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Ken, while this site is accessible to the public, it is privately owned and maintained for use by tax professionals only, most of whom use the ATX tax software packages. We don't help the general public with tax questions here. I'd suggest you find a tax professional in your local area that will be able to address your issues and tax preparation needs.

IRS is sending notices by mail, offering free identity theft protection, and the id protection PINs. Safe link to IRS statement of 2/26/16 on the IRS site about the hack: https://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Statement-On-Get-Transcript

I wouldn't open an email like that, just delete it.

I'm sorry, you are correct. The earnings will be taxable, and the 1099R should indicate the year they are taxable. Since 2014 was the year of the excess contribution and it was withdrawn before the due date of the 2014 tax return, this probably should have been reported on the 2014 return and subject to the 10% early withdrawal penalty of $3.

You will use form 3115 to correct the cumulative effect of the prior years' errors. Form 3115 will correct the total prior years' depreciation through 12/31/14, and you will report that cumulative adjustment as a deduction on the 2015 return. That will bring your accumulated depreciation and net book value at the end of 2014 to the correct amounts. Correct the amounts for beginning accumulated depreciation at 1/1/15 to what they should have been, and then allow the proper depreciation expense for these assets to be calculated on the form 4562 for the 2015 year. Report the sale on 4797 with the proper final accumulated depreciation and basis figures as if it had all been done properly all along.

Enter the 1099R amounts into your software as reported with the code 8 shown in box 7. Because this is a return of earnings from an IRA it will flow to line 15a, and the taxable portion on line 15b will be -0-.

My program calculated the same $495 refund on the 8962 and automatically generated a 8965 with exemption A because of the low income so he doesn't pay the penalty either. However, with income that low, I'd ask if this person eligible for any other MEC during those months he received the credit. If so, he might not have been eligible for that APTC and wouldn't have the refund your program is calculating.

5498s are filed with IRS. Sounds like you found the proper way to input this. FWIW, I've never had a rollover questioned that was reported properly. The last notice I had to answer like this was a person that came to me where his previous preparer hadn't shown the transaction properly on the return, but I got it straightened out for him.

Does your entry you describe actually cause the software to print the word "ROLLOVER" in the left margin? It should show "Rollover" and report the total distribution in box 15a and a -0- in 15b. That is the proper reporting. If you aren't getting that result, a call to OLT is in order if you can't figure out the proper input. Also, unless the 60-day period spanned the two years with the rollover occurring in 2016, if the rollover was contributed back into an IRA in 2015 the amount will be reported in box 2 of the Form 5498 that will be issued later this year.

There are no exceptions for a foreigner working here on a visa and leaving the country that takes an early withdraw the funds to avoid the 10% penalty. He would have to meet one of the exceptions listed for anyone else. Two ideas that help him to minimize the overall tax impact are: Roll it into an IRA and then take a series of distributions each year over the longer of 5 years or the number of years to age 59 1/2. It won't give him that large payout though, if that is what he wants. This option would avoid the penalty and may allow the distributions to be taxed at a lower rate. Wait to take the distribution until after he stops working here and is back in Germany so that the distribution is his only source of U.S. income. Taking it in a year while still working in the U.S. and adding the distribution to his other income, it may be taxed at a higher rate than if he waits until the distribution is taxed in a year by itself. With this option, he would still pay the early withdraw penalty.

I didn't make it to March; I'm already there!

Haha, thanks for the reminder about Bingo. My mom won $2.75 playing bingo during her stay at the rehab facility, $0.25 at a time. Guess I better add a note to her file so I remember to report that on her 2016 return.

I wasn't aware of that, obviously. Thanks.

I would lean toward not taking this expense. The expense must allow the person to work. On the page of the pub I referenced, there is a section that discusses part-time work. P

Pub 503, pg 6 under the heading "Work-Related Expense Test". It has some examples that might help.

Have you been talking to one of my clients? "It's all there". Deliver the returns and: "wait, there's something missing with the student loan interest." Ok, send me the missing form. "[insert spouse's name] refinanced last year, I'll check into it tomorrow." I email back and explain about student loans refinanced for more and if additional funds weren't used for education, none of that interest is deductible. Message from client the next day: "you have everything for the student loans." So I'm still waiting for the e-file signature forms back and I'm hearing crickets! Anyone want to bet these people went somewhere else and told a different story for a larger refund?

Mostly good ideas except for keeping the credit card information. I don't know who your processor is, but that would be a violation of the terms of agreement and security/privacy policies with mine, no matter how well hidden the information is. I'm not allowed to store that complete information, only the last few digits.

I have the same policy and rate as rfassett.

Easy, you are in PA. It would depend on how significant the # of MD returns is, and the significance of contacts within the State of MD. I took that from this page (safe link) at the MD Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing. Quote from the page for those that don't like links:

My client called a few minutes ago to tell me she got the statements in today's mail. All of it was a total waste of time!

I'm totally frustrated with this. One client that vacations in FL during the winter requested the broker send me his 1099s via secure email. That required me to set up an account with them and a password specific to either their site. This is only one of his investment accounts, not all of his activity. Today I got a call from elderly client that wants me to download statements directly from her broker, broker must provide the site, the account #s, and doc id #s for me for each of her accounts. It doesn't give me the actual 1099s, but has the information in a csv file. She has a lot of other activity on her returns besides this. She might already have her 1099s, she isn't sure, she's old, she thinks this is better. According to the broker, she only has 10 broker transactions this year, and the 1099 has the basis for all but 2 of those. She hasn't even set up an appt yet, and has interrupted me numerous times with the same questions, and now this plus the calls from her broker. How much aggravation fee should I charge? /s I prefer to work from the original paper copies of the documents and scan in for storage later. How many of you do this for each client, would you set up these passwords that you have to maintain and remember from year to year? /rant

Adding to my answer above, the way this worked out, the total value of the gift to the daughter appears to be $154K. It is the gift of equity of $41k shown on the settlement sheet plus the difference between the appraised value of $318K and the $205K selling price. The proof is the gift is the $318K appraised value minus the 164K for the portion of the house reported on the settlement sheet shown as being purchased from the parents (205-41). (318-164 = 154). You have to attach the appraisal to the Forms 709 so there's not much you are going to be able to include with those filings justify a reduction in the value down to the figure used as the selling price. On a percentage basis, the daughter purchased 51.57% of the home and was gifted a total of 48.43% of it.

See the sections for "Exemptions" and "Waivers" on the linked page below. It's a safe link at the State of MDs licensing board. Exempts are CPAs, EAs, and attorneys in MD or another state. Waiver if the preparer passed the IRS RTRP. The page below has additional links to forms to inform the St of MD why you are requesting the waiver: https://www.dllr.state.md.us/license/taxprep/taxpreplic.shtml#waiver

Unless the taxpayer meets the exception and is allowed to take the NOL back 3 years, the standard carryback is to the 2nd preceding year and would only go back to 2013, then any unused can be applied to 2014, then carried forward for 20 years. To answer your question, if 2015 is the loss year, then the 3rd preceding year is 2012, 2nd preceding year is 2013, 1st preceding year is 2014.

Yardley, read under "Who Must File" to see if anything else on the return is causing the 8959 to be included.