LocumLife - October 2008 - (Page 8)

RESOURCES Med Ec-cerpts Highlights from Medical Economics Money management CONTRIBUTING TO A SPOUSAL IRA Q. I am covered by a retirement plan at work, but as a locum tenens physician, my husband is not. What is the maximum deductible contribution we can make for him to a traditional IRA for 2008? A: If your joint adjusted gross income (AGI) is $159,000 or less and you file a joint tax return, you can make a deductible contribution of up to $5,000. That limit rises to $6,000 if your husband is 50 or older. Once your joint AGI tops $159,000, however, the size of your deduction starts shrinking, and it disappears entirely when your joint AGI reaches $169,000. GET FIRST-CLASS SEATS AT A DISCOUNT Q: I have heard that it is sometimes possible to ﬂy ﬁrst class for less than an airline’s advertised price for such seats. Do you know anything about this? A: You would need to find a flight with a “Y up” or “Q up” fare—airlinespeak for heavily discounted first-class seats. Naturally, the airlines do not advertise these gems, though. Your travel agent may be able to track one down for you. TWO WAYS TO BENEFIT FROM ONE DONATION Q: I have decided to dump some stocks that have lost money. Since I also want to boost my tax deduction for charitable donations, I may give the shares to my favorite charity or sell them and donate the proceeds. Which approach is best? A: Sell the stocks and donate the cash. That way, not only can you deduct the charitable gift, but you can also use the capital loss from the stock sale to offset any capital gains from other investments. What if you do not have any capital gains this year? Then you can deduct some or all of the loss from your ordinary income—up to $3,000 worth if you are married and file a joint tax return with your spouse, or $1,500 if you file separately or you are single. If your capital loss totals more than $3,000, the excess will be carried forward so you will be able to take advantage of it in the future. CLOSING A CREDIT ACCOUNT WILL NOT MAKE IT GO AWAY Q: I am thinking about closing some high-interest credit card accounts that I am no longer using. Will this remove the accounts from my credit record? A: No. Accounts you have paid off in full generally remain on your credit record for up to 10 years after they are closed. Those with delinquent balances stay on your record for 7 years, and if you made late payments on an account, that information also remains for 7 years. IRA ADVISORY FEES Q. An IRA I set up years ago now has a sizable balance, but I am not sure the investments in it are still appropriate. If I have an investment manager review them and advise me, can I deduct the fees? A: As long as the advisory fees are “ordinary and necessary” and you pay them separately rather than have the manager subtract them from your IRA assets, you should be able to deduct them. You can include the fees with your other investment-related expenses on Schedule A of your tax return and deduct the portion that exceeds 2% of your adjusted gross income. L L WHO CAN CLAIM A PARENT AS A DEPENDENT? Q In recent years, my brothers and I have had to pool resources to help our dad, who has little annual income besides Social Security. This year, our combined payments will total more than half his support. Can we claim him as a dependent? A. One of you may be able to if that person has paid for at least 10% of your father’s support, none of you has paid more than half, and your father’s gross income does not top $3,500 in 2008. You can decide among yourselves who will get the dependency exemption. That sibling must ﬁle Form 2120, “Multiple Support Declaration,” with his 2008 tax return. He also must get signed statements from the others waiving their right to claim the exemption for that year. Each year, a different sibling can claim the exemption, if you want to take turns. This department originally appeared in Medical Economics, a sister publication. For subscription information, call 877-922-2022. www.memag.com 8 LocumLife OCTOBER 2008 www.LocumLife.com http://www.memag.com http://www.LocumLife.com

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LocumLife - October 2008 Insights Editorial Contents From Nalto STAT! The Basics Med Ec-cerpts Last-Minute Luxury Where Do You Stand? Gastroentrerology Career Center Advertiser Index Opportunities Direct Destinations Passport - Cairo, Egypt Contest Rules Anyone's Guess La Vita Locum

LocumLife - October 2008

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