kcjenkins

As I understand it, that is the group of former ATX tech folks that have formed a Support Helpline service. Ironic, isn't it, that they will now benefit from the CCH donation of the building that they worked in before CCH fired them?

Each business probably needs it's own Sales Tax number, but he only needs one EIN for the LLC. Some states require that the 'fictitious name' be registered, others do not, but even if it is not required it's a very smart thing to do, to protect the name.

I've had an eFax number since they first started out. It was the free service for a long time, until my son wanted to piggyback on to it, then the number put me into the paid volumn. But it can be sent to up to 5 different email addresses, so this is a good thing if you want to be able to get the faxes at multiple locations, or mutiple users, etc. You can send and receive with this one.

Yeah, I forgot about the holiday. No big deal. Tuesday will be fine.

Hummmmm. If Eric is going to get the 'fines' as donations, I think that would disqualify him as Judge. Why not consider the ATXaholics like an Appeal Court, where we all vote and majority rules?

Thanks for the laugh, Jainen. I needed that! Karen, if you still have the email about the discount, and you click on the link in that email, it will input the savings code automatically. However.........when I tried to renew, I got the message "An internal error occurred, your credit card has not been charged. Please try again or contact Customer Service.". Of course, customer service is not open now. I guess I'll do it Monday.

No specific updates, although I have decided to renew, Art. But one more nice and reassuring thing. I had requested an obscure AR form be added, if possible, back in Jan. I really did not think they would add it, but decided to ask, anyway. Well, two days ago I got a 'followup' email, which I will include below. I think this is a very good sign that they are still working hard to improve the program for us. Here's the post I got: Hi KC, Were you ever able to get a copy of this form? I know you have a lot going on and don't want to bother you, but this is the time of year we add enhancements and would like to consider including this for 2008 if you are able to get us a copy. If you can you can email me a copy of it or fax it. Thanks, Karen Hall ATX Tax Manager CCH - Small Firm Services

Julie, call the ATX help line, and they can get you back into the support pages. I had to do that recently. Seems that the 'code' that I used to install the program is not the 'code' that they are showing, two of the 20 numbers were changed, so I could not use the normal procedure to reset my passwords. But support was able to fix it where I could get in, plus give me the current correct install code data. You need to get that fixed, anyway, because it's the portal to all the other parts that you need from time to time.

Julie, call the ATX help line, and they can get you back into the support pages. I had to do that recently. Seems that the 'code' that I used to install the program is not the 'code' that they are showing, two of the 20 numbers were changed, so I could not use the normal procedure to reset my passwords. But support was able to fix it where I could get in, plus give me the current correct install code data. You need to get that fixed, anyway, because it's the portal to all the other parts that you need from time to time.

Yes, it's timely, but once it is filed, the money owed is 'due' at that point. That is why you can not put in a payment date later than the date filed. Glad you got it acked.

Although you may find that they have to have one in order to get their new business a bank account. Which they should always do. Many banks will not open an LLC bank account for an entity unless it has it's own EIN, which is one reason I always go ahead and apply for one. It can not hurt, takes only a minute or two to get online, and helps in reminding the client that this is a separate 'entity', and must be treated as such, even if it is reported on a Sch C. Never, ever, let them just continue to use their old bank account. The new entity should always start clean, with it's own seperate bank account.

Julie, one tip, don't do the second letter in Dec, because with the Christmas mail, holiday stuff, etc, your letter will tend to be ignored or overlooked. Plus no one wants to think about taxes in Dec. Hit them the first couple of days in Jan, and they are on your wave length, thinking about getting their refund to pay some of those bills. There is a major shift in attitude toward taxes in that week.

It is saying that if the return is 'late', the payment date you show should be the date you file it. The 5 day prior part is there because if you file it late today, IRS may not actually process it until tomorrow, and if it was rejected for some other tech reason, you might retransmit, etc. So you don't have to change the date as long as the retransmit is within that 5 day span.

