Ask Liz Weston

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Liz Weston

Q&A: More on those lost home improvement receipts

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Dear Liz: You recently answered a question from a home seller who had lost documentation about improvements. The improvements most likely required building permits, which would have indicated the scope of improvements and, possibly, the cost as well. The local building department will have copies of those permits on file, and they can be obtained at a modest cost.

Answer: Thank you. The original letter writer had lost their documents in a house fire, a circumstance now shared by far too many in the Los Angeles area, thanks to the recent wildfires.

To recap, the value of qualifying home improvements can reduce the taxable gain when a house is sold. But if audited, sellers probably would need some kind of proof the work was done.

Mark Luscombe, principal analyst for Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting, suggested asking any contractors that were hired to provide verification of the projects and to check with the property tax assessor to see if the improvements were reflected in the home’s assessment. Photos of the home reflecting the improvements could also help in an audit, Luscombe says.

Q&A: That Social Security check is in the mail. Or will be someday.

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Dear Liz: I was previously denied a portion of my husband’s Social Security because I received a government pension, and the offset rule made me ineligible. Now that the law is being changed, I’m wondering if I would be eligible to receive survivor benefits from Social Security, as my husband is now deceased.

Answer: The Social Security Fairness Act, which did away with the windfall elimination provision and the government pension offset, was signed into law Jan. 5. These two provisions affected people who earned pensions from government jobs that didn’t pay into Social Security.

Social Security says that no action is needed if you have previously filed for benefits that were partially or completely offset, but that you should make sure the agency has your current address and direct deposit information. You can do that by creating or updating a mySocialSecurity account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount. People receiving government pensions who haven’t applied for Social Security can do so at www.ssa.gov/apply.

Social Security is still working on implementing this major change, but you can look for updates at www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/social-security-fairness-act.html.

Q&A: Elderly and cash-strapped, a couple consider a proposal to sell their home to neighbors

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Dear Liz: I’m 80 years old and my wife is 76. Our only retirement income is Social Security, and we have less than $50,000 in savings. We have about $600,000 equity in our house, which we bought in 1971. We presently have property taxes deferred, at 6% interest. The house is in disrepair.

We have two neighbors who are willing to buy the house after one or both of us die. The neighbors are willing to postpone occupancy and contribute to mutually agreed-upon home repair costs, which will be deducted from the selling price. Details will all be in the contract. These payments will greatly improve our lives. What could go wrong?

Answer: Well, a lot, which is why you need an experienced real estate attorney to represent you if you go ahead.

It’s not clear from your letter if your neighbors are locking in a sale price now, which would mean you and your wife (or your estates) would give up future price appreciation. Are the payments simply contributions toward the repairs or are they purchase payments? Also, what happens if you need to tap your equity to pay for long-term care? If you or your neighbors want out of the deal, would that be possible? Those and many more details need to be thought through.

But your situation, and your proposed solution, are not that unusual, says Los Angeles estate planning attorney Burton Mitchell. Many older people with highly appreciated properties don’t want to sell their homes and trigger taxable gains in excess of the $250,000-per-owner home sale exclusion.

Another alternative to consider is a reverse mortgage, which could allow you to tap your equity while you remain in the home. You wouldn’t have to make payments on this loan, and the balance would not be due until you and your wife die, sell the home or move out.

Q&A: When receipts of home renovations are lost, is the tax break gone too?

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Dear Liz: I have sold my family home recently after almost 50 years. I had done lots of improvements throughout those years. Due to a fire 15 years ago, all the documentation for these improvements has been destroyed. How do I document the improvements for the capital gains tax calculation?

Answer: As you probably know, you can exclude $250,000 of capital gains from the sale of a principal residence as long as you own and live in the home at least two of the previous five years. The exclusion is $500,000 for a couple.

Once upon a time, that meant few homeowners had to worry about capital gains taxes on the sale of their home. But the exclusion amounts haven’t changed since they were created in 1997, even as home values have soared. Qualifying home improvements can be used to increase your tax basis in the home and thus decrease your tax bill, but the IRS probably will demand proof of those changes should you be audited.

