BulldogTom

One more question....what form do you use to pay the RITA 37 tax due? Thanks Again Tom Lodi, CA

JB, Client says last year he filed exempt for the School District. Is this possible (I don't see an SD100 in his return) and how would you know if he is exempt? Thanks Tom Lodi, CA

If you really want to get into a fight with the spouse, file him as MFS but break out all the community property income and allocate her half to her. Send a letter to her attorney and show the split and ask for his share of her income from the community. I am assuming that she made a lot less than him. It will blow up her return at the IRS, and by putting the Attorney in the middle of it, you have great documentation that you have made the statutory required time to provide the information. It is going to guarantee your client an audit if you have to take this all the way, but it might make the spouse think twice about a MFJ return with a split of the refund. Tom Lodi, CA

I agree as well. You are just asking to make this worse if you put them in the same envelope. Tom Lodi, CA

Found my answer in the instructions for line 5 of form 2848. If a taxpayer is out of the country for 60 continuous days prior to the due date of the tax return, they can authorize a representative to sign their tax return. From the instructions Write a statement on line 5 that you are authorizing your representative to sign your income tax return pursuant to Regulations section 1.6012-1(a)(5) by reason of [enter the specific reason listed under (a), (b ), or ( c) under Authority to sign your return above]. Just in case some of you ever need this one. Tom Lodi, CA

Client is moving back to US from Japan. W is already here, hubby will not be back in time to sign tax return. They are trying to enroll children in school and need tax returns for scholarship awards. W wants to sign tax return for H. Is there a form in ATX that I can print for them or do they need to go to a lawyer to get a POA? Thanks in advance. Tom Lodi, CA

Last year code was 5101. That is the same number I got when I used the tool margaret posted. So I think that is correct. So we don't have to file a tax return for Marysville or Milford Center? When I enter the information on sch A of RITA 37, what do I do with retirement and SS? How about wages earned in CA? Thanks Tom Lodi,CA

Doesn't the IRS use the social and the first 4 characters of the last name to check a return. If that is the case, it would make perfect sense that Husband named Smith would go through as 123-45-5678SMIT and Wife also named Smith would go through as 876-54-3210SMIT if they are both legitimate SS#'s. Just thinking out loud. Tom Lodi, CA

3779 Prospect-Richwood Road Richwood, OH 43344. My wife says please say they are exempt!!!!! Do they need to file city returns? JB - you are the best for helping us out here. Any tips on completing these returns? Thanks Tom Lodi, CA

I think I mis-phrased that response. What I meant to say is that I think there is a simple way to correct a depreciation error. I think (but I am not positive) that a 481 election is for spreading the tax over 4 years when changing accounting methods. That is not what she needs to do. Sorry if I added to any confusion. Tom Lodi, CA

New client walked in off the street today. Moved to CA from OH. They lived in Richwood, H worked in Milford Center, W worked in Marysville. Local withholding from Milford Center and Marysville. How many darn tax returns does OH require for this couple? In reading the instructions, it seems like they don't have to file returns for Milfor Center or Marysville because there was withholding. Do they have to file a school district tax return? Which one? Any help appreciated. I am thinking about a new policy for my company that we will only take Ohio transplants after they have been in CA for more than one year. Tom Lodi, CA

I think you are overthinking this one. If I remember 481 adjustments, they are for changing accounting methods. Like when the IRS forces you from cash to accrual. I don't think you need to go there with a change to correct an error. It is a simple depreciation correction that you need. Tom Lodi, CA

OK, I get that. But I think you have to segregate the activities. I don't think you can combine 2 unrelated business activities for the deduction. Or can you?

