Taxes for Travelers

[vikingfan]

Looking for information on kiwi tax service. does anyone know anything about them, such as quality of service ect.?? or does anyone know of a quality tax service out there that specializes in doing taxes for the traveling worker such as most of us roadtechs ??

[shovelheadred]

....Call 843-260-1644.ask for Rachell....she has been doing my taxes for years....she finds deductions(legal ones, she wont claim any that arent) that I never thought of.....claims perdiem...and travel..knows all the ins and outs.......

[cairnit]

Used Kiwi once. Had problems with my return being incorrect.

It seems that to them 1541- 0 = 0.

Go figure. Paid the tax owed + interest. E-mailed them to let them know what happened, got no response.

Didn't use them again.

[alphadude]

use turbo or a good business program, it walks you through all the issues and the IRS dont mess with the results very much. it even tells you the "magic numbers" which the IRS uses to audit people.  However, if you get an inexperienced local IRS manager its hell- you win eventually but only after a lot of screaming and yelling. The IRS farms out all tax returns and only get a single screen info page on you from the boiler room contractor that did your taxes. These companies use turbo tax type software to do your forms and if any flags-then the IRS sends your the letter. Tax returns done by individual companies may have a higher rate of audit due to the error rate- HRBlock head is very very conservative - not usually in the favor of the tax payer but in favor of HRBlockhead. (in other words they will not push your legal deductions as needed in your favor.)

[workinman]

Tax and Business Consultants

Tom Tomasek
(402) 426-4144
tomt@rvrco.net

This guy used to work for the IRS so he knows what he's doing!  He has done several returns for nuclear workers!

[maxparity]

Being a member of the infamous 1990 ARC tax bust at Cook, the best advice I could give would be no matter who does em for you,or what instrument you employ to do them yourself, make sure their and ultimately your grasp on the per diem thing is a firm one. 30 LARGE is a sum most of us never really ever recover from. To this day I still ponder who it was that dropped dime on us. Even as a man trying to lead a christian life, I would still obtain the utmost in satisfaction knowing that this individuals life was filled with pain and agony. On a bad day I may even extend this wish to those near and dear to him.

[TENN-1]

I have to agree with Max. I too am a member of the Cook club sans the thirty+ large. Whatever you do, leave the breakroom CPA stuff behind and validate every move you make with fact. When you sit across from the man at the appeals level it's too late in the game for the  "he said, she said" stuff. Get professional advice and follow it. The rules will fall where the IRS wants them to fall. Good luck.

[SloGlo]

gift da i.r.s. alla yer pay fer taskes, keep yer diem.  dat aughtta keep ya aughta trubble.

[LaFeet]

I used Turbo Tax for the past few years without any trouble...

[shahin214]

I am n desperate need of an tax prof. that knowa how to find all deductions on perdium

[Already Gone]

I am no longer a tax professional, but I do my own taxes and I get per diem.  I have studied the rules until they are burned in my brain.  What I can tell you is that tax "professionals", such as I was, are not extensively trained and have zero knowledge of per diem until they have to deal with it.  Then, they do what everyone else does; they look it up.  All the publications available to them are also available to you at:

www.irs.gov

[alphadude]

all perdiam is a deduction unless u have no home and your employer reported it as income.. them u are screwed, its fully taxable then...you may even take more than the provided perdiam if you can prove your expenses.. dont forget the cost of job hunting, phone calls, lost deposits etc 

[UncaBuffalo]

I am test-driving the 'consultant' route, and learned something interesting about paying taxes quarterly:

The taxes for the 1st & 4th quarter are due 15 days after the end of each quarter.
The taxes for the 2nd & 3rd quarter are due 15 days before the end of each quarter.

Guess who was late on their 2nd quarter payment? 

[Already Gone]

all perdiam is a deduction unless u have no home and your employer reported it as income.. them u are screwed, its fully taxable then...you may even take more than the provided perdiam if you can prove your expenses.. dont forget the cost of job hunting, phone calls, lost deposits etc 

Let's get this straight;

Per diem is NOT a deduction.  It is not an expense or income.  It is a REIMBURSEMENT for your legitimate meals, lodging, and incidental expenses while away from your tax-home for business purposes.
As such, it is "neutral".  You don't have to pay taxes on it, and you don't get to deduct the expenses either.  However, you do get to deduct the other employee business expenses that are not covered by per diem; such as lodging and meals in excess of your reimbursement, rental cars or mileage that are not reimbursed, parking, laundry, supplies and equipment required by your employer, ... etc.

