2002 Tax Help Archives  

General Procedural Questions

This is archived information that pertains only to the 2002 Tax Year. If you
are looking for information for the current tax year, go to the Tax Prep Help Area.

I recently opened up a new account at the bank, and they asked me to complete a Form W-9. Is this necessary?

Your investment income is generally not subject to regular withholding, however, it may be subject to backup withholding to ensure that income tax is collected on this income.

When you open up a new account, you must certify under penalties of perjury that your social security number is correct and that you are not subject to backup withholding. Form W-9 (PDF), Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, is used to make this certification. If you fail to make this certification on Form W-9, or similar statement, backup withholding may begin immediately on your new account, and a pecentage of the interest paid on your account currently 30% will be withheld. For additional information on who is subject to backup withholding, refer to Tax Topic 307.

References:

  • Form W-9 (PDF), Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification
  • Tax Topic 307, Backup withholding

4.1 Interest, Dividents, Other Types of Income: 1099-DIV Dividend Income
How do I report this 1099-DIV from my mutual fund?

Enter the ordinary dividends from Form 1099DIV (PDF), box 1, on line 9 of Form 1040 (PDF), U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. Enter the total capital gain distributions from box 2a on line 13, column (f) of Form 1040, Schedule D (PDF). Enter the 28% rate gain portion of your capital gain distributions from box 2b on line 13, column (g) of Schedule D. If you have an amount in box 2c or box 2d, refer to Instructions for Form 1040, Schedule D. Nontaxable distributions, box 3, that are return of capital distributions, reduce your cost basis and are not taxable until your basis is reduced to zero. If no amount is shown in boxes 2b through 2d, and your only capital gains and losses are capital gain distributions, refer to Instructions for Form 1040 for line 13.

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4.4 Interest, Dividents, Other Types of Income: 1099 Information Returns (All Other)
I received a Form 1099-G, for my state tax refund. Do I have to include this amount as income on my return?

If you itemized deductions on your Federal tax return for 2001, and received a refund of state or local taxes in 2001, you may have to include all or part of the refund as income on your 2002 tax return.

If you did not itemize your deductions on your Federal tax return for the same year as the state or local tax refund applies to, do not report any of the refund as income. Refer to Tax Topic 405, Refund of State and Local Taxes, and Publication 525 (PDF), Taxable and Nontaxable Income, for further information.

References:

My house was foreclosed on and the lender has sent me a Form 1099. What do I do? Must I report this?

You may have received either a Form 1099A (PDF), Acquisition or Abandonment of Secured Property, or Form 1099C (PDF), Cancellation of Debt, or both. You must compute whether you have cancelled debt income. You have cancelled debt income if the debt cancelled, is debt for which you are personally liable and it exceeds the fair market value of the property at the time of the transfer. Cancelled debt income is taxable as other income on line 21 (other income) of Form 1040 (PDF). Refer to Publication 544 (PDF), Sales and Other Disposition of Assets. Complete Table 1-2, Worksheet for Foreclosure & Repossessions to determine if there is income from cancellation of debt or gain or loss from foreclosure or repossession.

You may be able to exclude cancelled debt income if all or part of the debt was discharged in bankruptcy; you are insolvent; or the debt is a qualified farm debt. Refer to Publication 908 (PDF), Bankruptcy Tax Guide, and Form 982 (PDF), Reduction of Tax Attributes Due to Discharge of Indebtedness for more information.

You are also required have to compute gain or loss on disposition of the property. You must still follow this step even if you have no discharge of indebtedness income. The difference between the sum of the amount of money received, the Fair Market Value of any other property received incident to the transfer of the property subject to foreclosure, and the amount of any nonrecourse debt from which you are relieved, and your adjusted basis in the property is your gain or loss. No portion of the gain on property which subject only to nonrecourse debt is treated as cancellation of indebtedness income. The amount realized includes any nonrecourse debt from which you are relieved in the transaction. If the property foreclosed was subject to recourse debt, the gain or loss on the disposition of the property is the difference between the FMV of the property and your adjusted basis in the property. The amount of recourse debt in excess of the FMV of the property will constitute cancellation of indebtedness income if the debt is forgiven. If the property is business property, report it on Form 4797 (PDF), Sales of Business Property, and follow the normal rules. If the property is a personal home, report it on Form 1040, Schedule D (PDF) if you have taxable gain following the normal rules for sale of a main home. Refer to Publication 523 (PDF), Selling Your Home, and Publication 544 (PDF), Sales and Other Dispositions of Assets, for more information.

References:

10.2 Captial Gains, Losses/Sale of Home: Stocks (Options, Splits, Traders)
I purchased stock from my employer under an employee stock purchase plan. Now I have received a From 1099-B from selling it. How do I report this?

If the special holding periods are met, generally treat gain or loss from the sale of the stock as capital gain or loss. However, you may have compensation income if:

  • The option price of the stock was below the stock's fair market value at the time the option was granted, or
  • You did not meet the holding period requirement, explained next.
  • You must hold the stock for more than 2 years from the time the stock option is granted to you and for more than 1 year from when the stock was transferred to you. If you meet the holding period requirement and the option price was below the fair market value of the stock at the time the option was granted, you report the difference as compensation income (wages) when you sell the stock. Generally, this compensation income cannot be more than your gain on the sale. If your gain is more than the amount you report as compensation income, the remainder is a capital gain reported on Form 1040, Schedule D (PDF). If you sell the stock for less than the amount you paid for it, your loss is a capital loss.

