Up to 1.2 million tax preparers make a living navigating the labyrinth US tax code for taxpayers. We have more professional tax preparers in the United States than law enforcement officers (765,000) and professional firefighters (310,400) combined.
What I find ironic is the fact that I frequently hear complaints from other tax preparers about the growing number of people who don’t use our services and use the do it yourself software products or online services to prepare their tax returns. Also, with the new stricter regulations on preparers, many are deciding to leave the profession.
Rush’s Morning Update says it fairly well. Anyone stupid enough to vote to raise his/her own taxes in order to support the morons in Sacramento deserves what s/he gets.
Only the Federal government can lose money in a business that is given statutory monopoly protection. These same geniuses will soon be in charge of all of our health care.
If it weren’t for Double Standards, DemonRats wouldn’t have any standards at all.
Governments hate competition from the private sector…
Three years ago I re-married, after having been a widow for 7 years. Title of the house was at my husbands death transferred to my name only.
My new husband also owns a home, and I wishes to sell mine, what steps are necessary to obtain a full marital tax deduction of $250,000.00 x two. Add my new husbands name to the deed of course is the obvious, but will we then have to wait to sell the house in order to qualify?
Yes, we have lived in the house for two of the past 5 years.
Special rules for joint returns. You can exclude up to $500,000 of the gain on the sale of your main home if all of the following are true.
You are married and file a joint return for the year.
Either you or your spouse meets the ownership test.
Both you and your spouse meet the use test.
During the 2-year period ending on the date of the sale, neither you nor your spouse excluded gain from the sale of another home.
If either spouse does not satisfy all these requirements, the maximum exclusion that can be claimed by the couple is the total of the maximum exclusions that each spouse would qualify for if not married and the amounts were figured separately. For this purpose, each spouse is treated as owning the property during the period that either spouse owned the property.
Good luck. I hope this helps.
Kerry Kerstetter
Follow-Up:
Hello Mr. Kerstetter,
We appreciate your reply and good information.
Thank you very much.
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Tax Guru - Ker$tetter Letter 