Jack from Ohio

There is nothing you can do to speed the process. The school will just have to wait. IRS is so logjammed with the implementation of the anti-fraud and anti-indentity theft sorting, that it will probably be June before they get caught up. The reason schools demand transcripts is because so many people in the past have forged tax returns to receive benefits they were not eligible for. (Sounds like the banking industry, doesn't it??) Problem is that the IRS being too slow hurts only taxpayers and their kids in these situations.

There is much more involved than Pub 4681. There is a lengthy discussion in this thread... Your tax preparation software should also lead you in the direction of the correct way to report this for your client.

Consulting an attorney about legal matters is your best course of action.

If my fees are $0, I still file as the paid preparer. The IRS does not care. The possible downside is that you are still "responsible" as the paid preparer even if done for $0.

Take it off line 21, fill out 982 marking the bankruptcy box.

I distinctly remember the IRS no longer allows 8453 to be mailed. I also remember the IRS not allowing this procedure. Don't remember exactly when, but it was discussed very thouroughly on this forum. With MEF, all attachments can be sent as .pdf files attached to the e-file. Please correct me if I am mistaken? Excel spreadsheets are TOTALLY flexible as to names of columns, position of colums, etc. Just rework the file to meet the inport requirments, then import. With 500 transactions, it will take FAR less time. Excel 2007 or later has powerful tools to change entire colums, or delete specifice data from a specific column. Let Excel do all the tedious work.

It is a conspiracy by the Postal Service.....

I have template letters for responding to CP2000 for unreported stock sales. Rest assured, if you do not file their return and include the stock sales, in less than 18 months you will be doing it anyway, with a client that will be asking... "Why didn't you tell me I needed to file a year ago?" If no return is filed, the IRS will issue a CP2000 showing the total receipts from the stock sales as income and NO BASIS! Properly computed, the gain may be a loss or just a few hundred dollars. Accept the advice of the experienced members here. FILE THE RETURN WITH THE STOCK SALES!!!

Check out CA. Having this issue with Norton is what led me to discover CA about 5 years ago. Only get anti-virus and anti-spyware. Leave all the other "protection" junk off your computer.

Your tax software should take care of handling the carryback.

Get a better anti-virus.... Computer Associates CA will not do that. We have 11 workstations using it, and I have 15 computer customers' computers using it. Free is not best.

Could be a strategy by the defendents in this case.....

Just received this in an e-mail... Names removed to protect the guilty!! <<<"I will be mailing in our tax info by the end of this week. I am planning a trip out of town April 11th thru the 18th. I know I have to sign our taxes before you electronically send them? My husband wanted to make sure that we will get them before I leave for out of town. Can you advise me on when I will be able to get the paperwork back, and or if I should postpone my trip. I realize I should have gotten you the info before now, I apologize for the lateness.">>> Ya just gotta love our clients!!!

PEBKAC - The most common I.T. problem.... Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair.

I have interest only in being a tax preparer. You ignore my challenge... <<<"...as I have already arrived!">>> In other words, put your money where your mouth is. I would doubt you could pass the CPA exam today. Lots have changed in 35 years. I am simply calling you out on your statement of superiority. I do NOT take such a position. I did NOT say something insulting to a broad base of experienced and knowledgable professionals, i.e. Enrolled Agents. <<<"...you guys in general are out of your league.">>> I have no need to become a CPA. Enrolled Agent status is sufficient for my professional needs. Your CPA designation does not give you ANY MORE privileges before the IRS than E.A. does. Your level of pomposity is nauseating!

It is an epidemic!!! I have answered that question 25 times this year at least!! ME: "You made more money, you had less taxable income, your withholdings were considerably lower, you kept a greater percentage of your income than last year." HER: "But why is my refund smaller? Something must be wrong." ME: "Did you notice your paychecks being larger?" Her: "My checks are direct deposited and I never even look at them." :dunno:

I would politely disagree!! The number of returns that I have corrected in the last 8 years that were prepared by CPAs flies in the face of your assumption. I would dare to say, in the field of tax preparation, I can hold my own against ANY CPA. In the areas where I do not practice that a CPA does, I don't even begin to claim any more than a basic understanding. I DARE you to go take the current E.A. exam with no preparation. According to you, we are so way out of our league that you should pass it with flying colors. I am willing to bet a steak dinner at a restaurant of the winner's choice that you will not pass all 3 sections on the first try. <<<"When push comes to shove you guys in general are out of your league.>>> I say, put your money where your mouth is and go take the E.A. exam. If you are as all knowing and knowledgable as you propose, I will be paying!! DARE YOU!!!

There is only one person who can accurately answer your question. Problem is, they are buried deep inside the massive infrastructure of the IRS, and are only accessable once a week. (for feeding) The security surrounding them is the tightest in the known world. That person knows all the answers to all the paradoxial answers that are part of preparing taxes. If this person was ever unleashed, the IRS would soon loose its purpose for existance. Therefor the reason the IRS keeps them locked securely away from any outsiders.

The Dahli Lama walks in to a pizza place and says: "Make me one with everything."

It is the word "Certified" that people hone in on. It sounds more important than "Enrolled."

subject to 2%

I currently have 1,300+ returns in the system, and 2,129 e-file files in the manager. I have a paper and folder system that works, but it is laborious and time consuming. Especially when the held state returns do not release when the Fed is accepted. If anyone finds an automated way to check for the held/accepted, or to check those returns that have been completed but not e-filed, I am all over it!!

The 1099-A is NOT forgiveness of debt. That is a 1099C. Two entirely separate transactions. The 1099-A indicates that the property was taken back by the bank for the amount OWED on the note. It is a transfer of property. The transaction must be treated like a sale. If there is gain, then it is capital gains. If there is a loss, there is no capital gains. FMV on the 1099-A serves only for information. If you do not make payments you owe on a loan secured by property, the lender may foreclose on the loan or repossess the property. The foreclosure or repossession is treated as a sale from which you may realize gain or loss. This is true even if you voluntarily return the property to the lender. If the outstanding loan balance was more than the FMV of the property and the lender cancels all or part of the remaining loan balance, you also may realize ordinary income from the cancellation of debt. You must report this income on your return unless certain exceptions or exclusions apply. See chapter 1 for more details. Borrower's gain or loss. You figure and report gain or loss from a foreclosure or repossession in the same way as gain or loss from a sale. The gain is the difference between the amount realized and your adjusted basis in the transferred property (amount realized minus adjusted basis). The loss is the difference between your adjusted basis in the transferred property and the amount realized (adjusted basis minus amount realized). For more information on figuring gain or loss from the sale of property, see Gain or Loss From Sales and Exchanges in Publication 544. http://www.irs.gov/publications/p4681/ch02.html

Selling price is the amount that the bank "forgave" for the property. Using FMV is not correct.

I have never had this issue for e-filing.