JRS

The best thing I ever did with taxes was to switch from ATX. I have or had since I am retiring a small practice and it was a very small learning curve, I hardly noticed. My last few years, I used the pay per return ATX. The reps would not even bother to talk to me. When I did get one he or she was gone the next time I called. I did have to "mickey mouse" a few things, but tax knowledge made it easy. I did notice last year, they waited a long time to give us the full version. I maybe wrong, but I think it was after Oct 15.

" I suppose I have to be a customer of Drake to get on their discussion board???" Short answer is yes.

Joan, we also feel your pain:

We will not be stopped. #BeatThePanthers

I did some quick checking of my profile and a few others and it seems we all had a profile check by rica... !

The Turbo Tax commercials are the worst and most degrading not only to Preparers but to the general public. >>Donald Trump promised to put H&R Block out of business when he gets elected.<< I wish he would add Intuit to that list.

"Moral of the story: I switched to Drake and only regret that I had not done it years earlier." Totally agree. For a small one person office with a dwindling client base and retirement around the corner, I regret not changing from ATX sooner. Though other than price increases, I had no complaints with ATX.

WASHINGTON ― Following a review of the tax extenders legislation signed into law last week, the Internal Revenue Service announced today that the nation’s tax season will begin as scheduled on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016.

SpidellPublishingInc.® FLASH E-MAIL CORRECTION: PATH Act not yet signed by President (12-18-15) The PATH Act has been signed by the House and the Senate. The President has not yet signed the bill, as previously reported; however, he is expected to sign the bill later today.

President signs extender bill (12-18-15) The President has signed the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (the PATH Act). Here is a list of key provisions. Made permanent: Enhanced Child Tax Credit Enhanced American Opportunity Tax Credit Enhanced Earned Income Tax Credit Above-the-line educator deduction Sales tax deduction Enhanced mass transit and parking pass benefits IRA-to-charity — California automatically conforms R&D credit IRC §179 — enhanced Enhanced exclusion of gain on sale of small business stock Built-in gains holding period Extended through 2016: Qualified tuition deduction Nonbusiness Energy Property Credit COD principal residence exclusion Mortgage insurance premium deductible as interest Extended through 2019: Bonus depreciation — phases out First year bonus depreciation on automobiles — enhanced Work Opportunity Tax Credit

IRS Reminds Tax Return Preparers of Limited Practice Changes and Announces Revised PTIN Fee WASHINGTON— The Internal Revenue Service today reminded non-credentialed tax return preparers of major upcoming changes regarding which tax return preparers can represent clients in matters before the IRS beginning in 2016, and take action by Dec. 31, 2015, to avoid being affected. The IRS also announced that federal tax return preparers will soon pay less for a preparer tax identification number (PTIN). Last year the IRS announced pending changes to limited practice authorities for non-credentialed tax return preparers. (Rev. Proc. 2014-42) Effective for tax returns and claims for refunds prepared and signed after Dec. 31, 2015, the limited right to represent clients before the IRS held by non-credentialed preparers will be accorded to only those preparers participating in the IRS Annual Filing Season Program, a voluntary continuing education (CE) program. The changes in the limited representation rules have no impact on returns prepared and signed by non-credentialed preparers on or before Dec. 31, 2015. Non-credentialed tax return preparers who participate in the Annual Filing Season Program will continue to have limited rights to represent clients. This enables them to represent taxpayers whose returns they prepared and signed, but only before revenue agents, customer service representatives, and similar IRS employees, including the Taxpayer Advocate Service. The tax return preparer must participate in the Annual Filing Season Program for both the year of return preparation and the year of representation to represent their client. There are no changes to representation rules for enrolled agents, certified public accountants, and attorneys. These tax professionals continue to have unlimited practice rights and can represent any taxpayer before any IRS office, including collection and appeals, regardless of whether they prepared the tax return in question. To participate in the Annual Filing Season Program, non-credentialed tax return preparers must complete either 15 or 18 hours of continuing education from IRS-approved CE providers. The CE must be completed by Dec. 31, 2015, in order to receive a 2016 Annual Filing Season Program Record of Completion. More information about Annual Filing Season Program requirements is available on IRS.gov. PTIN Fee Revised Effective Nov. 1, 2015, the annual fee for 2016 PTINs will be $50 for both new applications and renewals. The IRS will collect $33 as a user fee to support program costs and a third-party vendor will receive $17 to operate the online system and provide customer support. In preparation for the fee change, PTIN open season, which normally begins in mid-October, will begin in early November. PTIN open season is when the IRS begins accepting renewals and new registrations for the upcoming year. Federal agencies are required to review user fees every other year and make adjustments as appropriate. The current PTIN fee is $64.25 for a new registration and $63 for renewal. More information about the updated user fee is available in TD 9742 and REG-121496-15.

It looks like Mom is out of luck. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i5695.pdf "You may be able to take the credits if you made energy saving improvements to your home located in the United States in 2014. Home. A home is where you lived in 2014 and can include a house, houseboat, mobile home, cooperative apartment, condominium, and a manufactured home that conforms to Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety..." " Main home. Your main home is generally the home where you live most of the time."

>>especially for the elderly<< Sadly, it is not only the elderly that seem to fall for it. I have had numerous calls from friends of varying ages call and ask me what to do. BUT, no clients!

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/irs-breach-accounts-hacked/2015/05/26/id/646831/

>>I am confused... How does E&O cover theft?<< This is my interpretation of E&O. I guess you could say the mentioned Tax Preparer was negligent in letting someone break in. BUT, my E&O would not cover it. I took the definition from Wikipedia because I am also confused. "Professional liability insurance (PLI), also called professional indemnity insurance (PII) but more commonly known as errors & omissions(E&O) in the US, is a form of liability insurance that helps protect professional advice- and service-providing individuals and companies from bearing the full cost of defending against a negligence claim made by a client, and damages awarded in such a civil lawsuit. The coverage focuses on alleged failure to perform on the part of, financial loss caused by, and error or omission in the service or product sold by the policyholder. These are potential causes for legal action that would not be covered by a more general liability insurance policy which addresses more direct forms of harm."

And SUPPORT.

"H&R Block believes acquiring or franchising independent tax preparation services represents a great path for growth. The company says it is targeting good performers in the pool of 67,000 independents that prepare at least 100 returns each year. In remarks during the company's recent Investor's Day webcast, Shawn Moore, VP of assisted tax services, noted the target market is limited by that fact that one of four independents reviewed by Block knowingly commit tax fraud." http://www.theprogressiveaccountant.com/index.php?option=com_content&id=3874&view=article&Itemid=59

From their website: All CTEC Registered Tax Preparers (CRTP) must... First complete 60-hours (45 hours federal and 15 hours state) of qualifying tax education from a CTEC Approved Provider Obtain a PTIN (Preparer Tax Identification Number) from the IRS Purchase a $5,000 tax preparer bond Register with CTEC within 18 months from the completion date on the certificate of completion To renew your registration all CRTPs must... Complete 20-hours (10 hours federal tax law, 3 hours federal tax update, 2 hours of Ethics and 5 hours for State) of continuing tax education each year Maintain a valid PTIN (Preparer Tax Identification Number) from the IRS Maintain a $5,000 tax preparer bond Renew the registration by October 31st of each year

Phones have been restored. Thank you for your patience.. Labor Day Sale Only $299.99 for our basic package.

http://apps.irs.gov/app/picklist/list/draftTaxForms.html?indexOfFirstRow=25&sortColumn=postedDate&value=&criteria=&resultsPerPage=25&isDescending=true

This the best I could find: http://www.binaryex.com/taxes-on-binary-option-trading-profits/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_option

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