Lion EA

CCH's e-Sign has a free license and pay-per-signature pricing with two levels, authenticated signature (Form 8979) and non-authenticated (if you want your engagement letter signed remotely, for instance).

How can you do your fiduciary duty to both as well as one at a time? Telling wife how much larger her refund will be if she claims all kids would "damage" hubby. Or, telling hubby how much lower his tax balance would be if he filed MFS and itemized instead of MFJ and sharing the balance due or refund would damage wife. How mad at you will one spouse be when the other spouse never chips in for half/a percentage of the balance due or never shares the refund? And, making decisions to get the best result for the family as a whole will damage one or the other.

Does the basis of the stocks in the trust transfer as basis in the stocks in the hands of the bene?

I upload to FileShare on my website TO MY CLIENT and NOT to a third party for client to do whatever they want. With a partnership, I would direct the upload to the tax matters person and let your requester know he can get everything from his tax matters partner. I would give the tax matters partner a written estimate of the additional services requested and wait for a signed authorization to begin. (Maybe even wait for payment in advance now that it's tax season and I have other things to do.) This could all go away by the time you prepare projections, etc., and you won't get paid for your time!

From what I've been hearing here in CT (with many NY commuters requiring NRPY returns) is that we cannot e-file to NY without the license numbers. A refusing client could paper file their NY return, from what I've heard so far. (I have a couple in the orient with international licenses and NY rental property. I guess I'll see how that works out. The wife may not have a license at this time.) Taking one more update class this Wednesday at a NY/CT-ATP dinner meeting, so I'll get the latest.

But, that gives Connor Cook a chance!

And for those employees who know exactly how much to make, when to quit, to make the highest EIC while sometimes supplementing with unreported cash jobs.

The Pay Day, the day of the week you pay wages, then triggers the Due Day for submitting IF you are a semi-weekly depositor in your example, and that is determined by your look-back tax liability. I read that as if you pay the last Saturday of the month, for instance, you deposit the following Friday. But, if you pay the last Friday of the month, you deposit the following Wednesday instead. If you paid every Friday, you would be depositing each Wednesday for the previous Friday. Do I have that right? (This is why I don't do payroll.)

Ours sounds a bit like a sports car running through all its gears, but not loudly. I don't think any neighbors could hear it, even during the summer, with the two-acre zoning here. And, it doesn't test until noon!

I have one client for whom I prepare the S-corp return, but they have their own bookkeeper and use Paychex. Paychex has a code for >2% shareholder HI. Each December, the bookkeeper runs a QB report for the HI and checks with the owner re any open HI invoices he will pay that month and then gives the amount to their Paychex rep. I don't prepare his personal taxes, but do communicate with his personal CPA, so have heard that all is well using the Paychex procedure.

I got a recommendation from a tax preparer in a neighboring town who also had a home office, as well as a couple other recs. Had them all out to talk to us and bid. We liked one and contracted for him to do everything: permits, purchase, installation, inspection, advice. We're in pricey Fairfield County, CT, so probably paid about the top of the range for the services plus the cost of a mid-range generator (small house but need to run my office), so easily $11,000 total. But, the time I was out of business those 11 days during tax season and another week the beginning of October and all the food spoilage when unexpected outages hit and hubby slowing his recovering after shoulder replacement by hauling water to flush toilets and eating our and draining our pipes and fleeing to hotels when the temperature drops and the stress and sleeplessness during each hurricane season, ice storm, wind, etc., I really think it's worth every penny. I turn 70 next year and want to be visiting my granddaughter and not loading food into coolers or staying in a 42 degree home. Generator tests itself every Saturday. We have a service contract and just went from twice/year to once; friend who recommended has gone to every two years. Propane guy was showing his apprentice our generator (they now install, but did not then) like a proud owner showing under the hood of his new sports car! He said our Kohler is better than whatever make his employer installs. When we had our chosen electrician install, he said it was then at least 90% of his business. During outages, you hear generators humming all over town.

