If you had to file a second state return because rental property was located there, the tax you paid is not deductible as a rental expense, but the fee you paid to have that state return prepared is. Is this a special state tax rather than the normal state income tax? If so, please let me know which state.  ... View more

You have to file your state returns (all of them) at the same time you file your federal return. Please click here to read How do I e-file my state after I already filed my federal?. You can check the status of your returns by clicking here (this way you can check to make sure they have been filed, processed and accepted): Solved: How can I check the status of my return that I efiled? ... View more

The cell phone itself would be considered an asset, so you would take the 30% you calculated as an asset and depreciate that over it's useful life on your return. The cell phone might qualify for either section 179 deduction or bonus depreciation (meaning you can depreciate the phone faster). To see if it qualifies for either 179 Deduction or Bonus depreciation click here: What is a Section 179 deduction? - Community or here: Solved: What is bonus depreciation - TurboTax. ... View more

Yes, the Solo 401(k) can cover both you and your husband. Per the IRS's published informtion on One Participant 401(k) Plans (also called Solo 401(k) plans) found at https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/one-participant-401k-plans:   A one-participant 401(k) plan is sometimes called a: Solo 401(k) Solo-k  Uni-k One-participant k The one-participant 401(k) plan isn't a new type of 401(k) plan. It's a traditional 401(k) plan covering a business owner with no employees, or that person and his or her spouse. These plans have the same rules and requirements as any other 401(k) plan. (emphasis on the word "and" added by me).      ... View more

The short answer is yes, if you and your spouse both have self-employment income, each of you wold qualify for your own separate Solo 401(k). For more information on qualifications and contribution limits, see https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/one-participant-401k-plans.    As far as the follow-up questions regarding the different ways for your wife to show-self employment income without having to file a separate business tax return, (i.e., Form 1065), you could issue her a 1099-MISC for the value of the services she provides. You would both then file separate Schedule Cs reporting your income and expenses. Depending on whether or not your contractor work is performed under an incorporated business (i.e., an LLC) and whether or not you live in a community property state, you may be able to elect Qualified Joint Venture status. You would then both file separate Schedule Cs for your respective share of the business income and expenses without the need for filing a 1099.    For more information about Qualified Joint Ventures, including who can make that election and how to make that election, please see https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/election-for-married-couples-unincorporated-businesses and Revenue Procedure 2002-69.        ... View more

@AmeliesUncle - Unfortunately, this is not a grey area. COBRA payments do not qualify for the self-employed health insurance deduction. To qualify, the insurance plan must be established, or considered to be established as discussed in the following bullets, under your business. For self-employed individuals filing a Schedule C, C-EZ, or F, a policy can be either in the name of the business or in the name of the individual. For partners, a policy can be either in the name of the partnership or in the name of the partner. You can either pay the premiums yourself or the partnership can pay them and report the premium amounts on Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) as guaranteed payments to be included in your gross income. However, if the policy is in your name and you pay the premiums yourself, the partnership must reimburse you and report the premium amounts on Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) as guaranteed payments to be included in your gross income. Otherwise, the insurance plan won’t be considered to be established under your business. For more-than-2% shareholders, a policy can be either in the name of the S corporation or in the name of the shareholder. You can either pay the premiums yourself or the S corporation can pay them and report the premium amounts on Form W-2 as wages to be included in your gross income. However, if the policy is in your name and you pay the premiums yourself, the S corporation must reimburse you and report the premium amounts on Form W-2 in box 1 as wages to be included in your gross income. Otherwise, the insurance plan won’t be considered to be established under your business.    For more information, please see: Deducting COBRA health insurance premiums and IRS Publication 535: ... View more

