Tax Prep by Deb

Who will be responsible for repaying the loan? Him or his parents? If it's him then he provided more than 1/2 of his support. If the loan is in parents name I believe an argument could be made that they provided his support. Just my two cents worth! Deb!

Just what we needed! I loved it! Deb!

I believe it's what it is worth. It is considered an asset, and an asset can usually be sold for a price. So I believe it is what they would be able to take out as of the date of the forgiveness. Deb!

I originally had the same problem your experiencing. Make sure your program is up to date. Go to your e-file manager, select the name then go to support, website, and see if it's up at the top. Once I did that I was able to go to my return manager and select any file and it was available. Check and see if this helps. Deb!

As always Jainen, I appreciate your input. Like Terry, I had processed some returns with children of both parents living in the same home, one allowing the other to claim, ect.... At first I though I was wrong and was about to go and do more research on it, however Terry turned up exactly what I had remembered researching in the past. At least now I can breath a little easier. This year the EIC has definitely put a strain on my brain. I have not and never would willingly give this credit to someone who does not deserve it. However going back to the form we have to file this year, when it gets down to the question on can this child be claimed by anyone else, and it asks about the tie breaker rules, well in the case of two parents living in same home with same qualifying child, obviously one's AGI is going to be higher how should we answer that question? It's confusing because the parents have agreed on who claim. So I guess the answer would be yes the one claiming qualifies? Deb!

I have checked the refund status for a few of my clients that were filed last week. These returns are not showing up on the irs site where's my refund, however my program is showing them accepted. Has anyone else noticed this and should I be concerned? Deb!

I just tried and got all kinds of errors. They must be down, however it looks like transmission of e-files is still ok. Deb!

I appreciate Jainen's suggestion. It is brief and to the point. I have never understood why the bank want this letter. They have already asked the one wanting the loan for permission to pull their IRS transcript, they already have asked for two years of tax returns, how in the blazes is this letter going to accomplish more than that! Jainen's suggestion is very simple, yet it does not give reason for the lender to later come back and say you said........! Just my 2 cents worth. Deb!

I received an e-mail for ATX this morning explaining that IRS (although not officially) is saying that their fraud software is detecting more than expected returns, many which are correct but are erroneously showing up as suspicious, thus delaying the refunds per their cycle. They are suppose to be working on this problem but again ATX says they haven't heard anything official. ATX is doing a great job keeping us informed this year. I would like to remind everyone to log on to MyATX and subscribe to their e-mails. It has taken a lot of frustration out of my year so far. Deb!

They had it fixed early Monday morning. However be aware that if you file a return with a fosterchild, the CA will reject because they require a space between foster and child. I could not force a space so I made a change after the federal was accepted to other, then went to the CA data worksheet and there is a place to explain other and I stated it was a foster child however federal format allows for no spaces.

It appears that the only returns from CA that are rejecting contain the EIC forms. I've had several accpeted and one rejected for the same reason. The only difference from the ones that were accepted and the one that rejected was the EIC forms. The other forum has also been discussing this problem, and I guess ATX is somewhat aware of it but do not have a fix as of yet. Deb!

Sent two last night and already accepted. Sent one today and accepted in about an hour. Everything seems fine on my end. Deb!

E-mail received said they are now back up and running! Deb!

This e-mail just came in from ATX and I thought you all might want to know: CCH SFS: IRS MeF System offline at 6pm today (Jan 17) 1/17/2012 MeF System temporary shutdown The following information was posted to the IRS' Modernized e-File (MeF) Status Page Production System: Operational until 6:00 pm, EST on Tuesday, January 17, 2012 The Modernized e-File (MeF) System will he taken offline for maintenance beginning at 6:00 pm Eastern on January 17, 2012 until further notice. This will impact the Individual (IMF) and Business (BMF) submissions and acknowledgments. After 6:00 pm, please refrain from accessing the system to transmit tax returns, retrieve acknowledgments or submit any other service requests. This also includes State activity. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What does this mean for you?You can continue sending your e-files to the CCH SFS Electronic Filing Center. We will hold the e-files until the IRS brings the system back online. I haven't received acks for all of the e-files that I have submitted today: The MeF system is behind in making acks available for software vendors to retrieve. We have been receiving acks throughout the day, but we have approximately 60,000 outstanding acks. Can I switch to legacy? No. Software vendors who file more than 1 million electronic packets have been asked to support the Modernized e-file platform. We fully anticipate that the MeF system will be operational within the next few hours. We will update the blogs as we gather more information.

