jainen

>>I just want my friggin banana!<< You said it was a "frikkin" banana before. I'm afraid your credibility suffers, JB, when you keep changing your story. Not as bad as a TV lawyer, but still we can't help wondering if in fact it was simply a "firgottin" banana.

>>I can't do just 3 returns to offset the cost of Proseries<< My ProSeries renewal this year was $999 including efile, $400 more than ATX office package. If an average Schedule C return is at least $150, you will appreciate the powerful data entry, diagnostics, and printing features. They will help you build a practice that does not compete with Intuit's consumer product, which is marketed to taxpayers who don't need professional help and don't want to pay more than $75. >>6. Lacerte - pricey. Haven't looked at it for some time, but my recollection is it was input sheet oriented and I prefer to see the tax forms.<< If ATX fits your practice well, I wouldn't expect you to convert to Lacerte unless you are doing a major overhaul. The learning curve is high and it's designed for firms with many preparers. Besides the basic software cost, you would probably need equipment upgrades -- printer, scanner, copier, high-end computer network, dual monitors, broadband internet -- to take full advantage of it. Like ProSeries, it offers a choice of data entry methods. You use Lacerte worksheets but it is very simple to view actual forms (ProSeries lets you enter directly on forms).

>>starting this thread to discuss alternatives to ATX<< I used ATX ten or twelve years ago, then switched to ProSeries. It has worked nearly flawlessly. The extra cost, about as much as my fee for two or three returns, is covered by the increased productivity. I don't often post software comments, but as I read this forum I increasingly wonder why you all put up with the kind of treatment you have been getting. I also use Lacerte (someone else pays for it). I believe it is by FAR the best choice if you have more than two hundred returns or more than half a dozen business or entity returns. Get over the cost. By the way, neither of these programs has tech support worth a darn. Fortunately, you rarely need it.

>>the IRS don't like you spliting income off from W2's and screwing with their matching<< Actually, it's weird but the instructions for Form 1040 say to do exactly that, putting share of community income on Line 7. I prefer to make a Line 21 adjustment based on an allocation worksheet. Don't forget that even if that lying cheat won't share HIS income, you can still stick him with half YOUR earnings before the day he ran off with that tramp.

>>I have never seen a banana "frick."<< You misunderstand. "Frikkin" is simply a variation of "friggin," a common expletive. It's used because it sounds like a nastier word, but it actually started as a racial slur, "Phrygian." The Phrygians were a branch of the Macedonians who defended the plains of Troy, first earning the displeasure of western civilization. Since changing their name to Armenians, they've had a long-standing dispute with the rest of Turkey. Hence the epithets. Now, you normally think of bananas as a tropical fruit, but actually Turkey is one of the leading producers of high quality bananas--they grow them in large greenhouses! They are so delicious the plantations can't keep up with demand, and Turkey exacts a 100% tariff on competing bananas from other countries. So losing a Phrygian banana is no small matter.

>>Didn't he just die<< No, they aren't talking current events. Heathcliff was the great anti-hero of classical literature. The character did a stand-up routine with his sidekick Gertrude (What's a polygon? Dead parrot). It was written by Red "believe that you are a seagull" Skelton.

>>the restaurant industry is one of, if not the worst<< Restaurants already have so many dadburn guvmint revenooers snooping around that I would think owners would take extra care to avoid unnecessary attention. If IRS wants to question how employees can afford to not get paid, INS just might stop by with some answers. Then state Alcohol Control might wonder if that means they are serving free drinks. And the state police get interested in how old the non-paying patrons are. And if they can't pin anything down, they'll take the cheap shot of calling in the county health inspector. And he'll call the planning department. And the wheelchair lady always tags along with them because she's looking for ADA violations to sue about. That interests Workers Comp, and now here comes State Employment asking about the missing list of workers that Homeland Security mandates. Meanwhile it turns out the guy who delivers the produce is Teamsters Union, and he has a thing about people with badges.... Bottom line is, if this business is undercapitalized or otherwise not economically viable, give it up.

>>which state would be most beneficial to take a credit<< Sorry, you don't get a choice. In most cases you take the other state credit on the resident return, but Deb is correct that for Oregon you take it on the non-resident return. My mistake.

>>According to the IRS... << I don't know where you got such instructions. It is not the official policy of the IRS that you should knowingly file false or fraudulent information returns. You should amend the previously filed documents or otherwise formally alert the IRS. The problem with making the victim resolve his own problem is both ethical and technical. He has no access to confidential records in the IRS. But YOU do, because you are creating them. You yourself said, "something needs to be done." Well, this is the time to do something. Are you going to enable illegal immigrants, or are you going to stand with the "real person" that you mentioned in the original post?

