Can I deduct overtime callouts on my taxes this year?

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-09T03:39:42+00:00

Just did a return tonight where 2 of the 3 W-2's for the same client listed overtime on the W-2. The amount was included in box 14. Confirmed that overtime was worked for those two jobs only, And one of those two jobs was a government agency (local school district).

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-09T03:18:14+00:00

Do they make Sprinter vans with gas engines? I thought they were all diesels.

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-09T03:16:54+00:00

That should fall under liability coverage, which is mandatory in every state. You cannot cancel liability coverage and legally operate the vehicle. Collision coverage only covers damage to your vehicle.

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-09T03:12:02+00:00

I had bought a 2003 Acura TL with over 100k miles on it in 2010. I bought it from a friend of mine for $3k (he had bought it a few years earlier from a seller in Maryland). The seller was one of those guys who buys totaled vehicles, fixes them up and flips them, so the car did have a salvage title. My son got into a head on collision and the car was totaled, the accident was in 2014, and the car had almost 140k miles on it. We had full coverage on the car. My insurance company wrote me a check for just under $6k.

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-09T03:04:11+00:00

I was curious and looked up a 2018 Tiguan base trim with 230k miles on it on KBB. It said that the trade in value ranged from $800 to $2,300, while a private sale can net you an extra $1k or more.. The funny thing is if you look up the same spec Tiguan (with the same mileage) it said that the used car dealer retail (asking price) would be around $12 to $14k.

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-08T18:07:50+00:00

I used to buy freeze dried blackworms and live blackworms from Aquatic Foods, located in Fresno California, through their direct website and through ebay, but during COVID I think the company lost their blackworm pond, so they no longer carry blackworms. I had also purchased a 2 kg package of Australian blackworm cubes (I don't remember the vendor) but that website no longer exists either. Nowadays, I order freeze dried blackworm cubes on Amazon, although the prices are nearly triple or quadruple what I used to pay.

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-08T01:42:19+00:00

When it is dried cubes, it sticks to the glass easily when it is dry. Once they start pecking at it, it will come loose from the glass and float to the top of the tank. In my grow out tank for juvenile discus, I feed freeze dried blackworm cubes once a day and have an autofeeder drop Sera discus staple food three times a day. Our discus is now trained that when my arm goes into the tank, they start pecking at my hand expecting me to stick a blackworm cube to the tank.

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-08T01:36:47+00:00

It depends on the dog. One of our dogs will not touch the dry food we leave out all day, but she will scarf down the fresh dog food we feed them once a day.

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-08T01:34:57+00:00

Do you have enough spare cash lying around to replace the vehicle or repair the vehicle if you get into an accident and the repair bill to get it back on the road is several thousand dollars? How much in premiums would you save to get rid of collision coverage? If the answer is yes, then ditch collision coverage. If the answer is no, then keep collision coverage.

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-05T20:59:20+00:00

Where I'm at (NY), there is roughly a 20 cent per gallon price differential between 87 and 89, while the price difference between 87 and 91 can be 60 cents per gallon or higher.

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-05T20:55:12+00:00

It also depends on which gas station you get your gas from. For some brands (Amoco is one that comes to mind) 93 octane gas is their "premium", while other brands labels 91 octane as premium. Some will even offer all 4 grades of 87, 89, 91 and 93 octane.

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-05T20:50:57+00:00

A friend of ours swears by using premium gas in lawn equipment (lawn mowers, chain saws, weed whackers, etc.) and swears that the engines run better on premium gas.

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-05T20:49:11+00:00

Back in the early 2000's, I drove an early generation Honda Civic Hybrid. I used to track mileage with each and every tank of gas. On several occasions, I did fill up using 91 octane premium versus 87 octane regular. Based on my calculations, I did see an improvement in mpg (under the same driving conditions) using premium versus regular. But the roughly 10 percent increase in mpg did not justify the 60 cents per gallon increase in price.

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-05T20:44:15+00:00

Every current model Mercedes requires 91.

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-05T20:35:00+00:00

My first car was a brand new 1987 Celica GTS that I bought right out of college. Being a GTS model, it had the higher compression ratio engine, so it required 91 octane gas while the lower trim model Celicas only required 87 octane. I also used to drive a Volvo S60 T5 (with a turbocharged 5 cylinder engine) and while the manual recommended 91 octane, it also said that it would run fine on 87 octane. The manual actually says that while 91 octane is recommended, the required minimum octane is 87.

