Moderator:
Anyone responding to this post had better snip it big time!
Brevity is a virtue.
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- quote -

http://lawyerintl.com/modules/dictio...rch.php?q=gift

Law Dictionary - Glossary of Legal Terms
9 legal terms for gift found.
Enter the word you would like to look up:

gift

conveyancing. A voluntary conveyance; that is, a conveyance
not founded on the consideration of money or blood. The word
denotes rather the motive of the conveyance; so that a
feoffment or grant may be called a gift when gratuitous. A
gift is of the same nature as a settlement; neither denotes
a form of assurance, but the nature of the transaction.
Watk. Prin. 199, by Preston. The operative words of this
conveyance are do or dedi. The maker of this instrument is
called the donor, and he to whom it is made, the donee. 2 B.
Com. 316 Litt. 69; Touchs. ch. 11.

Source: Bouvier 1856

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gift

contracts. The act by which the owner of a thing,
voluntarily transfers the title and possession of the same,
from himself to another person who accepts it, without any
consideration. It differs from a grant, sale, or barter in
this, that in each of these cases there must be a
consideration, and a gift, as the definitionstates, must be
without consideration.

2. The manner of making the gift may be in writing, or
verbally, and, as far as personal chattels are concerned,
they are equally binding. Perk. §57; 2 Bl. Com. 441. But
real estate must be transferred by deed.

3. There must be a transfer made with an intention of
passing the title, and delivering the possession of the
thing given, and it must be accepted by the donee. 1 Madd.
Ch. R. 176, Am. ed. p. 104; sed vide 2 Barn. & Ald. 551;
Noy's Rep. 67.

4. The transfer must be without consideration, for if there
be the least consideration, it will change the contract into
a sale or barter, if possession be delivered; or if not,
into an executory contract. 2 Bl. Com. 440.

Law Dictionary - Glossary of Legal Terms
9 legal terms for consideration found.
Enter the word you would like to look up:

consideration

"Either some benefit to the promisor or some detriment to
the promisee given to influence the making of their contract
with each other; may take the form of money, property or
services rendered."

Source: lawyerintl.com 2005

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http://lawyerintl.com/modules/dictio...=consideration

consideration

contracts. A compensation which is paid, or all
inconvenience suffered by the, party from whom it proceeds.
Or it is the reason which moves the contracting party to
enter into the contract. 2 Bl. Com. 443. Viner defines it to
be a cause or occasion meritorious, requiring a mutual
recompense in deed or in law. Abr. tit. Consideration, A. A
consideration of some sort or other, is so absolutely
necessary to the forming a good contract, that a nudum
pactum, or an agreement to do or to pay any thing on one
side, without any compensation to the other, is totally void
in law, and a man cannot be compelled to perform it. Dr. &
Stud. d. 2, c. 24 3 Call, R. 439 7 Conn. 57; 1 Stew. R. 51 5
Mass. 301 4 John. R. 235; C. Yerg. 418; Cooke, R. 467; 6
Halst. R. 174; 4 Munf. R. 95. But contracts under seal are
valid without a consideration; or, perbaps, more properly
speaking, every bond imports in itself a sufficient
consideration, though none be mentioned. 11 Serg. & R. 107.
Negotiable instruments, as bills of exchange and promissory
notes, carry with them prima facie evidence of
consideration. 2 Bl. Com. 445.

3. The consideration must be some benefit to the party by
whom the promise is made, or to a third person at his
instance; or some detriment sustained at the instance of the
party promising, by the party in whose favor the promise is
made. 4 East, 455; .1 Taunt. 523 Chitty on Contr. 7 Dr. &
Stu. 179; 1 Selw. N. P. 39 , 40; 2 pet. 182 1 Litt. 123; 3
John. 100; 6 Mass. 58 2 Bibb. 30; 2 J. J. Marsh. 222; 5
Cranch, 142, 150 2 N. H. Rep. 97 Wright, It. 660; 14 John.
R. 466 13 S. & R. 29 3 M. Gr. & Sc. 321.

4. Considerations are good, as when they are for natural
love and affection; or valuable, when some benefit arises to
the party to whom they are made, or inconvenience to the
party making them. Vin. Abr. Consideration, B; 5 How. U. S.
278; 4 Barr, 364; 3 McLean, 330; 17 Conn. 511; 1 Branch,
301; 8 Ala. 949.

5. They are legal, which are sufficient to support the
contract or illegal, which render it void. As to illegal
considerations, see 1 Hov. Supp. to Ves. jr. 295; 2 Hov.
Supp. to Ves. jr. 448; 2 Burr. 924 1 Bl. Rep. 204. If the,
performance be utterly impossible, in fact or in law, the
consideration is void. 2 Lev. 161; Yelv. 197, and note; 3
Bos. & Pull. 296, n. 14 Johns. R. 381.

