joanmcq

Was there an estate of any kind? Is not the estate responsible for the payments of the debts of the deceased?

No income if they qualify for the exclusion; sale at a big loss, no cash out refi's or anything. Just bought at the wrong time and lost job. Next year I get to deal with the proceeds from the age discrimination settlement My concern is that they moved on May 15, but the house didn't close until Dec. Short sales take forever.

Have a client who lost his job in CA and ended up moving to CO for a new job. Their house in CA was short-sold a few months later. Does CO conform to the principal residence exclusion for cancelled debt? This was all acquisition debt, no-refi's. Also, of course they were not living in the house by the time the short sale finally went through since he had to move to get a job. This late I'm wondering if they qualify at all....

No.

I would deduct the food, etc, as a charitable contribution. I see it as the same as Scout uniforms for the Scoutmaster.

I lost my day job on 3/25, so I know what you are going through with COBRA. I did a bit of research already, and if you don't let your insurance lapse for over 60 days, it is much easier to get a solo policy. The company I'm with currently doesn't offer solo policies, so I have to find another. since you are incorporated, hire him; and bingo! you have a group policy. I was allowed to downgrade my policy under COBRA as well, saving over $80/month by going with a higher copay, etc. I'm going to try to make this business work; I have a lot of new clients due to concentrating on same-sex couple returns, and I have good skill in audit rep. I'm looking at it as a door opening. As for vacation, I already paid for my tickets to the High Sierra Music festival & Burning Man, so all I've got to come up with for those events is gas money & food.

Works just fine for my overseas client!

Don't use the W-2 tab. There is a tab on the 1040 form called 'wages'. There is a line on there for foreign employer compensation not reported on a W-2. from there you can bunny-hop to the FEC worksheet where you can report foreign income.

foreign tax credit carryforwards have required some kind of statement since I've been doing them for one client which is since I've been a preparer using ATX. same thing; I just put a statement in there that says something about the c/f.

I concentrate on single-sex couple returns, so my phone has been ringing off the hook. Anything coming in past the 26th I'm not guaranteeing. I just did an NOL C/B for an existing client and my two ex-roommate's returns just so I could get something out the door.BTW, one of the ex-roommates is an EZ...just to put it into perspective. And I picked up a phone message today "we're going on vacation the 22nd, can you have our return done by then?". I work at this after my day job & I have only 8 or 9 in front of them, and most are single sex, so they are really 3 returns each. I really, really, wanted to get in my hot tub tonight..maybe tomorrow I'll make it. Oh yeah, and monday I was diagnosed with an ulcer.

Unfortunately I don't drink...and I seem to have come down with the flu. That call was the only constructive thing I've done all day. This is being typed on my laptop in bed. Sigh. This season has me tearing my hair out!

So on TaxAlmanac, I find a link to a discussion between the IRS and preparers regarding the new community property split which says the IRS can begin accepting these as efiles in mid-February. It also indicates Lacerte has already been updated to allow this. So after looking for a new check box or something that would indicate this is being filed under the CCA and not finding anything, I call tech support to determine if: 1. there is a checkbox 2. there will be an update allowing the MFS worksheet to be used on a single return 3. If there is any other way of doing this. After speaking to a nice guy that didn't know anything about the issue, I was transferred to 'a guy that knows everything about the program'. Well after going round and round that this wasn't a CA issue, but a Federal issue, and what it was (and complaining that I've had to work-around the ATX notion that the CA returns can't be efiled when they can), I tell him I have: 1. tried pasting a spreadsheet into the preparer notes 2. typing the info into the preparer notes...doesn't work 3. created my own master form, which won't efile 4. resigned myself to paper filing until I saw other software packages allow the efiling. He suggested attaching a PDF. Bingo! So I go to the efile tab....and 'attach PDF' is grayed out. I say so. He says the return has to be ready to file. I say it is. So if this works, that would be great, since I can save an excel worksheet as a PDF. After awhile, he says its something that might only be allowed on business returns. And will get back to me in 24-48 hours.

