My mother passed away on February 3. She had no will and her only property is a home with an $87,000 mortgage and a sale value of no more than $107,000. I am in Minnesota and she has no other debt. How do I go about settling her estate, and how should I approach the bank regarding the mortgage?

February 4th, 2024

On my W-2, I have an amount in box 10 (dependent care benefits). Does this amount get added back to my income when I do my taxes, or does it get subtracted to arrive at the box 1 number? When I enter my information in my tax software, it increases my income by the amount in box 10.

September 30th, 2024

If I donate books to a library and they keep some and sell some at their annual book sale, may I take a tax deduction for all of the books I donated or just those that the library adds to their collection?

July 9th, 2023

If my husband is retired and has a pension and a 401k disbursement, and I have a wage from my medical secretary job and receive Social Security benefits, would it be cheaper to file married filing separately?

June 6th, 2024

I'm a real estate professional. I sold a rental property at a loss of $50,000 three years ago, which was offset against my income. My income was $170,000, so my taxable income was $100,000. If I sell another rental home this year for a gain of $70,000, my income is $180,000 and other deductibles total $30,000, what is my taxable income? Is it $220,000 ($70,000 + $180,000 - $30,000) or do I have to add back the $50,000 loss from three years ago?

September 2nd, 2023