Where the confusion comes in is the part known as "substantiation".  This is where you are required to prove your expenses if you deduct them.  If you are given a per diem allowance, AND that allowance does not exceed the federal maximum for th area, then you can claim the amount of the allowance as your meals and lodging expense with no other documentation (except you have to document the reason that you are entitled to this reimbursement --- keep a log of where you were and when.)  In other words; the per diem allowance given to you by your employer, if it does not exceed the federal rate, is proof in itself of the lodging, meals, and incidentals without the need for receipts.  It works out to a ZERO SUM. 

Example:  You go to a place where the CONUS rate is $99/day.  Your employer gives you $85/day.  You spend less than $85/day.  You can claim an expense of $85/day and a reimbursement of $85/day -- leaving you with zero to deduct.  But, it gets better.  You actually claim your laundry, car expenses, et. al. and come up with a few hundred bucks a year to deduct.

Example 2:  Same as before, but you spend between $86 and 99/day on meals and lodging.  You have RECEIPTS for all of this.  You can deduct the difference between what you ACTUALLY PAID and have proof of, and the $85.  Plus you can still deduct the mileage and laundry, etc.

If you spend more than the $99/day and have receipts, you still may get the full deduction if you can show a good reason why you had to spend so much (i.e. the local hotels raised their prices because there was a NASCAR race that week)

DO NOT use the tired old argument that you can deduct difference between the federal rate and the rate you were paid.  The IRS regulation does NOT allow this.  They allow exactly what I posted above.  If you try to claim expenses greater than your per diem, you need receipts PERIOD!!!

If your employer does not give you a separate per diem allowance, but includes it in your pay, then your actual expenses are deductible without having to subtract any reimbursement.

I use an MicroSoft Exel spreadsheet for all this and just print it out when I do my taxes.  You could just use a calendar or a logbook.

[ladyinrad]

BeerCourt:

That was very well said. I applaud you!!!!!! You just summarized Publication 535,Business Expenses.

Can you explain the difference in the Accountable and non-accountable plans?

ladyinrad

[alphadude]

cut and paste is a wonderful thing... perdiam may be taxable if you exceed the conus or exceed the limitations of the perdiam.. if you dont have a perm tax home perdiam as provided by the employer is fully taxable as income.

[ladyinrad]

From my experience, and please correct me if I am wrong, some employers will provide an offer letter stating the per diem is issued either on an accountable or nonaccountable plan. Accountable means you account to them all expenses and they reimburse you with per diem. On the nonaccountable plan, you have to account for your expenses to the Internal Revenue Service, if audited.

For example: nonaccountable plan-you receive $86/day diem for meals and lodging. Your actual expenses are $50/day. You have to report the excess, $36/day as income.

On the accountable plan, the IRS believes you accounted for your expenses to your employer, therefore, no tax on that money.

They will ask for copies of offers of employment, etc., to make the determination.

BE VERY CAREFUL!

[alphadude]

exactly, I have had my perdiam taxed as income and also have been paid below the CONUS which means I am allowed to claim or justify part of my income as perdiam. I have had perdiam reported as income untaxed and had to claim it as perdiam on my 1040 (that caused some heartburn) but I didnt get an audit hit fortunately... also I have worked on a 1099 which is a whole world unto itself..

most rent a techs are used to the typical pay schedule - pay check and perdiam check no questions asked.. if they are paid below the CONUS they dont ask questions and follow the model that beercourt presented.. which is conservative and exactly out of the tax info provided by the IRS. 

[Already Gone]

cut and paste is a wonderful thing... perdiam may be taxable if you exceed the conus or exceed the limitations of the perdiam.. if you dont have a perm tax home perdiam as provided by the employer is fully taxable as income.

So true.  There are other times when per diem is taxable.  For example:  you take a job at a D&D site with no definite end date; you take a job at a site with an end date expected to be more than a year away but they pay you per diem anyway.  If you take a "voluntary layoff" to "restart the clock" you are just kidding yourself.  If you leave a site with the understanding that you will return and continue with the same job, it is still considered a continuous assignment - even if you work for someone else at another place during that time.  You have to go with the understanding that you will not have a definite return to work date.  (You can work at a site for more than a year with per diem that is not taxable, but you have to continue to expect the job will end within a short time.  The very minute that your end date becomes indefinite you are no longer entitled to per diem.  Likewise, a "voluntary" layoff is not a layoff.  You would not be eligible for unemployment insurance during any period that you voluntarily left a job.)
The key here is that the job must have been temporary from the beginning and continue to be so as long as you get the per diem.  If, at any time, the duration of the job is expected to be longer than a year or if the projected end date is unknown, it is no longer a temporary assignment.
It also has to be away from your tax home.  If you have worked 10 or 11 months a year at SONGS1 for the past couple of years, the IRS is going to consider that your tax home.  It makes no difference if you came there from somewhere else and intend to return.  So, those of us who believe that we can work at one site for years on end with a month or so off every year are actually establishing that site as our tax home.

