Ernst & Young Tax Guide 2018, 33rd Edition

Ernst & Young Tax Guide 2018, 33rd Edition

by Ernst & Young LLP
Released November 2017
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781119383765

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Book description

Minimize your tax and maximize your 2017 return

The EY Tax Guide 2018 offers professional guidance for DIY tax prep. As one of the nation's most trusted resources for tax advice, this book can help you keep more of your money while filing completely, correctly, and on time. Fully updated to reflect the latest changes to the law, this new 2018 edition cuts through impenetrable tax codes and IRS rulings to give you the answers you need quickly and easily. Whether you're a homeowner, self-employed entrepreneur, business executive, or senior citizen, you'll discover the best tax strategy for your particular situation. At-a-Glance reference sheets give you quick answers to common questions regarding new laws, breaks and deductions, and how to avoid common errors.

No two tax years are alike. The laws change constantly, and even small changes can affect your return. This book cuts to the chase and tells you what's new, what it means for you, and what you can do to keep more of your money.

  • Get up to date on changes to tax law, and how they affect you
  • Identify breaks and deductions that can reduce your tax burden
  • Zero in on the best tax strategy for your particular situation
  • Find answers at a glance from globally-respected tax advisors

Avoid the headaches that come with parsing IRS worksheets and documentation—EY has already done it for you! The EY Tax Guide 2018 gives you the answers you need and clarity you crave, backed by globally-trusted expertise.

