I'd start with craigs list too Linda. You said about 600 to get in running and then some body work. For the most part body work and paint cost more.... so if that damage is limited don't sell yourself short on the asking price. Be sure and repost your ad often too. Those lists load up fast and you will be many pages down in short order. If you decide to donate I know some community colleges and vo-tech schools will come and pic it up for you. Some even have a budget for buying cars/trucks for their classes. We had a family friend that was a instructer for this course at one of our vo-techs. I know you just outside of a major metro area so I'm thinking you will have no problem what ever you decide to do. David

I would ask your subs if they charged you any sales tax on the materials they used in your home and if so if you could have that documented on your receipt from them. You need a receipt or invoice that shows what sales tax you are deducting in case you are ever audited. Even the numbers that I backed into on my example I gave above, I went to Lowes and Home Depot afterwards and had them pull up my receipts (one advantage to using a credit card) and print them off so that I would have them for backup in case the IRS ever came looking. States vary greatly on how they determine when sales tax is collected. Does Texas charge sales tax on the sale of a newly constructed home? If so, the builder would be exempt from paying sales tax on material that was used in the building of the home. Therefor your subs may not have charged you any and that is why it is not on their invoice. However, like I said, sales tax law varies greatly from state to state and I wouldn't want to give you advice there as I'm not a Texan. Maybe someone else here knows or you could research it on the internet or ask a local accountant. As far as the cost basis goes, any sales tax you deduct and any energy credits you take will reduce your cost basis. The $250,000/$500,000 exclusion only applies if you have lived in your home more than 2 years. If you sell before then and have a profit you will need to know your cost basis and pay tax on the gain. And after the two years are up if you are lucky enough to have that kind of a gain you will also need to be able to figure your cost basis. So in short just keep good records of all your costs and any tax deductions & credits that you do end up taking. I would still take the sales tax deduction as it is guaranteed benefit to you this year whereas the other is hypothetical and unpredictable and a dollar saved today is always worth more than a dollar saved in the future. The IRS allows a standard deduction for sales tax if you do not have your receipts for all normal daily purchases. Sales tax on construction costs are deductible above and beyond that standard deduction so it can amount to quite a bit. I'd say just ask your subs and see what they can come up with. They may not have charged you any sales tax. If they charged you tax they are responsible for reporting and paying that to the state so they would have records. If they paid sales tax on materials and didn't charge you any sales tax then you are probably out of luck. In theory, sales tax is typically charged to the end user but that isn't how it always works out. And some states charge sales tax on the sale of a home and others do not so if varies on who is considered the end user. Sorry for the long winded explanation. Hope it make sense.

No, You can only deduct tuition and fees deduction or education credits for yourself, your spouse and people listed as dependents on your return. Your daughter can claim the credit or deduction even if you pay the expenses.

"I'd say it's well worth looking into, by asking someone who is a certified accountant (skip the employees of that highly advertised store front tax chain--they only get a few weeks course in tax prep, and the returns they prepare have a very high percentage of being audited)." Azzalea Please remember that not all CPAs are good tax preparers. There are many who are. Most CPAs donÂt actually prepare the returns themselves. They have a "back room" that does the tax prep. The CPA may review the return in detail or may not even look at it. What Azzalea says about the chain tax prep firms is a common misconception. There are tax preparers at those chains that have been doing taxes for over 10 or more years. I know several that have been doing tax returns for over 20 years with those big chains. IÂd like to know where azzalea got the information that leads azzalea to believe that the chains have a very high percentage of audits. I have never seen a statistic published by the IRS that shows this. The key to finding a tax person is to ask about their experience with returns similar to yours. Ask about the guarantee that your return is done correctly. Ask if they will go to an audit for no additional fee if you audited. Back to the original question, whether or not you have enough medical expenses depends on your situation, your income, your medical expenses and how many other itemized deductions you have.