The following is the IRS rule for an accountable plan:

The following are the three requirements for an accountable plan:

1.  There must be a business connection and the expense must be reasonable.
2.  There must be reasonable accounting for the expenses.
3.  All excess reimbursements must be repaid in a reasonable time.
For Test #2, amounts paid up to the allowable federal per diem rates for meals, expenses for incidental expenses and lodging are deemed substantiated, without the usual requirements for keeping records of the expenses with receipts.

As you can see, you do NOT have to account for your "excess" per diem as long as the payments are at or below the allowable federal rate.  If the plan is "unaccountable" all payments are included in taxable income.  It payments are made under an accountable plan (as defined above) your accountability is to the employer - not the IRS.
An example of this is that your employer pays more than the federal rate for meals and lodging.  You must give him receipts or return the excess.  (Note that rule 1 states that the expense must be reasonable.  If the CONUS rate for an area is $99 for lodging and $49 for M&IE, you are not going to get away with staying at the Crowne Plaza and eating Champaigne and caviar with every dinner - no matter how many legitimate receipts you turn in to payroll.)

To translate: a plan is accountable if the employer either; requires receipts, holds you to reasonable expenses and requires you to repay any excess reimbursements; or pays you per diem at or below the federally allowed rates for qualified business related travel.

My biggest caution here is that you have to be careful and as honest as you can.  The fact that you or "someone you know" has gotten away with some other way of doing this is no guarantee that it is the legal way.  The IRS doesn't audit a lot of returns, but they can select a group and audit them all if a pattern emerges.  They have 10 years to come and get the money, and the interest accrues during that whole time.  The longer they wait to come after you, the more they can take from you.

If any of that makes any sense to anybody - then I must have said it all wrong.

[Already Gone]

From my experience, and please correct me if I am wrong, some employers will provide an offer letter stating the per diem is issued either on an accountable or nonaccountable plan. Accountable means you account to them all expenses and they reimburse you with per diem. On the nonaccountable plan, you have to account for your expenses to the Internal Revenue Service, if audited.

For example: nonaccountable plan-you receive $86/day diem for meals and lodging. Your actual expenses are $50/day. You have to report the excess, $36/day as income.

On the accountable plan, the IRS believes you accounted for your expenses to your employer, therefore, no tax on that money.

They will ask for copies of offers of employment, etc., to make the determination.

BE VERY CAREFUL!

Let me just clarify what I said earlier.  If, as in your example, the plan is deemed to be "non-accountable", then ALL the per diem would be reported as ordinary income by your employer on your W-2.  You could then deduct the $50/ day of actual expenses using form 2106.  THis is the same form you would use to deduct expenses that are greater than your reimbursements.

In addition, expenses deducted on form 2106 are subject to the 2% AGI threshold.  Which means that only those un reimbursed expenses exceeding 2% of your AGI can be deducted.  You have to itemize your deductions on schedule A.

Example:
Your AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) is $50,000
You had $20,000 of expenses; including lodging, meals, mileage, laundry, supplies ... etc.
You received $18,000 in per diem and other reimbursements.
The result is $2,000 in un-reimbursed employee business expenses.  This would go onto your Schedule A. Then you would add this to other expenses like tax preparation fees.  (let's say you paid $99 for Turbo Tax and all the bells and whistles)  The total in this section would be $2099.
Subtract $1000 (2% of your AGI) and your actual deduction is $1099.

In this tax bracket, your net tax savings is going to be about $164.  This is why most people just take the per diem check and leave it at that.  It is a lot of work to do just for $164.

[ladyinrad]

BeerCourt:

Again, well said. Thank you for putting that together. I just successfully passed an audit with the IRS over per diem issues and you have covered everything that was discussed between myself and the auditor.

Yes, honesty (and compliance with the rules) is the best policy. It worked for me.

[Already Gone]

Congradulations, and thank you.  The fact that you got through an audit means that you followed the rules.  This speaks well for us all.  If you had been found to have been breaking the rules, the auditor would likely have asked you for a lot of information about the people you work with.  This has happened before, and the effect was like an avalanche.  One person gets it wrong, and suspicions are cast upon us all.  Thanks for keeping our skirts clean, and thanks for paying your fair share of taxes (I know it hurts) so that the rest of us don't have to pay it for you.

[ladyinrad]

There were no questions about fellow employees and I don't seem to remember who worked there anyways, it was such a short period.  Doesn't mean we did our taxes together or the same way either, oh well. Great experience, learned alot. Thanks for the great (and very accurate) information.

