Margaret CPA in OH

I'm good for sporadic periods May-December. Have to figure in reunions, dive trip, senior olympics, etc. TN is driving distance for me; MA, not so much but I will be there sometime this year to visit best friend's new granddaughter (I'll visit my friend, too, I guess).

Thanks for all the sympathy with or without tea. My concern is that one filed AFTER 3 others was ack'ed within 2 days. I've had many years of efiling 1099's so am accustomed to waiting and waiting and waiting but not when acceptances were so out of order. I, too, have read the IRS info about the FIRE system as I receive virtually all the IRS notifications. As I wrote " Not really expecting answers, just want some understanding (sniff, sniff)." I have patience but not so much understanding...

I've already had the unsatisfactory email exchange with support and have looked multiple times at the efile status on the website but 3 of my 1099's efiled from Jan. 29 are still in transmitted status while one on Jan 30 was accepted Feb. 2 and one on Jan. 13 was accepted on Jan. 23. The message is IRS is slow and don't retransmit but why the disparity in these? Not really expecting answers, just want some understanding (sniff, sniff).

I have it with the new program update in MAX and have tried it on a couple of simple returns. Are you sure you added the form to the return? It automatically updated for me.

I could bring Cincinnati Chili! It's different.

One summary I have seen shows for aged or blind above the standard deduction for 2018 is $1300 and $1600 with a note that IRS Rev Proc 2017-58 (only for aged and blind as the tax act didn't change these amounts from 2017 either).

In the past, I have edited the Master Forms and selected a different font. Guess I got lazy because I just have the name printed now so am not sure that font change is still possible.

"Most" of the issues may be resolved, true, but were any expenses (only insurance was mentioned) charged to the corp? What about the licensing and plates renewals? Maintenance such as gas? What is meant by the daughter using it 'in business?' Whose business? And there is still the gift return issue, I should think. I've had ugly situations before but this one is particularly, um, interesting!

From ATX KB: How do I display the full Social Security Number on Form 109x in ATX™/TaxWise® W2/1099-Payroll Compliance? Do the following: Click the Payers Info tab. Unselect Check (X) to truncate EIN/SSN on Recipient copies check box.

I use Adobe Pro and encrypt at 256-bit level with a password with some parts known only between the recipient and me. This has worked for about 4-5 years now. I send an email ahead stating "(d)to advanced encryption required by IRS, you must now have Adobe Reader 10 or above. If you need to download a free version of Adobe Reader 10, 11 or DC go here <https://get.adobe.com/reader/> There are other pdf readers but you must have one compatible with 256-bit encryption. The files are password protected and the password is XXXXXX" My reading of IRS requirements tells me this meets the standard.

I have had a firefighter as a client for nearly 20 years who trusts me implicitly (after bailing her out of deep doo doo with a business misadventure). I had to prove to her with documentation about the disallowed deductions she had been taking and 'all the other guys take them' stories. I just told her, I wouldn't take them no matter what the others did or didn't do. She reluctantly agreed and no longer even tries that now.

Greed, on the parts of the preparers and taxpayers, is a powerful motivator. Sadly, our society has devolved and continues to do so into a strong consumerist and 'me' centric environment. It's sad to see the growth of me vs. us. There are times when I question clients about non-charitable deductions. When they have to put the value on that bag of clothes, I ask them to consider whether the intent of the contribution was charity or simply a tax deduction. Would the donation have been made without the tax benefit? It will be interesting to see how contributions compare with the new tax law.

Thanks, FDNY; I needed that as probably will anyone else who reads it. Great way to begin the year, with a smile on my face and a laugh out loud!

So sorry to read this. There is never good timing for such events. It just seems this cutie had at least a couple of years of a loving family, more than too many get.

NECPA, please provide updates. Many of us have animal 'kids' and of course care about out human kids. I know our son and we have been through similar emergencies over the years, not always with the outcome desired. I hope Hobbes and you and your son overcome this and have a great New Year.

Some of us are still recovering from last night; some of us are actually taking a holiday before the fit hits the shan; one of us just finally finished all the engagement letters to mail out. Sorry I don't know any good jokes It was in single digits here so I didn't participate in the fun run today. It won't be fun tomorrow evening or Saturday morning either as marathon training began last Saturday. I really don't like this cold - brrrr!

Good question, Judy. I didn't open it earlier but have now. It is marked Draft. I would think it may be possible to begin preparation soon, however, but not print or efile since it is so early. I'm just happy to see 1041, even a draft, as the trust returns I do ( last year, hooray!) can be started as soon as the December statements are available. Then I just wait until the 1099's are online to double check allocations (until the corrected ones appear). It just feels good to begin something before the deluge arrives!

Hmm, ATX has 1040 as of Nov. 27, vs 180.

I went to the emoji thingy above, then Categories in the drop down box in the upper right then Default. I just knew that it was available somewhere having made many appearances in this forum! I suspect it will be heavily used in the next several months.

The NATP summary lists 'the most notable changes taking effect after December 31, 2017' so I interpret that as tax year 2018. " Pass-through Businesses Non-corporate taxpayers, including trusts or estate. who have domestic qualified business income (QBI) from a partnership, S corporation, or sole proprietorship are allowed to deduct 20% of business-related income, subject to certain wage limits and exceptions. The remaining income is subject to normal individual rates. The 20% deduction in not allowed in computing adjusted gross income (AGI), but rather is allowed as a deduction reducing taxable income. It does not reduce income subject to SE tax. The deduction is also not allowed for businesses offering certain personal services........" Does this answer your question?

I've tried twice to post to the official board but neither post appeared. Not sure why. I'm trying to add a couple of things to the Organizer questionnaire pertinent to my client base and I want to delete the line in the upper right for SSN_____. The letters come out in all caps so it looks weird as the rest is mixed case and the system will not allow deletion of that line. Suggestions? I've done this in the past so not sure what the issue is this time.

But, but, but pull to the right or to the left? Facing forward or towards the wall? Needs more deliberation, I think.

Hah! TODAY it works. That is exactly how I tried multiple times to access as I have done multiple times in the past. But when I needed it earlier this week, I got as far as clicking on the entity to use and got this message: This service will be unavailable due to system maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience. If more information is available, you can find it by selecting the service from the Tools page. Return to IRS.gov home. At least agent 2 was able to assist me to prepare to mentally yell at this client for not letting me know about this earlier and that he actually paid IRS a balance due. IRA withdrawals - $18,600 but no 1099 R's for me. He isn't yet at RMD's and of course did not complete the questionnaire so how do I know? My Karnak turban hasn't been working well for some time.

I ended up calling the Practitioner hotline, twice, and faxed 2848, twice, to get the answers I needed. Only took about 90 minutes total... First agent stated that client had no CP2000 so no worries. Called state back, challenged how they could have received a CP2000. Was told they had to have some documentation. Soooo, back to hotline, again. Second agent went deeper and discovered CP2000 resolved while first agent simply did not see one 'active.' So I have dutifully chastised client by email for not having provided this information last June when he paid the additional tax to IRS. Grrrr, yes I am charging for this although I normally wouldn't. Second agent sent wage transcript as well as account transcript for which I would have asked first agent had she not insisted there was no outstanding issue currently. Technically correct but not the whole story.