Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/09/22/i-have-found-a-secret-tunnel-t.html
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You can deduct from your taxes only the difference between that $400 and the reasonable value of the internet service. Figuring out that value would be tricky, but you can’t claim that it’s zero and survive an audit.
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Bookmarked for action this evening 
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Yes, donations in kind are not tax deductible. That includes school tuitions, and buying paintings of yourself at charity auctions…
Still sound interesting, though…
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Paradise.
I think the word you’re after is merchandise.
Also, @klossner, right. But don’t bother. On the one hand, deducting your $100, assuming you itemize deductions at all, multiply by your marginal tax rate and you’re putting what, $25 in your pocket? You know you can just make stuff up, right? The IRS is so badly understaffed they can only pursue the most obvious frauds, like those fuel tax credits. If your Schedule C shows $718 for utilities, you won’t get a letter.
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What type of speeds are you getting in metro areas? Mobile seems nice but this could also totally replace Comcast for the home if it’s fast enough.
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How does this work with international roaming?
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No off-network roaming, so USA only.
https://www.calyxinstitute.org/member/4G-LTE-FAQ and https://www.calyxinstitute.org/member/map
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Assuming it works like Clearwire, speeds are around DSL level. Good enough to stream youtube, for example.
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If it wasn’t for the fact that Sprint has terrible coverage in my area, I would be all over this.
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Anybody know how easy it is to run an extension cable from it to an antenna outside?
It’s a hot spot. You can just move it outside. A different question might be to ask whether not the SIM can be put into a different hot spot that has a built-in external antenna connection.
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What speed in terms of Mpbs does it get? My Wave service in SF only gives me about 20mpbs and it’s $60/mo !!! It is SO BAD.
Is it weather proof then? I’m thinking of it as a solution for a fixed location, but the Sprint signal is non-existent indoors.
Probably not. I was thinking of short term use as a mobile hotspot.
Is it really all of those things? It does seem like a good deal in that there is no specified bandwidth limit or gigabyte limit that I can find. However, ultimately, the agreement means no more than any other corporate agreement because they reserve the right to unilaterally modify it without notice. Meaning you agree to whatever they say whenever they say it, even if you don’t know they said it.
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Be careful. The IRS targets the little guys because they cannot afford to defend themselves.
My little run-in with the IRS took eight years and a great deal of money to resolve. Because I made a dumb mistake. If I had been trying to defraud them, rather than simply an idiot, it would have cost me thousands more than it did, and possibly jail time.
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Aren’t they even kind of famous for going after home office deductions and other common stuff?
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Any network types out there who can venture an opinion as to whether this would be a viable option for my home ISP?
I have AT&T Uverse and in a “Best” area that according to the Sprint data coverage nap.
Works out to initially be $42/month then down to $34/month which beats the crap out of my $72/month plan.
Any idea how to figure out the mbps speed would be? (realizing that it’s largely a marketing term in this context.)
Wouldn’t surprise me. Every so often a report comes out that says the IRS forgoes millions if not billions of dollars by purposely choosing small targets and ignoring huge multinational corporations doing exactly the same things the little guys get nailed for.
In fact I just googled “IRS targets the little guys” and got 407,000 hits.
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