[shovelheadred]

....just a little update...my tax preparer has changed her phone number,,,it is now 843-634-3540....she is still in the business of making sure you get the refund due you...legally.....red

[cairnit]

It's almost that time of year again.....and I'm wondering if anyone has a line on a good tax professional that is up on the per diem rules. Since Deb the Tax Lady retired last year, who are you going to use?

[Already Gone]

You ought to be able to do it yourself, but TurboTax, or TaxCut might be a wise investment.  The per diem rules are not complicated.  I keep saying this, but nobody pays attention.  Essentially, per diem is a zero sum thing.  If you get $100/day, you spent $100/day.  The only way that the IRS will see this otherwise is if you have receipts to prove that you spent more.  They don't care id you spent less.  The per diem that you were paid (NOT the GSA rate, but the actual amount that your employer paid you) is proof in itself that your meals and lodging expenses were that much, and receipts are not needed.

Keep a mileage log, and keep records of all your laundry and other business expenses too.  Use form 2106 to calculate your deduction.

If you can calculate an air sample, you can do this, especially with tax software.

If someone tells you that you can deduct the difference between the GSA per diem rate and the amount that you were paid, run away from that person.  They don't know what they are talking about, and they can cost you a fortune if you ever get audited.

[Camella Black]

If you claim business use of your vehicle you can also deduct the taxes and interest you paid on it.

[vikingfan]

since alot of us depend on email you csan also deduct a portion of your laptop purchase and internet as work related expenses i believe ?? and i have heard of people deducting their cell phone use also. maybe someone knows the right answer about this

[yuffie_2000us]

I have to disagree with Bearcourt about the GSA and per diem paid difference. I have been deducting for over 10 years that way. I was audited by the IRS and did not have any issues at all after I showed them the dates, places and amount of per diem paid per day. I also showed the milage and any info that they asked for. Read the codes, they are all very easy to read and understand.

[makua13]

Original question: who are you going to use?  I use Kiwi Tax (advertised on this site) and he does a great job for me.  An RP himself.  As far as per diem; of course you can use conus rates.  If you got paid $85.00 a day from BNI and the conus rate is $120.00, then you claim the $85 as income and deduct the Federal allowable rate.  I have heard yes and no you can not do this.  I have been doing it for past four years with Kiwi.  This year I went through an audit for 2003. 2004, and 2005.  The only items I had to supply was proof of the per diem rate paid by BNI and the report and end dates for the jobs.  The codes are clear and there was no problem.  There was some issues but Kiwi was great at pointing out codes to the Agent and all went well.
I shall remain with Kiwi, and I recommend him to all my co-workers.

[Already Gone]

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p463/ch06.html#d0e6854

Per Diem and Car Allowances

If your employer reimburses you for your expenses using a per diem or a car allowance, you can generally use the allowance as proof for the amount of your expenses. A per diem or car allowance satisfies the adequate accounting requirements for the amount of your expenses only if all of the following conditions apply.

    *

      Your employer reasonably limits payments of your expenses to those that are ordinary and necessary in the conduct of the trade or business.
    *

      The allowance is similar in form to and not more than the federal rate (defined later).
    *

      You prove the time (dates), place, and business purpose of your expenses to your employer (as explained in Table 5-1) within a reasonable period of time.
    *

      You are not related to your employer (as defined next). If you are related to your employer, you must be able to prove your expenses to the IRS even if you have already adequately accounted to your employer and returned any excess reimbursement.

If the IRS finds that an employer's travel allowance practices are not based on reasonably accurate estimates of travel costs (including recognition of cost differences in different areas for per diem amounts), you will not be considered to have accounted to your employer. In this case, you must be able to prove your expenses to the IRS.
......

Regular federal per diem rate.   The regular federal per diem rate is the highest amount that the federal government will pay to its employees for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses (or meals and incidental expenses only) while they are traveling away from home in a particular area. The rates are different for different locations. Your employer should have these rates available. (Employers can get Publication 1542, which gives the rates in the continental United States for the current year. Publication 1542 is available on the Internet at www.irs.gov.)
............

Allowance less than or equal to the federal rate.   If your allowance is less than or equal to the federal rate, the allowance will not be included in box 1 of your Form W-2. You do not need to report the related expenses or the allowance on your return if your expenses are equal to or less than the allowance.

  However, if your actual expenses are more than your allowance, you can complete Form 2106 and deduct the excess amount on Schedule A (Form 1040). If you are using actual expenses, you must be able to prove to the IRS the total amount of your expenses and reimbursements for the entire year. If you are using the standard meal allowance or the standard mileage rate, you do not have to prove that amount.