    For more information, refer to Publication 525 (PDF), Taxable and Nontaxable Income, and Publication 551 (PDF), Basis of Assets.

    References:

    Should I advise the IRS why amounts reported on Form 1099-B do not agree with my Schedule D for proceeds from short sales of stock not closed by the end of year that I did not include?

    If you are able to defer the reporting of gain or loss until the year the short sale closes, the following will allow you to reconcile your Forms 1099-B to your Schedule D and still not recognize the gain or loss from the short sale:

  • Your total of lines 3 and 10, column (d), on your Schedule D should equal your total gross proceeds reported to you on all Forms 1099-B.
  • In columns (b) and (c) write "SHORT SALE," and
  • in column (f) write "See attached statement."
  • In your statement, explain the details of your short sale and that it has not closed as of the end of the year. Include your name as it appears on the return and your social security number.
  • For more on these rules and exceptions that may apply, refer to Chapter 4 of Publication 550 (PDF), Investment Income and Expenses.

    References:

    How do I determine my gain or loss on the proceeds reported on Form 1099-B from a short sale entered into last year if I have not yet bought the stock to deliver back to my broker?

    In general, you cannot determine your gain or loss until you purchase the stock that you are going to deliver to close the short sale. You still need to report the gross proceeds on Schedule D so that the total of lines 3 and 10, column (d), reconciles with all of your Forms 1099-B.

    Also, in columns b and c write "short sale." In column f, write "see attached statement." In the statement, explain the details of the short sale and that it is not closed. Include your name as it appears on your return and your social security number.

    For more information on rules and exceptions that may apply, refer to Chapter 4 of Publication 550 (PDF), Investment Income and Expenses.

    References:

    10.3 Captial Gains, Losses/Sale of Home: Mutual Funds (Costs, Distributions, etc.)
    How do I show a return of principal payment from my Form 1099-DIV on my tax return?

    You do not normally have to report a return of principal (or return of capital) on your tax return. You must reduce your basis in the fund, which should be recorded in your records. However, basis cannot be reduced below zero. Once your basis reaches zero, any return of principal is capital gain and must be reported on Form 1040, Schedule D (PDF), Capital Gains and Losses.

    References:

    I received a 1099-DIV showing a capital gain. Why do I have to report capital gains from my mutual funds if I never sold any shares?

    A mutual fund is a regulated investment company that pools funds of investors allowing them to take advantage of a diversity of investments and professional asset management. You own shares in the fund, but the fund owns assets such as shares of stock, corporate bonds, government obligations, etc. One of the ways the fund makes money for its investors is to sell these assets at a gain. When this happens, the nature of the income is capital gain, which gets passed on to you. These are called capital gain distributions, which are distinguished on Form 1099-DIV from income that is from other profits, called ordinary dividends.

    References:

    My end-of-year statement from a mutual fund company showed amounts in 3 categories: (1) capital gains, (2) short-term capital gains, and (3) ordinary dividends. When my Form 1099-DIV came, the short-term capital gains were lumped in with ordinary dividends. Which is correct and where do I list the short-term capital gains?

    Your Form 1099-DIV is correct, but so is your annual statement. For the purpose of reporting taxable income on your tax return, capital gain distributions are defined as long-term capital gains only. Short-term capital gains are taxed as ordinary income and are therefore treated as ordinary dividends on Form 1099-DIV.

    Report the fund's short-term capital gains as part of your total ordinary dividends on line 9 of your Form 1040 or 1040A. (You may have to also report them on Form 1040, Schedule B (PDF), Interest & Dividend Income or Form 1040A, Schedule 1 (PDF), Interest and Ordinary Dividends. Refer to the instructions to the schedule.)

    References:

    How can I use mutual fund short-term capital gains, which are reported on Form 1099-DIV in Box 1 as "Ordinary Dividends," to help offset short-term capital losses?

    You cannot. You did not sell the assets that produced this income, the mutual fund did. All income that is taxed as ordinary income flows through to you as ordinary dividends, whether the income is from interest, dividends, or the sales of short-term capital assets.

    In the same manner, you report capital gain distributions as long-term capital gains on your return regardless of how long you have owned the shares in the mutual fund. This is because the asset was held and then sold by, the mutual fund, not by you.

    Report your total ordinary dividends (including the short-term capital gains in your mutual fund) on Form 1040, line 9, or Form 1040A, line 9, with your other dividends, if any. You may also have to file Form 1040, Schedule B (PDF) , Interest & Dividend Income or Form 1040A, Schedule 1 (PDF), Interest and Ordinary Dividends.

    References:

    11.3 Sale or Trade of Business, Depreciation, Rentals: Personal Use of Business Property (Condo, Timeshare, etc.)
    I received income for renting out my timeshare for a week. I understand that I don't have to report income from any rental less than 15 days, but the property management company reported that income to the IRS. Do I have to report it when I file?

    If you use the dwelling unit as a home (based on degree of personal use) and you rent it for fewer than 15 days during the year, do not include any of the rent in your income and do not deduct any of the rental expenses. If you do not meet the tests for using your timeshare as your home, the income is reportable on Form 1040, Schedule E (PDF), Supplemental Income and Loss.

    References:

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