Frank Degen Quotations

I would encourage the children to be open. Ask your parents in general terms if they want some help discussing it, or in setting up a meeting to talk about it with a professional.

He's going to lose on eight of them, because he's past the three-year statute.

Previously, someone like a plumber, who may have run his office from home and had a secretary there, could not take this deduction because he provided goods and services outside the home. Of course, the IRS realized the inequity there and changed the rules.

You can be looking at 25 percent of the tax that is owed, plus all the interest. If you don't pay then the IRS can take some pretty Draconian measures.

The rate at which the profit is taxed depends on whether or not the property depreciated in value.

When people sell funds from one family to another -- say, Fidelity to Janus -- they know they've triggered a taxable event. But when people sell one Fidelity fund and buy a different Fidelity fund, they don't realize that's taxable as well.

There's no easy answer here. It's not like you can say (that) when the parent turns 72 they should automatically turn their finances over to their children.

There will some unpleasant surprises and a sense of loss among single parents who have adult children living with them when they file this year.

A lot of parents are very reluctant to share their financial history. They might have a wonderful relationship with their children emotionally, but when it comes to finances, not too many are always ready to talk about that.

Always file your tax return on time, even if you don't have the money. The biggest penalty is late filing.

They do it one year and they think maybe no news is good news.

The new rule is much more friendly to taxpayers. Only sales of more than $500,000 for married couples and $250,000 for single people have to be reported. So you don't need to keep records unless you think you home may sell for more than that amount.

It used to be much more advantageous prior to the change (in 1993). There's been a lot more tightening.

The IRS will hold back a part of a refund if the two names don't match.