6. A mere moral obligation to pay a debt or perform a duty,
is a sufficient consideration for an express promise,
although no legal liability existed at the time of making
such promise. Cowp. 290 Bl. Com. 445 3 Bos. & Pull. 249,
note; 2 East, 506; 3 Taunt. 311; 5 Taunt. 36; 13 Johns. R.
259; Yelv. 41, b, note; 3 Pick. 207. But it is to be
observed, that in such cases there must have been a good or
valuable consideration; for example, every one is under a
moral obligation to relieve a person in distress, a promise
to do so, however, is not binding in law. One is bound to
pay a debt which he owes, although he has been released; a
promise to pay such a debt is obligatory in law on the
debtor, and can therefore be enforeed by action. 12 S. & R.
177; 19 John. R. 147; 4 W. C. C. R. 86, 148; 7 John. R. 26;
14 John. R. 178; 1 Cowen, R. 249; 8 Mass. R. 127. See 7
Conn. R. 57; 1 Verm. R. 420; 5 Verm. R. 173; 5. Ham. R. 58;
3 Penna. R. 172; 5 Binn. R. 33.

7. In respect of time, a consideration is either, 1st.
Executed, or Something done before the making of the
obligor's promise. Yelv. 41, a. n. In general, an executed
consideration is insufficient to support a contract; 7 John.
R. 87; 2 Conn. R. 404; 7 Cowen, R. 358; but an executed
consideration on request; 7 John. R. 87 1 Caines R. 584; or
by some previous duty, or if the debt be continuing at the
time, or it is barred by some rule of law, or some provision
of a statute, as the act of limitation, it is sufficient to
maintain an action. 4 W. C. C. R. 148 14 John. R. 378 17 S.
& R. 126. 2d. Executory, or something to be done after such
promise. 3d. Concurrent, as in the case of mutual promises;
and, 4th. A continuing consideration. Chitty on Contr. 16.

8. As to cases where the contract has been set aside on the
ground of a total failure of the consideration, see 11
Johns. R. 50; 7 Mass. 14; 8 Johns. R. 458; 8 Mass. 46 6
Cranch, 53; 2 Caines' Rep. 246 and 1 Camp. 40, n. When the
consideration turns out to be false and fails, there is no
contract; as, for example, if my father by his will gives me
all his estate, charged with the payment of a thousand
dollars, and I promise to give you my house instead of the
legacy to you, and you agree to buy it with the legacy, and
before the contract is completed, and I make you a deed for
the house, I discover that my father made a codicil to his
will and by it be revoked the gift to you' I am not bound to
complete the contract by making you a deed for my house.
Poth. on Oblig. part 1, c. 1, art. 3, 6. See, in general,
Obligation,, New Promise; Bouv. Inst. Index. b. t,; Evans'
Poth. vol. ii. p. 19; 1 Fonb. Eq. 335; Newl. Contr. 65; 1
Com. Contr. 26; Fell on Guarrant. 337; 3 Chit. Com. Law, 63
to 99; 3 Bos. & Pull. 249, n; 1 Fonb. Eq. 122, note z; Id.
370, note g; 5 East, 20, n.; 2 Saund. 211, note 2; Lawes Pl.
Ass. 49; 1 Com. Dig. Action upon the case upon Assumpsit, B
Vin. Abr. Actions of Assumpsit, Q; Id. tit. Consideration.

Source: Bouvier 1856

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123go <rejecto[at]rejcet.ccc> wrote:

- quote -

(Yes, I know this is ridiculous.)

If I see a dime on the sidewalk but _don't_ pick it up, does
it still count as income? Constructive Receipt rules might
indicate that it is; or is it more like turning down a job?

Seth

----------
Moderator:
What a way to start a constructive receipt argument!

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- quote -

The simplest of solutions is to declare it as income on your
Schedule C and purchase approximately $50 worth of consulting
related hardware/software that you need if you were to do
similar work again as a Schedule C deduction.

Dick

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- quote -

I am shocked and distressed that the Television Media are
treating such behavior as acceptable. What Felix and any
right-thinking person should have done is turn the found
money into the police, wait 30 days (?) to see if the
rightful owner claimed it, and THEN receive the money from
the police and treated it as income.

As for the 49 cent rule, I'll bet Felix found another 25
cents (cumulatively) during the same tax year.

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- quote -

since this was an isolated incident and not a lot of money, I
think the IRS and the courts would go with it as a gift.

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- quote -

Can you give me a cite of that? Like I said, you can
rationalize all you want and call it what you want. He
received property because of services he performed.
Technically it is income.

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- quote -

As far as the IRS is concerned, and I believe the courts have
upheld them in this, if it is "with respect to" services
performed", it is compensation. Just like a tip is legally
voluntary and based on past consideration but is nevertheless
considered taxable income.

