Margaret CPA in OH

New client last year in the process of divorce came with IRS letter about MFJ 2010 return. Major balance due and ex tight with info. I got POA for her and transcript, recreated the return both MFJ and MFS. He 'forgot' to input basis of stocks sold and took loss of $3000. With MFS, she clearly had a refund from withheld tax. All stocks were in his name only and she 'trusted' him and his accountant and signed returns. I advised filing 8379 but she demurred thinking it was too invasive and 'sure' the ex would get this straightened out. Last week she received Final Notice of Intent to Levy. This, after her 2013 refund of $1800 was confiscated and still a balance due. She did manage to get her refund from him but now is afraid of intent to levy. Of course we can have a hearing but right up front she should include an 8379. I told her it may not help now as sol is expired. She called ex, he says he now has a payment plan. She wants me to check and see. I know of no way to confirm that as I do not have his POA. Any ideas? My suggestion was to get in his face, demand that he get a loan and pay the balance then deal with IRS and his so-called basis on his own. She is very concerned now about her credit and house she just bought.

A dear friend, Bremen born and 84 this year, is an avid Scrabble player - in English. I am printing this to show her - she will love it!

This is about 5 minutes long but just beautiful. I love nature... http://www.good.is/video/yosemite-hd-video-filmed-through-200-mile-backpacking-and-10-months?utm_source=dailygood&utm_medium=email&utm_content=learn&utm_term=2&utm_campaign=title

See my avatar with my 'staff' hard at work.

Yes, to dogs we are gods; to cats we are staff...

I can't answer the direct question but can tell you that I received a club newsletter last week that had someone's state tax payment envelope slipped into to it clearly in error. It looked as if the mail carrier may have tossed outgoing mail in with lots of other mail and shuffled things together. Clearly the payment was past due by the time it arrived at my house. I put it into the mail with a note stating that it was in the newsletter but it could easily have fallen out or someone else could have tossed it. Mail gets lost, sad to say.

Thanks for the link, Catherine. That sounds like so much fun! I only remember Loon Mtn. for skiing when we lived in Boston. This looks more my speed these many years later.

Hang in there, Catherine. There is a reason your instructor is the instructor and you are the student. Even those who eventually make it to Carnegie got there through practice, practice, practice. And now you have time for some more of that. I admire the determination to do something so different. My husband decided about 14 years ago he wanted to play the Celtic harp. So he bought a kit, built it, taught himself to play and a couple of years ago 'graduated' to a 5 ft. floor harp. He plays at the library, coffee houses, weddings, etc. and practices...a lot. Keep it up. I am sure you will do a wonderful job. We're planning a trip to New England in September or October so maybe we'll be in the audience!

I usually include it at no extra charge at least until they are out of school. The W-2 is typically a part-time job and I like to get them their refunded tax withheld. I have had several of those 'kids' become full paying clients over the years. When the child has investment income, however, I do charge if there are security transactions and kiddie tax is in play.

#5 for me this year. Felt so sorry for couple. Husband on disability (he did fall off a roof and break his back) and wife working in a bakery just above minimum wage, 4 kids but 2 with full ride scholarships (they must be doing something right. Then talk about how excited to get that huge refund EITC and CTC so they could travel - to Europe! And I did their son's return for zip. Not any longer...

Thanks for getting back to me. It does seem unusual to add undistributed income, cg's, divs, etc. to corpus, though. Not quite sure how that would work unless the sums are used to reinvest or left in cash form. Are you instead just leaving in 58a and b but considering those amounts as corpus? And transposition was not helpful for sure I am glad that you got it figured out. Sometimes it does make one's eyes glaze over and rereading all the details can help. No apologies at all are needed. Glad I could help even if only to make you look again. This board is so helpful and I contribute so little and receive so much. Have a great season end as you wrap this puppy up!

If there were undistributed amounts from one year (forgot, wrong amount, made the following year) that would be a liability on the bs. It happened to me once but was distributed by January the following year. No foul. If corpus was distributed, then you probably had gains/losses that should have come into play, too, and offset the cash and distributed amounts. Are you sure you took the expenses from the cash available or listed them if unpaid as liabilities? I guess I am a bit confused. If your assets equal the net assets, you are good. The assets minus zero liabilities equal net assets, right? If so, I don't understand why there would be any reason to 'plug' any number. And I don't understand a message the tells you something doesn't match without identifying what that is, exactly. What is the actual verbiage of the message? What are the numbers in each column? PM me if you wish.

