Gail in Virginia

I wasn't thinking about how they were sorted but how they are entered. Years ago, on TaxWise, when I entered the EIN on a W-2 (for example) if I had already used that EIN the rest of the information populated as soon as I entered the EIN. Likewise, once I entered a zip code, the city/state information populated. Saved a lot of typing and I did not have to look at a payer manager to see if the information was there.

Elrod, I think you are deducting your investment and depreciation twice. It would be 8025/3000=2.68 - .56=2.12 taxable income. No cheating on hypothetical scenarios!

Cathy, I can't say about 2012 but I know that the 2011 program computed the correct wages for SS and medicare if you had the W-2 set to calculate automatically, once you input the adjusting item with its correct code. For example, if you put $10,000 in box 1 for wages, and then entered $2,000 in box 12 with code D, the program calculates the box 3 and 5 amounts as $12,000 and computes the amount that should have been withheld based on the adjusted numbers. I agree about the state i d numbers though. And I wish that if you enter the employer identification number and it matches a payer in the payer manager that it would populate that information automatically.

I am in Southwest Virginia between Roanoke and Martinsville - actually in Franklin County where the movie Lawless was set.

Usually when I close and reopen a return, or when I run the diagnostics, if a required form is missing ATX will add it. I have in the past used TaxWise and Drake before going to ATX, and of the three I prefer ATX. Drake has great customer support but for me the interface was not what I wanted. To actually see the tax forms I had completed required going from the input screen to the tax form screen and I like to see the actual tax return information on the actual forms as I enter it. TaxWise had some good points, but ATX provides more forms for the same money, and in the past has provided some payroll oriented forms that other tax programs did not. I don't know how to really compare diagnostics because in our office we don't rely on the program diagnostics. Good luck with whatever program you chose!

This was previously discussed on this forum, and some reference links were posted that you might find helpful. I tried to post a link, but every time that I clicked the button to add a link, the forum grayed out and I could not post. If you can't paste the above link and get to the previous discussion, just search for "student loan disability" and this thread and the previous discussion should be the only ones that come up.

One of the reasons that I have stuck with ATX through some of the recent issues has been the payroll forms as part of the program. If I can just buy the payroll program, then I am free to use any tax software I like.....

Please let us know when the surgery is scheduled so we can be sending prayers for you and your doctors especially that day! You mean a lot to us on this forum.

Be strong, KC. You are in my prayers.

I prefer the live updates as well. I usually attend meetings of our local chapter of EA's, at which I sometimes teach the topic we are reviewing. For me, having to prepare to teach about something is the best way to learn about it. I also have attended the VIrginia Society of Enrolled Agent's conferences, the Virginia NATP chapter's meetings, IRS tax forums, NCPE's seminars on Individual, Non-Profit and Corporate/Partnership, Thomson's seminars,etc. Some speakers are better presenters than others, but most are knowledgeable about the subject they are discussing. And quite often they are willing to answer questions that might come up after the seminar and will provide contact information for that purpose. Plus many times IRS or Va. Department of Taxation employees participate in these educational forums, and I have the opportunity to network with people whose assistance I might one day need. Plus it is fun to get out of the office and associate with other professionals to exchange ideas or just gripe about the ins and outs of the tax business.

Thanks for all that you do!

Happy thanksgiving to all of you! And Margaret, I am sorry for your loss. Sometimes holidays can be a bit sad when it is the first since the loss of a loved one, but I hope you (and KC!) will be able to remember the happy times without letting it overshadow the good times to come. God bless you all!

Sounds a little rough, but it could have been worse. I am glad you made it through the storm, and are getting back to normal!

It is hard to say what the unemployment commission will decide - sometimes their decisions are reasonable, but they tend to weight in favor of the employee. However, is the self-employed TP in the construction business? Did the worker provide his own tools, set his own schedule, provide his own insurance? Were there any sub-contractors involved? Who hired them? Who got the building permit and was listed as the general contractor? Was this the same kind of work that the worker was doing for other people? When the TP and worker decided on $15 per hour, was any mention made of whether or not he would be contract or employee? Was any written contract drawn up? I think I would ask at least some of these questions in order to be prepared to present a case for my client.

Thanks, Eric! In my experience, it usually is more complicated, takes longer, and costs more than your expect - whatever it is! We appreciate all you do to provide this forum for us!

You have to use a really good eraser. I like Pink Pearl.

It is more of a nuisance than a real problem as far as I can tell. Once I get into a post everything looks okay, I just can't navigate the way that I usually do. I am sure it will be fixed soon.

I am glad. I am not familiar with the site, and while I thought that the time involved was longer than absentee ballots are available, i wasn't sure. Figured someone on this board would know. Thanks, Kea.

If this story is true, this is just totally unacceptable. If anyone should have the right to vote, it should be our military and veterans. http://www.duffelblog.com/2012/11/military-absentee-ballots-delivered-one-day-late-would-have-swung-election-for-romney/

Amen. I particularly see this with lawyers who insist on setting sole proprietors up as corporations. Sometimes they have good reason, but they almost never explain to the client how much more complicated their taxes will become and how important it is to completely separate their personal transactions from their business transaction. Communication is so important!

I think that is one reason that I liked math class. Normally, there was only one right answer (rather than something subjective) and even if I made a mistake as long as I showed my work I could usually get at least partial credit. Ignoring ordering rules in math is like ignoring the qualifying child/qualifying relative rules on tax returns. And we would never do that!

But I think that the ordering rules mean that even though no parentheses are shown, the correct way to view this equation is to do all of the multiplication first, which gives you: (4x4)+(4x4)+4-(4x4) which equals 16+16+4-16 which equals 20. Math class was a long time ago, so I am willing to be corrected.

But will that still be the case in 2013? Or do we know yet?

I hate to sound stupid, but what does "CWOS,LOJ" stand for?

I must be really popular. I have gotten those messages, plus the one from Amazon, ones from PayPal, Ebay, UPS, the IRS, etc. The only one that even came close to getting me to bite appeared to be from Intuit. Since I use QuickBooks,, I almost clicked the link. Scary how realistic some of these look.