Kea

I'm curious what changes they made. I think I'll be testing lots of programs this summer. Whoever has a good price with a usable program wins.

I haven't seen a "lock" feature. But if you open the return after the efile is acceped, it does warn you that the return has been completed and asks if you want to edit it anyway. You have to click "yes" to even look at it. So no real way to pevent you from manking changes.

I went with the TaxWise program through MainStreet for $350. Saw that price listed on this forum. I didn't want to spend any more money, either, but I did want to go with an established program that I have used before.

I may try Chrome. I've used it before. Anything but Explorer.

Even using Explorer as my default, the e-file I sent today tried to "hang." Resent it and it worked OK. I'm not sure what the problem is. The EFC box just hangs sometimes. Other times it runs smoothly. I'll give it a few more days and then revert back to Firefox. I also get occasional I/O errors and an error saving. I've run DBRepair and I've reindexed the database. Mostly the errors of been in the "annoying" category rather than actual problems. But I still don't know what causes them.

I got an e-mail yesterday saying that IRS will start processing 8863 on 2/14. Same e-mail mentioned 4562 on 2/10. Taxed also posted the same thing in the TaxWise section.

I've had that problem over the last few days. Today, tech support said that TaxWise only likes Microsoft Explorer. Apprently you have to make that your default browser. I changed the default. Not sure if that will make the difference. Not real happy about that since I like Firefox.

I think you mean February. Yes, this year is going strangely.

Stay safe everyone.

I printed (to PDF) a return that included Sch D, Form 8949, 8880 and 8889. I noticed that the 8949 did not sort behind the Sch D. It seems to be sorting the files by form number rather than by Attachment Sequence #. I had not modified the print packets (at least not intentionally). The order TW printed: Sch D Worksheet Main Info Sheet 1040 page 1 & 2 Sch D page 1 & 2 (AS# 12) Sch D tax Worksheet W2 Detail F8880 (AS# 54) F8889 (AS# 53) F8949 (AS# 12A) client letter privacy letter F8879 3 Yr Summary Does IRS or anyone publish a list of the Attachments Sequence #s? I really don't want to have to look up each form to make sure I am printing them in order. Or, is there a way to make sure TW prints them in the proper order (to undo something I may have accidentally hit)? This is why I print to pdf -- So I can print the forms I want in the order I want. Yes, I'll still do that even after I set up the print packets the way I want. (It would also be nice if they listed all the worksheets together so I could take almost all of them out at one time.)

I received that same e-mail. I was using TRX and now TaxWise.

This might get me in trouble, but thanks for posting this update. I am interested in what happens to TRX and their software during this season. I am thinking about preparing some returns in both TRX and TaxWise to make sure they come out with the same results. When different, I'll dig deeper to see which one is correct. I don't have a problem keeping another program on for comparison / backup. Besides, I still don't know if the return I tried to e-file yesterday really went through or not. I have a submission report and am getting the message that they are waiting for IRS ack .... since yesterday. Got several error messages while processing yesterday. Tech support has not returned my call. I saw the posts about going straight to version 6, but that is the version I started with. Found some info on their blog and will try to load 5, 6 & 7.

Just got an e-mail that version 7 of TaxWise is available for download. Don't know what's in it, yet.

There are a lot of former TRX and ATX users that changed software this year. There are discussions on the TRX forum about setting up new forums for the other programs. Would that be overkill? Perhaps we can put the program name at the begining of each thread title in the Software forum? Any ideas?

The TaxWise salesperson said we couldn't import Excel brokerage statements, but we can attach .pdf. I saw at box on the 8949 to check if attaching pdf. I haven't done this yet, so I don't have any specific instructions. I'll need to do this, too. Please share anything you learn.

Thanks Taxed! My aging eyes thank you. It was View and then "Edit Tax Form Size." I changed the size from 14 to 18 (but may end up going back to 16). I knew why the line was turning red. My question might be better stated as to what happens if I leave off the "W"ash sale code since the amount rounds to $0? Will IRS computers care that there is a wash sale on the 1099B that isn't shown on the tax return? But if I do leave the "W" code, it would be nice to know if an "override" or "estimate" will make it e-file. Thanks again.

2 TaxWise questions: Barring getting a larger monitor, is there any way to make the form bigger on the screen? I can see it, but I noticed that as the night wears on, it gets harder to read. I ended up using a magnifying card to help before I crashed last night. One of the stock sales I entered yesterday included a 28¢ wash sale. I put 'W' in for the code and $0 for the amount. But it leaves the line red even if I mark it "estimate" (helps on some other forms). Will IRS computers have a problem with leaving out the "W" code? (I always try to match the forms to minimze IRS hiccups.) Or, is there a way to have the program accept the '0' amount? Thanks

Have you seen the posts by danwil?

It seems both parents claimed 2441. "Dad" had said previosly that "Mom" was custodial parent. That was based on divorce decree. But daughter lives with Dad 4 nights per week and with Mom 3. Dad said TT didn't ask questions about depreciating his rental house and appliances (at least to his understanding). So he'll be returning as a client. We still won't be able to claim 2441 unless Mom ammends. He doesn't want to cause problems w/ ex by paper filing with documentation.

Perhaps it required Flash? IPads & iPhones refuse to use Flash. Won't run on some Andriod devises, either.

I've gotten several strange error messages, too. Just got off the phone with a tech who helped me for over an hour. I haven't sent an e-file yet. So you are saying I could run into more issues? I was glad my appointments rescheduled for tomorrow. I spent several hours last night trying to print anything. Found a differnt "update" section and that took care of it. So far, I've found at least 3 ways to update, and I think they are all for different things. I did use this program with TRX for 2008, so I hope to not have too big a learning curve.

He sent over specific error code / message. IRS flagged 2 people claiming same SSN on 2 different 2441s.

IRS rejected return for dependent SSN already used. The ex is the custodial parent and did not claim child (I saw page one of her return). But ex is custodial parent and apparently used dependent care and EIC (per "client"*). Could someone else claiming the credits cause the e-file to bounce even if they didn't claim dependency? IRS computer hiccup or maybe someone else claimed the child? * FWIW, this is a friend of a relative who used me one year and used Turbo Tax since. He was just asking me what the error meant. In reviewing his return I see a couple of errors (i.e. no depreciation on a rental property). So he might become a client again.

Check how the extra dollars were used or not used. Could end up being line 7 income.

I'm sure I'll spend a lot of time this summer evaluating alternatives. Price will still be my primary goal. My practice is small and I hope smaller next year. I'd like to retire when I can get health insurance without it being a business policy (next year!!). But I also know I have several clients who won't let me retire. I'm now watching training videos and waiting for a tech to call about some of the strange error messages I'm getting in MainStreet TaxWise. I think I am finally at a point where I can prepare the returns for the 2 clients coming in this afternoon. Hopefully without looking too lost!