Janitor Bob

In 2011, Client again had Sch A deductions that exceeded her AGI by about $9,000...so again zero taxable income. ATX is taking 1040 Line 41 from 2010 (-15,043, which is negative AGI plus Sch A Deduct) and adding that to unused Sch A dedcutions of $9000 from 2011 and making that A $24043 NOL carryforward to 2012 since when can you carry over unused Sch A Deductions that are not charitable donations?

In tax year 2010, client had $12,687 in schedule A deductions. Due to rental losses and no other taxable income, she had AGI of -$2356. So hr taxable income was zero. ATX is taking the amount on her 2010 1040 line 41(-15043) and rolling that over to 2011 as a NOL carryforward....Is this correct?

I now see where household help is specifically mentioned as NOT being a qualified medical expense.

Elderly client had some medical issues at end of 2011. Once she got out of hospital, she had independent nurses/caregivers come to her home to assist with everyday things.....some specifically medical-related, but most of the stuff these people did were help with bathing and household chores that client could not perform. She paid approx. $35,000 to these people in 2012 and is just SURE that it is a deductible medical expense..I'm not so sure.....opinions?

Clearly, I was over-thinking this.....it seemed so obvious, that I started second-guessing.....Thanks everyone!

Client had to put a new roof on one of her rental properties....Expense it all in 2012 or capitalize and depreciate?

I seem to attract women who want to share their personal lives with me and sometimes want a shoulder to cry on. My fiance says it is because I am a good listener...but I don't want to be a good listener...I usually just want them to go away because they make me uncomfortable.....but I listen and I smile and I offer my shoulder...because that's what tax preparers do.....right?

I have a daughter in her 3rd year of college. Her college wanted transcripts (not copies) of both her 2012 return and mine....to verify numbers on the FAFSA for 2013/2014 aid year....and wanted them by March 30th! I called the college (University of Akron) and they said that deadline was just to get people moving and not set in stone. One way to avoid needing transcripts is to link the IRS database directly to your FAFSA on-line application.....this automatically and immediately verifies the FAFSA data. The only problem with that is the returns are not available for linking for 7-12 days after filed/accepted. The mom is my client and so is her daughter/student. Daughter filled out her FAFSA based on last two check stubs and college is already telling her that she needs transcripts of hers and the mother's. Her is no problem...I just did that one and will transmit tomorrow...meaning she could link her FAFSA to it in about two weeks. It is the transcript for the mother's that will be delayed. I have it done and will print a copy of her to use.....then once 2011 is resolved, I will file and advise student to go back to FAFSA in approx. 10 days, revise from estimate to filed and link to IRS database. I cannot even truly respond to the CP 2000 until I see clients 2011 transcript that I was able to order on-line yesterday.

This is what I have done.....I know they can complete all of the financial aid forms based on estimate.

The client is actually a friend and I know her story to be true....thanks to her facebook posts over the past year, I ( and many others) knew pretty much every detail of her story before we sat down. Unfortunately, this means I will not be able to charge near what I would like to. , I have completed her 2012 return....pretty nice refund thanks to education credits for her daughter in college.....but I hesitate to actually file it for her until we clear up the 2011 issues.....otherwise, I'm assuming they will just hold her refund. The problem is that in order to process her daughter's financial aid, the school is requesting 2012 transcripts. I hope the school will wait and, if so, it won't negatively affect her daughter's aid. what would all of you smart people do?....file 2012 now or wait a few weeks and potentially longer (extension) until 2011 is resolved?

also, I could not file the request for transcript on-line since her current address is different from what IRS has on file.....this is going to drag out for a while, I'm afraid.

Good point Neilbrink...Thanks. Can I talk to IRS about this (I'm just an RTRP and did not prepare the return in question) or does client need to call and request 14-day hold?or should I have client sign a power of attorney form and send that to IRS?

