Lee B

The problem with buying systems at Costco or Sams Club is that the internal components may be of lower quality to achieve a desirable price point. I have purchased Dell systems thru Dell online for over 20 years without any problems, except that my current Win 7 Pro 64 bit system will have graphics driver problems several times a month.

One could argue that you have received a benefit by structuring the transaction this way so that there is no additional deduction to be claimed.

I sure hope they can come up with something better than the first draft, which was way worse than the 2018 W -4 ! "The planned final release of a revamped 2019 Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, could be delayed a year, a source familiar with the revision process the Treasury Department is applying told Bloomberg Tax on Sept. 6. Members of the payroll and service-provider communities said in comments to the Treasury Department that failing to finalize the 2019 draft by midyear would severely hamper the ability of many employers to effectively adopt the changes of the new form in time for 2019. A draft 2019 Form W-4 was released in June and a second draft was planned to be released in August, but there is no date for when a second draft would be available, Scott Mezistrano, IRS representative for industry stakeholder engagement and outreach, said Sept. 6 in a monthly payroll industry teleconference. A release of the W-4 with its significant changes at this time of year likely means constrained time frames for design, programming, analysis, and the significant testing needed to ensure proper implementation, said Pete Isberg, president of the National Payroll Reporting Consortium."

Medicare announced today, "To provide additional flexibility for those in need of a hardship exemption for 2018, CMS is announcing that consumers can claim hardship exemptions either by obtaining an ECN through the FFE using the existing application process, or on a federal income tax return without presenting the documentary evidence or written explanation generally required for hardship exemptions."

Bicycle Commuting Reimbursements No Longer Excluded from Employees’ Income but Still Deductible by Employers Under the new tax law, employers can deduct qualified bicycle commuting reimbursements as a business expense for 2018 through 2025. The new tax law suspends the exclusion of qualified bicycle commuting reimbursements from an employee’s income for 2018 through 2025. Employers must now include these reimbursements in the employee’s wages. Qualified Moving Expenses Reimbursements No Longer Excluded from Employees’ Income Except for Certain Members of the Armed Forces For 2018 through 2025, employers must include moving expense reimbursements in employees’ wages. The new tax law suspends the exclusion for qualified moving expense reimbursements. One exception: Members of the U.S. Armed Forces can still exclude qualified moving expense reimbursements from their income if: They are on active duty They move pursuant to a military order and incident to a permanent change of station The move expenses would qualify as a deduction if the employee didn’t get a reimbursement Employee Achievement Award — Tangible Personal Property Defined Special rules allow an employee to exclude certain achievement awards from their wages if the awards are tangible personal property. An employer also may deduct awards that are tangible personal property, subject to certain deduction limits. The new law clarifies that tangible personal property doesn’t include cash, cash equivalents, gift cards, gift coupons, certain gift certificates, tickets to theater or sporting events, vacations, meals, lodging, stocks, bonds, securities, and other similar items

The question is can a son with his parents POA give himself a nontaxable gift ?

According to this news article, one year later, no sanctions or enforcements of any kind have been taken against Equifax. Business as usual - more sheep to be fleeced ! https://apnews.com/3e135a3f5b1941a48a9cb9692950d11e/A-year-after-Equifax-breach,-no-enforcement-actions

IR-2018-178, Sept. 5, 2018 WASHINGTON — Business taxpayers who make business-related payments to charities or government entities for which the taxpayers receive state or local tax credits can generally deduct the payments as business expenses, the Internal Revenue Service said today. Responding to taxpayer inquiries, the IRS clarified that this general deductibility rule is unaffected by the recent notice of proposed rulemaking concerning the availability of a charitable contribution deduction for contributions pursuant to such programs. The business expense deduction is available to any business taxpayer, regardless of whether it is doing business as a sole proprietor, partnership or corporation, as long as the payment qualifies as an ordinary and necessary business expense. Therefore, businesses generally can still deduct business-related payments in full as a business expense on their federal income tax return. The key phrase here is "business related payments". So what would be a qualifying business related payment ? How wide or narrow is this definition ?

I assume you are working on a 2017 return with a transaction that happened before 1/1/18, because under the TCJA like kind exchanges will only be allowed for real property .

I have been using prior year Drake programs, since my ATX 2016 program will no longer open. Since I did not buy ATX 2017, ATX will not support any of the prior year programs that I purchased.

I wouldn't touch this for double or triple the normal fee !

When I converted earlier this year,I noticed that Drake gives you a lot more method selections than ATX. Several of the choices are a bit confusing, which is where I found my differences.

Moving expenses are gone except for military on active duty.

It seems to me that you would have the same security as you would with any unencrypted email.

I am also downsizing and would be interested in a basic low volume E Fax service, preferably one where I can port over my current fax number . Thanks in advance,

I am a 20 year ATX user who switched to Drake for this last tax season. I purchased Drake 2017 and did not purchase ATX 2017. Looking back, I can't think of a single reason why I should have purchased ATX 2017. The conversion went well without too many hiccups. You can check some of my posts in this forum earlier this year

I wouldn't reach any conclusions until I had my client check to see how much was debited from their checking account.

