Cathy

You are forgiven....this time. :spaz:

Thanks guys! Enrollment went through without a hitch. Trying to play catch up this weekend and will have my first "victim" Monday morning. It's GOT to be better than holding checks. Take care, Cathy P.S. One more thing...???....I made the mistake and read the agreement to enroll and it stated that we aren't allowed to charge for this service....did I "misread" it (hopefully)?

KC, What is this "lunch break" that you take....it sounds familiar...in the back of my mind it seems as if I used to take them myself, but it's been so long ago...just trying to figure it out. Cathy P.S. In the past years, I did only manual updates. So far this year it has been automatic updates only without any problems. However, appreciate the tip and will go back to manual updates every day after the daily start up of my computer. :)

After 39 years in the business, also had my first Identity Theft issue. The phony return was filed a week before I e-filed the proper return. Poor soul....whoever filed the phony return was waiting on a refund over $8,000....hope he/she didn't spend the refund yet...phony refund is not going to happen even though IRS had already "accepted" the return....caught it 3 days prior to the direct deposit date. And, as your situation, my clients had to send a paper return. Have a feeling we are all going to start seeing more of these. :mad:

I agree with bcolleen assuming that daughter had no other income and father provided more than 50% of support, yada, yada, yada.... Cathy

My practice of "holding checks" for clients until their deposits from e-filed returns are deposited into their account is coming to a screeching halt as of today.....just can't make that deposit without verifying online whether or not their refund has hit their account. Would need to hire a full time person just to keep the "hold" checks separated from ok to deposit checks....enuf is enuf! Tell them to call me over the weekend if their refund didn't deposit, but I've had several people over the years call me later that Wednesday or Thursday....like I said, enuf is enuf! Therefore, if you've had experience with Fee Collect is/was it good/bad? (Please only respond if you have time.) Also, is it just me or anyone else who have had their normal "March" clients come in February this year? Probably the economy....it's killing me as I call my "March" clients my "crazies" as they always have been NUTS!. Guess I'll just have to rename them my "March/Feb crazies". Not what I need in February....both my February "I NEED MY REFUND NOW" people along with my March "crazies". Thanks! Cathy

My recent issue of the Kiplinger Tax Letter stated that the instructions had been changed this year on the 1040 for the Health Insurance deduction for self-employeds...just haven't had time to look at it, but for 2010 IRS has decided for some reason we can deduction the Medicare B premiums as self-employed health insurance payments.

You do have to set up an "account" (name, email, etc...)but there is no monthly fee such as I'm paying now with my Intuit "Merchant Account" ($12.95 per month). From their website, here are the fees: One of the most common questions about Square is “How much does it cost?”. The conversation often goes something like this: “So, how much are your fees?” 2.75% + 15¢ per transaction if you use your Square card reader and… 3.5% + 15¢ per transaction if do not use your Square card reader and instead type in the numbers manually. “What about a monthly fee?” Nope! “Annual?” Nada. “What about the interchange fee that gets added on to each transaction?” One fee to rule them all. “Haha, funny. Ok, what about PCI compliance fees? Security costs extra right?" Why should it? Square is safe and secure from the get go. “Ok...Amex? They get charged separately right? And I know that it’s sometimes too expensive to accept them and most small businesses only accept other cards.” All cards we accept (Visa, Mastercard, Discover and Amex) have the same flat rates. I'll try to keep a close eye on them and possibly consider switching...but in the interim, if anyone is using Square, please let us know how it's working for you. Take care, Cathy

I got set up last year to accept debit/credit cards, however very few clients used it. Costing me $12.95 month base fee plus a percentage, etc... Just saw the article below and wondered if any of you have tried using this app??? http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp?S=13951113 Just saw this also: "Learn more at squareup.com"

Lynn, Just got off the phone with the help desk. The one I e-filed in January during the first drain will be deposited either today or tomorrow. They said "not to worry" about the acks....they are taking a long, long time, she said. Only one of the January returns were shown as accepted by La. and two other returns from the January drains that I checked on still show needing acks....but she confirmed that those two returns had been accepted by them and would be deposited as well. There first two drains are going to be deposited today or tomorrow....possibly the third drain as well....didn't want to "trouble" her with additional social security numbers. It's good to know that they have finally cranked their systems up anyway! Take care, Cathy

