Gail in Virginia

Maybe they should let the preparer's age also factor in to determine if the SR form is available.

I haven't had that happen either. This late, I hope it doesn't!

When I click the link, the form that comes up is not fillable but in the top right corner is a button to open in another viewer. If I click that, and open in Acrobat DC (the free version) the form becomes fillable. I am using Firefox for my browser. I don't know if that helps.

Usually the clients I fire are the ones that make me nervous. I am not going to lose my license because some idiot is trying to save a few dollars on his taxes. But most of the time I can spot those on the first visit and they never become clients.

I can understand people not wanting to trash a perfectly usable computer and operating system. For most of us, Windows XP worked fine and we did not see a reason to change other than Microsoft operates from a profit motive and can't make money if they don't sell products. And we feel the same way about Windows 7. But the reality is that we have to keep up with the security features required and if the only way to do that is to shell out a few hundred dollars for new computers, then that is what we have to do. Nobody can make us like, but we can be forced into it. I hate all the computers that wind up in landfills but by the time that I am personally certain the information on my hard drives and CPUs s not retrievable by an unscrupulous yet brilliant technician, the computer is not longer a computer - it is a hunk of expensive metals. And as far as I can tell, it will continue that way for the foreseeable future.

I have one client that requires a new W4 EVERY January- it seems to be the only way we get current addresses for his employees.

I did not venture an opinion because I don't really have one. We don't have very many younger clients, but then we don't have very many clients with simple,straight-forward returns either. And it seems like every year I lose a few clients, and I gain a few clients so that we stay in about the same place. I also send a few away every year, but that is another topic. That said, I am also getting older and starting to think about getting out of the business myself. I don't mind being responsible for putting the information on the return that the client provides me, and asking reasonable questions, but I am tired of being an unpaid auditor for the IRS. Too mush stick and not enough carrot these days, IMHO. The only thing that I am really sure of is that change will continue. When I first started, it was with paper and pencil. Then computers came in,, followed by the competition from folks who offered refund anticipation loans.

I think buckshot is no longer made of lead, but instead tungsten or plastic is more common. Not sure, but I think this is to prevent kids who eat paint from growing up to eat buckshot. Or maybe the deer were getting dumber from being shot full of lead.

Merry Christmas, and best wishes for the upcoming tax season. God Bless Us, everyone!

I would recommend that they read the plan document thoroughly and discuss this with the plan administrator who should know the ins and outs of the document and the law regarding 401(k) plans. Oh wait, against your advice they ARE the plan administrator. Gee, wonder what we should do now?

A WAG is a Wild A$$ Guess. A SWAG is a Scientific Wild A$$ Guess.

For $12 an hour, I work really slowly......

Same as the answer to every tax question. It depends. Here in rural VA, the fast food places start people at around $8 to $8.50 per hour. So if I hire an inexperienced teenager to make copies and answer the phone, file, etc. I am looking at that as my base pay. If I hire someone that I am training to do bookkeeping and tax preparation, I would probably start around $10 per hour. If it is someone who knows how to do taxes, and will require a minimum amount of supervision and training in my procedures, I would probably start at $12 to $15 per hour, depending on experience and education. And also depending on whether they were working part time because they are picky about the hours or because I am. If it is someone good, and I want to keep them, I would pay more than if they are just adequate and can be replaced easily.

But if your farm is a hobby and not a for-profit enterprise, then it would be personal property purchases, not business equipment.

In the state of Virginia, most farm expenses are not subject to sales tax so here the answer would be no. But if your state taxes farm equipment, cattle feed, etc. then I don't see why not.

I did not realize that if you were self-employed there was any requirement to take your spouse's employer coverage. I know that you cannot take subsidized coverage under ACA if you declined employer coverage, but I didn't think you were not allowed a SEHI deduction just because your spouse declined employer coverage. Do you have a cite for that?

And there will also be interest to report on a sale that lasts three and a half years, even if the contract does not call for interest. In that case, part of the proceeds have to be considered imputed interest from every payment except the down payment.

I carry E&O because we live in a litigious society.

Intuit is doing the same thing for QuickBooks desktop. We changed the last computer to Win10 this past summer.

With a mess like this, and what I assume was a "self-prepared" return, he might be better off to try to explain the situation himself to whoever is conducting the correspondence audit and plead ignorance. Could he get a letter from a clergy person that knows of the relationships and the circumstances to write saying that the children were his grandchildren by marriage to their grandmother and that they lived with him over half of the year? Or school records showing his address as the address for the children? And put that with a letter in his own, non-technical words, explaining the situation and then hope for the best. And while he is waiting for a response to that, start saving up to repay some or all of the credits. Who knows, he might get lucky depending on whose desk this lands on.

I dress from the shoes up a lot too - but more for comfort than looks. I love that necklace - and the shoes, although i don't wear heels anymore. Your wife has great taste!

I can't find anything that defines "grandfather" for purposes of this use. I really tend to agree with you that he is out of luck, since the stepdaughter will not cooperate with him. Perhaps next time he will realize that you were not trying to be difficult when you did not want to claim this credit for his return. Or not - there is always some family member that knows the tax law better than we do.

Is a step-grandfather not considered a relative in the state of Virginia?

I think you advice to her is excellent, but i have no idea what is considered an acceptable reason for not filing or what the chances are that she will escape penalties. I would love, however, to hear how this turns out.