Help with taxes?

My mom passed away in 12/05, I recieved money that she had with a brokerage firm on 1/06 ($80,000). Do i have to claim this as income when i file my taxes? Or is it considered an inheritance? I did a mock filing just to see what I would have to pay and it came to around $19,000, seems so high considering that it was an inheritance. Also i did spend $20,000 to buy a car and lost $14,000 in a bad investment, can those 2 things be written off in any way? Thanks!

You are missing some data. What was the basis cost of the investments at the brokerage? Was it all cash or were there some securities? Was the account tax-deferred or not? If tax-deferred, then taxes have never been paid on it and they will be due.
Your investment loss is probably deductible, hopefully it was a short-term loss (< 1 year between purchase and sale) so you get the full benefit.
You should probably consult a CPA to make sure that you don't miss an legitimate deductions.

Sorry to hear about your mom. Money received from an inheritance isn't taxable, but any increase/decrease in the value of the assets from the date your mom died until you had the inheritance distributed to you is a tax event. Since the money was distributed to you quickly after your mom's passing, I suspect that there was very little gain or loss between the date of her death and your receipt of the distribution.

The only effect the auto purchase would have on your tax return would be the potential increase to your sales tax calculation if you're able to itemize your deductions. You may be able to write off some or all of your investment loss, depending on the nature of the investment.

I agree with the other poster: given that you have a few things going on this year that are unusual for you, it would probably be worth contacting a CPA to do your return. Unfortunately, at this late date, that won't be easy, but you might be able to get her to at least look at your information and let you know where you stand, and she can file the extension for you.

Good luck!