ETax847

I have read conflicting things on this. The client is looking to treat this as a Sch A unreimbursed bus expense. I found the following indicating the opposite: "The way the Internal Revenue Service sees it, you did not pay anything for that ticket so there is no deductible expense. "There are no portions of Section 162 or case law that appear to justify that deduction," says CPA Paul Conway. Had you paid for your ticket with cash, it would be a different story, and that's where Section 162 of the IRS Code comes in. It covers business expenses, including what items are deductible, required documentation, business nature of the expense and overall reasonableness of the expense." Read more: http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/award-flight-business_trip-tax_deductible-1433.php#ixzz2tDbuxRbA

I have a client who booked 2 flights for business using his award miles. Is this considered an unreimbursed business expense?

Jack to the rescue

Is there someone out there that is familiar with this schedule that I could bounce some questions off of?

A client of mine said he gave over $2k to his church over the course of 2013. Is any support needed to back this claim up?

That's what I was thinking. I was just looking on the IRS.gov website to source the info. Thanks for your help.

A client age 30, withdrew from his 401k plan to buy his first home. Is there any way he can avoid the 10% early withdrawal penalty? The 1099R is coded with a Distribution Code 1 (early distribution, no known exception) The clien's CFO is telling him that it was a qualified distribution and there should be no penalty. Please help

Is anyone noticing problems when the combine fed and state client letters. The paragraph order seems to be messed up. For example, I have prepared your 2013 federal income tax return based on the information you provided. Please review the enclosed copy, then sign the IRS e-file Signature Authorization Form 8879 and return it to me. When I receive the signed authorization, I will e-file your return. I have also prepared your 2013 Illinois 1040 individual income tax return based on the information you provided. Please review the enclosed copy, then sign the e-file Signature Authorization Form IL 8453 and return it to me. When I receive the signed authorization I will e-file your return. As requested, your federal tax refund in the amount of $1,907 will be deposited directly to your checking account. As requested, your Illinois 1040 tax refund of $96 will be deposited directly into your checking account. in 2012, it put all the fed stuff together then all the state. PLEASE HELP!

This reminds of an article I read where 10 tax preparers were given the exact same client information as part of a study and 9 out of the 10 produced a different outcome for the client as part of this study.

Client is a banker by day (w2) and a referee on weekends (1099). Can said client deduct his mileage incurred for trips to and from games?

I believe form 8829 is only to be used with a sch c, but since this a w2 employee, not sure what sch to use.

Thanks, and as for the home office deduction itself, where do I do the allocation? I see the worksheet, but I want to see what the deduction results in by using the actual method not the safe harbor. For a W2 employee what sched does the actual method calc take place?

When deducting the home office for a W2 employee, are the expenses associated with setting up the office deductible as well? Ie, desk, chairs, supplies, printer, etc?

This water mark appears even though I have selected e-file. I don't paper file any returns anymore. Thanks for the tips!

Currently prints a watermark that says "Not approved for paper filing" Does anyone have any idea when this state will update their forms? This is not the case with other state returns.

That's the argument my client tried to present to me.

Deductible in the sense of a charity contribution

Is the cost of pet adoption tax deductible? Silly question, but I wanted to confirm

In years past the software had problems with the following 2 things: 1) MFJ vs MFS calculation, for some reason it was never calculated correctly, has this been fixed? 2) Do multistate returns now flow into one another or is it still a manual process?

I believe the amount needs to be reported on sch 8606 though, so it leads me to believe the deadline without having to amend the return is the earlier of either the filing date of the return or April 15?

Is the deadline to make a 2013 IRA contribution the EARLIER of when the 2013 tax return is file or April 15th, 2014?

Much appreciated. Thanks for the timely response.

A client of mine has moved overseas in 2013. For his 2013 return, he will have some foreign income. Is this additional element easy to pick up on or am I better off outsourcing this? Thanks

Thanks guys! Your feedback provided a good place to start.

Is it too late for a client to fund a Roth IRA for 2013 via the backdoor conversion method?