Tax Prep by Deb

Thank you Pacun and KC as well as all the others that have responded. I read a part where it says that monies provided by the state would be considered support by the state. So I felt based on that, she should be able to claim them for all the credits, except of course head of household, but her low income was a concern to me. The overall difference to her tax return would be just a little over 600.00 but I would hate for her to get a letter dissallowing it and ending up having to pay it back. Again, thanks for all who responded. Deb!

I've been there and did their tool and she does qualify for EIC. This is her only source of income, she didn't work in 2008 so no tax return was filed, nor did she collect unemployment for any of 2009. For the most part her boyfriend supported her and the kids with the exception of the 7,000.00 and what she received in aide. I'm not questioning the EIC as support is not one of the tests, but it does come into play with the dependent and head of household status. Does the aide she received from the State get credited as money that the children used for their own support? Deb!

But she did receive one in November, thus making her eligible. Deb!

Pacun, But under the info in all the publications I have read it does state that the child must not have provided more than 1/2 of his own support. My question is does the aide she receives count towards the child's own support? Deb!

Update! Met with client today and she did receive aid, both cash and food stamps. When I compare the amount divided by household and compare her income divided by household she cleary contributed less. The way I read it, the money and food stamps gets counted towards child supporting self? However in one spot it reads that it is treated as state provided support, therefore possibly child not supporting self 1/2? Am I making more of this than I should be? Deb!

Relationship test has to be met, so in this case I don't believe he could file as head of household, but could claim girlfriend as a dependent. Deb!

I agree KC. Their blog is pretty informative and they also update the info on the community as well. One thing I do miss however is the chart they used in the past showing us how many acks they were still waiting for, as this kind of gave me an idea as to whether there were any issues or not. But I really do like the blog! Deb!

Yes, they did live together for the whole year, however the children would be treated as her qualifying children if she files to claim the EIC. The only way that I see he could claim them is if she files just to receive her withholding back, as she will not have any taxable income. But I'm thinking that the EIC would benefit her far more than the exemption would benefit him. Deb!

I have a client coming in to the office today who has three children all under 17. These children lived with her all year, but she only earned about $7,000.00. She and her boyfriend live together, however none of the children are from the boyfriend. Obviously she could not have supported her and her children on her income, and I don't know if she received any financial assistance, I will ask her when she comes. I have no problem claiming the children for EIC as from what I see dependency is not an issue, and if she didn't receive any financial aide then I don't see where the children provided more than 1/2 of their own support. The low income bothers me. I'm 99% sure that the boyfriend supported them however because of her income could not claim her and the children. Am I right in not wanting to claim HH filing status, child tax credit, dependent exemption, but rather just go after the EIC? Anyones thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Deb!

I just picked up my two fed acks, everything seems to be going smooth this year. Last year California e-files were held hostage for several days, I was just wondering if anyone has received acks from California yet? Deb!

Tom, Don't be too quick to dismiss California forgiving the penalty. I recently requested abatement for a client who didn't file her partnership return on time. Granted her circumstances were different, but I was able to get the penatly abated for her. All you can do is give it a try and let them decide. Deb!

The quote number they are referring to is one sent by e-mail from them trying to get you to renew. That quote number is assigned to each individual and is what allows you to renew on line. Call customer service, tell them you never received a e-mail quote and see what you can negotiate with them. This usually comes before the deadline for early renewal so that you can get the discount. I would stick to the point you never received it and ask for the discount anyhow. Hope this helps! Deb!

That makes me feel good! I've been doing this for 17 years and each year my business grows through referrals. I even had a lady call me who told me someone had referred me to her, and she couldn't even remember who it was! Deb!

"I don't appreciate the financial press belittling independent tax preparers. In my observation, small shops generally have a far higher standard of quality than franchise operations." Thanks Jainen. I am a small one person operation, but I give everyone of my clients 100% of my attention. I've been accused of going to far, making their problems my problems, but when I first started out I wanted to build a good reputation of being honest and hard working for each of my clients. I started my first year with about 20 clients and today I have over 200. I've done very little advertising, I haven't needed to as my clients advertise for me! Deb!