Yes, you can deduct the entire cost of the fence using the 100% bonus depreciation rules.   CAUTION: Please keep in mind that most states do not recognize the IRS rules allowing bonus deprecation so you may have to depreciate the fence as a land improvement on your state tax return (generally over 7 years if reported as farm land improvement on Schedule F or over 15 years if reported as a rental property on Schedule E).      As you mentioned in your original post, Publication 946 does correctly state that the fence does not qualify for the Section 179 deduction but it is not because you lease out the land, it is because land improvements do not qualify for the Section 179 deduction. Per page 17 of Pub. 946, "Land and land improvements do not qualify as section 179 property. Land improvements include swimming pools, paved parking areas, wharves, docks, bridges, and fences".     The portion of Pub 946 that you referenced, "Generally, you cannot claim a section 179 deduction if you lease the property to someone else." only applies to property you purchase in order to lease that same property to someone else (for example, if you buy a tractor for the purpose of leasing it to the cattle farmer, that tractor is not eligible for the Section 179 deduction).      The 100% bonus depreciation rules are much more flexible.      The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed into law in late 2017, allows businesses to immediately deduct 100% of the cost of eligible property in the year it is placed in service (it was formerly limited to 50% of eligible property).      To qualify as eligible property, the property must be one of the following:   MACRS property that has a recovery period of 20 years or less; computer software as defined in, and depreciated under, section 167(f)(1); water utility property as defined in section 168(e)(5) and depreciated under section 168; a qualified film or television production as defined in section 181(d) and for which a deduction would have been allowable under section 181 without regard to section 181(a)(2) and (g) or section 168(k); a qualified live theatrical production as defined in section 181(e) and for which a deduction would have been allowable under section 181 without regard to section 181(a)(2) and (g) or section 168(k); or a specified plant as defined in section 168(k)(5)(B) and for which the taxpayer has made an election to apply section 168(k)(5). As the fence is MACRS property with a recovery period of less than 20 years, it would qualify for 100% bonus depreciation.   More information regarding what property qualifies for bonus depreciation can be found at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/td-9874.pdf.  ... View more

I believe what you referring to is the limitation where you can’t take the self-employed health insurance deduction for any month you were eligible to participate in any employer (including your spouse's) subsidized health plan at any time during that month, even if you didn’t actually participate. As COBRA is generally not subsidized by the employer, and because if you cancel your COBRA coverage you then immediately become ineligible to participate in that employer's plan, you are free to setup your own policy (under your name or your business's name) and that policy would qualify for the self-employed heath insurance deduction.    I hope that clarifies my original response.  ... View more

You are correct that TurboTax for Business is Windows-only. As the return would only include minimal income and deductions, I recommend you fill out the forms by hand and mail them to the IRS and the state Department of Revenue. If you are not comfortable filling out the forms by hand, you may want to see if your business partner has a PC that can be used to download and use the TurboTax Business software at https://turbotax.intuit.com/small-business-taxes/ . While it is an extra expense, it may be worth it to ensure the tax return is filled out properly. The software also allows you to electronically file for free and the cost of the software would qualify as a tax deduction on the LLC's 2020 tax return.      ... View more

Unfortunately, COBRA policies do not meet the requirements for claiming the self-employed health insurance deduction. Specifically, as the COBRA policy would have been setup under the name of your prior employer, it does not meet the requirement of the policy being setup under your name or your business's name.    However, the premiums from your COBRA policy may be deductible as an itemized medical expense deduction on Schedule A to the extent that 1) your total out-of-pocket medical expenses are greater than 7.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income, and 2) your total itemized deductions are greater than your standard deduction.    See the following from IRS Publication 535:   The insurance plan must be established, or considered to be established as discussed in the following bullets, under your business. For self-employed individuals filing a Schedule C, C-EZ, or F, a policy can be either in the name of the business or in the name of the individual. For partners, a policy can be either in the name of the partnership or in the name of the partner. You can either pay the premiums yourself or the partnership can pay them and report the premium amounts on Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) as guaranteed payments to be included in your gross income. However, if the policy is in your name and you pay the premiums yourself, the partnership must reimburse you and report the premium amounts on Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) as guaranteed payments to be included in your gross income. Otherwise, the insurance plan won’t be considered to be established under your business. For more-than-2% shareholders, a policy can be either in the name of the S corporation or in the name of the shareholder. You can either pay the premiums yourself or the S corporation can pay them and report the premium amounts on Form W-2 as wages to be included in your gross income. However, if the policy is in your name and you pay the premiums yourself, the S corporation must reimburse you and report the premium amounts on Form W-2 in box 1 as wages to be included in your gross income. Otherwise, the insurance plan won’t be considered to be established under your business.   ... View more