mcb39

Update.....still using old monitor; new one still in the box. System performance is excellent and consistent. Therefore, thanks a ton to Old Jack and Mike. My hardware consultant says that it is too much of a coincidence for the VGA card not to have been causing the problem. It must have been loose, but next time he and I both have time, he will open CPU and check VGA connections. At that time, we will try out new monitor. I so appreciate all of the responses from so many of you. :)

You are on my top priority prayer list, KC. Had a close friend who spent most of this summer in ICU and this evening she was sitting on my porch visiting. God can and does heal.......

I answered Tax Prep, in business 18 years, 1 employee (me), 1 location and was allowed to finish the survey. Not that I learned anything other than to be careful how I answered. Seemed to me they were fishing for more RAL users and I was adament that I was not interested. Did not see anything about a $1000 prize. No more surveys for me.

I did the survey just because.........had to think HARD about some of the answers....

Hi Eli........ I paid $1018.50 with the discount....

Just as Old Jack states; sometimes it is the only way. I have had this scenario often enough to know that the IRS doesn't really care as long as the proper taxes are paid.

I DO E File; probably 90% of returns, but I do not charge to straighten out an IRS error either on paper or otherwise. I agree with John and Old Jack that these charges should be factored in. They aren't my fault, but they aren't the clients' fault either. They come to me because they trust me to get it done correctly. And, they trust me to fix it if the IRS messes up. They come in traumatized with their letter and I explain that, often, it takes one phone call to straighten it out. I am not in this business to draw blood. I will also never be rich, but I sleep very well...

Interesting....my Granddaughter bought a home in May with PMI....first time home buyer; Wheda loan., low interest rate. She also got a $5000 Grant from WI to use as a down payment. Each year she lives in the home, she reduces the grant by $1000 and if she stays for five years, she doesn't have to pay it back. She loves the house and plans on living there for a long time and has already done a fantastic job of face lifting. It was an older rental house which had some important remodeling already done. I never would have believed she would get the mortgage all by herself, but she did. I will have to check into how she gets to deduct the PMI. This was a wonderful incentive for a young girl to purchase RE and not have to rent. She has since gotten engaged; so will have help with the payments when her fiance graduates from college in Dec.

Quickfinder Page 16-1 under Notes. "The running of the statute of l for refund claims is suspended for any period during which a medical impairment prevents the taxpayer from managing his or her financial affairs. The impairment must be expected to result in death or must have lasted or be expected to last for a continuous 12-month period. To claim the refund or credit after.........etc. A written medical opinion must support the claim. I think your case is worth looking into....

Dang! This happens whenever I try to edit a post. My additonal question is "What are these programs and why are they so pricey?

Mine is working fine, but this was added today so they may have been updating the site when you tried to access it: Weblog - The Latest ATX News Test Drive our new Site Builder program 8/23/2007 Site Builder and CompleteTax - Get them both for just $495! To test drive and purchase please click here. Print This Article

Deb....that is good to hear. Obviously, we cannot tar all employees of ATX with the same brush. Just because the "company" has made some disappointing and unpopular decisions, does not mean that nobody in the organization cares about us. Thanks for sharing.

Since my new laptop has an external VGA port, I have to assume it is all right. When I have more time, I will get the book out.

I did try to wiggle and jiggle the monitor connection on back of CPU. Have had no problems since. However, I did get a fantastic buy on a 19" LCD monitor (still in box); Will get it set up one of these days, but in the meantime, the old one is behaving perfectly...WEIRD!

I believe that they think it is safer to pass the buck to the preparer even though they are responsible for signing the return and the information they give to the preparer is all that he/she has to go on. However, most of us are experienced enough to know when things are not what they should be. Yes, we all run into these from time to time, but this is an extremely flagrant example.

They probably need you, but YOU don't need them. Just the fact that you asked indicates that you know what the answer is. You don't need to run as you don't owe them anything; but don't get involved...IMO

Or, they could be saving some or all of it for his future education. I, also, wondered why they weren't claiming him as a dependent in the first place, but you all have offered some good arguements pro and con. The true test lies in the facts which only the family and the preparer may know.

