Catherine

Yes - I second what Possi says! We love you @Eric and really, really, REALLY appreciate everything you do for us!!!

Hi folks, There is an error in the Drake calculation of non-taxable traditional IRA basis in the conversion to a Roth IRA. Tech support is working on it, but if you have conversions where some of the trad IRA has non-taxable basis, beware!

I'd call Drake support and see what they have to say. If it really went through, then I'd call the IRS with a POA in hand and give them the submission ID - that's assigned individually to every return filed electronically.

Very true; never file an amended return with a CP2000 letter. New schedule D with transactions plus stmts from Fidelity, yes. They'll take it from there, unless there are other factors you want to include. If you do decide to include the 1040, write on it in bold "DO NOT PROCESS - supplementary information ONLY."

Places like EFileMyForms allow preparation of prior-year forms, if you also need them e-filed and/or mailed out.

I'm always astounded when these requests come in for people who have the same name as they've had for years, have not changed their ssn's for any reason, live at the same address they've been filing from for years - some for DECADES, use the same bank account for refunds that they've used for years, and their refunds are in line with refunds for the last umpty years. You'd think they could at least limit this nonsense to ssn's where at least one of those has *changed* from the most recently filed years. But there's more! I had one client last year where he did finally get through and the refund STILL didn't show up. Had to get TAS involved. The agent who handled the verification noted that the verification was done, but DID NOT RELEASE the refund. So he would never have gotten another notice, and never have gotten the refund without TAS stepping in. (Thank you, taxpayer advocate office!)

Thank you, Donna! I'll pass this on.

Yes, it all goes on Sch D. You can do one-line summary for the totals of short term and long term (but make sure the client uses a tracking program of SOME kind - before those were available, for one client I had a spreadsheet. FIFO, and every bleeping Sbux coffee was tracked. Ugh.).

Colleague here in my state asked if I had a recommendation for accounting software that is good for tracking truckers' income and expenses. She's been using spreadsheets but was hoping for a better overall solution. Her husband has a small truck, and has been sending his colleagues to her, so the need is getting more pressing! Thanks to all in advance.

Round and round and round we go; where we stop, nobody knows!

The old saying - the only two certainties in life are death and taxes - but at least death doesn't get more complicated every year!

Neither is PayPal. I rarely leave more than a few dollars in my PayPal for that reason. It's not real until it's in my bank.

You might want to consider NOT telling us when you do - or you might find a long line of friends at your front door, ready to dive in!

To mis-quote Heinlein, "The ways of God and computers are strange, and not for mortal men to figure out."

Yup! They had asked me to teach one of the modules, but the week I'm away teaching at Camp Constitution fell right in the middle of it, so I had to decline.

A couple of times a season, I stumble across some terrific little feature I didn't know was there. Yes there are annoyances - as in every program. Yes there are quirks - again, as in every program. Ultimately, the best software for you is the one you are most comfortable with - but it is not only possible but sometimes imperative to switch to a new program. With time, it will also become an old friend. How many of us fought the switch from DOS-based programs years ago, after all? I know I did. New, different, and weird-seeming do not equate to worse.

Massachusetts has some kind of provision for one-day licensing so anyone can perform a legal marriage ceremony. Wouldn't be surprised if other states have similar provisions. (Allows an out-of-state minister, or a friend or family member, to perform the ceremony for the couple.)

She is one week old today!

Glad you liked that. Been using it for years.

Good luck, @Terry D!

I also switched to Drake in the 2012-season debacle. Yes, there was a learning curve (in late February!). Yes, some things are different. Yes, there are annoyances (as there were with ATX, as well - no program is perfect and the ones that come significantly closer need another digit in the pricing, at least). I recommend you take a good hard look at Drake. I helped a friend, years back when I was still with ATX, to do some returns on ProSeries. I detested it so much that I never even considered using it. Couldn't find a bleeping thing, couldn't search, couldn't trace any numbers back - I spent more time on those three returns than on any nine other returns ever. And they were not complex; one straightforward S-corp with good trustworthy QB reports, one trust, and one personal.

Very true. I am good at self-study and crammed for five weeks before the exams. The totally unexpected side benefit was I had zero complaints about homework from my girls that entire school year; they had seen up-close and personal what real studying looked like!

What everyone else said. The 3115 will NOT cause problems with prior years - its purpose is to correct all those prior year problems in one swell foop, without making any changes in the deep dark past. Lisa Ihm's book/booklet is terrific and well worth the price. Once you actually sit down with it, you'll be surprised how relatively straightforward it is. What you will need to do is to manually correct depreciation on that property, because the 3115 corrections do not automatically flow anywhere; there are too many possibilities. The hardest part is to remember to MAIL in a copy to ...wherever it goes; Ogden maybe, in addition to attaching the form as a pdf to the return.

My informally-adopted (absorbed?) son and his wife are also expecting a baby girl, in September. So I'll get to be a grandma-equivalent again!

She's four days old, and this was on Day 2.