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The purchase of a home with cash is not directly reportable on your tax return. However, you can deduct property taxes paid and add the purchase price to the cost basis of your home.   Here are the steps to deduct property taxes in TurboTax: Open or continue your return. Navigate to the property tax section: TurboTax Online/Mobile: Go to property tax. TurboTax Desktop: Select Search Topics. Search for and select property tax. Answer Yes to the question Did you pay property or real estate taxes? Follow the on-screen instructions to enter your property/real estate taxes. Read here how improvements can add to the cost basis of your home Cost basis is essential for calculating capital gains or losses when selling an asset, ensuring tax efficiency, and maintaining accurate financial records. It includes adjustments for reinvested dividends, stock splits, and capital improvements. For more details, refer to IRS Publication 551.

if your mother has died,   the "cost" you use is fair market value on the date of her death. Add capital selling costs and the cost of subsequent improvements.  You must figure the total yourself. Turbotax provides no lines or boxes to enter these details. the is reported as a sale of a capital asset - Schedule D and the results should appear on line 4 of the 1041     if she is still alive, it raises the issue of whether or not the trust should be treated as a grantor trust. if so, the sale is reported on her 1040 (you use actual costs and selling expenses). Use the home sale worksheet since she would likely be entitled to the home sale exclusion. Despite being titled irrevocable, the IRS doesn't care. It's the provision of the trust in place while she is alive that matters. In this situation, ask the lawyer who drew up the trust document.       

Yes, active duty military can get TurboTax Deluxe or Premium free.     To ensure that you get the military discount, review your entries in the personal info section.  Open TurboTax Select the dropdown by My info and select Edit Select Edit under Personal profile and check your entries Make sure that you have shown your military status as of December 31, 2024? Make sure that you entered your highest military pay grade in 2024 Enter an answer for combat zone or hazardous duty area you served in during 2024 Select a state and select Assignment detail On the next screen you will see the message: Yes! You qualify for our enlisted military discount.   Refer to the TurboTax Blog TurboTax Offers Free Tax Filing for Military Active Duty and Reserve.

Our advisor placed money ($70,000) from a 401-K into the L Bonds in an IRA account when we retired.  Within (< 6) months of doing this we received notification of the GWG bankruptcy.  Any earnings from these bonds would have been minimal.  But now we have essentially lost the $70k unless something significant happens which is doubtful.  So, it is a significant loss for us.  But you are still telling me that I still cannot include the loss amount from the GWG Grantor Letter for the Wind Down Trust in my 2024 Federal Taxes, correct?

Form 3115 and attachments have to be sent in separately ahead of filing (preferably quite a ways ahead).  The rules for that are in the Form 3115 IRS instructions....   And Form 3115 also has to be part of the tax filing itself (an unsigned copy). IF I e-file, I know that I have to mail in 8453 separately and I'm sure it needs to include the separate documentation that I attached to the original Form 3115.    What I'm confused by is whether Turbo Tax efile submits Form 3115 (it is in TurboTax and I can fill it out there) or whether I send it along with 8453.     IF I don't have a clear answer, I will send it in with 8453 (can't hurt, I assume).