Table of contents

  1. Changes in the tax law you should know about
    1. IRS help for hurricane victims: a recap of key tax relief provisions available following Harvey, Irma, and Maria
    2. Important 2017 tax reminders
  2. How to avoid 25 common errors
  3. 50 of the most easily overlooked deductions
  4. Individual tax organizer
  5. Income and expense records you should keep in addition to your income tax return
  6. Part 1: The income tax return
    1. Chapter 1: Filing information
      1. Do I Have To File a Return?
      2. Which Form Should I Use?
      3. Why Should I File Electronically?
      4. When Do I Have To File?
      5. How Do I Prepare My Return?
      6. Where Do I File?
      7. What Happens After I File?
    2. Chapter 2: Filing status
      1. Marital Status
      2. Single
      3. Married Filing Jointly
      4. Married Filing Separately
      5. Head of Household
    3. Chapter 3: Personal exemptions and dependents
      1. Exemptions
      2. Phaseout of Exemptions
      3. Social Security Numbers for Dependents
    4. Chapter 4: Tax withholding and estimated tax
      1. What’s New for 2018
      2. Reminders
      3. Introduction
      4. Tax Withholding for 2018
      5. Estimated Tax for 2018
      6. Credit for Withholding and Estimated Tax for 2017
      7. Underpayment Penalty for 2017
  7. Part 2: Income
    1. Chapter 5: Wages, salaries, and other earnings
      1. Employee Compensation
      2. Miscellaneous Compensation
      3. Special Rules for Certain Employees
      4. Sickness and Injury Benefits
    2. Chapter 6: Tip income
      1. Keeping a Daily Tip Record
      2. Reporting Tips To Your Employer
      3. Reporting Tips on Your Tax Return
      4. Allocated Tips
    3. Chapter 7: Interest income
      1. General Information
      2. Taxable Interest
      3. When To Report Interest Income
      4. How To Report Interest Income
    4. Chapter 8: Dividends and other corporate distributions
      1. General Information
      2. Ordinary Dividends
      3. Capital Gain Distributions
      4. Nondividend Distributions
      5. Other Distributions
      6. How To Report Dividend Income
    5. Chapter 9: Rental income and expenses
      1. Introduction
      2. Rental Income
      3. Rental Expenses
      4. Repairs and Improvements
      5. Property Changed To Rental Use
      6. Renting Part of Property
      7. Not Rented for Profit
      8. Personal Use of Dwelling Unit (Including Vacation Home)
      9. Tangible Property Regulations
      10. Depreciation
      11. Limits on Rental Losses
      12. How To Report Rental Income and Expenses
    6. Chapter 10: Retirement plans, pensions, and annuities
      1. General Information
      2. Cost (Investment in the Contract)
      3. Taxation of Periodic Payments
      4. Taxation of Nonperiodic Payments
      5. Rollovers
      6. Special Additional Taxes
      7. Survivors and Beneficiaries
    7. Chapter 11: Social security and equivalent railroad retirement benefits
      1. Are Any of Your Benefits Taxable?
      2. How To Report Your Benefits
      3. Examples
      4. Deductions Related To Your Benefits
      5. Repayments More Than Gross Benefits
    8. Chapter 12: Other income
      1. Bartering
      2. Canceled Debts
      3. Host or Hostess
      4. Life Insurance Proceeds
      5. Partnership Income
      6. S Corporation Income
      7. Recoveries
      8. Rents from Personal Property
      9. Repayments
      10. Royalties
      11. Unemployment Benefits
      12. Welfare and Other Public Assistance Benefits
      13. Other Sickness and Injury Benefits
      14. Other Income
      15. Passive Activity Limitations and At-Risk Limitations
  8. Part 3: Gains and losses
    1. Chapter 13: Basis of property
      1. Cost Basis
      2. Adjusted Basis
      3. Basis Other Than Cost
    2. Chapter 14: Sale of property
      1. Sales and Trades
      2. Capital Gains and Losses
    3. Chapter 15: Selling your home
      1. Main Home
      2. Figuring Gain or Loss
      3. Excluding the Gain
      4. Business Use or Rental of Home
      5. Reporting the Sale
      6. Special Situations
      7. Recapturing (Paying Back) a Federal Mortgage Subsidy
    4. CHAPTER 16: Reporting gains and losses
      1. Reporting Capital Gains and Losses
      2. Capital Gain Tax Rates
  9. Part 4: Adjustments to income
    1. CHAPTER 17: Individual retirement arrangements (IRAs)
      1. What’s New for 2017
      2. Traditional IRAs
      3. Roth IRAs
    2. CHAPTER 18: Alimony
      1. General Rules
      2. Instruments Executed After 1984
      3. How To Deduct Alimony Paid
      4. How To Report Alimony Received
      5. Recapture Rule
    3. Chapter 19: Education-related adjustments
      1. Student Loan Interest Deduction
      2. Educator Expenses
      3. Tuition and Fees Deduction
      4. Figuring the Deduction
      5. Effect of the Amount of Your Income on the Amount of Your Deduction
      6. Claiming the Deduction
    4. Chapter 20: Moving expenses
  10. Part 5: Standard deduction and itemized deductions
    1. Chapter 21: Standard deduction
      1. Standard Deduction Amount
      2. Standard Deduction for Dependents
      3. Who Should Itemize
    2. Chapter 22: Medical and dental expenses
      1. What Are Medical Expenses?
      2. What Expenses Can You Include This Year?
      3. How Much of the Expenses Can You Deduct?
      4. Whose Medical Expenses Can You Include?
      5. What Medical Expenses Are Includible?
      6. How Do You Treat Reimbursements?
      7. Damages for Personal Injuries
      8. How Do You Figure and Report the Deduction on Your Tax Return?
      9. Impairment-Related Work Expenses
      10. Health Insurance Costs for Self-Employed Persons
    3. Chapter 23: Taxes you may deduct
      1. Tests To Deduct Any Tax
      2. Income Taxes
      3. State and Local General Sales Taxes
      4. Real Estate Taxes
      5. Personal Property Taxes
      6. Taxes and Fees You Cannot Deduct
      7. Where To Deduct
    4. Chapter 24: Interest expense
      1. Home Mortgage Interest
      2. Mortgage Insurance Premiums
      3. Investment Interest
      4. Items You Cannot Deduct
      5. Allocation of Interest
      6. How To Report
    5. Chapter 25: Contributions