Note that NOWHERE in the tax code will you find anything that says that you can deduct expenses in excess of your actual expenses - regardless of the federal rate.


I had two CPA's as clients.  Most CPA's do not do personal income taxes.  They contract them out, hand them over to employees who are not CPA's, or don't touch them at all.  If you find a CPA with a shingle out, who does taxes, he/she is probably retired and doing it as a side business.  They also rely heavily on software.  TaxWise is the professional program most commonly used by accounting firms.


If you blew this by an IRS auditor, that's no surprise either.  They are mostly entry-level seasonal employees or contractors.  They are no more experts on YOUR tax return than the CPA who has done cost accounting for the local trucking firm for 30 years.  The thing is that YOU need to be, because it is your life, your money and your name on the line.

If you get $85, and the fed rate is $120, and you don't have any proof that you exceeded $85, you can't deduct anything.  You never claim per diem that is below the federal rate as income unless you are paid the per diem when yuo are not entitled to it, or your employer's plan is non-accountable.  Anything you are told to the contrary is WRONG.

[Already Gone]

If you use the standard mileage rate, there are no additional vehicle expenses that you can deduct.  The standard mileage rate encompasses all costs of owning and operating the vehicle - but not parking or storage of the vehicle.  Taxes paid on the vehicle are either sales taxes, or property taxes.  If the license fee you pay for your tags is based on the VALUE of the vehicle, it is a property tax, and can be deducted under the taxes you paid section of schedule A.  Sales tax can only be deducted if you elect to deduct sales tax in lieu of state income taxes.  Neither of these have anything to do with business use of the vehicle.  If you can deduct either of these taxes, you can do it for any vehicle you own - regardless of business use.  If you can't deduct them, business use (by an employee of an employee owned vehicle) won't change that.  If you use a van for your own flower delivery business, the rules are totally different.  Use of RV's for business is different too.
If you use the actual expenses method for your vehicle, you can deduct the business use percentage of all vehicle expenses, including depreciation, wiper fluid, AAA membership, license tags, ... etc.  You need to keep very good records, and you still need to track mileage to calculate the business use percentage.  If you are really good at keeping records, and you use your vehicle a lot for business, and your reimbursement is not very much (this is probably true for most roadies) you may get a better deduction this way, but it is a lot of work.

You can only deduct the cost of a computer if your employer REQUIRES you to have and use your own personal computer.  Using email on the road is not a legitimate business expense.  But, if you use the computer for your own business or for investment management, you may be able to deduct part of the costs.

Like any employee business expense deduction, you need to have proof of the expense, and the expense must be incurred by you in the course of your employment and for the benefit of your employer.

Maybe I was wrong, I don't think that anyone ought to do your own taxes.  In a perfect world, you should be able to do them, but there is too much misinformation and wishful thinking out there.  Hire a professional - but ONLY if he signs a contract that says he will pay all interest and penalties resulting from his errors and omissions.  Good luck finding one of those.

[Rennhack]

Note that NOWHERE in the tax code will you find anything that says that you can deduct expenses in excess of your actual expenses - regardless of the federal rate.

Also, nowhere does it say that you can't. It does not specifically state either way.  It may imply, but it does not specifically address it. You are drawing a conclusion based on their other words.

[SloGlo]

Mine does!

Time for another margarita!

sew, watt's he charge, 'n duz he buy margaritas or due yinz git a price brake four supplying them?

[cairnit]

I guess I was hoping for more professional recommendations than opinions. I guess I thought more travelers were like me, too busy to do the taxes themselves and wanting a knowledgable professional to be there in case of questions or audits.

I have used Kiwi in the past (once) but tax was figured wrong....which I discovered when the IRS sent me the correction and the bill for the miscalculation + penalty and interest. I emailed Kiwi about the situation and never received a reply.

So, I used someone else for year after that.........now she has retired and I am looking once more.

[Already Gone]

You are not the first person to have said this about that particular tax preparer.

I suggest that you learn how to do your own tax return, and find the time.  The IRS allows you to extend until August.  As long as you have paid all that you owe by April 15, you can actually delay for THREE YEARS, with no penalty.  I don't suggest that you let them hold your refund for that long.  In fact, you should not be getting a big refund at all.  If you do, fix your withholding so that you are not lending your money to the government at 0% interest.  But, as long as you are sure that you don't owe, you can file during the summer without a penalty, and without filing an extension.

The only penalty for filing a late return is if you file late and owe.  If you don't owe, there is no penalty.  If you know you are going to owe, file an extension, send a check with it to cover what you think you will owe, and file by August 15.
Turbotax or TaxCut will help you do this.
If you are a roadie, you have plenty of time to do your taxes, and you can do them a lot better than someone who does not know you.  Use software, and it is idiot proof.