He may have recourse against the planner... unless in fact he did not do quite what he was advised to do. We all know how often clients ask us how to do something, and we tell them to do A, B and then C. And the client goes out and does A and C, but not B, or he does A, C, then B, etc. And then is mad at us when we tell him he screwed up. Sadly, I doubt that there is anything he can do, unless in fact the planner did do the screwup. And if so, I hope he has it in writing. Memory of what he was told verbally is not going to do it.

Well, clearly, Joel did not mean exactly what he 'said', because the IRS can not allow or disallow anyone to own property. If property is held in joint tenancy, that is a matter of state law, not tax law. I think what he must have meant, or what his 'adviser' must have meant, is that there is a question of whether rental property can be treated as joint property just because they have previously filed a joint return, when in fact the property may be titled in the name of only one of the spouses. That is the only area where I could see it even being an issue that the IRS would have any grounds for the question. And since the only time it would actually matter would be one where the couple was now filing MFS, I bet that was where the issue came up. After all, on a MFJ return, it really has no impact at all which one, or both, owns the property.

Julie, just a thought you might consider: The hardest thing about moving your office is the fact that most clients only see you once a year, so they just go to the old location and if they don't find you there they may or may not look for you. Some will just assume you moved away, went out of business, or whatever, and go to the nearest other tax shop. So consider talking to the restaurants in the new location, about some shared advertising. Often they will agree to give you some 'discount' coupons, especially if you will pay to have them printed, that you could include with your 'we moved' letter. This does two things for you. It makes you the giver of gifts, always a positive thing. And it gives them a reason to find the new location. Once they come to the restaurant, they see your new office with it's eye-catching signs, and that makes it easier for them to find you next Jan. Heck, the restaurants might even print the coupons, just to get you to pay for the mailings. It's a win for both of you, because they get their ad into specific hands, much more effective than mass mailings tend to be, and you get to give your clients an extra reason to find your new location. And consider sending that 'we've moved' letter twice, by the way. Once now, and again in early Jan. People do tend to forget, and go to the old location, if not reminded.

Joan, you said it yourself, if you think it through. That depreciation rules says 'allowed or allowable', but the SE Health Insurance deduction says only 'allowed'. So you don't have to reduce by 'allowable', only for 'allowed'. And pat yourself on the back, by the way, for thinking 'outside the box' on this one, and not just 'assuming' that the usual way is always the best way. It's that sort of thing that separates the true professional from the 'form-fillers'.

I think this may be a real great resource for us all. Yes, it costs money, but on the other hand, we know that these folks are great, and we also know that they are people who care about really helping their customers, not just doing the minimum to 'get by'. I'm sure going to be bookmarking their site.

I think you would be surprised at how much your market would bear, Marilyn. And I bet if you look at your fees for 10 years ago, and compare them to now, you will find that they have not increased as much as inflation. At least, that is the fact for a lot of us. You should never feel bad to about passing along your legitimate costs. The truth is, tax code has gotten so complex, that the service we provide is, IMHO, more valuable than ever.

Very glad we were able to help, Kerry. I'm sure you will do well at the job, because of your great attitude of trying to help your customers.

Hey, you are both right! Keep up the good work.

I think that is where you made your mistake. You START with the NOL worksheet, but then you use the 1045 tab 3 and tab 3 to do the calculations. This is not automatic, you have to make entries on those worksheets to get it right.

I agree, whenever I have to use the older versions I am reminded that even though the price has gone up the quality of what we get for our money has increased even more. Not a lot of things you can say that about.

The bank should not have accepted a deposit into an account that had a different person's name on it, so the bank should be where you start. I've never heard of a bank accepting a refund deposit where the taxpayer was not on the account. Normally, they reject them and the IRS then sends a check by mail. Are you sure that they actually accepted the deposit?

The spouse who owned the 401K gets the exception, and so does the spouse who gets the money. But only for the early withdrawal penalty. If that spouse puts it into an IRA then it is not taxed to her at that time. But if she instead just takes the cash and puts it in her bank account, or spends it, she will owe tax on it, just no penalty.