Copied from Tax Pro Today: Connecticut Pass-Through Tax Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy signed legislation in May that sets a 6.99 percent levy — the state’s top marginal individual income tax rate — on pass-through entities, which report their income on owners’ personal returns. Pass-through owners then get a credit equal to 93 percent of the owner’s share of tax paid by the business. The strategy effectively lets pass-through owners take bigger federal write-offs to help offset their previously unlimited SALT deductions. For example, if a Connecticut partnership has two partners and $1 million in income in total, it would pay the state $69,000 under the new pass-through entity tax. That would leave $931,000 of taxable income to pass along to the two partners. The two partners could deduct 93 percent of that $69,000, or $32,085 each, from their federal tax bills — an offset that could compensate for the SALT cap. Still, some tax professionals aren’t sure the state’s plan, which took effect on Jan. 1, will work. Depending on how much income your pass-through makes, the workaround “might not cover your SALT bill,” said John Ermer, an accountant and tax partner at Beers, Hamerman, Cohen & Burger in New Haven, Connecticut. If the IRS were to issue regulations striking down these types of arrangements, or the arrangements were challenged in an audit, taxpayers could be in a position where they pay the state more than their tax bill was in the first place, said Michael D’Addio, a principal at accounting firm Marcum.

It seems to me that this is like saying that there is no difference between the valuation of standing timber and the value of the same timber delivered as logs to the log deck of a lumber mill.

Possi, Just in case that you also use ATX, ATX uses a number of hidden files. Carbonite will not back up any hidden files.

The best workaround that I have read about would have the states tax S Corporations and Partnerships at the entity level since state and local taxes on business profits at the entity level are always deductible. I wonder, if it would be possible to structure a state or local tax at the Schedule C or Schedule E level ? Hmmmm

Industry Groups urge fixes for errors in TCJA By Michael Cohn Published August 22 2018, 4∶18pm EDT A broad coalition of hundreds of industry associations and companies sent a letter Wednesday to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin urging him to resolve errors in last year’s tax code overhaul related to depreciation rules and net operating loss carrybacks. The nearly 300 business groups include the National Retail Federation, the National Restaurant Association, the National Grocers Association, the National Federation of Independent Business, the National Association of Theater Owners, as well as large companies such as McDonald’s, Best Buy, Kroger, Wendy’s and Yum Brands. The hastily drafted tax legislation sailed through Congress late last year with few hearings, driven by Republicans eager to pass the bill before the end of the year. By passing it last December, they were able to use a budget reconciliation procedure that allowed it to pass in the Senate without the threat of a filibuster. The text on draft versions of some provisions was written by hand, and Democrats objected to the way the bill was being rushed through Congress, warning it would need technical corrections. Bloomberg News Last week, a group of Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee asked the IRS and the Treasury Department to issue guidance based on their explanation of the “congressional intent” behind several provisions, including the net operating loss deduction and qualified improvement property expensing referred to in the industry letter (see Senate Republicans clarify intent of TCJA provisions). Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, remodeling and other improvements to stores or buildings were supposed to be fully depreciated in the first year the work is done. Instead, a mistake in the legislative language requires the depreciation to be done over the course of 39 years. In a separate error, the legislation made a mistake in the effective date of carryback eligibility, which the industry groups complained would lead to a retroactive tax increase on businesses with losses, some of which are already facing liquidity issues. The timing difference is crucial for cash-strapped businesses that were counting on the carryback to finance their continuing operations as well as investments needed to revitalize their businesses, they pointed out. Brickand- mortar retail chains across the country like Toys 'R' Us have been closing in recent years because of competition from online retailers like Amazon They complained that confusion over the provisions is keeping them from improving property in businesses such as restaurants and stores. “The delay in correcting these provisions has caused economic hardship (that is) delaying investments across the economy that impact the communities in which these companies are doing business,” the groups wrote in a letter. “We urge the Treasury Department to issue guidance that will assure that these provisions are administered as intended by Congress.” In addition to economic impact, the groups said the drafting errors have raised safety concerns by delaying projects such as upgrading sprinkler systems, “creating a more perilous situation for our nation’s firefighters.” They argued that the need to correct the errors is becoming more urgent because most retailers have to file their first income tax returns related to the change on November 15, according to the letter. A national chain can file up to 100 federal, state and local income tax returns and, if the errors aren’t corrected before then, may have to file 100 amended returns once the mistakes are fixed. Such a time-consuming and costly process, the industry groups noted, would contradict President Trump’s executive order in April 2017 aimed at reducing tax regulatory burdens.

Additional information on the K-1s will be required due to the definition of what constitutes Qualified Business Income, more than what was required for the DPAD.

I totally agree

Yes, filing the 3115 is definitely the right way to handle these issues.