WARNING!!  As a former Manager of one of those storefront tax companies, I can tell you with confidence NOT TO USE THEM!!!  They are ill-trained, make lots of mistakes, and are really in the business of LENDING you your OWN MONEY at astronomical interest.  If you are a single mother with two kids, make $15,000 a year or less and want an Earned Income Tax Credit and a Refund Anticipation Loan this minute, and are willing to let them keep several hundred dollars of your refund, you are their ideal customer.  Many of their "tax-preparers" have less than 8 hours of training in taxes and are making minimum wage plus a commission on your fees.  They are far more concerned with getting a lot of returns done than with getting any of them done well.  This is why I don't run one of their offices anymore (aside from the fact that they pay nothing).  They are primarily in the business of ripping off low income working people, just like those payday loan places, and I want nothing more to do with them.

[SloGlo]

eye nebber had a tacks year aye coodent due da taxes four.  da onliest time eye filed leight was when dey owed me cash.  'n i nebber filed early.  never.

[Camella Black]

You are not the first person to have said this about that particular tax preparer.

I suggest that you learn how to do your own tax return, and find the time.  The IRS allows you to extend until August.  As long as you have paid all that you owe by April 15, you can actually delay for THREE YEARS, with no penalty.  I don't suggest that you let them hold your refund for that long.  In fact, you should not be getting a big refund at all.  If you do, fix your withholding so that you are not lending your money to the government at 0% interest.  But, as long as you are sure that you don't owe, you can file during the summer without a penalty, and without filing an extension.

The only penalty for filing a late return is if you file late and owe.  If you don't owe, there is no penalty.  If you know you are going to owe, file an extension, send a check with it to cover what you think you will owe, and file by August 15.
Turbotax or TaxCut will help you do this.
If you are a roadie, you have plenty of time to do your taxes, and you can do them a lot better than someone who does not know you.  Use software, and it is idiot proof.


WARNING!!  As a former Manager of one of those storefront tax companies, I can tell you with confidence NOT TO USE THEM!!!  They are ill-trained, make lots of mistakes, and are really in the business of LENDING you your OWN MONEY at astronomical interest.  If you are a single mother with two kids, make $15,000 a year or less and want an Earned Income Tax Credit and a Refund Anticipation Loan this minute, and are willing to let them keep several hundred dollars of your refund, you are their ideal customer.  Many of their "tax-preparers" have less than 8 hours of training in taxes and are making minimum wage plus a commission on your fees.  They are far more concerned with getting a lot of returns done than with getting any of them done well.  This is why I don't run one of their offices anymore (aside from the fact that they pay nothing).  They are primarily in the business of ripping off low income working people, just like those payday loan places, and I want nothing more to do with them.

I have to agree about store front tax preparer's; I learned to do our taxes back in the 80's after we owed the IRS a couple thousand because of the per diem gaff a lot of us made. I have done our taxes ever since with no problems... last year to earn extra income I went to work for a major store front group and their main goal is refund loans and pushing you through like cattle. They also charge you more when it takes more time.

I file myself and numerous family members using a government recommended website and have had no problems so far.

[krisher]

thank you beercourt for the info on perdiem...fed rate vs what we get from our employer.  i have searched all the publications on perdiem and could not find anything that says we can take the difference as a loss or anything else these people are talking about. my taxes are almost done. also i use tax cut and have for years.  thank you again for clearing this subject up for me............

[Smart People]

....Call 843-260-1644.ask for Rachell....she has been doing my taxes for years....she finds deductions(legal ones, she wont claim any that arent) that I never thought of.....claims perdiem...and travel..knows all the ins and outs.......

I talked to her today, She is not doing taxes this year

[shovelheadred]

..You are right, she is having surgery and will be recouperating through the tax season..Red

[LaFeet]

Ive been using TaxCut by H&R Block for the past 5 years without any concerns of being audited.  I have conservatively claimed what LEGAL deductions I can claim and have allways gotten back a return.

As for using a service or person for doing my taxes.... I still have to keep the records myself, so why pay someone 100$ + for something I can do in less than 2 hours costing only 69$ (of which is deductable as well).


Excellent advice and linkage Beercourt...thanks for trying to point us all in the correct tax direction.
 

[Duke_Nukester]

Okay Mr. court, here is my question on the per diem.  In a previous post on this thread you state the Federal rate is what you go by.  Is that the federal rate where you are residing or where your work is located?  I've heard both sides.

