Pacun

I get as much documentation as possible.. I mentioned the bare minimum. I also prepare a document like this and the client signs IN BLUE it if they agree with what I have written down. I use the last page of 8867 for these question and keep it for my records. These are sample questions that I print out and people sign: Information provided by Rosa del Carmen Montecristo Moreno on 12/19/2016 at the office. I see you have two children based on the documents you have presented to me. What are their names? Rosa and Carmen Were your children in the united states in 2016? How many months? How many months did your children live with you in 2016? were they in school? do you have documentation to show they were in school? What school do they attend? What grades? Were you married at the end of 2016? Who else lives with you and your children in your household? Are these two children from the same father? Where is the father of Rosa? Did you live with the father of Rosa in 2016? Is he going to claim her on his taxes? How do you know that information? Where is the father of Carmen? Did you live with the father of Carmen in 2016? Is he going to claim her in his taxes? How do you know that information? Besides your W-2 or income you have reported to me, did you make extra money? How can you three people live with $30K a year? Did you get child support in 2016? Did you get a refund from the IRS and State in 2016 for tax year 2015? What did you do with that money? (most people use it for their families support. Keep in mind that they make little money) Did you support your children? Did your children work? How much did they make? Do you have their W-2s? What did they do with the money they make? Based on the information and documents you have provided, you don't qualify for HH or you do qualify for HH, is there any other information that you want to share regarding support from you to your children? Do you have health insurance? How did you get it? Are you children in your policy? Government agencies some times require them to register every 6 months and this is proof that the children are in the US during the tax year. Do you have dental or medical records for your children? _____________________________________ ___________________ Signature Date These are only some of the questions I ask. Depending on their answers, I follow up with more questions not listed here. By the way, I ask these questions not necessarily in this order, I type them as I remember them. I like that form (8867) because then I have to type each question each time since you could only paste one line at a time. I also like it because I don't want to have a one document fits all and that's why I don't have a format for the questions.The only thing I keep in mind is to group them. Physical presence questions for children during tax year, support, relationship, income, marital status, people who live in the household. When the children are present in my office, I make a note of it, it might not help me this year but it will be in my records just in case I need them for the next tax year. When children are present, I asked what school they go to and what grade. I speak English to them and they better for answering these questions. If children are not school age, I ask them about daycare documents, vaccinations, and any other documents.

I have been doing that for EIC. A lot of my clients get that credit so doing it for the other two credits will be easy. I keep school records, birth certificate if children are 5 or above. If they are not in school, I keep their vaccination records and insurance cards. Some of them have free insurance (better than yours and mine) from the state or Federal so I keep those records too. So now, I have to do the same for those who only qualify for the child tax credit or additional child tax credit. For educational credit, I have always kept 1098s and payment records. I have asked for 1098s and proof of payments because during an audit I have to show the IRS where the numbers came from. I heard before that some preparers on this community reject EIC clients, so now their rejection rate will be increased. Soon, we will have to audit returns before sending to the IRS. On top of that, by doing everything electronic we have helped with the clerical duties at the IRS centers. Ironically, the big abusers are preparers who mail in their forms, don't register with the IRS, don't have a PTIN, and they don't sign the returns. There is a guy (and assistants/associates) who was here in DC doing that and more, DC was on his case so he moved to MD and he has been in business for YEARSSS. He has a 24 hours tax preparation business during tax season and people make appointments at 3:00AM they end up waiting hours before they get in front of this preparer. Vans full from people come from NY and other places to have their taxes prepared there.

During my renewal process about three years ago, I did everything I had to do with my EA requirements. I sent my form to the IRS and about three months later, I got a letter stating that if I wanted to continue enrolled, I had to proved that I had my CPE credits. I went to AplusCPE website and printed all my certificates and attached them to the IRS form and issue was solved. So, I guess the IRS still needs you to send them those certificates even though the vendor correctly reported to IRS that I had passed their exams.

I like your comparison with the bank. There is a big difference... when you sign with a bank, I guarantee you that you sign a document that if they bank sell your loan or if the bank is sold, you authorize them to use your info as they deem necessary. Now that brings another good question... do you have an engagement letter for your simple 1040 clients? Does your engagement letter state that you will be checking your open years for errors? Does your engagement letter states that if you sell your practice the new owner will get all your information and will be digging to your tax returns for mistake that you might have made? I just curious.

To file an accurate tax return, you have to interview your client and ask all the questions and see if they qualify for any credit or to deduct an expense. I have hard times getting answers for the year at hand (I guess I am the only one). Imagine how hard it will be to get the answers from the "open years". In order for me to accurate decide if the preparer made a mistake in previous years, I will have to ask all the questions and after the interview, I will see if amending is in order. I have had people telling me, "but my previous preparer gave that credit last year"... my answer is "I am not preparing your previous year's taxes, I am preparing this year's taxes and this year, based on what you have told and the documents you have shown me, you don't qualify for the credit". I also tell them... "if you want me check the return to see if you qualified for the credit your requested on the previous year, I will have to interview you again and check all the documents... you will have to pay me X amount for that and if we have to amend, this is my fee. If they accept my fees, I interview them and ask for documentation. I also explain to them that just because they qualify one year for a credit, it doesn't mean that they qualify the following year. A lot of people ask for their papers back and I am very happy to return their documents and wish them luck. Some of them offer me to pay for my time and I say "don't worry about it... but if you decide to come back this year or next year, please do so and at that point I will prepare your taxes and charge you" One time, I was nosy and I told a client "your previous preparer didn't file married filing separate on the same return for Washington DC and you lost $300 on your refund". Client told me let's amend. Client received his money and about two month later a bill for the same amount. I went to DC and they couldn't find the amended return. We filed again the amended return again and the client got again a bill. I went back to the DC office about 4 times and finally they told me "the client is now married and they have a profile as married on our system, but the main taxpayer on the joint return was single before and the first amended return went to his other profile and now we have check every profile to make sure everything is corrected. The client was taking to collection, I continued going back to the DC office for about 4 more times and finally I lost a client. Now, when I get someone else's work I tell my client, I don't what your previous preparer's put on your return and why he did it because I was not there when he interviewed you and I didn't see all the documents you presented. When I change doctors, the new doctor examines me and gives me a prescription based on my current situation. He never talks bad about my previous doctor and questions why he prescribed that medicine. I guess they have been in school more time than me and that's why they learn not to criticize other members of the profession when they get a new client.

