(MONEY Magazine) – -- Your questions this month are answered with the assistance of Barry Salzberg, partner, and Dan Eule, senior tax manager, with Deloitte & Touche in New York City.

Q. I bought land in Florida as an investment in 1989 and borrowed money from the development company. The land should be developed in three to five years. How is the loan treated? Ray Moore, Smyrna, Del. A. As long as the land is undeveloped, the interest is deductible as an investment expense generally up to the total of your investment income. How the interest is treated after the land is developed depends on the property's use. If, for example, you rent it out, your interest expense becomes subject to the passive-investment rules, which limit your deduction to the amount of passive income you receive.

Q. Over the years I purchased a number of U.S. Savings Bonds. Now I would like to give them to my teenage daughter. How do I do this? What tax liabilities would I face? James Wickens, Westfield, N.J.

A. To transfer the bonds, register them in your daughter's name by filling out Form PD 3360, which you can get at any branch of the 12 Federal Reserve District Banks or by calling 304-420-6112. When you transfer the bonds, the accrued interest will become taxable to you as income. You might also face gift taxes if the bonds are worth more than $10,000.

Q. I am a teacher, planning to retire, and have accumulated 225 days of sick pay that entitles me to receive a lump-sum payment of more than $45,000. Can I avoid or defer taxes on it? Ted Del Rio, Homestead, Fla. A. No. Don't confuse this with a lump-sum payment from a qualified retirement plan that would be given special tax treatment. You have to take your tax lumps with this lump.

Send questions along with your address and phone number to Money: Your Taxes, Room 33-17B, Time & Life Bldg., Rockefeller Center, New York, N.Y. 10020.