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This struck me as funny, being as we're accountants and tax preparers here. I guess I just needed to find things to laugh about today.

Is it the # of attachments that have filled that up close to maximum, or are you all running into a size limit per picture? My picture above is 2.6MB. I see the little woof made it into the picture. He isn't usually under my desk but always checks out every smelly step of a client's footsteps after they leave.

Here's part of my office. Like Abby, I work with my back to the desk and use it mostly for larger accounting projects, organizing records and meeting with clients. Not showing are the file cabinets that are off camera to the right, and the copy machine that is in the near left corner. Desk is mostly cleaned off because a client just left. I also still have a calculator on my desk that I rarely use any more, and (gasp) I still have a rolodex too. Do I win a prize for that?

Yeah, probably not, but it IS funny.

Never take for granted the family, friends, and the gifts that come your way. Enjoy them, tell people you love them and that you care. Hug if you like hugging. Be happy and enjoy every day! Today has not been a good one here. First call of the day was from the daughter of an elderly client/friend of many years who told me that mom fell and has a fractured pelvis. She's in the hospital, headed for rehab soon, and she will be ok. Fast foward to the latest call from the husband of a younger couple whose wife had recently been diagnosed with multiple myeloma. She was scheduled for a bone marrow transplant tomorrow, but she passed away this morning at the age of 39. That one brought tears to my eyes as I listened to husband's shaking speech as he tried to tell me and ask some questions. Now I have to regain my composure and get the itty bitty bit of momentum going again.

You did ask for it, both ways!

Has this person checked "Where's My Refund" to see what stage of processing the return is in? Did the return have any of the credits that the IRS is giving extra scrutiny this year?

This is the third week for an opportunity to be one of our weekly Stars! What to post - Post something about your week, a kooky client, wacky situation, something that happened in your office, or whatever you want to share with us here that brought smiles, laughs, exasperation, or appreciation and gratitude from those around you. It's ok to chat here too, but those won't count as official entries. If there's a lot of chatter, those will be marked as "nonvoting". If you already posted something in another topic that you would like to have considered, please make mention of it here by directing us to that post, link to it, or quote it here. Nominate other members that were particularly helpful or enthusiastic during the week. Tell us why the person should be considered. How it works - Valid posts are those made through 3/9/18 at 11:59pm ET and must be about something that happened during this current week. Voting will continue through the next day, 3/10/18 until 11:59pm ET. Vote for your favorite Tax Kook/Aficionado by clicking one of the positive emoticons of "like", "thanks" or "haha" within this topic. If referring to posts in other topics, reactions made there don't count. Thumbs down and angry faces won't be counted. The winner will be the member that earns the highest number of positive reactions for any one post within this topic. For members having multiple posts in one week, the posts will be considered as stand-alone entries; votes not tallied across the multiple posts.

And this week's winner is ... Catherine!

Exactly! I'm not using that schedule at all and would rather print out a 2018 projection. When I prepare a projection, I also like to use the comparison feature from within the tax planner section that is a good summary and starting point for the discussion, and it shows the effective and marginal rates. Unless it is a very basic return, I usually also print the projected 1040 and maybe Sch A too if there are significant changes from the prior year.

Thank you, Terry, I learned something new. I haven't had a need for this yet, but that is much easier and quicker.

cbslee, if your question is a more general one about the acks and error codes - In addition to Catherine's instruction, another way to find the information again for any return is to use the EF menu and choose "Search EF database". From there you can find the acks, the ack code, and any error codes by searching for the return by name or EIN. Clicking on the error code or message usually brings up more information or takes the user to the spot requiring the correction, iirc. Also contained at the right in that EF search box is a button to click that will take you to Drake's online database that is part of the support site. Clicking that will bring up the log in screen, and from there you would have access. Still not sure exactly what else you need, there is a KB that may be helpful to you. It's # 10783, if this link doesn't take you to it.

Because I wasn't sure exactly what cbslee was asking about, I didn't cover that, Catherine. My PM wasn't about further researching of errors and codes for e-file transmissions. It was specifically about the state of OR returns and whether OR was accepting returns yet, as one poster on the Drake forum had asked. Merry, the main tech rep that answers on that forum, wrote that OR is accepting returns but the state legislature has not yet decided on whether it will conform to the federal Bipartisan Budget act passed on 2/9 or if it will choose to disconnect from the extender provisions. According to her post, the OR legislature is supposed to meet mid-March to make a decision on its handling of the extenders, and she said that OR e-files will include a note of instruction. That note of instruction that Drake is including in OR e-files may be what cbslee was asking about, but I wasn't sure about that. Posts subsequent to that stated that OR is sending messages that if returns are filed with discharge of qual. princ residence indebtedness, mortgage insurance premium deduction, or tuition and fees deduction, that OR will disallow those and correct the returns to current law, and those returns may require amendment later in the year depending on OR's decision on the extenders. See why I didn't post all of that? Plus, I didn't want to quote others from another tax forum on here that is unrelated to ATX, so I send cbslee a pdf printed version of those postings since he is a Drake user that would have access to its forum.

