BulldogTom

I'm game. Let me know when and where and I will try to make it. Would love to meet you. Tom Hollister, CA

Let me know when so I can plan my vacation on the other side of the Mississippi. Tom Hollister, CA

I like the idea that you are keeping Rita on the East Coast. She SERIOUSLY scares me. "I've actually been eating popcorn and stalking people on FaceBook a good bit today." I am glad I don't play on facebook. Love ya Rita, as long as the Mississippi is between us. Tom Hollister, CA

Did you put the prior year NOL on Line 21 of the 1040? Agree with what David says. After the add backs, there is no NOL for this year to add to the prior. Tom Hollister, CA

We will not be making it to Boston this year. With MIT killing my son's dreams, there is no reason to go. But we will be in Washington DC on vacation after he graduates from High School. I will wave to you when I get there. Do you think the IRS would pull my PTIN and EA license if I took a selfie flipping off the IRS headquarters in DC? Tom Hollister, CA

Once again, this board has been an invaluable treasure to my practice. I appreciate all of you. Eric, you are the absolute bomb. I can't thank you enough for doing this for us. Sorry to be a problem sometimes with my comments, and I really try to be good, but sometimes I can't help myself. I hope you forgive me and let me stay here forever. KC, you are one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. Catherine, we are common souls. I love reading your posts. Jack in OH, thanks for everything on the techie side that I don't understand. Appreciate all your posts. Linda - I hope you have had a good season. I have enjoyed meeting you and working with you this year. Patty just loves you. Hope you all had a successful season and I will be seeing you again next year. Tom Hollister, CA

You just made my "man crush" list. I would love to go out to the desert and blow off a weeks salary in ammo. I did not know they grew rednecks in NY? You learn something new every day. Tom Hollister, CA

4/15 at 8:30 PM Pacific time. Client called Sunday night and asked for an appointment on Tuesday. Coming in at 6:30PM. It is a long time client and the return is not that difficult. Should be sent by 7:30 and hopefully an ack by 8:30. But the e-file system is running slow the last couple of days. Not sure if it is ATX or IRS. My bet is the ATX servers are overloaded again. Just like last year, and the year before, and the year before.... Tom Hollister, CA

And Patty just said I say the stupidest things. Tom Hollister, CA

Patty is blushing like a new bride. You are way too kind. Tom Hollister, CA

Which way is the right way to do it? Are you thinking that I have a choice? Tom Hollister, CA

they have about $1,200 in qualified expenses for the one semester that the kid went to school. They are in the 25% bracket, so it will be about $300. Enough to make it worth my while to get it right. Tom Hollister, CA

Taxpayers had a 529 plan for their son. He went to school off and on for several years. Dropped out. The taxpayers closed the account and took the distribution from the plan. Included about $2,400 in earnings over the life of the plan. Guess what, Junior goes back to college in the fall semester and now they have some qualified expenses for the year. How do I enter this on the return? Do I reduce the amount on Line 21 for the 1099Q and risk a mis match letter from the IRS? Or do I leave line 21 alone and enter the LLC credit using all the expenses. Thanks for the help. Tom Hollister, CA

wishing I could win the lottery. Tom Hollister, CA

I agree. I have had an idea for a long time that I wish the IRS would look at. Regulate the software. There is no reason that Turbo or HRB's software or ATX or ProSeries or Prosystem or any of them cannot make the software inactive without a registration process that can be shared with the IRS. All e-files and printouts could have the SS# or PTIN number of the purchaser of the software imbedded in the submission. So these TT mills that pop up and then disappear would have their SS# on every single return that was produced from that copy. And the IRS could then have a database of the software and user that is creating these fraudulent tax returns. If you are a legitimate user of TT for your personal return, it is no big deal, because you are putting your social on the return anyway. If you are a professional, your PTIN needs to be on the return as well. It would make it very hard for some hack off the street to go buy a copy of TT and start printing out "self prepared" returns because if the registered SS# does not match the SS on the return, the IRS will see it right away. Just an idea. Tom Hollister, CA

my wife got one this year. But she put it on the invoice, so I only had to pay her commission on it instead of her putting it in her pocket. So that makes it a tip for me as well. Tom Hollister, CA