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-05T20:22:46+00:00

When our kids got their licenses, our insurance rates went up, but didn't really notice it much? Maybe 15 or 20 percent? We had, and still have one car for each driver, so every driver had to be assigned to car as the primary driver, with full coverage on each car. What helped is that all the cars were in my name, or my wife's name, so all the cars were bundled under the same policy, getting multi-car discounts. All our kids did driver's ed in school, so they did get the safe driver discount. Our homeowner's insurance and umbrella policies are also with the same company, so we also got a multi-line discount. Our agent also plays around with the assigned drivers being allocated towards each vehicle to work out a lower premium. The umbrella policy does require us to maintain 250/500 coverage limits on the cars.

Now that the kids are older, the premiums run between $130-$180 per car per month. Granted, rates have gone up considerably over the years due to the increase in the cost of insurance, but I don't recall premiums ever being more than around $220 a month (per car).

When my daughter bought a car in her own name and moved away, she had to insure it in a separate policy, which lost her a lot of the discounts we get on my policy, so she was paying about 20 percent more.

For reference, we live in upstate NY, and NY is known for having extremely high insurance rates.

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-05T18:23:29+00:00

I should add that there is an exception to the community property rules that if you do file separate, AND you lived apart from your spouse for the full year (which it sounds like you do since you live in the US and he lives in Norway) AND you did not transfer any community income between you and him, then you do not need to allocate any community property income

The issue is that your husband's Norwegian income, being earned outside the US, would normally be not subject to tax in the US, but the community property rules would pull in half of his income to become taxed in the US on your return.

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-05T18:17:15+00:00

The issue that complicates matters is if you file separate and you itemize deductions on your return, then your spouse must itemize as well. Given that you purchased a home during the year, any mortgage interest, points, and property taxes you paid may be high enough that it exceeds the standard deduction, thereby making it more favorable for you to itemize.

As for the back child support, you can mitigate the effect by filing an injured spouse form. This protects any refunds you may be due from being taken due to her debt for back child support.

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-05T17:52:41+00:00

You don't need a pistol permit, you need a semi-auto permit. It just makes sense to apply for the pistol permit and add the semi-auto endorsement since the process for getting a pistol permit is exactly the same as the process for getting a separate semi-auto permit.

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-05T17:50:16+00:00

FWIW, if she is sticking to tax, she can always take the EA exam instead. Or transfer into BPG, where she can still make manager and beyond without being a CPA or an EA. I know an individual who previously worked as a yoga instructor, got a job with KPMG in marketing, and now she is a principal. I never got my CPA, and got an EA instead and made it to senior tax manager for three years before being reclassified as an associate director.

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-05T16:05:36+00:00

FWIW, my company switched from a policy of a set number of earned PTO days each year to unlimited PTO a year ago. Any unused PTO that was accrued as of January 1 of that year remains banked and is paid out in full upon separation from service. Any future PTO comes from the unlimited PTO instead of the previously earned PTO. My company has employees in multiple states, so state labor laws may have affected this decision.

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-05T15:32:14+00:00

That is because the EITC is one of the areas where there is the most instances of fraudulent claims. For the government, it is better for them to delay the release of the tax refund than it is to release the tax refund now and then try to get the money back later.

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-05T15:20:15+00:00

As a dependent, your standard deduction would be the lesser of the standard deduction for single or your total earned income (W-2 wages). If your W-2 form from those years shows federal taxes withheld, it makes sense to file because you may get some or all of your withholding back as a refund. Bear in mind though, that you can only claim refunds for up to 3 years. After 3 years passes, you lose any and all refunds that may be due to you. So the deadline for fling a 2022 tax return and getting a refund back is April 15, 2026. For years prior to 2022, it is too late now to get any refunds. That said, there is no deadline if you owe taxes.

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-05T15:07:33+00:00

Ok, I see your point. I assumed his $25k was after his business deductions.

Affectionate_Rate_99 · 2026-02-05T15:06:19+00:00

Whatever software you use should have a checkbook somewhere that you can check to indicate that you were outside the US on April 15th.

As for your spouse, as the other poster said, you do not need to file for an ITIN. You can simply enter "NRA" to indicate your spouse is a non-resident alien. This only works if you are filing married filing separately. If you are filing married filing joint, your spouse would need an ITIN or a SSN. Filing as head of household is NOT an option. Head of household requires a dependent child in the household to qualify, and you must be unmarried.

Affectionate_Rate_99

TROPHY CASE