I have three HPs in my office now: black and fast for returns, color and slow and old for most everything else, and the all-in-one for stand-alone fax (also use eFax via my computer) and scan (also use Fujitsu for heavy duty scanning) and print. All are great for envelopes. My oldest HP (maybe before 1994) is still in use by hubby. I've had Brothers and Canons and maybe another brand, but they died long ago. The HPs are workhorses. I never went cheap but did wait for sales. Every HP I've ever owned is still working in this house/home office someplace or at one of my grown kids' homes &/or offices.

My HP Officejet Pro L7780 All-in-One color has been happily chugging away for several years. But, I have a newer HP LaserJet P2055dn just black print that's faster and smaller for printing tax returns now.

I'm out in the country so lose power often and for long periods (11 days during one of the storms during tax season a few years back). No power means no electricity, no water, no toilets, no anything. We're getting too old to haul water to flush toilets. We finally put in a whole house generator, feeling we're also too old to be dragging out a generator in the snow and ice. I no longer worry about losing power when I have deadlines to meet, and we don't get cold. It's worth every penny we spent to have it work seamlessly with no work on our part.

I'm going to take that as a compliment !!

I don't audit, current or past years or prior preparer. But, I have to read the prior returns of a new client to see if they have a capital loss, NOL, how many times they took the AOC, who the partners/shareholders/beneficiaries are on 1065s/1120Ss/1041s, whether the person sitting at my desk has been the tax matters partner/executor, compare year-to-year to give me clues what might be missing, get the EIN of the childcare provider, are paying back that homeowner's credit, did they already use up the lifetime energy credit, get depreciation schedules, what was their state refund/did they itemize/compute how much is taxable so looking at prior year AMT, and on and on. I'm not looking for mistakes. I'm looking for information to prepare the most complete and accurate returns for my client this year.

I'm looking forward to a handy product. I know the creators (all three active tax preparers) and know they will listen to feedback. So, feel free to make suggestions to help them create a product we all can use.

Merry Christmas!

It was open as of 16 December 2016 for NY/CT-ATP to start posting September through December CEs.

A colleague just posted "I was able to renew the AFSC as part of the PTIN renewal. Incidentally, the CE system just reopened, so credits should appear soon."

I haven't been on the website (and it sounds like I won't get on!) to try to complete this for this client. It's the short survey this year. In a prior year, he had the long survey on paper to file with lots of questions about the finances of his business, sales/customers, shareholders/specific wages, really specific information over maybe 8-12 pages. He contacted the DOL because he didn't want to fill it out (privately held company) but was told some penalties, don't know if from DOL or CTDOL. He had me fill out the company financial information first, and then he added more personal information he didn't want me (or anyone) to see. I think he even redacted some info before sending in that year. So, he has a bad taste in his mouth receiving anything from the DOL.

CEs not able to be accepted by IRS into their reporting system as stated above. I was able to renew my EA and my PTIN without. Don't know about AFSP.

I helped him with the financial information for the long survey, but there was some personal information about the owners that he had to do himself, plus he redacted some info he was uncomfortable sharing. A quick read of the letter states no penalties, fines, etc., but I can't get into the tax code from his site (where I'm working for him today) to read the code cited in the letter: 29 U.S. Code, Section 2. I may try doing it for him online, especially since this is supposed to be the short version this year. Thank you all for your thoughts on this.

I have a client who received a US Department of Labor letter requesting he fill out an online survey. Is this required? What happens if he does not fill out the survey? He really is opposed to doing this. A few years back he had the LONG survey, and think it had penalties for non-filing. It asked a lot of really nosy income questions, questions about clients, things this closely-held S-corporation does not want to disclose ever again. What experience have you and your clients had? How would you advise him?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/robbmandelbaum/2016/12/14/repealing-obamacare-just-got-harder-thanks-to-small-business-relief-in-21st-century-cures-act/#3fd8576447b0