You could ask any contractors you used who are still in business if they will provide written verification of the work they performed, suggests Mark Luscombe, principal analyst for Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting. You also could check your home’s history with your property tax assessor to see if its assessment was adjusted to reflect any of the improvements.

At a minimum, prepare a list from memory of the improvements you made, including the year and the approximate cost. If you don’t have pictures of the house reflecting the changes, perhaps friends and relatives might. This won’t be the best evidence, Luscombe concedes, but it might get the IRS to accept at least some increase in your tax basis.

If you’re a widow or widower, there’s another tax break you should know about. At least part of your home would have gotten a step-up in tax basis if you were married and your co-owner spouse died. In most states, the half owned by the deceased spouse would get a new tax basis reflecting the home’s current market value. In community property states such as California, both halves of the house get this step-up. A tax pro can provide more details.

Other homeowners should take note of the importance of keeping good digital records. While documents may not be lost in a fire, they may be misplaced, accidentally discarded or (in the case of receipts) so faded they’re illegible. To make sure documents are available when you need them, consider scanning or taking photographs of your records and keeping multiple copies, such as one set in your computer and another in a secure cloud account.

Q&A: When an employee is misclassified as contractor

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Dear Liz: A parent recently wrote to you about a son who was being paid as a contractor. I know someone else who got a job that did not “take out taxes from his paycheck.” Such workers believe they are pocketing more money, but unfortunately, too many do not know about the nature of withholding. They only learn if they choose to file for their expected refund, but instead discover an exorbitant tax liability that a paycheck-to-paycheck worker cannot pay.

The sad fact is that many of these employers improperly classify their workers, who are truly employees, as independent contractors! And they do this to avoid paying their own portion of Social Security and unemployment taxes and also workers compensation insurance.

If workers believe that they have been misclassified (the IRS website provides all criteria), they can file IRS Form SS-8 and Form 8919, which will allow them to pay only their allocated half of their Social Security taxes. Hopefully the IRS will then contact these employers to correct their wrong classifications. And finally, it should be a law that, when hired, all true independent contractors should be given a clear form (not fine print on their employment agreements) that informs them of their status and the need to make estimated tax payments.

Answer: A big factor in determining whether a worker is an employee or contractor is control. Who controls what the worker does and how the worker does the job? The more control that’s in the employer’s hands, the more likely the worker is an employee.

However, the IRS notes that there are no hard and fast rules and that “factors which are relevant in one situation may not be relevant in another.”

The form you mentioned, IRS Form SS-8, also can be filed by any employer unsure if a worker is properly classified.

Q&A: Be aware of these issues when switching between Medicare Advantage and Medicare

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Dear Liz: I am planning to retire this year. If I choose a Medicare Advantage Plan, am I able to switch back to original Medicare without paying a fine?

Answer: Medicare won’t charge you extra, but you won’t necessarily have “guaranteed issue” rights for a Medigap supplemental policy. If you want to switch after the first 12 months, you could pay a lot more for this important supplemental coverage.

To recap, Medicare Advantage plans are the all-in-one alternative to original Medicare.

Medicare Advantage plans may offer types of coverage that original Medicare does not, such as hearing, dental or eye care. Many people like the fact that their Advantage plans seem to include more than original Medicare, and do so for a low or even no additional monthly premium.

But Medicare Advantage plans are offered by private insurers, which typically have networks of medical providers. These networks, as well as other benefits, can change from year to year. If you get care outside the networks, you typically pay more — sometimes a lot more. The rap on Medicare Advantage plans is that they can be great when you’re healthy, but depending on the plan may not be so great if you get sick.

With original Medicare, benefits remain the same and you can use any provider that accepts Medicare (the vast majority do). But original Medicare coverage has significant gaps, which is why you’ll need a Medigap plan offered by a private insurer.

If you opt for original Medicare when you are first eligible, insurers are required to issue you a Medigap policy and can’t charge you more based on your health status. Without guaranteed issue, an insurer can refuse to write you a Medigap policy or charge you a lot more.

You also have guaranteed issue rights if you buy a Medicare Advantage plan when you first become eligible for Medicare, but decide within 12 months to switch to original Medicare.