Lion EA

To deduct, you have to be legally responsible AND actually pay. H's name is on the loan, and he paid. If they had paid from a joint account AND agreed, they could divide their payments in any reasonable method. That could give them flexibility if comparing MFS vs MFJ. Same for donations. I've seen MFS work when the incomes are very different. Either the high income can make use of the joint deductions plus his own to lower his tax liability, or the high income earner is high enough to have phase-outs but the low income earner can use enough of the joint deductions/own deductions to take her tax liability to zero or low. Or, only one has most of the medical deductions. Prior to/after TCJA, a salesman type with lots of Misc 2% deductions. I had a retired couple with a one-off gambling win that saved with MFS. You have to run the numbers. Look for joint deductions that can be divided up differently.

Always check MFJ vs MFS. Your software does all the heavy lifting if you entered all income and expenses as J or T or S. Don't forget to consider the cost of 2 returns.

https://www.cpg.org/redirects/tax-resources/ https://www.cpg.org/globalassets/documents/publications/tax-2024-federal-reporting-requirements-for-episcopal-churches.pdf Richard Hammar is an expert & author: https://www.churchlawandtax.com/ And Beverly Worth: https://lifeandleadership.com/book-summaries/worth-income-tax-guide-for-ministers/

Schedules C. Anyone with depreciation, new in 2023 depreciable property. Right?

Doesn't it change how much of the credit is refundable? Does it look like Congress will vote soon? You might want to wait a week.

Is the church part of a larger denomination? They would have a financial resource person to advise the church and you. Probably a manual.

I pay eFax annually to save a few bucks. Send/receive very few faxes. My all-in-one is not printing, so I need to replace it as it's my only copier (but not only printer and not only fax). It's connected to a second landline, so could return to that stand-alone fax when/if I get a new all-in-one. But that means changing my fax number on biz cards, with clients who do fax, etc. Not sure what directions I'll go.

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/members-of-the-clergy https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p517.pdf https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc417

eFax

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p590a#en_US_2022_publink1000230357 Wages, salaries, etc. Wages, salaries, tips, professional fees, bonuses, and other amounts you receive for providing personal services are compensation. The IRS treats as compensation any amount properly shown in box 1 (Wages, tips, other compensation) of Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, provided that amount is reduced by any amount properly shown in box 11 (Nonqualified plans). A scholarship or fellowship is generally taxable compensation only if it is in box 1 of your Form W-2. However, for tax years beginning after 2019, certain non-tuition fellowship and stipend payments not reported to you on Form W-2 are treated as taxable compensation for IRA purposes. These amounts include taxable non-tuition fellowship and stipend payments made to aid you in the pursuit of graduate or postdoctoral study and included in your gross income under the rules discussed in chapter 1 of Pub. 970, Tax Benefits for Education.

PC but iPhone. The ones I hate the most are the ones that give you one giant corner but not the full page, maybe .jpeg. I tell clients to use one of the scan apps and upload to my portal. Each year I get another convert or two, but still have stragglers. At least with Scannable on my phone, if it's garbage on my screen, I can clean it up at this end. Unless it's one of those corner-only pictures!

I remarried, so my last name no longer matches my son's. I certainly have time to mail him a check. But, we just paid a balance due on his legal bill, so he's reluctant to have us do more. I'm waiting to hear if the unhappy couple dissolved their partnership in 2022 or if we have to wait for 2023 K-1s. If not, I think I have all of his info now and can file soon. I'll try direct deposit. If that generates an issue. I'll use DirectPay.

I try to get my clients to use Scannable, a free app that cleans up their scans, removes creases, changes that grainy gray background to white, straightens it out, etc. And, I try to get them to then email it to me instead of text, so I can save it in my computer to their file. Of course, first I tell them to upload to my portal, but as you say, if they can't do it quick and easy on their phone...

Grown son going through a divorce. He owes, not being able to claim his daughters, mortgage interest, property taxes, etc. I'll need to cover his income taxes this time. (Just sent him a new Form W-4 for 2024.) Can I put my bank info on his return for Direct Debit? Do I need to mail him a check so we can use his bank info for Direct Debit? Or, could I pay via DirectPay? Other suggestions?

Have any of you, or any of your staff, had a laptop stolen or lost out in the field or at the office?