For everyone else, I was told there was a person in FL who does roadies taxes very well and very cheap.  I think he at least use to advertise on this site.  Anyway, I had problems with H&R Block because they wanted proof of my per diem and it's not shown anywhere.  I guess I needed to make photocopies of the checks.  Thanks for any help.  Au revior

[todd]

I've never personally used them but, It's called KIWI tax service. reply back i'll get the info for you.

[Duke_Nukester]

Yeah, that's the one.  Anybody out there have any experience to share?  Kiwi, good, bad, indifferent?  Scale of 1-10?  Bell curve analysis?   Thanks Todd, and anyone else who helps out.

[cairnit]

I used them onceand to me that was the audition they failed. I have worked with a few others over the years who also had problems with them.

[Already Gone]

Okay Mr. court, here is my question on the per diem.  In a previous post on this thread you state the Federal rate is what you go by.  Is that the federal rate where you are residing or where your work is located?  I've heard both sides.

For everyone else, I was told there was a person in FL who does roadies taxes very well and very cheap.  I think he at least use to advertise on this site.  Anyway, I had problems with H&R Block because they wanted proof of my per diem and it's not shown anywhere.  I guess I needed to make photocopies of the checks.  Thanks for any help.  Au revior

The rate you use is where the job is located.

[atomicarcheologist]

Anyway, I had problems with H&R Block

This is why it's best to do your own taxes.  Get a copy of JK Lassiter, read the applicable sections, go on line and fill out the forms.  Check is deposited in two weeks.

[traveltax]

Feel free to post your tax questions here. Seems this thread fizzled out last May 

[Rennhack]

It's a seasonal thread.

[djdroc]

Feel free to post your tax questions here. Seems this thread fizzled out last May 

I'm a nukeworker who regularly travels away from home on temp assignments running anywhere from 2 wks to 3 mos and often a min of 75 miles away. I drive to each location, paying out of pocket for meals/lodging and receiving no per diem for either. I haven't been the best with keeping up with all my receipts.  For simplicity, can I take a tax deduction for lodging and meals using the fed per diem rates?  If not both, is it true that I can deduct actual lodging exps and take a standard meal deduction using the fed per diem meal rates instead? 

[traveltax]

I'm a nukeworker who regularly travels away from home on temp assignments running anywhere from 2 wks to 3 mos and often a min of 75 miles away. I drive to each location, paying out of pocket for meals/lodging and receiving no per diem for either. I haven't been the best with keeping up with all my receipts.  For simplicity, can I take a tax deduction for lodging and meals using the fed per diem rates?  If not both, is it true that I can deduct actual lodging exps and take a standard meal deduction using the fed per diem meal rates instead? 

Actual lodging expenses and the Federal per diem for meals.
This assumes that you have a tax home vs a permanent residence as those two things are different

[whitnanc]

I am being audited for mileage.  has anyone else gone thru it?

[traveltax]

I am being audited for mileage.  has anyone else gone thru it?

You will need to provide a log that identifies the miles, destination and purpose for the trip. Frequent trips to the same location can be summarized. They will also attemt to determine your tax residence to validate the deductiblity of the mileage

[BetaAnt]

Since medical insurance is mandatory under ObamaCare, is it tax deductible as it has been declared a tax by the SCOTUS? DOE sites pay a taxed Health & Welfare stipend (required by the Service Contract Act) - a taxed benefit. If the insurance requirement exceeds the H&W stipend, is the excess deductible?

Why are state income tax refunds from the previous year considered taxable income yet federal refunds are not?

Why are unemployment benefits taxable but EBT food stamps are not? Or subsidized housing vouchers? Or welfare disbursements?

Just filling in the 1040 blanks and getting depressed. 

BA

[traveltax]

Since medical insurance is mandatory under ObamaCare, is it tax deductible as it has been declared a tax by the SCOTUS? DOE sites pay a taxed Health & Welfare stipend (required by the Service Contract Act) - a taxed benefit. If the insurance requirement exceeds the H&W stipend, is the excess deductible?

Why are state income tax refunds from the previous year considered taxable income yet federal refunds are not?

Why are unemployment benefits taxable but EBT food stamps are not? Or subsidized housing vouchers? Or welfare disbursements?

Just filling in the 1040 blanks and getting depressed. 

BA

Health insurance premiums are tax deductible in the same way they always have been only they now must exceed 10% of adjusted gross income. For self employeds, its now part of business expenses

State tax refunds are taxable when received in relation to a year in which you itemized. State withholding is a component of itemized deuductions, so a refund is a recovery of that claim on your return. If you did not itemize, you would not have to report it

Unemployment is a substitute for wages. Wages (earned income) is taxable. Welfare is a supplement

[owsi84621]

Here's a question for you that I haven't been able to get the answer for. How long must you be unemployed from the same company to not have your per diem taxed. I had a 76 day break with my current company over the new year and now they are threatening to tax my per diem saying that it doesn't matter that I was unemployed for that 76 day period. What are the rules and where do I find them?