Just this morning I was thinking the same thing. Meant to post, however got busy! Deb!

Be patient! Each time I've downloaded I had the same problem, but if I would go and do something else and then come back it was finished. Deb!

Nothing wrong, just very busy. Everyone is trying to get the new forms for e-file, and so everyone is on at the same time. Be patient, it will get better! Deb!

I received an e-mail this morning that stated it will be released throughout the day, we can begin submitting today, but they will not be forwarded till tomarrow. Here is the e-mail: ATX: IRS efile information 1/16/2012 Updated 1-16-12- The federal and state EF Info forms will download to you today, all throughout the day. You can send efiles at that time, which we will hold and send to IRS Tuesday Jan 17. EFC reject 30 means you need the latest form update--download that update, create a new efile, and send.

Well put! For years I was afraid of raising my price, however, I have found that every time I did I would lose some clients but gain more. Price is something I will not negotiate with, however I have discounted for clients whom I know are having it rough. They always remember that and will always recommend others to me. Deb!

To clarify, My client is an employee of the corporation, (had he not incorporated he would be the owner). He receives a substantial monthly payment with all payroll taxes taken out. The vehicle title cannot be transferred to the corporation because of the loan on the vehicle. I knew when I posted this that this was not going to be easy. My concerns really are the different idea's this CPA's office has floated. If you have any more idea's please keep them coming. Thanks, Deb!

My advertising dollars consist of my free add in the phone book for having a business phone, then I pay 11.00 per month to add a category, I handed out flyers for the first several years, but I agree word of mouth is the best and cheapest advertising you can get. Do a good job and you won't have to look for clients they will be looking for you! I went from about 50 clients my first year and now I'm almost at the 250 range, and I do this all myself. My clients like the fact that I am the one that answers the calls, I'm the one conducting the interview, I'm the one that goes over the returns, and they love the fact that they call me throughout the year with questions or concerns. I'm one of the few independent tax preparers in my town that are not just seasonal. Offer a good service and you should have no problem. But keep in mind it takes time to build trust. If your looking for alot through the door the first year, make sure your rates are lower than your competators (however if you start this way you will have a very hard time raising your rates as you go). Just my two cents worth! Deb!

Yes, and that was the plan until the story got changed. Originally my client was told that she would be rented the vehicle to the corporation. The payments made by the corporation would be to her directly, then she would report the income and the depreciation, ect.... on a schedule C. First I doubted the schedule C, I would think it should be E, but then she changed her mind and decided that the payments would be handled as a loan from the corp to my client, until the vehicle is paid for then my client would give the corp the vehicle to satisfy the loan. So, with both of these scenerious, I am just a bit hesitant for my client, and was hoping that some of you might have a suggestion. Deb!

I have a client who I will be doing their personal taxes this year, however they have a corporation © which will be handled by a CPA. The question centers on the handleing of a vehicle. Because the corp was brand new when they went to purchase a vehicle for the business they could not get financing because the corp had no credit history. So they bought the vehicle under their name, but it is being used exclusively for the corp. They are currently paying the loan thru their personal account, but would like to be re-imbursed for it from the corp. What would you all recommend? The gal she is dealing with from the CPA's office has given some info, however she herself seems to be confused, and keeps changeing her mind. Any imput from you all would be appreciated. Deb!

:spaz: Just received the new software in the mail today, even though they told me it would not be sent until the 28th! Deb!