Part 1 was all about the debt forgiveness, but there are a number of other items where Minnesota does not conform to the federal rules in 2013. Some items are relatively small dollar amounts like the tuition and fees and educator deductions, and a few others are obscure like the qualified advanced mine safety equipment, the depreciation for motor sports entertainment facilities and interest related dividends from a RIC. There are a few others that have broader applicability.

For older taxpayers that donate directly to a charity from their IRA, the federal return allows them to exclude the IRA distribution from income rather than picking up income and then claiming a charitable deduction. Minnesota won’t allow that so you have to add back the income, but then also add the charitable contribution to the Minnesota return. Read More

Every year there are tax rules that change for federal purposes and sometimes Minnesota adopts those changes; sometimes they don’t. This year there is a longer than usual list of items that Minnesota does not conform to for individual taxpayers. Often these items are small and obscure and don’t have a huge dollar amount attached to them. This year, one item in particular is going to be a rude realization for some Minnesota taxpayers.

On your federal return you can exclude debt forgiveness income related to your personal residence. In the past you could also exclude that on your Minnesota return, but not this year. Minnesota has not adopted the federal provisions that allow taxpayers to exclude principal residence debt forgiveness. Read More