>>a character named Heathcliff << Naw, he's the original. Garfield is just a copy-cat.

>>His intent was to check things out in Oregon and if it didn't work out to move back to California<< I don't see any way to exclude the Oregon income from California taxation. Clearly he did not sever his California ties to establish a permanent residence in Oregon. There's lots of rulings about that. Technically Oregon could ALSO treat him as a resident for those four months, since he was in the state for an indefinite (as opposed to temporary) period. It wouldn't change the taxable income, though, so they won't bother with it. File CA resident and OR non-resident. Don't forget Schedule S.

>>elected in 2002 - will be up for re-election 2 years from now<< A senate term is six years. Dole hasn't started her campaign yet because she doesn't have to worry about her party's primary, while Jim Neal still needs to get nominated. Really nothing to do with the topic; I've just been rambling all day. I don't think you can deduct mileage at the business rate, because that has an element of deemed depreciation. I don't know about meal allowance; documented is better. Only 50% in any case. Motels, okay if the PRIMARY purpose of the "several trips" was the surgery. All this is subject to 2% AGI limitation, of course. If we ever get around to overhauling the tax system, I predict for-profit non-business income is going to be a controversial issue.

>>this clearly IS income<< There are court cases about blood donations and I think bone marrow. As I recall, it's taxable, non-business, no basis but incidental costs allowed. I wonder why Senator Dole, former Red Cross president, hasn't got it excluded. I guess the RC position is that donors shouldn't be paid--too much risk of attracting HIV patients. You know, she's up for re-election this year and her opponent is the country's first openly-gay candidate; I can't guess what his position on HIV is.

>>The problem is... << Here's some perspective on the question you are asking, barosser. It's a quote from one of your own messages last year. "I live in Texas and we are being overrun by illegals and something needs to be done. "

>>I live in Texas and we are being overrun by illegals and something needs to be done. << Interesting post from last year, gives some perspective on your question about identity theft.

>>Do I just sent to Social Security and let the Real person get it figured out??<< I assume you already checked to make sure that's not YOUR Social Security number.

>>I hate to see her penalized over his actions<< A filing status is not a penalty. And marital relations are never defined by just one partner's actions. Assuming she can take the standard deduction and claim the kids, her tax will be little or nothing anyway. You should have her review last year's calendar to identify days when her husband did not live with the kids, so the tie breaker rules are on her side.

>>the same thing as being alive when the child was born<< If that is your only objection, then I quote Regulations Sec. 1.152(1)(b-). "the period during the taxable year preceding the birth of an individual shall not prevent such individual from qualifying as a dependent under section 152(a)(9)."

>>Love those "quick questions"<< I sure love this one. And I would say the exemption is appropriate. For purposes of relationship, the father is considered to have lived the entire year and so is the newborn. If they had the same home, I say go for it. The estate as an entity includes only his property, not his person.

>>address it in a realistic way<< How is that any more realistic? It isn't based on the rules for documenting listed property, is it? Anyway, the IRS feels you should only deduct business costs that EXCEED the basic costs for personal use (in other words, nothing). And that's why there is really nothing to talk about, realistically.

>>costs that would otherwise be paid by the rescue group<< I tend to think like bay and act like GeneInAlabama. Against my own judgment that it is a contribution to and for an individual, I put it on Schedule A. I do require a mileage log and receipts, but I don't review them and they don't meet the new documentation requirements for donations with a personal benefit or more than $250 anyway. The IRS is inconsistent on the issue. One of their own examples is a Boy Scout leader buying a uniform and going camping. That's not a donation to BSA, but to the local unit which isn't even registered as a 501©(3).

>>How you handling this? Appreciate your comments.<< In my opinion, this is one of those things it's better not to talk about. No good can come of asking clients how they determine the amount of this deduction. As long as the IRS won't address it in a realistic way, there really isn't much to say.

>>really a Joss Whedon fan<< Oh yes, absolutely. Though I confess I find most of Angel too intense and complex for my feeble mind.

>>Ever have a brain freeze?<< I'll answer your first question first, because it's easier. Someone else can tackle your second question. Yes, sometimes my mind gets so overwhelmed that only Joss Whedon can save me.

>>I think the reference is to darker skin as in Hispanic or Portugese<< Yikes! You think Jane Austen's best hero was Hispanic? No, the shades of Pemberley were the beautiful wooded parklands that surrounded the house. It was these woods that led Elizabeth to the view at which she first realized that money was no barrier to love after all. Lady C of course was concerned about the very same issue. Her expression is explained on the last page of the book.