WHAT’S THE BUZZ, TELL ME WHAT’S A HAPPENNIN’ - TUESDAY EDITION

* It’s here!  The November issue of THE TAX PROFESSIONAL, my free online monthly newsletter for tax preparers that is.  Check it out – and please let me know your thoughts on the issues I discuss.   

* Are you thinking about changing tax preparers?  Or will you be needing a professional tax preparer for the first time to prepare your 2014 returns?  Now, when you should be working on year-end tax planning, is a good time to start your search. 

Check out my website Find a Tax Professional for advice and resources.

* When you go to vote today (against any incumbent member of Congress, and, taking priority, against any candidate who supports or belongs to the Tea Party)  - and do be sure to go out and vote today - remember, as Kay Bell points out at DON’T MESS WITH TAXES, “Voters Get Their Say Nov. 4 on Myriad Ballot Initiatives”, including several tax-related issues.

* Jason Dinesen provides a review of “Same-Sex Marriage and State Taxes: 2014” at DINESEN TAX TIMES.

* Yesterday I asked “To Extend or Not to Extend”.  Sterling Raskie asks “To Roll or Not to Roll” at GETTING YOUR FINANCIAL DUCKS IN A ROW.  He is talking about rolling over your 401(k) to an IRA when you change jobs or retire.  

* Brian Stoner is correct when he identifies “The question nobody asks: is all the mortgage interest my bank form 1098s show deductible?” at the top of his post “Burbank CPA Tax Musings: Deductibility Of Mortgage Interest On Your Taxes”.

Most taxpayers simply deduct in full, without review, the amount reported as mortgage interest on the Form 1098s they receive, and 99% of clients simply give their tax preparers their Form 1098s and think nothing of it. 

The answer to the question Brian poses is the answer to just about every “is it deductible” or “is it taxable” question – IT DEPENDS.

Brian briefly outlines some of the rules for determining the amount of deductible mortgage interest.

I go into more depth on the subject in “Deducting Mortgage Interest”.

* Beverly DeVeny answers the question “Do I Have a Required Distribution From my IRA This Year?” at THE SLOTT REPORT.

* According to IR-2014-102 “IRS Announces Tax Guidance Related to Ebola Outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone”. 

TTFN