BulldogTom

OMG! You are not perfect? My world just shattered. Take a look at my thread last year where I missed a quarter million dollar sale of stock on a client's return. When you get to my level of screw ups, I will buy you a drink and we can commiserate together. And I think you have 3 times the number of clients that I do. If we are keeping stats....your success rate puts you in the Hall of Fame. Fix it and move on. $h1t happens. Tom Modesto, CA

I think the reason to aggregate rentals is to get to the safe harbor of 250 hours. It is hard to do 5 hours per week per rental. But if you aggregate, you can hit the safe harbor. Tom Modesto, CA

So, I have been through the software, been through the threads, and I am not calling ATX support. But I have an idea of how to do the aggregation for my client with multiple rental properties. Tell me if you think this will work. In the Form Schedule E, I will create a 6th property and call it "Aggregation". I will put $1 of income and $1 of expense to it. Voila, it shows up on the 199A worksheet. Select it, put in the combined income of the 5 rentals I am aggregating as well as the unadjusted basis of the combined fixed assets and I get a QBI deduction to flow through to the return. I will then go to the blank election page on the elections form and indicate the TP is electing to aggregate the 5 properties per IRS regulations. Anyone see a problem with doing this? Please tell me if I am being stupid (or if ATX has a method of aggregation in the software that I have not found yet). Thanks Tom Modesto, CA

It will come down to the one who can prove the number of nights spent at their home. That will be the only tiebreaker. Whoever has the best paper trail for nights the child slept in their home will get to claim the child. Support is meaningless, as is AGI in this scenario. Custody means the child spent more than 1/2 of the year under that roof. And the IRS could care less what the divorce decree says. Tom Modesto, CA

The PTIN registration site is a very good resource. It also lists all CPE credit that the IRS has received under your PTIN. I was just in there a couple months ago when I was renewing my EA license to check and make sure I had all the hours correct on my renewal. One of the few things the IRS has made fairly painless and is actually useful. Tom Modesto, CA

Shhhhhhhhhhh…….they will hear you. Tom Modesto, CA

Sole proprietor is kinda like a pass through entity. My tax practice has its own EIN, but reports on my 1040. Kinda like a passthrough entity. Tom Modesto, CA

I think that is the case. The deduction is for Qualified Business Income from a passthrough entity (or a real estate rental activity). Other income would not meet that definition. But that is my common sense take on a nonsensical law, so I may be very mistaken. Tom Modesto, CA

I am finding that most of my clients who take the Fed Std Ded are itemizing in CA. It has nothing to do with the SALT limitation in most cases, it is mortgage interest and charitable contributions that takes them over the CA std deduction amount. Tom Modesto, CA

I don't facebook. Just can't see the reason. Tom Modesto, CA

Bump. Just checking to see if there is more information on how to do this. I have a client who has 5 rentals. When put together, they will meet the safe harbor for Sec 199A as to the 250 hour requirement. Has anyone figured out the best way to make this happen in the software? Where to make the election to aggregate and how to bring the totals to the forms? I did not think I was going to deal with this until the new rental regs came out. Now here I am and I don't know how to use the software to get the results I want on the return. Thanks Tom Modesto, CA

I stopped doing checks many years ago, but I think you need to refresh your software with the bank to make it recognize the check. I forget what the routine is called, but I think you need to sync your software with the bank after you print checks. Or, I could just be full of it since it has been so long. Tom Modesto, CA

I tried that today. I am waiting to see if it works. Thanks Catherine. Tom Modesto, CA

Tried that, doesn't work. (Never Block Sender). Tried it multiple times. I move the item to my inbox, and the next time I start up Outlook, it is back in the "Bulk Mail" folder. Tom Modesto, CA

I got new computers this year, and with that came MS Office 2016. Now I have a problem with Outlook. There is this cool feature called "Bulk Mail". It sends all the stuff that comes from marketers and the like into a folder to keep it out of my inbox. I loved it until tax season came. It is now pushing all of my E-Fax emails into the bulk folder and I can't make it stop. How do you fix this? It has almost caused a couple of issues with clients because I did not see the eFax in the bulk mail folder. Thanks Tom Modesto, CA

www.cellutionware.com. I have not used it in a few years, but when I did, I loved it. Book, Tax, State, Fed AMT, State AMT schedules all maintained. Very simple to use. I think I paid less than $400 for it and then there is a maintenance fee of about $150 per year. I highly recommend. Tom Modesto, CA

Let me know how that works. I have a very similar situation and I had know idea how to make it work with the Clergy worksheets. If you could spare a few minutes after you do it and explain the process, I would be forever grateful. I told the client they might go on extension this year just to cover my bases. Tom Modesto, CA

Hey! I resemble that remark! But seriously, I did not know there was a "proper" way to do it. I got new computers this year and installed the software for 3 years as clean installs, exported my returns from the old computer, imported to the new. Everything is rolling forward properly from 17 to 18 so far. Tom Modesto, CA

OK, I will take a shot at this, but just as a mental exercise. First, I don't think you have a clear picture from your client on what is going on. What exactly did grandpappy invest in (partnership, LLC, JV?) because he only got a piece of it, and someone is doing the accounting for that entity that is sending your client the 1099. Second, I think the 1099 may be correct, because you say the TP kept getting royalty checks. If the TP owned the rights in 2018, and the entity rented out the land for exploration of the minerals/oil, it is possible that the TP has in fact received the pro-rata portion of the rents. That would go on Schedule E as royalties. Third, you need to find the date of the sale of the interest in the rights. The TP has a basis in the interest, and it is the FMV on the date of death. So when you figure out what the investment is, and what type of entity is holding the actual property, you should be able to contact them and get a valuation for the portion of the interest your client holds. Then you should be able to see what your client sold it for, and put that transaction on the 4797. Just my quick thoughts, which may be all screwed up. Tom Modesto, CA

Just playing devil's advocate here....why not prepare the return. Lots of employees don't have tip reporting at their jobs. There is a form for it. See post above. The taxpayer wants to pay taxes on money he earned, why not prepare the return correctly for him. P.S. - I think you are correct about his motives, but it will be interesting to see if the following year he tells you he does not have any tip income. Tom Modesto, CA

I am in the opposite boat as you. My practice has not been big enough to support my family so I work full time and have the practice on the side. Now that my kids are graduated from college and off on their own and working their careers, I am hoping I can build it big enough, soon enough, so that I can "retire" to just doing tax work. That is what I love doing. Tom Modesto, CA

Thanks guys. Tom Modesto, CA

Is it fixed? I have not transmitted any returns yet. All waiting for additional information. But I should have 2 ready to go tonight. Thanks Tom Modesto, CA

The person you talked to was correct. But assuming your client was a sole proprietor and has now formed a corporation that made an S election and then contributed to the corporation the assets that he held as a sole proprietor... then you would possibly want to move the assets. And I don't know if it is possible to export the assets from one tax return and move them to another return, but I doubt it. ATX has been trying to get everyone to buy up to their fancy fixed asset program, so any type of functionality like that would probably be extra. How many assets are you talking about? Tom Modesto, CA

One good thing, there is no more advertising for a $29 1040EZ return. Tom Modesto, CA