[traveltax]

Here's a question for you that I haven't been able to get the answer for. How long must you be unemployed from the same company to not have your per diem taxed. I had a 76 day break with my current company over the new year and now they are threatening to tax my per diem saying that it doesn't matter that I was unemployed for that 76 day period. What are the rules and where do I find them?

I think the question you are asking is how long do you have to be away from a metropolitan area to restart the 12 month clock? Were you working in one area and then was laid off and now considering a job at the same place?

If not, what triggered this? Staying with the same employer should not affect this. Its the length of service in one area that should

[GLW]

Here's a question for you that I haven't been able to get the answer for. How long must you be unemployed from the same company to not have your per diem taxed. I had a 76 day break with my current company over the new year and now they are threatening to tax my per diem saying that it doesn't matter that I was unemployed for that 76 day period. What are the rules and where do I find them?

I'm not following your timeline very well.

This is August.

76 days of unemployment over the new year is quite awhile ago.

So perhaps you could nail down the details of your employment and unemployment periodicities a bit better to help the SME and others get their heads wrapped around your circumstance.

If the current (or pending) term of employment is known from the beginning to be of greater than one year endurance, your employer may elect to tax per diem now to forego liability later. That circumstance is not uncommon.

[owsi84621]

Same employer with 76 days off for good behavior, accepted assignment to a different location, after the new year. Current contract with employer states 8 month contract at this site and the employer is now trying to say that I've been at the same place for a year or more. Because of this I am trying to figure out what signifies a significant break or any break for that matter. I've also wrote to my congressman, asking for clarification through official channels with page, paragraph and verse out of their own tax documents. If I can get the direct answer from their codes it will be a win for all of us. We would then know the rules and be able to cite them.

[traveltax]

Same employer with 76 days off for good behavior, accepted assignment to a different location, after the new year. Current contract with employer states 8 month contract at this site and the employer is now trying to say that I've been at the same place for a year or more. Because of this I am trying to figure out what signifies a significant break or any break for that matter. I've also wrote to my congressman, asking for clarification through official channels with page, paragraph and verse out of their own tax documents. If I can get the direct answer from their codes it will be a win for all of us. We would then know the rules and be able to cite them.

You are barking up the wrong tree if you are calling your congressman/woman. The rules are found in the administrative part of the IRS policies which follow the Code. See my blog that I have linked below. The 12 month rule is just ONE benchmark of a tax home shift. A tax home by definition is your principal place of INCOME (not your permanent residence). If you have repetitive, frequent or seasonal income in the same area that is significant in relation to any other location, we are done with the analysis- that place is your tax home regardless of where you choose to maintain your personal residence. IF you do NOT have a principal place of income going from site to site randomly nor have breached the 12 month rule, THEN your tax home can default to the place that you have significant expenses to maintain a dwelling

A Break in Service (BIS) should be significant. We try to keep our clients from spending > 12 out of 24 months in the same area AND avoid seasonality

https://traveltax.wordpress.com/references-and-citations-2/

I can also provide you a tax best practices policy from the healthcare staffing industry trade group which addresses BIS issues

[SloGlo]

Actual lodging expenses and the Federal per diem for meals.
This assumes that you have a tax home vs a permanent residence as those two things are different

what udder expenses can be deducted, personal care, laundry, entertainment?

[traveltax]

what udder expenses can be deducted, personal care, laundry, entertainment?

Since you are not in sales, entertainment is a personal expense
What specifically do you mean by "personal care"?
Laundry can be deducted for expenses on the road when away from your tax home

May want to look at our FAQ page on our website

[traveltax]

It's almost that time of year again.....and I'm wondering if anyone has a line on a good tax professional that is up on the per diem rules. Since Deb the Tax Lady retired last year, who are you going to use?

Feel free to contact us

[traveltax]

Feel free to post any tax questions

[UncaBuffalo]

Feel free to post any tax questions

Okay, not sure this is really a tax question, but... Concerning the reporting of a foreign bank account: how soon does it need to be done after the account is opened?

Just started a job in South Africa. Per Diem being paid into a South African bank. I know I have to tell IRS about the existence of the account, but...am I safe waiting until I file my 2022 taxes in 2023? (Account opened this month.)

Thanks for any pointers!

[traveltax]

If you opened it this year (2022) then you will report it next year

[UncaBuffalo]

If you opened it this year (2022) then you will report it next year

Thanks!