kcjenkins

I agree also. Garbage does not get better with time, it just smells more.

Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like: * When loved ones come home, always run to greet them. * Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride. * Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy. * Take naps. * Stretch before rising. * Run, romp, and play daily. * Thrive on attention and let people touch you. * Avoid biting when a simple growl will do. * On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass. * On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree. * When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body. * Delight in the simple joy of a long walk. * Eat with gusto and enthusiasm. Stop when you have had enough. * Be loyal. Never pretend to be something you're not. * If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it. * When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.

Farmer John vs. Mrs. Farmer John... A farmer walks into an attorney’s office wanting to file for a divorce. The attorney asks, “May I help you?” The farmer says, “Yeah. I want to get one of those dee-vorces.” The attorney asks, “Well, do you have any grounds?” The farmer replies, “Yeah. I got about 140 acres.” The attorney says, “No, you don’t understand. Do you have a case?” The farmer says, “No, I don’t have a Case, but I have a John Deere.” The attorney says, “No you don’t understand, I mean do you have a grudge?” The farmer says, “Yeah, I got a grudge. That’s where I park my John Deere.” The attorney says, “No, sir, I mean do you have a suit?” The farmer says, “Yessir, I got a suit. I wear it to church on Sundays.” The exasperated attorney says, “Well, sir, does your wife beat you up or anything?” The farmer says, “No, sir, we both get up about 4:30.” Finally, the attorney asks, “Okay, let me put it this way. WHY DO YOU WANT A DIVORCE?” And the farmer replies, “Well, I cain't never have a meaningful conversation with her!”

http://bigcharts.marketwatch.com/ is usually the first one I go to, Julie.

And remember, you never 'enter' the net income or loss, that is 'calculated'. You enter the income and the expenses, and net income or loss is then computed by the software. And all you enter into the books to start are the assets, liabilities, and capital invested. Retained earnings is then calculated by the program. If you were trying to enter that, no doubt that is what made the program zero out.

I agree, you made the right decision. That sounds like a very lop-sided deal, you get all the risks and headaches, and they get to make money off your investment. And, to add to what John points out, if they have bad credit, odds are they are not the kind of people you want taking care of your mother, either. Dependability is one of the primary traits that you want in a care-giver, after all.

When the taxpayer files his return for the year containing the first part of the 12-month period during which he satisfies the physical presence test, he may not yet be eligible for the exclusion. In general, he must file his return as though he does not qualify for the exclusion, and then file for a refund when he does qualify. However, a special extension for filing (but not for paying tax) is available for taxpayers who expect to qualify for the exclusion. They can request a special extension to file the return until after the completion of the qualifying period by filing Form 2350, Application for Extension of Time to File U.S. Income Tax Return. The extension does not extend the time for paying any tax. See Reg. Section 1.911-7©. File Form 2350 on or before the due date of your Form 1040. For a 2007 calendar year return, this is April 15, 2008. However, if you have 2 extra months to file your return because you were “out of the country” (defined later), file Form 2350 on or before June 16, 2008. So it is not too late to file the 2350 for him.

Thanks for letting us know that. It's always good to be informed, because that will not the last client with that question, I'm sure.

Seems your firm is taking a very short-sighted view of this. Once you are licensed there, you could then handle any OR issues for them. $100 is small change for that right, seems to me. Plus, I do not doubt that they can work it into the client's fee.

Daune, I think Joan IS a CPA, which is why she is concerned about this issue, which would not be an issue for her if she were not a CPA. She is questioning leaving off the CPA on the POA, you notice. Joan, I really do not see it as a problem for you to represent them if you prepared the return. If you did not prepare it, then I think you have to get a waiver or file for substantial equivalency.

If your mother owned the house, and lived in it, with the 'caregivers' living with her but not leasing the house, then it would be her personal residence, and if she later had to be moved to another facility, she could sell it and take the §121 exclusion. Or if you then inherited it, you would get stepped up basis. But if you want to lease it to someone who would then operate the house as a business, it would probably make more sense for you to own it, not only for tax reasons but also for liability reasons. Since you would be renting it to the caregivers, the fact that your mother did or did not end up being one of the people occupying it would not be a factor at all. I think you would be wise to set up an LLC to actually own it, even if it's a disregarded entity for tax purposes, since there could be issues in such a business.