New client (single, 44-year old mother). She filed her own 2011 taxes (using turbo tax or something). client moved shortly thereafter...actually moved a few times in 2012 and early 2013. Her mail is just now catching up with her.....one piece of which is a IRS CP2000. Her 2011 return and all back-up documentation was lost in the move(s), so I have ordered her a transcript, but otherwise, I am relying on her memory and numbers from the CP2000. IRS made 4 changes to her return as follows... 1) Unreported Retirement Income (1099-R) $6,280. Client withdrew money from 401k and then immediately deposited same amount into IRA with another bank...she did NOT have the plan roll it over...she took check in hand, then deposited that check into the new IRA...So I assume her 1099-R had a code of "1"...not "G". Client obviously did not report this 1099-R on her return. and IRS does not know about her deposit into IRA...which I assume was also not reported on her 2011 return. 2) Unreported Interest income (109-INT) of $50.00. Client does not remember what this is, So I will assume IRS is correct and that she neglected to include data from a 1099-INT. 3) $680 withdrawal from HSA (1099-HSA): Client did withdrawal $650 from HSA to pay medical bills, but did not report anything on her return...So all the IRS sees is the withdrawal. 4) Because of increased income from items 1-3, IRS took away her Earned Income Credit of $635 and Retirement Savings Credit of $32. Since this CP2000 just caught up with her, the deadline to respond has passed (Feb 6th, 2013). I plan on replying anyway, explaining the above and hoping the IRS will remove all but item 2, But how do I explain item 1? Also....since all documents were lost, client has no way of supporting any of her claims. Should I try anyway? Should I include a 1040-X with the CP2000 reply? Oh...and she did not file her 2011 Ohio return at all....So I'll need to do that for her once I get her 2011 Fed transcript. and then we move on to 2012

two words....explosive diarrhea

I don't know what cell provider she uses, but I know Verizon allows you to go on their web site and temporarily block a few numbers....they charge a fee for the ability to perminently block numbers, so I just jump on and re-block if the calls persist...but usually after a few time of getting blocked, the calls cease. I do this with several charities and companies trying to sell me stuff via my business cell phone.

One of my clients volunteered to be my first....Brave guy! He is my first client every year.....He is aware (and actually enjoys) that as the first transmission of the season, he is a "test subject". I think I transmitted through Nelco my first few years. But that was a looong time ago...at least it seems like it.

6 years ago today, my wife passed away.....This is the time every year that I can't help but wonder what might have been. I look back with fondness and look forward with hope and anticipation on the life and wonderful partner I now have. Life is just crazy and I am thankful for those that are along with me for the ride....glasses up everyone

Yes, but some Columbus addresses actually fall in a taxing school district....It depends on the exact address

It is set up just as Joanmcq suggested......This is what I was thinking, but the more I thought about it, the more confused I was becoming. Always nice to hop on this forum and have ones opinions confirmed or debunked.

My client's elderly mother moved out of her house and into home of my client. Client's mother's home is now empty and needs a LOT of work. Client's mother takes out an equity line of credit. Gives funds to client (son) to renovate and remodel her home. He fixes it up real nice and is going to rent it out with his mother's permission. He (my client) does not own the property, but the rent checks will go to him in his name. How would I report this rental? Income on his return and expenses on hers.....that seems odd...Or should I match rental income with expenses on the same return...if so, which return? I already do the return for client, but his mother does not normally file as all she has is social security.

What Jack said.....Jack is wise...Jack is smart

Sorry for my delay in responding.....Taxes in this area are very tricky. Depending on their address, they could be within the city limits of Columbus...In which case, they would file a Form Col IR22. If their address lies in the suburb of Worthington, they would file a form OH RITA 37. I have a married couple and their address is so close to Columbus but still in Worthington, that half of their tax forms have "Columbus" and half say "Worthington"....so I go by the web site below that tells me what school district they are in. You also need to make sure that they do not need to file an Ohio School return (OH-SD100) You can look up their address on the following web site to see of they live in a taxing school district: https://thefinder.tax.ohio.gov/StreamlineSalesTaxWeb/AddressLookup/LookupByAddress.aspx?taxType=SchoolDist This site will also firm up in what city they live...Columbus or Worthington. Worthington does NOT have a school tax, but Columbus does.

Mine opened VERY slow...then a little dude dressed like a bull fighter ran out from behind my monitor and threw a taco at me (I'm OK, it was soft-shell), and ran out my door shouting "Eat that, hombre!"

I have found that attempting to delete the main state form first causes the crash....maybe since doing so not only deletes the state form but also the state letter at the same time. I have had better luck (occasionally) by first deleting the un needed state letter and then deleting the un needed state form. another work-around that we shoud not need to do. someday, maybe we'll have software that actually works.

Don't forget things like fair rental value of home as an expense paid by parents. I have yet to find a young full-time college student who's parents are not contributing more than half of the kids support.....it's possible, but not likely. Also...If you find that she is NOT a dependent on parent's return, make sure you CAREFULLY read the AOC rules for people under age 24. I had one young lady who was completely on her own (did not live with or received any support from parents). Under age 24, full-time student, parent are living....etc....according to special rules for under age 24, she did NOT qualify for the refundable portion of the AOC...the best she could do was lower her tax to zero.