Have a new client (and I'm behind) that I'm preparing his 2022 returns now. He and wife (maybe daughter) have IPPINs. Because I'll be e-filing these 2022 returns when e-file opens in 2024, I use the IPPINs that they just received, right? Even though they tell me the letter told them to use the new IPPINs for their 2023 tax returns? Use the new IPPINs for ALL returns we e-file during 2024? 2022 returns? 2023 returns? My first clients with IPPINs! Thank you.

Oh, darn, I just received a Form 1099-NEC with Boxes 6 & 7 for CA due to a small honorarium I received !! Now I get to add a CA return to CT and IL. I better remember to file a CA extension.

I added a Cyber insurance rider to my E&O policy via NAEA's group plan. Look at group plans from your professional organizations to save on premiums and for plans designed for our industry.

Hey, Catherine, I see you're teaching for John Sheeley's Tax Practice Pro now. You go, girl. https://taxpracticepro.com/featured

Sorry. It was a thought. It is what it is. Ask lots of questions to understand their situation. Then stand your ground. Don't let your clients or their investment advisor push you to report anything incorrectly.

If they're not selling until 2024-25, lay out the definition of primary residence for them, and they can make it fit -- or not. They can record where they sleep each night, adjust paperwork to receive bills and statements at that address, garage their cars there for insurance, pension check and SS are probably direct deposit anyway, truly move themselves for 730 (or is is 731 when a leap year intrudes?) days out of the five years prior to the sale date. If they are using one out of two houses as their primary residence, then they should be using the address of their primary residence on their tax returns.

Had a call today with Kirstie (named after Kirstie Alley) at Protection Plus. I'm going to try it out this year. I have more complex returns but not a lot of returns; it's just me. Most of my businesses have faded away, so I'm down to one S-corporation going forward (and a couple trusts that they don't cover yet). $10 per return (and $75 for that biz return) is a very, very small price to pay to offload IRS and state letters. Billing is monthly based on returns filed that month. I have an onboarding call later this month, so will know exactly how it works then. But, if a client gets a letter, they can file a claim on the PP website or via telephone. I think I might open their PP client portal and upload their return, if they request. That request would include a 7216. And, then hope my client can upload their letter and deal with PP without me. The only information PP gathers prior to a claim is how many 2023 returns are filed under my EIN. Their ID theft restoration also applies to shareholders/partners, as well as the business return. I'd be glad to share Kirstie's email with details to anyone who wants to know more. Or, Kirstie said to contact her: Kirstie Hutchins Territory Manager VT, NH, MA, CT, RI -- but she said anyone can contact her for info Office: (866) 942-8348 ext. 3605 Direct: (336) 726-3605 Email:[email protected] Website: www.taxprotectionplus.com

Be careful if it looks like one house is their principal residence, but they told their state &/or locality that the other house qualifies for a homestead credit or senior tax relief or.... Is this a new/potential client? If so, you might want to decline if you don't feel they are giving you the whole story. If this is a continuing client, you probably have a good feel for which is their principal residence. What address was on their tax returns? Other official documents? Mailing address for important things like bills? Does their insurance company list a principal residence and a second home; an address where their cars are garaged? How far apart are their houses? Do they go to doctors, church, recreation near one house. Which house has their good furniture, artwork, photo albums, near & dear stuff? GLG gave you the code section.

I've been dealing with a letter for a client on and off for over a year, mostly hold time, waiting for the call backs that never come, etc. Yes, I could've done $500-1,000 in other returns during that time, probably 5 times that. I do NOT like to deal with letters; they break the flow of my tax preparation, have deadlines unknown until the letter arrives, etc. I have a call with Protection Plus on Friday to explore. A colleague asked me if what we provide to Protection Plus goes against our WISP and other data protections issues? Anyone know? Does PP get info upfront, when filing, or not until a letter arrives and I tell them to take it off my plate?

Is the NP paying a production company to produce a marketing tool to promote the NP or a book they own? That would be an expense, not a donation. Is the NP then selling the book? If to provide funds for the NP's mission, isn't that still allowable income? I don't think it matters that the production company is for-profit. My church hires a for-profit printer to print our letterhead and bulletin covers, all items we use in the administration of our mission. You'll want to read the TE organizational paperwork, such as Form 1023, and their bylaws, as well as the contract between the NP and the production company. Take it step by step to see if it results in any Form 990-T type business income. But that's not forbidden, it just requires tax reporting.