I prepare taxes in one of the few states that already requires testing. CTEC has a requirement for continued education. I personally feel that the requirements should be a bit stronger. As long as the testing requirements were similar to CTEC (of which CTEC participated in the IRS study) I can't see anybody on this board, regardless of their official title, not being able to pass the exam. I could be wrong, but years of experience along with all the help we give each other here should help us to pass the exam. As far as HR Block goes, they along with the other chains were specifically mentioned in a news article in Central California as the ones that IRS will be regulating! (I wonder why?) Not saying that all HR Block offices are bad, I can say the one in my town is very incompetent and I doubt very seriously unless they get their act together, would be able to pass the exam. I don't think it's a matter of them not knowing how to do taxes, they are just very sloppy at doing it. Well, I just had to put my two cents worth in. Deb! P.S. I have high regards and respect for those who have gone the extra mile and got their degree. If I was younger, with less responsiblity, I probably would consider it myself. I have however came across some CPA's who like HR Block is very sloppy. I don't believe it's them personally, but many in my area hire tax preparers who do the bulk of the tax work, and unfortunately their work is not closesly looked at. This comes from personal experience and is to a large degree why I'm doing taxes today. We chose three losers in a role, that had it not been for my dad and I looking at everything, it would have cost us thousands. And what was really upsetting is that when we pointed out the mistakes (everything had been turned in, we didn't leave anything out) they charged us for fixing their mistake. So I believe in this world we all have good ones and bad ones, and whether we have a title to our name or not, really isn't the issue so much as we have an obligation to do best by our clients while at the same time respecting the law.

How much can you afford? Deb!

To go along with KC, when you do call them (I would suggest using the phone number on the notice as this puts you in direct contact with the person managing your clients account, explain to them that this is a start up business and that you need the form and instructions. Depending on whether your client is in a district area (that is in a city or county that collects more than 8.25% it should be very easy to figure. Once you have the form send me a personal message and I'll be happy to help in any way I can. Let the person your talking to know that you are working on it and they will probably give you some extra time. The first notice sent, although they look very intimidating, is usually the first step in a very long process. The second letter usually contains a date and time for a hearing to determine whether they are going to revoke the seller's permit. That is the letter that makes me nervouse! Deb!

Hopefully you all can direct me on what I need to do to get ready to e-file the above forms. I know I need to get a hold of e-services and update my account to include business returns, also I believe I need to register with social security to e-file the w-2's. With Social Security, do I have to register for each client I intend to e-file for? I've looked at the web site, but all I see is the link for employers to file there own W-2's. Am I missing something? Is there anything else? Also what form or forms does my client need to sign to authorize me to e-file the returns for them? Any help will be greatly appreciated! Deb!

But aren't we missing the time frame here? He filed his 2003 taxes and as I understood only has three years to amend. So aren't they to late to change filing status now? Deb!

Wolters Kluwer Law/Business has Activated your New Mail Services!Thursday, December 10, 2009 2:08 PMFrom: "CCH" <[email protected]> Dear [email protected], Wolters Kluwer Law/Business has activated your virus and junk mail protection services. You should log in to your personal, password-protected Wolters Kluwer Law/Business Message Center as soon as possible. Your login address is: [email protected] Your temporary password is: 8gvlzo~O (You will be asked to create a new password after first log in.) To log in to your Wolters Kluwer Law/Business Message Center, use this link: http://login.postini.com/exec/[email protected] You may also modify your default settings or deactivate any services. Thank You! Wolters Kluwer Law/Business I'm very careful when it comes to e-mail, and I have absolutely no idea what this is about, but it does appear to come from CCH. I've gotten two of these e-mails and then a slightly different one a few minutes ago. Any ideas? Deb!

I have had good success in getting the garnishment either adjusted to an affordable amount, or in one clients case all that was required was that we faxed over the completed return. When I was doing payroll for a company they were served a garnishment notice for one of their employees that basically left him with little to live on, I suggested that he immediately contact them and arrange for a payment plan, for which he did, and they faxed me a release the same day. So I guess it's just whoever you happen to get a hold of and how willing they are to work with you. But I have had nothing but good success in dealing with issues like this. Deb!

Thanks Kc! It's been said before, but I will say it again, "When I grow up I want to be just like you"! I also read the info and had a sickening feeling that it could shut me down, however I wasn't going to lose sleep over it just yet as the quick alert did say that while it becomes effective Jan. 2010 they were going to have a one year grace period. So I thought at least I had one more year! Deb!

I also got the quick alert and was wondering. As I see it there is only one point that would apply to me as I do not have a web site and none of my business is done through the internet except the transmission of the return electronically. I was wondering if I have to have the weekly testing done as well? If so I have a feeling that many of us may have to quit as this no doubt will be extremely costly and I simply will not be able to afford it. Deb!

No! I can assure you that she is not done with her son over this. There is a long story behind all of this and I have a feeling that before it is all said and done she will be through with her son. So I'm pretty sure she won't be adopting anyone. Deb!

Jainen, I will do that as I have all the info in my office. This particular 1099C is for the second mortgage. When the house was purchased the mortgage companies were selling 1st and 2nd mortgages to get around the pmi, down payment, ect... From what I see the majority of the proceeds from the sale paid off the 1st mortgage and only 2,000.00 went to the second. Do you know if second mortgages on original purchases were also non-recourse or could this, probably is, a recourse loan? Deb!