a real accountant for your capital gain on the house etc.

Normally you can't deduct education cost unless it's directly related to your field ( ie, additional training, certifications etc)

For medical, you have to have spent a lot of $$ to take the deduction. There's a worksheet right in the tax book for how much medical you've paid versus the % needed to claim it.

I **think** if you are self employed certain kinds of health insurance premiums can be deducted.

Turbo tax will walk you through all this stuff too. However, I don't trust TT however, the soft ware made a $4k error for us a few years ago.
 

TreeSaw

Mama Monkey
Oct 30, 2003
17,669
1,847
Dancin' over rocks n' roots!
Wow...that many life changing events, you should probably consult an accountant to make sure you do get all of the deductions and payments correct.

Turbo Tax isn't hard and walks you though most of it.

I was able to deduct a lot of educational expenses because they were directly related & required by my field.

Good luck!
 

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,092
1,132
NC
You can deduct lots of education costs, there are lifetime learning credits you can take - don't have to be directly related to your field.

Turbo Tax has lots of step-by-step deductions which I've found to be easy and helpful but I haven't had the experience that geargrrl had with an error, it's always been fine for me.

I'd probably consult with an accountant though - there lots of big things that you may be able to claim or might be responsible to report.
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,937
13,130
Portland, OR
TaxAct from H&R Block, get all the deductions you can, then pay the extra $20 or whatever for audit insurance.

Roll the dice and get paid!
 

geargrrl

Turbo Monkey
May 2, 2002
2,379
1
pnw -dry side
You can deduct lots of education costs, there are lifetime learning credits you can take - don't have to be directly related to your field.

Turbo Tax has lots of step-by-step deductions which I've found to be easy and helpful but I haven't had the experience that geargrrl had with an error, it's always been fine for me.

I'd probably consult with an accountant though - there lots of big things that you may be able to claim or might be responsible to report.
I'll add this, the Turbo Tax error was based on a 4K loss from a sale of company stock ~ we would have never caught it, but we hired a real accountant the following year who we've used ever since.
 

LordOpie

MOTHER HEN
Oct 17, 2002
21,022
3
Denver
I say hire someone and put the headache behind you.

You got divorced and sold your house? Life will get more simple again for a while, so the next tax period should be easier, yeah?

When I got divorced and sold my house, I drove across the country for three months, so I hope you can do that too :)
 

reflux

Turbo Monkey
Mar 18, 2002
4,617
2
G14 Classified
I have no idea how to do this crap..

I got divorced last year.
sold the house and got the funds from that.
received unemployment.
paid for personal health insurance.
paid for a number of medical bills that insurance wouldn't pay for (co-pays, etc..)
I've paid for schooling for two quarters.
It's a slow afternoon at work. I'll bite.

Were you divorced before 12/31/07? If so, file Single.

How long was the house your primary residence? Also, did you sell it before or after the divorce?

Unemployment is taxable. You will receive a form in da mail very soon.

Medical expenses (insurance, etc) in excess of 7.5% AGI are deductible as itemized expenses. Self-employed wouldn't change the situation; you would have to run the expenses through a corp.

As BV mentioned, please provide some additional info on the schooling. What it was for, were you attended, job-related, etc.
 

pnj

Turbo Monkey till the fat lady sings
Aug 14, 2002
4,696
40
seattle
the divorce was final 2/2/07 or so

the house was sold at the same time as the divorce. the sale may have been just before, or just after the divorce, I'm not exactly sure. I lived in that house for four years.

I was unemployed for the last 12 months. I collected unemployment for six weeks, then lived off the money from the sale of the house. I was physically unable to work, which is where the insurance bills come in...

the school is so I can get a new job because I can't go back to what I was doing due to a back injury..I'm still going. It's full time, math/english/etc.

I guess I'll head out to the H&R place next week....