A couple of things come to mind. 1. What is the state situation? How much does he owe and can he pay it. If he can, that would mean you are only working with one agency trying to get his money. 2. I don't know why mailing in the returns is a problem. It will also buy you a few weeks before you have to deal with the installment agreement. 3. I doubt his employer will do this. Better strategy is to have an automatic withdrawal from his account. Have the client get set up on direct deposit from his employer to make sure that the money is in the account when the IRS tries to pull it. 4. Your best value to the client is to come up with a great reason for him to not have filed so you can work on the FTF and FTP penalties that are going to push the bill up. You might be able to get some relief because you are coming forward (at least it sounds like they are not coming after him yet). It might play in his favor to have you in front of their collection activities. Just my thoughts. Tom Hollister, CA

Client had a revocable trust when she died. The only assets in the trust are a home that was left with a life estate to her partner, personal belongings, and a small amount of cash. The cash was distributed by the executor per the grantor's instructions, and the personal belongings were donated to charity. The home, which generates no income, will be used by the partner until his death or he moves out, and then sold with the proceeds being distributed to the beneficiaries. Normally, you have to have income to make a charitable contribution. But since this is a pass through, can I include the value of the donations on the K-1 to the beneficiaries. Sorry, I should know this, but I am too tired to look it up, and I am sure one of you knows the answer lickity-split. Thanks Tom Hollister, CA

Good point. I read that into the post. It is not there. Thanks for catching that. Tom Hollister, CA

There are so many variables in the pricing that you give to a client. It is really hard to know if $110 is fair or if 3X that amount is fair. I have clients who bitch about my fees, and I just smile. If they think it is too high, they can go elsewhere. I have clients who tell me they paid a lot more and got a lot less service in the past. I have clients who don't even know what they paid before me, and don't know what I charged them last year, or this year for that matter. Every situation is different. As for being upset at low fees and preparers who charge too little, you would really have to know why they are doing it. When I first started, I really went out cheap, trying to build a practice. I don't do that anymore, but if I moved into a new area, I might just do it again to "buy" clients so I could start building a client list. Tom Hollister, CA

You need to read the trust document and the will. This will answer most of your questions. You need to identify the beneficiaries of the trust. If the nieces and nephews are just getting a testimentary transfer of assets, they do not get a K-1. Only the income beneficiaries will get a K-1. First thing you need to do though is identify the benficiaries. You need to talk to your client about the disposition of the trust assets. If they are not going to be disposed of (sold or distributed), then the trust will stay open indefinately and the income or loss will be distributed to the beneficiaries via the K-1. The trust can sell the assets and distribute the gains, or the trust can distribute the property and let the beneficiaries sell and recognize the gain. There are a lot of questions that the trust document will help you with. A good consultation with the executor will fill in the rest of the plan of action. Good luck. This is where good interviewing skills and planning will help both you and your client. Document everything they say and you say to them. The tax return and the K-1's will be the simple part of your engagment. Tom Hollister, CA

Talked to the FTB today. The issue is that it is on the Trust Account at the FTB. Need to file a 592 from the Trust to the Taxpayer. 6-8 weeks processing time. Then they will credit to the taxpayer's account. BTW - they did not have my POA on file because they are working on March 7th POA's. They are 1 month behind on processing POA's. The rep on the phone was a little peeved when I pointed out that was a long backlog. I hate California. The government employees just don't do their work. Tom Hollister, CA

Damn Judy, why don't you say what you really feel.... Tom Hollister, CA

None of my clients. I don't ask, and I won't ask. Tom Hollister, CA

I don't have your issues with the server because I use stand alone. Overall, I am much more pleased with the software this year. And I don't think ATX is monitoring this board anyway. But I do have a couple of pet peeves: 1. The education credits. The input is clunky and the information does not flow like it should. No where does the software check the grants and scholarships against the qualified ed expenses. This is a joke. 2. The home office worksheet. While I appreciate where they are going with the form, it is clunky and hard to work with. 3. E-file CA 541. Their inability to get this form to E-file is a joke. 4. CA 100S Schedule B depreciation differences. It is a joke that I have to override all the fields to get the CA depreciation in when the depreciation comes from the rental activity. This should flow through to the form. With that being said, I am still happy with the software. Good value for a good product. Just no support anymore, which is a dirty shame. They were one of the greatest support departments ever, now they are the biggest joke ever. Tom Hollister, CA