The state acks are usually the same as federal with "P" for pending and "A" for accepted. Rejection messages may be brief, but the 2 I've received in prior years were clear enough to discern the source of the return's issue. I send you a PM with a pdf of a post from Drake's forum specific to OR state returns that may, or may not, be helpful. ETA - The link to the KB that I provided in a subsequent post has all of the ack codes, if that may help you.

I just said this the other day to a client when explaining the nonrefundable portion of the AOC where one of the rules says "at least one of your parents is still alive." I also like asking the question about if they've ever been convicted of a felony.

Yep, Jack got it right. The episode is called "It's a Good Life" where the little boy wishes people off to the cornfield.

I just got off the phone with a client that is dumb as a rock. Seriously. Two years in a row I discovered that she wrote down her phone number wrong. I tried to call several days in a row for answers to my questions to no avail. "That number is not in service." With that, I sent her my printout of notes with 2 simple questions 10 days ago. Days go by with nothing but crickets, and then she called from the (correct) number that she should have given me, and it is apparently in her boyfriend's name, so I assumed it was a spoofed fake name from a robocall and didn't answer the call. After listening to her message and calling her back using redial, she wonders how I had the correct phone # to call after I told her that she wrote it down wrong. When I asked if she got my notes in the mail, she said 'no' and then said, "well, I didn't open anything from you anyway" Arrrrggggghhhhh! I suffered on with the conversation and mentioned that tax law changes should benefit her but that it might be a good idea to check her 2018 withholding (because she's one that likes a big refund) because the IRS revised the withholding tables, and if she would like to discuss that to please bring a recent pay stub, and ... wait for it... she said "oh, one more way they are screwing us." Did I say Arrrrggggghhhhh! already? She's one that won't be invited back next year.

I'm soooooo lonely in this topic all by myself! I'm going to start it off by nominating someone that isn't here very often but always tackles the very hardest questions, gives succinct and informed answers, and many times with the cites. Vote for DANRVAN using this post.

I did get that totally wrong, and when that happens, it's usually pretty awful. It wasn't even a post from the middle of the night that I can use as an excuse.

I agree with Dan, and I am also wondering about some of the data in your post. In an S corp, there isn't a basis called "cash basis" separate from "stock basis". The owner's stock basis in an S corp is the original investment of cash and property that the owner contributed to the entity in exchange for the S corp stock. There could be "debt basis" also if some of the funds put in were loaned to the S corp, but you didn't mention anything about debt basis, so for purposes of this discussion, the entire amount initially invested is this owner's starting stock basis. The stock basis is adjusted each tax year by items of income and expense on the K-1, plus additional capital contributions, less distributions, generally speaking. There's are specific order and more detail rules, but that is the general idea. Think of it as keeping a running total in a checking account with the initial starting balance as the investment, then each year making +/- adjustments for those items I mentioned, so that at the end of each year the stock basis is a new number, never going below zero. From what you said, over the years this owner's stock basis had been reduced from its original investment down to $2,475 at 1/1/16. With his share of the 2016 loss exceeding his starting basis, he was able to deduct the the loss up to remaining basis, and that loss took his basis to -0- at 12/3/16. Has your client received a K-1 with activity for 2017? Was his 2016 K-1 marked as "final"? That may make a difference in your reporting if he had any share in income for 2017. What was the date of his stock redemption?

Probably so those taking early withdrawals couldn't avoid the penalty using this. I don't remember the year that the other early w/d exceptions came about, but one that was already in the law at that time was the 5+ yrs of equal distributions. When this was first enacted, it was a temporary provision for only 2 years, and so it is possible that the framers didn't include the 5-yr equal distrb rule for those under 70.5 because at its original issuance its temporary nature didn't at least cover those same 5 years.

Yes, WITAXLADY's question brought a different set of facts into this topic, and it really should be a separate post in the ACA forum.

Supplemental security income (SSI) is not taxable. It's assistance. Supplemental security disability income (SSDI) IS reportable income. Recipient will receive a 1099. It is entered on the same line and uses the same formula as regular SSA retirement benefits to determine the taxable portion.

Is the garage space used exclusively and meet all the tests to be considered as part of "home office" space?

Rich, if you need the cites, look to IRC 408(d)(8)(B) and (B)(ii) that was added by the PPA 2006. Then there was some clarification in the Q8A of IRB 2007-7 at sec IX Q-36 that states that distribs from any type of IRA including Roths are allowed (obviously needs to meet the other requirements of the IRC), but specifically excludes ongoing SEPs and ongoing SIMPLEs. ETA - Q-37 deals with the age limit.