"your clients"??? they are not her clients. She doesn't know if they are coming back next year. As a matter of fact, I think, they might not even have signed a release form for the original poster to know about their tax situation. As I said before, I normally don't audit tax returns because 100% of my clients hire me to prepare their taxes not to audit previous years returns. In any event, I am just an EA, I am not an auditor or CPA.

Maybe one of the executors will be the designed "Tax Matters Executor" and the other the designated driver when they come to your office. I am assuming that this should work like two partners filing form 1065.

Wrong place to ask that question. It sounds as if you were a hacker or want to share an ATX license... both of them seem to be illegal and this is the wrong place to ask.

Are you liable for the mistakes of the previous preparer if you "purchase" a business? I ask people to bring their previous year tax return just to glance at it. I don't wear my auditor hat when looking at those returns. All I tell my clients is, "you have hired me to do your taxes for this year. I will do it right, I don't audit your previous years return and I will not interview regarding the taxes you have already prepared." I am glad you have had time to interview all those clients and therefore you have made a determination that those expenses were not for personal use or that didn't qualify last year for those credits. I hope you had expressed written authorization to contact those clients from the previous preparer in order to avoid him to be sued for sharing their files with you. I wish you luck and as Jennin or Mr. Pencil used to say "I would pay 0 for each client if I purchase a tax business from another preparer.

No. FinCEN is for US citizens and green card holders.

To the original poster, if this happens frequently to you after your computer has been up and running for 30 minutes, buy a new computer.

You still need proof of payment. 1098s are for info only

I like your saying. I said that after 2012, ATX was going to be robust and I was not disappointed in 2014 and 2015. Let's hope my prediction delivers in the future.

Only the child can take the $2500 in your case. If I were the father, I would be paying December from my account directly to the lender.

So, if father paid 45% and uncle paid 55%, student paid 0, they both can claim $2,500 as long as they are dependent since they both are obligated to the loan?

Yes, they are required by the individual mandate to have health insurance.

No. No step up basis on rental.

If didn't know the subject matter, I would also have "Fear of the unknown".

Maryland didn't notify me (personally) that the rules were changing, but they posted on their website that in order to prepare taxes you needed to be a CPA, EA or to pass the exam they had prepared. Before the Love case, the IRS didn't inform me either but their website mentioned that you had to pass the tests if you wanted to prepare taxes for other people. Are they required to notify tax preparers o tax preparers need to know the requirements? Another question, if you have been doing taxes for so long, why don't you sit on the exam which is a very simple exam you don't have to explain how long you have been doing taxes?

I will answer question 2. A payment for 2015 can be sent without filing a return starting January 1, 2015 and if you want to file timely, you had until April 18, 2016 to file. I wonder if I send an estimated payment today and I label it "ES payment for 2017" the IRS will return it to me or consider it for 2016.

Ask him to fork out the money and pay the penalty.

Thank you for the info. I am going to visit their websites.

I took the paper exam (2 exams on the first day and 2 exams the next day) and I passed but I didn't register with the IRS. That was about 2 years before the computer exams came on board. I waited about 4 more years and I took the computer exams. I also felt that I didn't know 90% of the stuff (hence your 10% of useful information) and I had to learn it. I like the way the IRS used to do their testing. 4 exams in two day (3 hours each) with paper and pencil ONLY. If you didn't pass, you had to wait one year because they tested only once a year. With the computer exams, it is easier and less effective because by the time you finish with the last exam (exam 3), you don't remember anything from exam 1 or 2.

Tax preparation is not what it used to be when you could use credit card interest as an itemized deduction. It is far more complex and if a person has been doing this for 10 years and cannot pass the EA exam, I want to give that person a hug. My best teacher used to tell us: "if you know, you remember... if you remember, you know." I understand that dome people get nervous when they are going to take an exam. My teacher used to say that we get nervous when we are not prepared and when we know we don't know. He used to ask us: "Do you get nervous when you brush your teeth? Do you get nervous when you wash your hands? Why don't you get nervous on those events, he would ask? The answer is simple, it is because you know how to brush your teeth and you know how to wash your hands.". As Sara said, when you take the EA exam, you go like "wow, I have been doing taxes without knowing a lot". The exam itself is easy but shows you how much you don't know. For the simple questions asked here, I like them. If we start embarrassing people when easy questions are asked, no one will ask questions and the forum will die. I have no issues answering simple questions when someone is new... I have more issues when a 10 years experienced tax preparer leave crucial information such as "how much money are we talking about". Yes, please ask questions no matter how simple they are... that's why we have this forum. During tax season, I take 10 minutes to see what's going on on this forum, If at that moment, I remember a simple question, I ask it instead of researching it.... I am here anyways. I am pretty sure some people know the answer because they researched it and they have and they are ready to share it.

You report the scammers EVEN if you owe money to the IRS.