Average Tax Refund Down 8%

Started by Rod Kaufman, 02/09/2019 07:44PM
Posted 02/15/2019 01:48PM | Edited 02/15/2019 01:52PM #10
    Hi Greg,

    Here is the relevant section from page 1 of the instructions for Schedule A.

    "No miscellaneous itemized deductions allowed. You can no longer claim any miscellaneous itemized deductions, including the deduction for unreimbursed job expenses. Miscellaneous itemized deductions are those deductions that would have been subject to the 2 percent of adjusted gross income limitation. See Line 16, later, for a list of other itemized deductions you can still claim in addition to the ones claimed using lines 1 through 15."

    You have not indicated where you found that list, but I suspect that it is for business owners, not employees.

    I stand by my statement.

    Maurice

* Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a day.
* Teach a man to use the internet and he won't bother you for weeks.
Posted 02/15/2019 04:02PM #11
Originally Posted by Maurice Clark
    Hi Greg,

    Here is the relevant section from page 1 of the instructions for Schedule A.

    "No miscellaneous itemized deductions allowed. You can no longer claim any miscellaneous itemized deductions, including the deduction for unreimbursed job expenses. Miscellaneous itemized deductions are those deductions that would have been subject to the 2 percent of adjusted gross income limitation. See Line 16, later, for a list of other itemized deductions you can still claim in addition to the ones claimed using lines 1 through 15."

    You have not indicated where you found that list, but I suspect that it is for business owners, not employees.

    I stand by my statement.

    Maurice


Its on Schedule C for business deductions......as you were told several days ago by Rich. He and I both have businesses. You are correct though it wouldnt apply to you although you might want to talk to a tax attorney regarding incorporating yourself, it might be advantageous for you tax wise. You wont find any sympathy here regarding the removal of deductions for foreign properties though.

I will allow you may just exist in that void often found when complex simplifications result in unintended consequences no one considered when attempting to simplify one of the more complex set of rules on the planet....the tax code smile

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Posted 02/15/2019 09:46PM #12
Originally Posted by Maurice Clark
    Hi Greg,

    Here is the relevant section from page 1 of the instructions for Schedule A.

    "No miscellaneous itemized deductions allowed. You can no longer claim any miscellaneous itemized deductions, including the deduction for unreimbursed job expenses. Miscellaneous itemized deductions are those deductions that would have been subject to the 2 percent of adjusted gross income limitation. See Line 16, later, for a list of other itemized deductions you can still claim in addition to the ones claimed using lines 1 through 15."

    You have not indicated where you found that list, but I suspect that it is for business owners, not employees.

    I stand by my statement.

    Maurice
Maurice,

You're just a "special case" so let's get with the program! Nobody else in there but you. Ya got to somehow "incorporate", have your own business, more or less, then you can deduct a sizable portion of the lease arrangement for your new Audi or BMW or whatever luxury vehicle you prefer. It's good for you, the car manufacturers, and the dealerships, too and, ultimately the economy. But, as you and I know, the deficit is going ballistic and, as Mitch McConnell says of the tax breaks and the deficit,"it's disappointing"! So, in other words, you're disappointed, too!
Posted 02/16/2019 12:09PM #13
Originally Posted by Greg Shaffer



Its on Schedule C for business deductions......as you were told several days ago by Rich. He and I both have businesses. You are correct though it wouldnt apply to you although you might want to talk to a tax attorney regarding incorporating yourself, it might be advantageous for you tax wise. You wont find any sympathy here regarding the removal of deductions for foreign properties though.

I will allow you may just exist in that void often found when complex simplifications result in unintended consequences no one considered when attempting to simplify one of the more complex set of rules on the planet....the tax code smile
I’m not a tax lawyer, but I am pretty sure that Maurice can not file a schedule C for small business expenses related to his professor job.  Maurice is a W2 employee, and W2 employees are obviously not sole proprietorships or small businesses entitled to file a schedule C.  So, Maurice is arguably screwed by the tax code, since his employer does not reimburse lots of work related expenses.  Even under the old code, the 2% AGI limitation screwed W2 employees who have unreimbursed expenses.  This seems to hit teachers pretty hard, and I would expect that their lobbyists are working on it, at least they should be.  Maurice, if I come across as unsympathetic, my apologies.  Special case was a poor choice of words, at least Rod thought so! 

If you were an independent contractor professor, if such a thing exists, you could deduct most business expenses on your schedule C.  Of course, if you were an independent contractor you would be paying many more expenses directly, office and IT for example. You also would not get paid leave, insurance, and so on.  So, in the end it’s probably best to be a W2 employee, if possible.