Have any of your clients received a Louisiana refund yet? Only one of the returns I have e-filed indicate that it was accepted by Louisiana...way back in January. ALL of the others e-filed to Louisiana are waiting on acks. Tried calling the LA E-file help desk last week and they were useless. Seems like "mumm" is the word coming out of the La Dept. of Revenue. I just put another call in to the La. e-file help desk. Gonna get some type of answer...this is ridiculous! Cathy

Been there...done that. The problem I had was that too many of them came back the next year and brought new clients with them. Go figure....it seems the more we charge, the more we are appreciated! :spaz:

Probably gonna regret this response as it will definitely show my age, but here goes: I completely understand your being "frazzled" over this one. Years ago, I also had a hard time with the situation and researched until I was crosseyed but could not find where IRS disallowed anyone, even an employee, from making a withdrawal from their 401(k) to purchase a principal residence and immediately rolling it over to an IRA......THEN withdrawing the $10,000 from the IRA to bypass paying the 10% penalty on the $10,000 portion.....and I told several clients to "go for it" but to "just make sure the distribution is rolled over into an IRA first". I carefully reviewed the instructions, publications, etc..each year until IRS finally realized the "loophole" and issued a new rule that prevented a taxpayer from using the "residence" exception for the penalty for an IRA unless those same funds (rolled over from a 401k) had remained in the IRA for 12 months or so(don't remember the exact number of months)PRIOR to purchasing the residence. Then, over the years, more rules and regs, etc.... Under current rules and regs., if an employee withdraws funds from his 401(k)to help purchase his/her "principal residence", it falls under the "Hardship Distribution" rule, and a rollover from an employee's 401(k)under the "Hardship Distribution" is not eligible for a roll-over, therefore, the 10% penalty would apply....no way around it. To put it in simplier terms: The key here is that your taxpayer is no longer classified as an "employee" under her 401(k) as she lost her job. Therefore, she was eligible to roll over her entire 401(k) into an IRA...thus able to withdraw up to $10,000 without the 10% penalty. As long as the funds are eligible for and rolled over to an IRA then withdrawn....no penalty. .....and there you have it..."The Simpler, Kinder, Gentler IRS" as it was once called some years back. I shuddered when I heard Obama in The State of The Union Address say we need a simplification of our tax codes.....every time they simplify things, it only gets worse! O'kay....I have made myself sick to my stomach rehashing old codes vs. new codes, etc...so don't be surprised if this is my first AND last post of the season. Take care, Cathy

Hi, Edited.....found my answer... Cathy

Marie, I also had 2 with your situation...not showing up on the online e-file status. If you haven't already, check again. Mine are there now...indicating ATX sent to Agency this afternoon....had sent them yesterday....deposits are going to be delayed a week on each one....oh well, there are always worse things that could have happened. At least they have been sent to IRS now! Cathy

Probably time to upgrade your computer. I was forced to before tax season due to a lightning storm........the difference in speed of the ATX program is phenominal with the new computer! Not once this year did I have to sit and wait for the program to respond! Cathy

Please let me in on it when you find out! I guess it's somewhere in the 896 unopened emails that IRS has sent since January! :spaz:

Neil, Line 14F on the K-1 isn't income that would flow to the 1040. It's an "information" figure instead. Cathy

Yes, earnings in box 1 on the w-2 would qualify for the making work pay credit....however, look at SCH M...sounds like they probably didn't earn enough to get more than $500. Cathy

Booger, Before you tell your client anything: My first inclination was also no to both questions and still is no to question #1, However, to question #2: Instructions for Form 5405 state: "You (and your spouse if married) .....". Key here is spouse, if married... Cathy

Julie, Mom can also claim Child Care in the year such as you questioned HOH....also, Mom can claim EIC too! Cathy

I do the same as KC. Having the file showing up as a reject is a good reminder that a client needs to come in and sign or whatever. It also helps to prevent me from forgetting that I need to e-file the return. Once a day I check my rejects to make sure all available files for e-filing have been e-filed. Oh well, it makes sense to me anyway. Cathy

Marie, I also had a spouse receive a $250 check from social security without actively drawing social security. He is still working but of retirement age. The making work pay credit amounted to $300 as he had earned enough to receive the $800, but he and his wife each had received $250 from social security. Cathy

Hate to disagree, Jainen, but each of the taxpayers would get a $250 credit on their return. Even taxpayers receiving a government pension (from work not covered by social security) who did not have enough income to be required to file a return should file to get the $250/$500 refund. Cathy