Kea

Thanks Jainen. I'll look at that pub and section tomorrow (er, later today).

Thanks for the head's up. I'll make sure to watch for it. Had one yesterday that threw in an AMT form (not even close). Didn't think too much about it, but did see it got included in the e-file. I sure hope that doesn't cause any issues.

For free - I might try it. However, I am almost sure to buy something else to use as a primary. But to demo TRX for free? Maybe. Another thing to consider is that (in general) TRX is a reseller. So if they resell a REAL software again, I'm willing to think about it. If it's TaxExact again, probably not.

Thanks so much.

Great! Thanks so much. Is there a one-year time frame like there is for other prescriptions?

I'll make a more informed decision after I see the actual application. Have you ever applied for individual insurance under the "old way?" Many, many pages of questions that are difficult to answer. Will these new forms be easier or more complicated to fill out? I don't know, yet. The forms we filling out for our group (of 2) insurance was pretty daunting & pretty similar to the applications we filled in for the individual insurance we couldn't get. FWIW, filing a tax return was much easier. Generally, you only have to worry about the prior year. Remembering every illness, Rx, dates of hospital visits EVER was something I found to be rather challenging. I'll be happy to share an update next year when I can finally get individual insurance that's not tied to my business.

Try F4864 Page 2 Section B Business and Income Producing Property. I've only done this once (last year) so I'm not an expert. Also I've not done anything with leasehold property -- that's why I didn't respond before. I did notice that when I was putting all the 2011 info in TaxWise for this return, it didn't let me add multiple pages. It took 3 pages in TaxWorks to list the 11 stolen assets. I don't know if 2012 will have the same limitation.

From what I'm reading, IRS allows costs for over-the-counter medicines as long as there is a prescription (They disallow "non-prescription medicine.") If I have that part correct, does a "Letter of Medical Necessity" (client's phrase) count? If so, for how long is that letter valid? One year, like most Rx or something different? Thanks

New client had filed return through Turbo Tax and it rejected. I had the 2008 FTHB "loan" and converted the house to a rental in 2012. The rejection stated that the loan repayment amount on the return did not match their records. When I eventually get all my questions answered, it will be interesting to see if it gets rejected again. He did give me corrected figures for repayment amounts. When I tried using the IRS website, it said they couldn't find it. Maybe I spelled the address wrong. I didn't try very hard.

Thanks.

Thanks for sharing this experience. I have not had a client with this issue, yet, but I'm sure it will happen some day. It's nice to hear what IRS thinks is the proper procedure. (Assuming you can believe them on the phone? )

When client sent me their documents for their individual return, he included a couple of items related to his late mother. They included HUD 1 from sale of her house (not the 1099S) & interest on a life insurance policy (not a 1099 INT, but the letter explaining what was included in the check). These documents were in his brother's name. I asked if he had or will receive a K1 from his brother (who is the executor) and he said they are no longer speaking. I have found out that they did sell the house in their own names (not the mom's or the estate's). I don't know if there would be anything else to be on the 1041 (that's all he's provided me) and if he isn't able to get any info from the executor, what is the best way to proceed? Put return on extension & try to determine this summer if a 1041 was filed? Can client file 1041 (if brother didn't) even if he isn't executor? If client *knows* there would be no income to include on 1041, then we can go forward. Thanks!

Joan - Sounds like we have the same work schedule. After getting tired of clients calling me at 8:00 AM - especially when I'd worked until 2 or 3 AM the "night" before, I finally decided to address it in my New Year's cards. I put in there that my office hours were from 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM and to keep phone calls to those hours. If they want to reach me outside those hours, please send e-mail. It's worked for most people so far, but there have been a few morning calls. It seems better than last year - so far. I, too greatly prefer e-mail to phone calls. And, yes, they have been time stamped at 2 & 3 in the morning. Clients do have my home / office # as well as cell. I list the cell on my cards first, so most use that one. I have learned the wonders of turning the phone to vibrate at night! Ringer on home phone is off in the bedroom, but I can hear the extensions in other rooms of the house. Argh. I usually let it ring - but it's still annoying.

I fought with that $&""%*^ worksheet for way too many hours Friday. Gave myself a break yesterday but might look at it later today. I think I'll spend today on easier returns. (Easier by s/w standards -- the biggest difficulty for rentals is getting the info from the client!)

Thanks for the info. I also purchased through Discover. I don't think I'll deal with any of this until May. I just don't need the aggravation of beating my head against another brick wall this time of year!

We had one last year. I remember it well as I contributed to that one. And I've been pretty lucky to have had very few PITA clients.

Thinking about this more (with a clearer head?), the s/w may be using vacation rules since I input personal use & rental use days. I did that since it seemed to want me use the worksheet (which really didn't help me). I need to see if I can delete the days & the worksheet. Maybe that will help?

New client has new rental property put in service 8/14/12. Depreciation of house & appliances appears to be calculating correctly on 4562, but only a portion of it is flowing to the Sch C. Just the right amount to make expenses = income. How do I convince TW to let him have passive loss? I have the box checked for active participation. He is in the phase-out area, but should be able to take some loss. I even tried reducing his income below $100K (as a test), and it still didn't allow the loss. He is single not MFS. Thanks!

"Cheers" to your wife.

The time period when I learned about this was in the 1998-2000 time period. I started preparing taxes professionally in 1998 and it was shortly after that. But it does turn out that she has a desk that she uses regularly and exclusively for her admin work. She had not been counting it as OIH because it seemed too small to bother with. So we did set it up for 2012.

When I read it the first time, I thought you downloaded a NetFlix update!

The caveat I'm remembering (somewhat) from class was if your house was your principal place of business, but you didn't have qualified OIH, you could turn commute miles into business miles if you were actually going between busn locations. So you had to do some work at home before you left to count those miles and after you got back to count the return miles. This was more complex than the rules with OIH. I think they said this was a court case? And maybe it was their ONLY place of busn? This is stretching my memory back to the late 90s. So maybe I dreamt this convoluted rule?

Yes, the storage cost are only one month. But, I would think the moving costs could be taken for B to C, not A to B. He wouldn't meet the 39 week test for working in B but (hopefully) will for C. And he meets mileage test from B to C. Can't help on the job search question off the top of my head.

So just to wrap my head around this: Miles from a farrier's "principal place of business" to her client's horses is business even WITHOUT OIH. Thanks for confirming. I'm usually pretty good with busn/commute miles. But sometimes I can get lost in the details! I love getting clarifications from this board!

Agree, and there was also the case with the surgeon. But in this case there is no designated office in her house. Then it gets trickier because it won't turn all miles from home to business miles. But if she works @ home before and after, she can count those miles. At least I heard that scenario in a tax class a few years ago. But in that case the house was basically the only work location (little to no working at client location). But that class was a long time ago & not sure if it's even applicable here.