I own a business with 8 partners and about 40 employees.  We reimburse all business related expenses to the extent permitted by law.  Nonetheless Rod, I paid for my own Audi?.  My wife is a sales executive in the private sector.  She travels some of course, and all expenses are reimbursed to the extent permitted by the law.  I suppose this is one of the best things about private enterprise!
Posted 02/17/2019 04:41AM #14
Originally Posted by James Brown

I’m not a tax lawyer, but I am pretty sure that Maurice can not file a schedule C for small business expenses related to his professor job.  Maurice is a W2 employee, and W2 employees are obviously not sole proprietorships or small businesses entitled to file a schedule C.  So, Maurice is arguably screwed by the tax code, since his employer does not reimburse lots of work related expenses.  Even under the old code, the 2% AGI limitation screwed W2 employees who have unreimbursed expenses.  This seems to hit teachers pretty hard, and I would expect that their lobbyists are working on it, at least they should be.  Maurice, if I come across as unsympathetic, my apologies.  Special case was a poor choice of words, at least Rod thought so! 

If you were an independent contractor professor, if such a thing exists, you could deduct most business expenses on your schedule C.  Of course, if you were an independent contractor you would be paying many more expenses directly, office and IT for example. You also would not get paid leave, insurance, and so on.  So, in the end it’s probably best to be a W2 employee, if possible.

I own a business with 8 partners and about 40 employees.  We reimburse all business related expenses to the extent permitted by law.  Nonetheless Rod, I paid for my own Audi?.  My wife is a sales executive in the private sector.  She travels some of course, and all expenses are reimbursed to the extent permitted by the law.  I suppose this is one of the best things about private enterprise!
Jim,
At least you don't have tunnel vision with all that "leftist"-label nonsense spewed from Rich's regurgitation on a daily upchuck basis. And at least you've paid for and own your Audi. Around here they lease 'em and write-off all over the place. I was treating a finance manager from another luxury brand awhile back and I couldn't believe the stuff some people pull and he couldn't either. The CONservatives around here at work and play...
Posted 02/17/2019 05:51AM #15
How am I hurt if tax laws make it easier for Richard to lease a GT3? It might make him a better person.
Posted 02/17/2019 06:06AM #16
Originally Posted by Mel Maki
How am I hurt if tax laws make it easier for Richard to lease a GT3? It might make him a better person.
You're optimistic!
Posted 02/17/2019 07:41PM #17
Maurice,
The accountant explains it to ya all:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDnMVOCULNw
Posted 02/18/2019 06:55PM #18
Richie,

Just for once I will bother to reply to you since your latest posts contain so many distortions and mis-representations. Typical for you!

Firstly, where do you get the idea that I have a 6-figure salary? Either you are deliberately lying or you have not bothered to read this thread and are just inventing numbers just to suit yourself. Look back in the thread and you will see that I told Jim that my salary was around $60,000. Hardly a 6-figure amount as you claimed. Nor does that put me in the "upper 10% of wage earners".

Secondly, your posts clearly show that you have no idea of the role of a university professor. Not surprising considering your limited education, but let me educate you. Teaching is only one part of a professor's work responsibilities. We also have to sit on governance committees and department committees, curriculum committees, and we required to conduct research and publish the results. Much of my research I undertake during non-teaching weeks. So no, university professors are not "paid to teach", the job involves far more than that.

Regarding summer, I do not have time off during summer. When I am not doing research, I am teaching summer classes. And I most certainly do not "teach less than 150 days per year" and you so erroneously claimed. I teach far more than that.

Paid to go to conferences? How I wish!!! Most conferences are not held "in plush resorts" but basic hotels, we go in our own time (unless it is a major one like AAS or LPS) and unless the university decides to cover the cost, we pay for it ourselves. Most times the university only covers part of the cost. Yet attendance at such conferences and presenting papers is a requirement of our position. Also, I do not attend conferences alone. I have students who conduct research with me and attend to present their results. So yes, in that sense I am teaching when attending a conference.

As for "being lucky I can itemize on schedule A", you clearly do not have any idea. As I said earlier, I am far from being in the top of wage earners. Itemising simple means I have a lot of expenses that others do not have.

Jealous because I can go to professional observatories and use good equipment? That is not the result of luck. Rather it is the result of many years of very hard work, study and research. Anyone could do the same and have the same job. just study hard, do research and gain a PhD in Astronomy or Physics. Then such positions are open to you. Oh, I forgot, such study is far beyond your capabilities!

A couple of other points; 8 to 5!?!  How I wish!!!  The only time I leave my office before 8 pm is Friday when for religious reasons I have to leave before sundown. And I am almost always in my office on Sunday working on research papers, or grading. And this does not include when I am conducting night labs. Also, despite your snide comment, I am at work today. We do not get president's day off. In fact, my classes today do not finish until 9pm! So I will be here until about10pm. Then I will go home, try to cook something for dinner adn work while I am eating.


One last point. Where do you get the idea that I am a liberal? For your information, although I have voted in almost every election since 1970, I have never voted liberal once. And never will.

Maurice

* Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a day.
* Teach a man to use the internet and he won't bother you for weeks.
Posted 03/01/2019 01:55PM #19
Summary of this thread:

1.  Rod posts article about how refunds are down.
2.  Maurice claims his refund is down.
3.  Rich questions Maurice's intelligence by claiming he simply didn't alter his deductions.
4.  Maurice cites evidence he got screwed by the tax bill and indeed his taxes went up.
5.  Rich attacks Maurice's profession.