TP has K-1 from patnership, an activity that builds and sells houses. As you can imagine, there have been nothing but losses for the last couple of years. This year, the K-1 has a negative amount for DPAD. That seems very strange to me. I know enough about this to know that it is limited by income. You cannot take a deduction if you don't have income to offset. So why would they put a negative amount on the K-1. You cannot have a negative DPAD. Or am I missing something? I do the calculation every year for the company that I work for in my day job. One of our divisions qualifies as an activity for the deduction, but that division does not always have income. And when I break that division out and apply the overhead, I know if it is not a profit there is no deduction. That is pretty much the extent to which I work with this form. Never for any of my clients. Any thoughts appreciated. Tom Lodi, CA

I have a new BFF on the forum. Looking forward to seeing if Derek Carr is everything his brother was. Should be an exciting season. Tom Lodi, CA

I used to be a season ticket holder when I lived in Fresno. Haven't been to a live game in years. Last one was 2 years ago in Reno. I was going to get the tickets for the Cal game at Candlestick, but my oldest son will be playing his first college game that day, so I will have to keep up with it on my iphone. Where do you live that you can go to every game? Tom Lodi, CA

When a couple splits and they file MFS but the previous year was MFJ, how do you fill out the 2210? Do you split everything 50-50 when filling out the form? Thanks Tom Lodi, CA

I like to work in my yard. Have several fruit trees and a small garden. Lots of roses. I also like to BBQ, or what you folks down south call "grillin". We do it Santa Maria style out here on a hotter grill for less time. Tri-tip is my specialty, but I also like ribs, brisket, and of course rib eyes. The best possible weekend for me is to get up early on a Saturday in September, get the yard work done, take a dip in the pool, light off the BBQ and watch a WORLD CHAMPION GIANTS game, followed by a Fresno State Football game. Tom Lodi, CA

Thanks. apreciate it Tom Lodi, CA

If anyone from OR would like to tell me the answer so I don't have to go looking on the internet, I would be eternally grateful. Do I have to register to e-file an OR40P for a client who moved last year? Thanks Tom Lodi, CA

None of our business, but I hope you are OK. I noticed you are not as active on the board, but I thought there just weren't enough challenging questions that you could show your brilliance on. We think a lot of you around here. Take care of yourself. Tom Lodi, CA

New one on me. Client has an NOL carryforward from a prior year that is used up this year. When I create the e-file, I get a red error stating an NOL explanation statement must be completed when and NOL carryforward is present? So when I click on the red error,it takes me to the statement. What the HECK am I supposed to explain? They have a carryforward from a prior year and are using it in this year to offset income. I am thinking of putting "Take a look at line 21." Is this something new? I cannot ever remember seeing this before? Anyone have some verbage that the IRS is expecting to see on that explanation statement. Thanks Tom Lodi, CA

Not so much here. But now that I got my last 1120 out of my hair, I might be feeling better in a couple of days. But I know the procrastinators are right around the corner - you know the ones who are always going to get organized and make an appointment for April 5th thinking that will give you plenty of time to get their 5 rentals and the new business they started and forgot to tell you about done. Tom Lodi, CA

In CA, if you are required to pay electronically and pay by check, you get a penalty. I think it is 10% of the payment. For larger clients, it can be a big bill. How do I know? When I first came to my day job, I needed to make a sales tax payment right away. No one told me they were required to pay electronically and I did not have the prior controller's passwords to get in anyway. Sent the check and got a bill 6 weeks later. I called and got it abated pleading ignorance, but they told me the next time there would be no abatement. Tom Lodi, CA

We used the client ID box and put in "Sch A" for all the returns that we were holding for e-file. It was pretty easy to see. I also use the completed button for accepted e-files and only look at the incompletes. I agree with Rita. I would like something in the return manager to say that a return was not e-filed. Occasionally there is a good reason (like the homebuyer credit)that the return was not e-filed. For the first time in the history of my practice, I actually forgot to e-file a client's return last year. I have no idea how that happened. They got a letter from the state of CA saying very politely that they always file a return but they did not get one last year. Talk about an "OH CRAP" moment when I went to the e-file tab and did not see their return. Totally my fault. We are going to go through every completed return on April 10th this year and double check that the returns have been e-filed. Tom Lodi, CA