kyounge1956
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2008
- Messages
- 2,171
So, I filed for a 6-month extension in April because all my financial records were still in storage. The six months are up on Oct 15th and I've been working on completing my 2012 tax return. This afternoon, I thought I had it all done when I suddenly remembered I sold my house last year. I figured, since the sale price was less than $250K and I met all the other requirements, the whole amount was excludable. However, I don't have all the numbers I need to fill out the forms, so I called the IRS helpline, explained the situation, and asked how to complete the return, on the assumption that even if I had gotten the house for free, I would have no taxable gain because the selling price was under the excludable amount. Well, the guy on the phone asked me a bunch of questions and everything was going fine when he asked whether I had ever used any part of the house for business. For several years I had used my spare bedroom to store inventory for my Amway distributorship, so I answered "yes". That makes a big problem, because if any depreciation of the part of the house used for business had been allowed, that amount can't be excluded from the gain, even if I didn't in fact take any depreciation. I remember filing Schedule C's at least once or twice on the distributorship, but I've been inactive since 2004 and since I only keep my returns for 7 years, I have none of those records to refer to.
Can somebody explain to me simply the circumstances under which no depreciation is allowable? The guy on the phone talked so fast I hadn't a hope of making notes. I've tried reading the forms and instructions but it's all gibberish to me. The only thing I've understood so far is that if there was no allowable depreciation, I can exclude the whole proceeds of the sale of my house, and finish my return. If I could have taken depreciation, I don't know what to do next. Guess that's what I get for trying to be honest.
Can somebody explain to me simply the circumstances under which no depreciation is allowable? The guy on the phone talked so fast I hadn't a hope of making notes. I've tried reading the forms and instructions but it's all gibberish to me. The only thing I've understood so far is that if there was no allowable depreciation, I can exclude the whole proceeds of the sale of my house, and finish my return. If I could have taken depreciation, I don't know what to do next. Guess that's what I get for trying to be honest.