How can you have them sign the efile form before you've finished the return?

I'm trying my damndest to figure out a way to efile these returns. The ATX knowledgebase said the preparer notes on the efile tab would efile, and I typed some stuff in there and it did show in the list of efiled forms. HOWEVER....this has got to be the most irritating box to try to work with! I tried to paste the spreadsheet I created; didn't work, it's too big and the formating didn't come over right. Tried making spreadsheet smaller, no luck. Now I'm just trying to type lines, but every time I hit 'return' or the down arrow, the whole thing turns blue and doesn't want to let me type. To start a new line, I have to put in a whole bunch of spaces, and sometimes the formatting just seems to disappear, lines disappear and reappear.... Has anyone used this field before? Does anyone have any ideas? Like, while I was on my other screen typing this, extra spaces just appeared and now my formatting is wierd again. and to all of those who are screaming about having to e-file.....I LOVE E-FILING!!! MY CLIENTS LOVE E-FILING!!! I'll do anything not to paper file! Sigh. That's my rant.

I'm glad I saw this! Just had a client call today whose ex-wife 'got a taxpayer ID number so her refund wouldn't get snagged'. Turns out a he's had problems with his credit being mixed at least with another person with the same name, and never got his refund last year. Probably snagged for some debt that isn't his. If we notify the IRS now, can we get a PIN and TIN?

tell him to go home, print the crap out and mail it to you. And you will get to the return, say, around August! I just got an email from a long lost client that needs 2008 on done....

I just did it, but it wants me to override where I'm typing in the info. Otherwise, I am bowing to your amazing excellency!!!! It calcs! It adds! :lol:

The factors test for business vs hobby has been around for quite a long time, but that particular TC memo does sum 'businesslike manner' quite succinctly. Profit motive is required to prove biz over hobby. And trust me, get an Revenue Agent on your audit lottery case, and it won't be one year. All open years is a given. For 'serious understatement' of income, the SOL is 6 years and a 40% peanalty. In cases of fraud, there is no SOL. And a 75% penalty. And your client IS SOL.

MAS, they've been requiring proof of residence for the last year, in fact with all of the 2009 returns. Where've you been?

I created a Community property split spreadsheet, and tried to paste it into my client's file. The formulas did not carry over using either paste, or paste values. Ideally, I'd like to have a master calculating spreadsheet to add to all my clients requireing this split. It would then become part of their return. I understand I can't efile the spreadsheet; I have to copy the relevant sections to the 'preparer's notes' section of the efile tab. Anyone know how to get the formulas in without typing them laboriously again? Excel is just easier to work in that the stripped down version in ATX.

I've worked on or had coworkers work on these type of audits, and it's frightening how many drink the Kool-Aid and believe with the fervor of new coverts. Some continue to believe, thinking we are just not 'on their side', or 'don't know anything'. We actually had one couple rep themselves at tax court, who threw the book at them. The rep had negotiated down the penalties, and all that was added back on. Especially the ones that have decent other income from wages and have deducted themselves down to nothing. 'Remember that $20,000 refund you got? Well you shouldn't have gotten it, and now you have to pay it back. With interest and penalties'.

I was wondering the same thing. There is nowhere that said he was a full time student, and to get that large of a refund I'm guessing he does't even qualify as a dependent.

Then I have no idea why the realtors were treating them as a short sale; if an offer is greater than the liability, the bank doesn't have to approve the sale, the house is just sold, and the proceeds pay off the loan(s).

Catherine, if the offer is at or above the outstanding loan price, its no longer a 'short sale'. Its just a sale. For it to be a short sale, the bank has to agree to accept less than the balance of the loan. Now there were probably second mortgages that were above what was being offered and those lenders have to sign off too. and they get NOTHING, not even the house since they are second in line.

If they have GM pensions, they probably have to file anyways.