Well, why not go ahead and file the 1040X? It should only take a minute to generate it, federal is all that should be needed, and then they either will or will not get it now. As you say, if they don't get it now, they will get in on the next return, but you should, I think, at least try to get it for them now. Can't hurt, only takes a minute to generate it, and they will appreciate that you did it at no charge. And after all, you should have asked, although it's an easy error to make. Frankly, I'm not sure even the IRS knows what they will or will not do about it.

Tom. odds are the ATX demo was being done by a TaxWise employee. That was who was doing the seminar I went to. It's weird that they do not seem to understand that they should have someone doing those who actually knows how to use the software.

Are the loan papers made out to them personally, or to the business? And is the business a partnership? Or an LLC? Or an S Corp?

Well, the "Judges, fines, etc' was just a running joke, Zeke, but the 'Donate' button is there all the time. I really don't think anyone has done anything that requires a 'fine' anyway. We seem to be a really nice bunch of folks, who have seldom offended, and when those few offenses happened, the offender has always apologized, and stopped the bad behavior. I really think the 'community' is working to maintain standards of good manners just fine, without any thing done to create any punishment system. Of course, anyone who feels that they deserve to be 'fined', is free to hit that donate button. :lol:

Yes, that is one of the nicest uses, IMHO. I have the full Adobe Acrobat program, but I use the pdf Factory program more often, just because it is so easy to use that way. It can be real useful to combine forms sent by clients into a file with their tax return, and sometimes I want to combine a letter I sent the client, etc, with the return.

Don is doing better. I have one son moving back to our hometown, he's taken the job of IT director for the city. So I have two grandsons staying with us right now, while they decide what they want to build. They are almost 6 and almost 3. It's fantastic to have them here. And they are wonderful 'medicine' for Don. One hug from a 2 yr old is better than a dozen pills. Only problem is that at that age range, it's impossible for them to remember not to leave toys and such in the middle of the floor. So he's having to be careful as he walks, that he does not trip over a Tonka truck or other obstacle !

Well, when I went back in and tried again, renewal was so simple and fast that it was amazing. I guess they just had a minor glitch that weekend. Danielle, he's a real cutie. Grandkids are fantastic. I have one son moving back to our hometown, so I have two grandkids staying with us right now, while they decide what they want to build. It's fantastic to have them here. And they are wonderful 'medicine' for Don. One hug from a 2 yr old is better than a dozen pills.

The land was [is] inventory, but he did not sell the land, he sold his interest in the partnership, which still owns the land. He may or may not have ordinary income, but the sale would most likely have generated a liquidation dividend, if they were the only two partners. The sale of his interest would be a capital gain or loss, but partnership accounting is the most convoluted area in all of tax law, so there is no way to know, from the little detail given, what should have been shown where on the K1.

http://www.fineprint.com/ If you have your older program disks, it's on them. You can install from them. But you might want to go ahead and buy the regular version, which has a few things that version does not have, and is very inexpensive. Fineprint, the basic program, only costs $10. If you have the early version, you can upgrade to the Factory program for about half the regular price.

There may be a number of reasons. For example, some 'expenses' may not be fully deductible, such as meals. Some expenses may be taken for tax reasons, but not for accounting reporting, such as §179 deduction. Just to mention the two easiest examples.

Yes, I guess I should look into the alternatives, but I'm lazy about that sort of thing. And I've given out that eFax number to so many clients that I really hate to change. It's not like we get a lot of them, we are getting a lot more emails these days in place of faxes. Which I much prefer.

I think JB is off to Key West to propose, isn't he? And Taxbilly usually slopes off during the summer. Remember, he lives on Merritt Island, one of the most wonderful places in FL, beautiful beaches full, at this time of year, of scantily clad young women. Why would he be here on the board? Don't know about the other two.

My computer expert sons think it's the best of the free ones, Joel. In fact, according to them, if you have hardware protection like routers, etc, it's all most people need.

You should be very, very careful about the wording if you do these. Only thing I will say in a letter is "I have prepared tax returns for X for the last [number of years] and he has filed Sch C's for all those years. Copies of those Sch C's may be obtained from the client." That is IT. Nothing about how profitable he may or may not be, nothing about his solvency, etc. DEFINATELY nothing about how any loan may affect him or his ability to pay the loan, etc. Often that is enough, but if it is not, tough. No way am I going to be the backup security on a client's loan, by giving the lender the ability to sue me, claiming he relied on my assurances in making the loan.