      1. Organizations That Qualify To Receive Deductible Contributions
      2. Contributions You Can Deduct
      3. Contributions From Which You Benefit
      4. Contributions You Cannot Deduct
      5. Contributions of Property
      6. When To Deduct
      7. Limits on Deductions
      8. Records To Keep
      9. How To Report
    6. Chapter 26: Nonbusiness casualty and theft losses
      1. Casualty
      2. Theft
      3. Loss on Deposits
      4. Proof of Loss
      5. Figuring a Loss
      6. Deduction Limits
      7. When To Report Gains and Losses
      8. How To Report Gains and Losses
    7. Chapter 27: Car expenses and other employee business expenses
      1. Travel Expenses
      2. Entertainment Expenses
      3. Gift Expenses
      4. Transportation Expenses
      5. Recordkeeping
      6. How To Report
    8. Chapter 28: Tax benefits for work-related education
      1. Qualifying Work-Related Education
      2. Education To Meet Minimum Requirements
      3. What Expenses Can Be Deducted
      4. Reimbursements
      5. Deducting Business Expenses
      6. Recordkeeping
    9. Chapter 29: Miscellaneous deductions
      1. Deductions Subject to the 2% Limit
      2. Deductions Not Subject to the 2% Limit
      3. Nondeductible Expenses
    10. Chapter 30: Limit on itemized deductions
      1. Are You Subject to the Limit?
      2. Which Itemized Deductions Are Limited?
      3. Which Itemized Deductions Are Not Limited?
      4. How Do You Figure the Limit?
  11. Part 6: Figuring your taxes and credits
    1. Chapter 31: How to figure your tax
      1. Figuring Your Tax
      2. Alternative Minimum Tax
      3. Additional Medicare Tax
      4. Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT)
      5. Tax Figured by IRS
    2. Chapter 32: Tax on unearned income of certain children
      1. Which Parent’s Return to Use
      2. Parent’s Election To Report Child’s Interest and Dividends
      3. Tax for Certain Children Who Have Unearned Income
    3. Chapter 33: Child and dependent care credit
      1. Can You Claim the Credit?
      2. How To Figure the Credit
      3. How To Claim the Credit
      4. Do You Have Household Employees?
    4. Chapter 34: Credit for the elderly or the disabled
      1. Are You Eligible for the Credit?
      2. How To Claim the Credit
    5. Chapter 35: Child tax credit
      1. Qualifying Child
      2. Amount of Credit
      3. Claiming the Credit
      4. Additional Child Tax Credit
      5. Completing Schedule 8812 (Form 1040A or 1040)
    6. Chapter 36: Education credits and other education tax benefits
      1. Who Can Claim an Education Credit
      2. Qualified Education Expenses
    7. Chapter 37: Premium Tax Credit (PTC)
      1. What Is the Premium Tax Credit (PTC)?
      2. Who Can Take the PTC?
      3. How To Take the PTC?
    8. Chapter 38: Other credits including the earned income credit
      1. Nonrefundable Credits
      2. Refundable Credits
      3. Earned Income Credit (EIC)
      4. Reminders
      5. Do You Qualify for the Credit?
  12. Part 7: Special situations and tax planning
    1. Chapter 39: Self-employment income: How to file Schedule C
      1. Who Must File Schedule C
      2. What Is Included In Net Self-Employment Earnings?
      3. How To Determine Items of Income and Expenses
      4. Sales of Business Property Used in Your Business
      5. Business Tax Credit
      6. Special Situations
      7. How To Complete Schedule SE Line By Line, Briefly
    2. Chapter 40: Mutual funds
      1. Tax Treatment of Distributions
      2. Sales, Exchanges, and Redemptions
      3. Keeping Track of Your Basis
      4. Gains and Losses
      5. Holding Period
      6. How To Figure Gains and Losses on Form 8949 and Schedule D
      7. Capital Losses
      8. Investment Expenses
      9. Limit on Investment Interest Expense
    3. Chapter 41: What to do if you employ domestic help
      1. Reminder
      2. Employment Taxes for Household Employers
    4. Chapter 42: U.S. citizens working abroad: Tax treatment of foreign earned income
      1. How To Qualify for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion
      2. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion
      3. The Foreign Housing Exclusion
      4. Employer-Provided Meals and Lodging
      5. Foreign Tax Credit
    5. Chapter 43: Foreign citizens living in the United States
      1. Determining Your Status
      2. Election To Be Treated as a Resident
      3. How Resident Aliens Are Taxed
      4. Rules for Individuals Giving Up U.S. Citizenship or U.S. Residency
      5. Dual-Status Aliens
      6. How Nonresident Aliens Are Taxed
      7. Departing from the United States
    6. Chapter 44: Decedents: Dealing with the death of a family member
      1. Personal Representative
      2. Final Return for the Decedent
      3. Tax Effect on Others
    7. Chapter 45: Estate and gift tax planning
      1. Getting Started
      2. Estate Tax Fundamentals
      3. How Your Estate Is Taxed
      4. The Fundamentals of the Gift Tax
      5. The Generation-Skipping Transfer (GST) Tax
      6. How To Use Trusts
      7. How To Raise Cash To Pay Estate Taxes
      8. Concerns Regarding Community Property
      9. Estate Planning—Steps To Take Now
    8. Chapter 46: Everything you need to know about e-filing
      1. Information You’ll Need to E-File
      2. Making Tax Payments
      3. Methods of E-Filing
    9. Chapter 47: If your return is examined
      1. IRS Declaration of Taxpayer Rights
      2. Examinations, Appeals, Collections, and Refunds
      3. Appeals
      4. Collections
      5. Potential Third-Party Contacts
      6. Claims for Refunds
    10. Chapter 48: Rules for expensing and capitalizing tangible property used in a trade or business
    11. Chapter 49: Net investment income tax
    12. Chapter 50: Planning ahead for 2018 and beyond
      1. Year-End and Ongoing Tax Planning Considerations
      2. Affordable Care Act (ACA) Individual Provisions
      3. Inflation Adjustments for 2018
  13. Chapter 51: 2017 tax rate schedules
  14. Index
  15. EULA

Product information

  • Title: Ernst & Young Tax Guide 2018, 33rd Edition
  • Author(s): Ernst & Young LLP
  • Release date: November 2017
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781119383765