Ari Benjamin Good’s Answers

That's true. As one of my colleagues mentions whether you are ACTUALLY an "independent contractor" depends on your relationship with your employer. If we assume that you are (and that the employer did not have to withhold taxes for you or pay employment taxes for you), be sure to check with your accountant. You will have to pay self employment taxes (this is different than your regular income tax), since your employer did not do so for you. Click the link below for my article on the...

As a tax attorney in Naples Florida (ground zero, basically, for the real estate crash), I consider this issue all the time. You are correct in that what would otherwise be taxable income from the forgiveness of indebtedness / cancellation of debt (COD) is excluded from income under the The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, up to $1M. I assume the amount forgiven is less than this. The IRS standard for "insolvency" is simply the amount by which your liabilities exceed your assets at...

I personally give my accounting / bookkeeping firm all of my usernames and passwords to all of my accounts for pretty much everything. I obviously trust them and their procedures for keeping my information secure. This allows them to manage all of my company's affairs without my even having to be involved. They download all of the banking information they need into their systems. I never have to provide receipts or even email them much. It's a great arrangement since I am a tax attorney,...

First, I'm sorry to hear of this, which is undoubtedly causing you some distress. I agree with my colleagues in that I think your first step is indeed to contact the IRS, or have a tax professional contact them, and let them know that your signature is invalid. The IRS doesn't want forged documents running around anymore than you do. Your husband should know, or care, that the return is signed under penalties of perjury as well. The Service is paying more attention these days to duress-type...

While I generally advise clients to do absolutely everything possible to avoid withdrawing from retirement accounts, if you must to survive you may do so in a Chapter 7 without prejudicing your bankruptcy. This is because you are making this conversion "post petition", that is, after your filing date. The result is in all likelihood the same in a Chapter 13 since this does not reflect a new source of income but rather the liquidation of an asset. Be sure to check, however, whether you must...

I agree that the first question you need to ask is whether this could be a "capital" (generally, investment property) asset at all. That is a fact specific determination. Some of the factors include whether and how you advertised the property, whether you rented it to a friend or family member versus making it available to the public, and whether the rent was at fair market value. Here I do not believe that it would be treated as a capital asset allowing you to take a capital loss, in part...

By "dismissed" I assume that your bankruptcy was "successful" - that is, you received a discharge, the estate was administered (that is, if you had any non-exempt property you either repurchased it or surrendered it), and the case was closed. I assume that it wasn't dismissed for another reason, such as failing to submit all the paperwork, etc. It sounds like you have indeed received your "fresh start" and you can begin rebuilding your credit immediately. While the bankruptcy technically...

As a Florida attorney with extensive sales and use tax experience I can tell you I am unaware of any provision of Florida law that requires the state to report sales and use tax collected or paid by Florida businesses to other states, which is what presumably would "jeopardize" your rights to NJ unemployment compensation. While I am unfamiliar with New Jersey law, I believe the relevant issue is HOW New Jersey requires you to report income or employment. Check the eligibility requirements on...