Hi, I just returned from a dive trip last week so am only now seeing this. From inception you should have had a balanced balance sheet. The initial contribution should have been either cash or securities or other assets matched exactly with trust principal or corpus, line 57. Then as the assets changed (maybe stock sold or dividend income increased cash and distributions were made to the benes) the Net Assets lines may have changed as needed. Corpus may have had to be distributed to reach the required percentage if insufficient income was earned. Do the terms of the CRUT include distribution of cap gains? Lots of questions but every year should have had a match of assets and net assets. Do you have the returns from inception? One client I had required that I amend about 5 years' worth because the balance sheet didn't balance. And remember that corpus never changes unless distributed or additional contributions were made. All changes in the balance sheet should be reflected via cash and cap gains. Columns a and b are book value so any changes would be easily followed by cash received and cap gains (losses) realized. I have not plugged figures, didn't have to. Rounding did take place within a couple of dollars due to valuation but no plugging. I'm not quite sure what to tell you. Is it possible to go back to the first return and set it straight?

Have the magnolias on Comm Ave bloomed yet? I used to live at Beacon and Fairfield and was in awe the first year I saw them. Simply gorgeous!

That spring is not isolated in New England. Here in Cincinnati, after weekend temps of 80, we have a lovely dusting of snow on the ground and all the flowering trees and bushes. High of 40 today. I really hope it stays above freezing by the time I return from my dive trip. We bought new glass double doors in January which are still waiting to be installed as it hasn't been warm enough to be without doors for a couple of hours. I am hoping they will be as lovely as I recall!

Well, I think I will just tell him to be sure to take it to IRS. There is no change except to correct the cap loss carryover reducing it significantly. Corrected 1041 K-1 arrived this morning. We shall see what happens down the road. He actually does not recall the exact date it was filed and not likely the 15, sooooooo.... If a nastygram arrives, I will deal with it. Thanks, Lion. I sort of kind of recalled 'received' being operative, too, but the instructions don't say that, at least not that I can find.

I can't find in the instructions for 1040X but have a nagging suspicion that it must be received by IRS by 4.15. Anyone know for certain? Yeah a last minute and he can carry to IRS. Grrrr...

If the client is retired clergy and the church established a retirement account, a 403 ( b )(7) or (9) plan, some or all of the account distribution can be designated as a housing allowance and excludable so long as the requirements for a valid housing allowance are met. The designation must be made before payment is made. Pages 528-529, 2014 Church and Clergy Tax Guide. There is much more and IRS is still mulling over some of this but I have taken it for retired Methodist ministers.

Too many people who are employed and earning more than a living wage are living above those means. The constant bombardment of advertising for the must have latest technology, clothes, cars, you name it, feeds into a mindset that says they 'need' whatever. That and gambling which has become ubiquitous. It is very sad, indeed. Pensions may have been a drain on some businesses but, as you point out, there may now be a class that will have nothing left but the remaining taxpayers. My family has always lived pretty well below our means sometimes to the dismay of our son as a youngster wearing clothes from K-Mart instead of name labels. He is now grateful and lives much the same actually in a better position with his retirement than we were at his age.

Thank you! I never would have imagined... Now I wonder why the E-file Manager doesn't deserve it, too. There are more than twice as many records. Oh, well, the 'thought lost' have been found and I can rest easier now. Whew!

So I was scrolling down my list of completed returns to check on one down the alphabet. It seems that only through most of R are shown. I can Find the others by typing the name in the box and they all appear in the completed list of the E-file Manager but where did they go in the Return Manager? And I can't find where they are backed up on my drive although I looked at where I thought they should be. It's a mystery...

It is truly wonderful that this community has remained so strong, thanks primarily to Eric and KC, for so long. It is also wonderful that so many of us go back even further, maybe as far as 1997 when I joined ATX users, and still remain a family, colleagues always ready to help each other and welcome new folks all the time. I know my practice would not be what it is without my virtual office here at this community. Thanks to all for keeping on!

Thanks so much, Eric. Beautiful, indeed. As a diver I can certainly vouch for the beautiful colors when seen with a light shone on the corals. It's amazing the first time one dives to any depth and sees the colors pop out with a bright light. Otherwise things look pretty dull but they are not. Cayman Brac next Saturday WOO HOO! Chuuk Lagoon and Palau in July WOOOOOO HOOOOOO!

At this point in time, I would suggest, no, insist on an extension for 2013 and tackle them all later. Good for client to finally try to get back on track, though, at least before getting nailed. I kinda doubt repayment can be made through payroll deductions but don't know for sure. I am only familiar with direct debit or mailed checks. It may be possible, given time, for client to scrounge up legit deductions that could mitigate the initially obvious tax balance. All the transcripts show is income. What about state tax liability? I'm sure others will chime in. Best of luck to both of you!

JJStephens gave you the whole scoop. I didn't want to scare you will all that detail until/unless you found out whether your client was even in a taxing school district. It is TMI, as he says, but does serve to provoke additional sympathy for those of us in Ohio. All states have issues: CA and NY come to mind. But we got some issues here, too! Let us know whether you have to deal with this. As you can see, help is available!