Everyone is blaming the housing market and I am not qualified to answer your question. I just know that my "best" stock just came in with its 10th straight quarter of record earnings and is still paying dividends; yet the stock price has plummeted $$$$$$. The past couple of days have shown some improvement. I have never felt that I could count on money that I have in the stock market. I manage my own account and buy and sell as I see fit; but also have safe investments in conventional IRA accounts. My advice is Hold.

You called that exactly right, John. Having worked for a variety of dentists for about 25 years total, I have seen most of them retire early and none of them work more than a 4.5 day week. Physically, it is an extremely high stress occupation. When you see them spend nearly 2 hours performing a root canal with extremely tiny files, you know how precise they have to be. I don't work in the dental part as that is not my thing. I am at the desk; but even that is pretty high stress and certainly never boring. I had one dentist retire at 45; come back to work at 50; work another 5 years and then retire for good at 55. BUT...he is not happy! At least, until we become unbalanced, we can continue to do what we do. From 1/1 to 4/15; we all become unbalanced to some extent. Most of the time it isn't permanent, though.

I totally agree. I had also picked up on the software issue as I, for one, don't own it. Thanks to this board and its members, the requirements of the IRS ruling have been clarified. Hopefully all preparers have access to some board or point of inquiry which can clarify this confusing situation for all.

So far, I have limited information to anything that I can look up in my head; and his questions have not been more than basic. It isn't that he isn't willing to hire me on a monetary basis to help him manage this business. It is that I have reservations about getting involved, for several reasons. I have been both an employee and a paid SE advisor and accountant for a business in the past and it worked out well. That was RE and Appraisal and ended amicably. All of this because someone said that they would like the chance to have a dentist for a client. Yes, it could be quite a "plum"; and, yes, they DO know how to charge, but being on the inside, I know a little more about what is involved in arriving at their fees. The main reason I work there is the dental benefits rather than the money; though the money is good.

I work part-time for a dental group. They aren't "foolish" enough to ask me to do their tax returns. They just think that I am a bottomless well of free information. However, I don't elaborate on any information that I give them even though most of my dental work is gratis. One of them is purchasing a sideline business not related to the dental field. Since he is the kindest of the bunch, I have been helping him out to get started; but have reservations as to how far I will go. And don't jump all over this and say that I am bartering because my dental benefits are a contractural benefit in my contract of employment.

I agree with both of you. I like to see who is active on the board at any given time. I read all posts that are of interest to me. Many times the question has already been answered and there is no sense adding any additional comments. Sometimes, I don't know the answer right off hand and don't have time to research it or do not have access to research materials; depending on where I am. All in all, I find this board to be the greatest of the great and constantly improving. We are closing in on 300 members and all contributions to date have been polite, knowledgeable and timely IMO. Thanks to all of you....

ATTN: Software Developers, Return Transmitters and Authorized IRS e-file Providers/E R O's The IRS extended until September 10, 2007 the deadline for certain Authorized e-file Providers to submit the URLs of their web sites to the agency and clarified who is affected by the e-file rule issued on July 30, 2007 and available on irs.gov Authorized IRS e-file Providers (E R O's, Intermediate Service Providers or Online Service Providers) NOT affected by this rule include those that: 1) Do not have an internet website that obtains taxpayer information from a taxpayer or third party via the internet for the purpose of e-filing returns, 2) Have a website for informational and/or marketing purposes only, 3) Only receive or send taxpayer information via e-mail, 4) Do not use websites to collect taxpayer information and transmit the returns through third party transmitters, 5) Prepare returns and use Provider?s website to e-file their returns, or 6) Only provide a hotlink to another company?s website that allows taxpayers to input taxpayer information The above does not cover all possible scenarios. Additional information can be found in the Frequently Asked Questions located in the e-file section of I R S.gov Questions regarding this requirement may be addressed to [email protected]