Terry D EA

Okay I know I am tired as well as sick and I should know this answer but. Client has rental property that he moved his mother into. Mom does not pay rent, I say no expense or depreciation deductions as the property is not available for rent and currently no income. Correct?

Thanks KC and that is what I thought. The loss occured two weeks ago so this will be looked at for TY2014. He is planning for next year and trying to make a good choice by knowing all the facts. I wish all my clients would do this but then that would be too easy.

I think you are correct as well. He has not disposed of the property yet. But, the land value was separated at the beginning of the depreciation schedule so there may be a gain there as well. Also, there is some remaining depreciation that will come into play when he disposes of it. I still think he will have to report the gain if he chooses not to rebuild regardless of whether he sells the land or not. This is what I need to know.

One of my clients owns several rental properties and had a total loss of a multi-family building due to a fire. He is thinking about not rebuilding the building and just selling the lot. The building has been depreciated out and the insurance company has given him $115,000 to start to rebuild. The total loss came to 194,000 give or take. If he does take the 115,000.00 and not rebuild then I think this amount is taxable gain due to the fact the building has been completely depreciated. Am I correct here or is there something I am missing.

Thanks for all the replies. I guess the season is wearing me down. After a good nights rest I see where my difficulties were and it was with the input areas. All is well and thanks for your help

I agree that clients should understand. Had the situation today where a client had an appointment but never told me about (3) schedule "C" that I would be preparing. Threw the rest of the day off. My attitude is the same as michaelmars. All of us have waited way past our appointment times to see a doctor, dentist or some other medical professional. To me, it is the nature of our business.

This is an area that I should be well versed in but haven't done too many in the past. Here is the situation: Client spouse has funds deposited to an HSA by her employer. These amounts are not deductible and I am well aware of that. However the worksheet that I am using pulls information from the W-2 form because of the "W" code. There is a line on the worksheet that asks for the total contributions for the year. A couple of lines down has the employer deposits of 500.00. The client experienced 450 in medical expenses. The program is showing a total deduction of 450.00. Is this correct? She did not personally contribute to this HSA and my thinking is that this is incorrect due to the entry of 500.00 showing twice. Help please.

I gotta go with Catherine on this one. I find it quite interesting that a number of us have the same thoughts or processes when it comes to preparing different types of returns. I too planned today for the ugly returns and even some that I didn;t complete because of needed research.

I agree the user guide is a little weak. I tried to create a pdf of a 1040 with various schedules to e-mail to a client for some kind of application. The only way I accomplished this was to change my default printer to cutepdf printer. Too many hoops and I will call on this as well. I did ask them to fix the way information is entered on the 8253 form cause when you tab down it goes all over the place. That was a couple of weeks ago and today when I completed that form the cursor still goes all over the place. Overall I think this is good software but agree there are some quirks.

When I give a quote I always tell them the price is subject to go up if there are any additional forms or items needed to complete their tax return. I make sure that I tell them the quote is an "estimate". Each and every "OhYeaH I forgot to mention" comes with a price increase.

This sounds like an insurance policy the taxpayer owned and he surrendered the value of the policy thus receiving a check for said surrender value. Not knowing what the policy was or how it was funded makes it difficult to answer. However, if this was a life insurance policy and the premium paid with post tax funds then it is not taxable. If there were any other type of policy/annuity etc that was surrendered that earned interest then the interest would be taxable. I kind a doubt this is interest but then again, can't be sure. Ask your client some additional questions as to why he placed this stub with the rest of his tax documents.

yes you are lucky indeed. You could have gotten alot more than just tax information. I would count my blessings too. Had a client not too long ago that was coughing and sneezing all over the place. Thank God for Lysol and it worked.

I did this very thing for a new client this year. I am now hoping that I don't regret my decision. I have never done it in the past but tried to give this tax payer a break. This is what happens when your heart gets in the way of business.

Again, I am new at this. I don't have a clear understanding as to why I would file a 1040 which is a US resident return for someone who is no longer a resident of the US. I am not really sure if there is a filing requirement at all. The 1099R has 10,000 distribution. Thats it no other income and no other deductions. Simple as can be but I want to be sure the correct form is used. KC, thanks for the link for the ACA and the info.

This is a new one for me. Former client moved back home to Portugal. He moved at the end of 2012 so last year was a normal 1040. This year, and if I am correct, he has income from a U.S. retirement account with federal withholdings which require the 1040NR? Any help will be appreciated. A little more info maybe helpful. 1. Client has left the US for good. 2. Client was a resident US citizen for a number of years. 3. It would appear that this client needs to submit in writing to the IRS and under the penalties of purgery that he no longer lives in the US. I read this in Pub 519. Also, this client thinks he may be penalized for not complying with the Affordable Health Care Act.

It wouldn't matter to me what year the car was from if it was indeed a good car and still providing good service. Got your point. I don't use the old machine for tax prep for obvious reasons. The old machine will be put to rest at the end of this season.

Yes, I have one of those considered ancient computers. However, the thing is going strong. I use it as a work machine for spreadsheets, e-mail, and among many other things. I just hate to replace it. But....

The only thing I can think of is do you have a bullet checked yes at the top of the input screen where it asks if this is professional real estate property? That may prohibit the loss from flowing thorugh. Maybe the 8582 is needed to report the loss and determine the allowable amount. If none of these suggestions help, call Dan at support and I am sure he will get this figured out.

First time that I have ever seen one of these. Client is a resident of NC and received a 1099 G from Maryland. No Federal tax withheld or State. Program is generating a MD non-resident State return along with the NC. Shows an amonunt due to Maryland and a credit to NC for taxes paid to another State. I got the NC part but am just a bit confused with the MD. I am assuming that because this money was from MD and earned in NC that it is taxable to MD and only a portion is taxable to NC. Am I on track here or is there something that I am missing. Everything seems right but because I am unfamaliar with this type of 1099G that makes me feel a bit uncomfortable.

One of my instructors in college had various degrees, CPA, CMA,; etc but wouldn't touch tax work of any kind. And yes, I acutally prepare a return for an accountant. Some would just rather work with the books.

Someone here can correct me if I'm wrong but I thought it illegal for a tax preparer to enter a value for any donated item. I will agree that sometimes the client's valuation is off and I do warn them about this and let them know that acceptable FMV price is thrift store price. The Salvation Army gives a good guide and a range of the condition of the donated items. How can you tell the condition of the item when you weren't present when it was donated? I insist that all my clients submit an itemzied list with values assigned. If I know they are outrageous I will tell them so and make them adjust it. Example one guy wanted to claim $600.00 each for donating three of four Armani suits. Really? thrift store range from $15.00 to $30.00.

Preparing my first three extensions this week.

I agree with you regarding the recording of questions and answers. I don't think the questions and answers at the bottom of the 8867 get transmitted and is to be kept for our records in the event we get a compliance audit. Again, I am not using ATX and my software has a note to the affect of the non-filing of the questions and answers.

My question exactly.

Contact the client and have him contact the property manager to get the detail on the rent. you can't just ignore the 1099 as you must allocate it to the Schedule E.