Tax Prep by Deb

This is exactly the situation I'm dealing with, and to make it worse, when the transactions didn't match the deposit my client would just adjust it by making an entry to personal draw or personal investment. So I'm trying to unravel everything including credit card transaction deposits, some discounted, some not, and they have a program called e-check that takes a 3% commission. So it's very trying to get things worked out. Deb!

Thank you all sooooo much! I have to admit that looking at your figures made me feel a little dumb, but I knew it was a simple equation I just couldn't remember it. I have a new bookkeeping client that has posted several deposits incorrectly because of a service that they use that takes a 3% commission. I have the bank statements for the deposits, however I was having trouble matching these up to payments received because of the discount. This help will make my work much easier! Thanks again, Deb

I'm trying to find a formula that I know I learned back when I was in high school, but I just can't seem to get it. I need to know how to come up with a gross figure when I have a net figure and the % used to arrive at it. Here's an example: I have a deposit that was made for $184.30. This is the net figure after taking a 3% deduction from the gross, however I do not have the gross. ? - 3% = $184.30. How do I come up with ? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Deb!

Thanks to all who replied. I contacted Mcafee and decided to pay for their virus removal service. I nice guy connected to my computer, ran several checks, turns out it was not a virus. He made a few changed to Internet Explorer, cleared my temporary folders and now everything works the way it should. He assured me it was not a virus, if that's the case my credit card should be credited. At any rate after working on it 1/2 of a day on my own I'm glad he was able to fix it. Deb!

Here is an update to my problem, I'm still having some problems with pop ups, but they seem to be getting better. My search however is still puzzling. My home page has three different search bars. The very first one right next to the address bar is my yahoo search bar and it is the one I'm having problems with. I have another that I have no clue what it is, it works fine, and then I have one that Mcafee loaded and it works fine. I know the simple solution is just to not use the one thats not working right, but if I have a threat I want to get it fixed. I went to one of the sites recommended by an poster, combofix however I got all kinds of warnings from Mcafee about this site, were as the other one mentioned didn't bring up any red flags. Has anyone else used either of these sites and did it correct your problem? Deb!

I'm having a problem with one of my computers. I have Mcafee installed and is always kept up to date. Recently I have had a problem with pop ups that show up like a web page (breaking news) when I click off them another box pops up basically begging me not to close, which I do. I ran a scan and nothing showed up, my IP has a tool, anti-spy which I ran and came up with several tracking cookies, which I deleted. Now when I do a search on the internet and find the site I want and click on to it, it takes me to another site that has nothing to do with what I asked for. I can type the web address in my address bar and it takes me to the correct site. Any ideas? Deb!

Thank You for the update. Deb!

I know you are probably busy, but for those of us that didn't attend, can you give us some info on the testing, ect...? I have had my PTIN for several years and frankly I don't mind having to pay the fee. After all my state requires a fee, my city reguires a fee, why not the fed's. And if it helps to weed out some of the messes I have helped to straighten out I'm all for it. I'm really curious about the testing part because California has had this requirement ever since I started doing taxes 17 years ago. I'm wondering how it will compare? Deb!

They said that they will not be getting rid of the current software, so don't get upset just yet! This is why I didn't chose to re-new thru them this year. I didn't like the idea of having to learn a new software every year. They said that they had a long time contract with the current provider, however if you read what the guy said, it looks like in another two years you would have to learn another one again. I got on the deal with ATX and now I am extremely glad I chose this route! Deb!

Perhaps, however I have had clients in the past who purchased rental property and when they filled out the loan doc's they were advised to put down that they would be owner occupied. In fact most of the rentals around here in the past several years have been purchased this way. That being the case it could be a non-recourse. Oh aren't we having loads of fun? Deb!

I'm one that used TRX last year and renewed this year with ATX for the discount. These discounts did not come automatically. We had to call them explain that we love their program but the deal TRX is offerring is almost to good to pass up and then they gave us the offer. Have any of you called asking for a better deal? I would make mention that TRX is sounding pretty good right now and see if the 10% is the best they can give you. It's worth a try isn't it? Deb!

Are you sure it was a non-recourse loan? It was my understanding that if it's non recourse there is no cancellation of debt. They agreed to take the property back and pursue no other recourse therefore no cancellation of debt. Are you sure he received a 1099C and not a 1099A? Deb!

I have a client who owes several years of back taxes and are now wanting to get them paid off. I have helped them set up a payment plan with IRS for a monthly installment payment. Does anyone know if these payments can be made online through the EFTPS site? Or do we have to snail mail them in? Deb!

I rarely have opinions regarding many things, however I do have one on this. While I agree with Tom's statement and I do believe it should be posted to perhaps discourage this type of use, (in fact if my mind hasn't completely left me, I do believe early in the season KC responded to a similar situation) what would have been nice to do and perhaps not leave the retired teacher embarassed, ect.... was to send her a personal message and if it had been me that responded originally I would have done whatever I could to have helped. It needed to be done, however I believe it could be done without making anyone feel bad. I got the feeling that this person felt bad and perhaps we have soured her on paid preparers which I don't think any of us want to do. Just my two cents worth. Deb!

