Gail in Virginia

And Jesus was a real cowboy - he rode an unbroken colt bareback through a cheering crowd without getting thrown off.

If the property is inherited with a step up in basis, I don't think that depreciation prior to the date of death will have any bearing on the calculation of gain or loss.

You know, that is an excellent point Catherine. I have been thinking that I want to sell my business and get out so I can work less hard. Maybe if I don't have much luck selling, I should just keep raising my fees until I am working less hard because people leave but I will still be making money on the ones that stay. Something to think about before the first of the year......

Congratulations! The young man doesn't have a friend in SW VA by any chance?

I have gotten a very similar letter if they payment was made after 8:00 p.m. ET on the day before the payment was due. In other words, if payment was due on 4/17, and I made the payment after 8:00 on 4/16 they send a letter saying that they are going to waive the penalty but I screwed up. I ignore it as long as they keep waiving the penalty.

An LLC is created at the state level. The only thing the IRS has is the application for an EIN. In my opinion, the fact that someone applied for an EIN and never filed a tax return is not that unusual,. They might have planned to start a business and changed their minds. They may have filled out the EIN application that it was only for banking purposes. I would not say the LLC does not exist, but as a disregarded entity it might not be required to file a tax return. I would report capital gains from installment sales on the 6252, interest on the Schedule B, and get with it.

I loved that show! My son was a baby about then, and the little dinosaur - "Gotta love me!" just seemed so perfect!

I get what you are saying, Edsel. But I would report the income and set up the asset because I would almost bet that any expenses associated with earning that $2,700 of income are going to be reported - such as parts used, or any labor, or overhead.

I think if your client could have claimed the dependency exemption except for the divorce, then they are still entitled to the HOH status and EIC because age is not the controlling factor - his being a student is in this particular case. It would be the same if the child were over 18 and permanently and totally disabled. I don't have a cite for this off the top of my head.

As long as we keep the conversation positive.

Thank you so much, Rita! We had wonderful food and fellowship, and I was reminded once again how special a breed most tax professionals are! I would love to meet more of you, and see those I have met again. Unfortunately, I am not as brave as Rita to open up my house to an undetermined number of people showing up! You are the best, Rita!

John and I spent the night in Gatlinburg and will head to Crossville later. I keep forgetting it is a different time zone!

And I plan to drive from Virginia to Gatlinburg TN tomorrow, and then on to Rita's on Saturday! Back to to Gatlinburg Saturday night, and back to Virginia Monday. Don't know what I was thinking - I am still so far behind! But this will be fun! (Except for all the riding around, and even that won't be too bad - might make up for some of the time I didn't see my husband during tax season to be trapped in a car with him now!)

I agree with you, John. I think that if I did a lot of EITC returns, or returns with itemized deductions being the main separation from a short form I would be very concerned. And even though I don't anticipate much impact on my business (at least not right away) I do suspect that if I want to sell my business and retire in a year or two, or four or five, this will probably impact the marketability of a tax firm in general. Time will tell - and it would be interesting to see if they anticipate growth in 2025 when the laws for individuals will revert back to their current status. I think it is 2025 - I don't plan to be in business that long.

I think that it depends on your niche in this business. Most of my clients are probably either already filing short form, or they have businesses/farms/rental property and that won't be any simpler. I do very few returns that have itemized deductions only. I may lose a few clients, but I don't think that it will substantially impact my business.

I am trying to get there. My husband and I will be staying in Gatlinburg, and that is farther from Rita than I thought it would be. And I have stayed farther behind than I thought I would - too many graduations and other events to attend. But if the good Lord is willing and the creek don't rise, we will be there. Please PM me directions. And refresh my memory. I seem to recall we needed to bring a chair; were we supposed to bring food? I know some were offering to bring specialties of their location, but I hate to cross state lines with moonshine so not sure what to bring.

Thanks, Judy. I just kept thinking this was too good to be true for the client.

If this has been discussed, I could not find it but sometimes I don't choose the right keywords. I have a client who has an NOL generated in 2017 by his Schedule C business. This if the first year his business did not have a profit, so I am carrying the loss back. He also has been getting his health insurance through the marketplace with a subsidy. Two years ago, he had to pay back about $1200 of the subsidy he received. Now with the loss carried back to that year, he not only does not owe the repayment but is entitled to more subsidy than he actually received - about $2000 more. I haven't found anything to say that recalculating the income does or does not affect the ACA subsidy and result in refundable credit. Does anyone have any knowledge about this? TIA

I don't think it can be considered a loan, since from the original post it doesn't sound like there would be an obligation to pay the loan back if the investment had lost money instead of making money. Nor was the documentation for a loan done stating when and how it would be paid back with what rate of interest. Sara's answer seems to me to be closest to what he wants to accomplish. Or pay the taxes himself, figure what the amount is that his tax increased because of investments for other people, and have them reimburse him. But if this is going to be an ongoing arrangement, it sounds to me like they should form an investment partnership to hold all the money and report all the income and then each investor would get a K-1 to reflect their share of the gains or losses. But I know that is not helpful retroactively.

Virginia does the same thing. I even have one client that I cannot e-file the state return because the amount withheld exceeds their parameters for what is normal. And the amount withheld is from a Virginia Retirement System pension. Plus VA changed their account number system a few years (maybe 10? Time slips on by) ago to more closely match the federal. Except VRS is still using the old number and has not changed to the new system. Gotta love bureaucracy.

I will drive 18 miles every day for $5000.

That is my understanding of exactly what the statute means. If I know someone only because I do their tax return, I will not even admit that I have met them. And all of my employees sign confidentiality agreements that spell out they are never to admit to knowing anything about anyone they see here at the office, or they don't work here. I have wondered, if I decide to retire and sell my business, how I can do that and still not violate this law.

The 3115 can be a bit daunting at first glance, but it is not as bad as it looks. You got this!

I am still digging my way out from under work, plus the managing of my parents' estates. But I have a reservation in Gatlinburg, which I think gets me to within driving distance (not as short a distance as I would like, but doable) so I am planning to be there if at all possible.

In the state of Virginia, under a will, a contingent beneficiary(ies) can wind up inheriting if the primary beneficiary disclaims all or part of the inheritance. I don't know if it is the same in other states. But I do know that works in Virginia, and you can disclaim all or part of an inheritance. I don't know if it works for a trust, or for a named beneficiary on an IRA or life insurance.