On the other hand, since this was an isolated incident and not
a lot of money, I'd go with it as a gift in this case.

Stu

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Taxbert wrote:
- quote -

Suppose instead of beer, the neighbor had volunteered to fix
a persistent leak in the recipient's toilet? or other small
services to his house? IRS position on this is that it's
only swapping favors, non taxable to either. it's an old
American tradition dating back to log raising days on the
frontier.

In this case there was no contract before the services were
performed. The gift of beer after the fact is solely a gift
and was not dependent on the successful conclusion of the
service. What if the fellow had not been successful in
installing the computers? (I forget the exact nature of the
services by this time.)

- quote -

Techinicallly speaking the 25 cents is income, but thank God
for the 49 cent rule.

And Felix Unger was the fellow who always had his tax return
typed up and mailed by Dec 31st as I recall.

ChEAr$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

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Taxbert wrote:
- quote -

I think you should not waste yours or the IRS's time. If you
have a lot of time, focus on the "angels on the head of a pin"
problem.

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- quote -

Technically speaking, it is not income, it is a gift. Past
consideration is no consideration.

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"Andrew" <andrew[at]jkl.com> wrote:

- quote -

Technically speaking, it is income since it is compensation
for work performed. (You can rationalize all you want. It
is not a gift.)

Practically speaking, who are you - Felix Unger? (For those
of you too young to remember - Felix Unger was a character
on the Odd Couple who once reported the 25 cents he found on
the sidewalk as income on his tax return. And yes, if you
find 25 cents on the sidewalk it is income.)

$50????? When you start getting paid thousand of dollars in
beer and wine come talk to us. Better yet, if it is good
beer and wine, we will come talk to you.

Bert Harrison

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"Missy" <mytax[at]yahoo.com> wrote:
- quote -

The last I checked, although the IRS says that only paid
preparers were to sign there, the AICPA requires CPAs to
sign even if not paid for the work.

I support the position to consider the beer as a gift. The
slippery slope is the underground barter economy, so I would
be certain to write a thank you note for the beer as a gift.
The difference in this case is that he wouldn't take payment
so his friend sent him a gift without prior arrangement.

I guess my clientele is different than most of the
professionals in this group. We were able to prepare and
file fewer than half of our clients' returns as of the April
deadline.

Gary

--
The above address is fake. If you want to contact me
directly, please send an e-mail to: gary at gdgoodman dot com.

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Vic Dura <vpdura[at]CLUTTERhiwaay.net> wrote:

- quote -

I agree in this case that it's a gift. On the other hand
it's awfully similar to a tip, which is taxable.

Stu

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Phil Marti wrote:
- quote -

I would like to beg to differ with all of the answers except
Phil Marti's answer.

I am basing my answer (line 21 form 1040) on an insident that my dad
had with
the IRS many many years ago. For those of you *old* enough to remember
the signature line for preparers used to say "preparer other than
taxparer" where it now says "paid preparer". My dad used to preparer
everyone's return in the family as well as all of the neighbor and a
lot of friends. He signed all of the returns that he prepared. He was
called in by the IRS and asked why all the income he received
from all these returns was not reported. His answer was (he was an
extremely honest man) that he did not charge anyone for doing the
returns. Then he said "my mother-in-law did buy me a white Arrow
shirt". $7.95 (told you it had been a long time) went on the line
(present day line 12) and he had to pay tax on it....

Missy Doyle

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Andrew wrote:

- quote -

Not unless he sends you a 1099.

--
Dennis M. Marks

Disclaimer: The above is my opinion. I do not guarantee it.
Be sure to back up any files involved and use at your own
risk. Batteries not included. Not for internal use. Don't
run with knives.

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Andrew <andrew[at]jkl.com> wrote:

- quote -

When I've been in that sort of situation, my employment
contract stated that I would not have any outside employment
without my employer's permission. Hobbies, doing favors for
friends, etc. weren't employment, of course.

- quote -

My statement above was to buttress the argument that this is
a gift.

(The only potential nastiness I see is if the neighbor
deducted the cost.)

Seth

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"Andrew" <andrew[at]jkl.com> wrote:

- quote -

It's a gift since you did not receive it as a condition of
performing the work. Your gift of labor to him was
voluntarily reciprocated by his gift to you. You don't
need to report it.

--
To email me directly, remove CLUTTER.

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"Andrew" <andrew[at]jkl.com> wrote:

- quote -

Line 21 of the 1040.

--
Phil Marti
Clarksburg, MD

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Andrew wrote:

- quote -

Your first priority should be to consume the evidence.<g
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$50 can go on line 21 under other income on form 1040.
How about coming over and helping me with my computer???

Missy Doyle

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