It will, however I wouldn't expect to see anything for at least a couple of weeks or more. California is slow in processing paper returns, especialy at their peek! Don't be afraid to call FTB. I find them very helpful. They will usually give me info that IRS would not. Deb!

Today is the deadline. All rejected returns need to be refiled by the 20th. ATX sure didn't give us much time did they? I resubmitted a return yesterday that had been previously rejected. According to ATX site it has been accepted, however I still have not received my acknowledgment. Deb!

I'm still here! I'm just putting the finishing touches on my last return, waited for the info all day and finally got the call a few minutes ago. I am taking tomarrow off! I need a breather from phones, and people that have no common sense! Deb!

Just got informaiton from a client who had a 1099-A issued in 2009 for a rental property. It is a recourse debt, however client has not yet received a 1099-C. Question: Do I report this on the 4797 for this year and then treat the 1099-C if received next year? My client is filing Bankruptcy and this debt is included in the filings. Does this make any difference? My client is defintely insolvent, largely due to the upside down in the realestate in California. When I dispose of the asset do I use the difference on the 1099-A between balance of princiapl outstanding on the loan from the fmv of the property as listed on the 1099-A. I am so tired of dealing with these and I thought I had seen my last one for this year. Please help as I am getting extremely tired, as I'm sure all of you are as well! Thanks for any imput, Deb!

Thanks for the link. I've been watching and hoping for this but the few clients that I could have used this for was able to discharge the income due to insolvency. It's just that it would have been a whole lot easier if California had conformed all along. Deb!

Try rebooting your computer. I recently had problems with my computer after re-installing my anti virus software. Finally ended up dumping it and re-installing again, but still had problems. I noticed that every time I went to print something for the first time my default printer changed to a printer I had set up for my laptop. Turns out that because I didn't have the laptop on my computer was searching, searching and more searching for that printer. I deleted that printer from my folder and now everything runs beautifully! Deb!

I did download the demo and did one return (mine) and although I think I could get use to the entry method, it took me at least twice as long to do the return. I think if you only do basic returns it's great. I have a schedule C in my return with vehicle expenses and a small amount of depreciation. Frankly I didn't like that aspect and it slowed me way down. The price is tempting, but this year I'm almost at 250 clients and I'm just not sure if in the long run it will save me money because of the increase time it will take me to do each return. Just my two cents worth! I will play with it more after April 15th, but I'm leaning towards ATX for at least another year. Deb!

It's far more complicated than just writing out the deposit slip. I had a client that I did all his billing, collecting, depositing, bill paying, eviction preparations, ect.... and believe me it can be very time consuming when you are talking about that many rentals. Then there is the calls to the insurance company, building material suppliers to get the best price on materials to rebuild a trashed home because the tenant decided to move, then there are the calls back and forth to the attorney trying to get the eviction to happen and then hearing all of the he said she said, not to mention the hours of research someone can do to establish proper landowner/tenant relationships to make sure the landlord doesn't get screwed. Yes I can see how this could fit into the regular use of a home office, just from my experience with a client with a similar amount of rentals. Just my two cents worth! Deb!

This is one of the reasons I posted this situation because earlier there was a discussion about them living apart for the whole year and it was suggested that the one not claiming head of household could take the standard deduction even if the other spouse itemized. I was not able to find any information to that effect. Everything I came across indicated he would have to itemize. They definitely lived apart, he knows she itemized because she told him so. I do not think he provides much towards the mortgage ect.... I believe the only thing he does do is provide child support. I have never met the wife, but I can say my client seems to be getting the short end of the stick. I was hoping that someone could point me to some wording that would indicate he could take the standard deduction and it be more than zero! Deb!

I have a client who is separated from his wife. He has not lived with his wife at all for the past two years. The wife files head of household and claims their son. She also itemizes her deductions and claims everything leaving my client with nothing but his own income. I'm I correct in my thinking that he either taxes a zero deduction or itemizes what few deductions he does have? Is there any legal way that he can claim the standard deduction because he did not live with wife at any time during the year? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Deb!

I received my program from TRX and early on I had a problem accessing MYATX website. I called TRX who referred me to ATX who said TRX hadn't forwarded any info on me to them, however by this time I had already received my program. To make a long story short, it took a couple of calls and a few e-mails (I actually discovered the problem. While everyone else kept their old ATX account numbers, for some reason I was issued a new number, so when I would try to log in with my old number it didn't recognize me, finally I set up a new account and I could then access the site, however I had limited access and most of my customer info was wrong.) A few more calls, and e-mails we were able to merge the two accounts together. I retained my old account number with all my history. I have to say I was not overly impressed with TRX's desire to help on this, but ATX was extremely helpful in getting this resolved. I'm very pleased overall with ATX customer support this year. Deb!