Lion EA

Congrats, Joan!

His cost basis is what he paid for the stock. In this case, he paid for it in two ways: a check he wrote the broker/what the broker withheld in a same-day sale/what the broker knew and reported on 1099-B PLUS what was included in his compensation/already taxed income. Not much different than if he bought the stock in two different lots on two different dates but sold all at one time. Just add together everything it cost him to acquire the stock.

Add the W-2 amount on which he already paid tax as ordinary income/compensation to the cost basis on Form 1099-B to get his real cost basis. Do the adjustment in your software, so it shows up in the right column. His basis ends up being what he paid for it PLUS what he was taxed on via payroll. Then compute gain/loss in the usual manner.

Is it inventory of the partnership that was created to be in the business of buying and selling property?

Thank you. She's so tall like her daddy, but luckily pretty like her mommy. Client is trying to get something definitive from NUS.

Again, without Forms 1095-B or -A, I should be filling out Form 8965 if taking an exception? Or, if NUS shows they complied with CMS or whoever "qualifies" them as offering MEC, then just check the box and NO form? (Sorry, Brazilian client for twelve hours until 2 a.m. this morning and then back to work, so I've had no sleep, brain is fried. Trying to get a couple more returns done so I can drive to PA by Friday for a long weekend at my granddaughter's first birthday party.)

Thank you very much, Judy, for all your research. I had not seen two of your cites. And, that 2015 amendment is what worried me the most being early 2015; think you or one of my boards pointed it out back then as the year began. That looks like the language I gave client, asking her to look into their coverage that many months ago.

Reading all that, even though the 2014 cite doesn't seem to be acted on any further, looks like she stands a chance of getting something from NUS (a public university) that says their coverage qualifies as MEC. But, she has been asking for details on their plan as it applies to US citizens since April. (Her husband is the employee, but she's the "tax matters" person of the couple. That might be slowing her dealing with NUS.) Assuming she shows me more documents that convince me they have MEC, do I check the box or do I go the form route with an exception because they're overseas? Not trying to be political, but this seems like an unintended consequence of Congress not reading a bill before voting on it. A family with healthcare coverage, not being a burden on the US healthcare system, not costing Medicaid, etc., but potentially paying the Obamacare tax if that country has not worked harder than our own Congress to understand the ACA !!

Thank you. They were NOT out of the country for 330 days within any 365 period. So, it hinges on "Certain foreign coverage" &/or if she has documentation that it was MEC (unlikely for the documentation, but possible it was MEC). Do I fill out forms? Is it an exemption? Which? Or, just check the box for full-year coverage?

And, continued this question on my original thread over on the ACA Forum, in case any of you have preceded me into tax prep for US citizens working abroad but making lots of trips back to the US and having healthcare via their foreign employer.

Client (who prepared their taxes until going to Singapore) has little documentation of their health plan except that her spouse's employment contract with NUS refers to a plan. I'm hoping that I can use Pub. 974's "4. Coverage under a group health plan provided through insurance regulated by a foreign government if: a. A covered individual is physically absent from the United States for at least 1 day during the month, or..." because the IRS page gives no link to it's definition of "certain foreign coverage." So, do I just check yes? Or do I fill out forms? (This gal had to hunt for many things, husband's compensation, etc., so went on extension. After a US wedding, more aging family in US issues, shipping daughter back to the US for college, etc., I'm getting info from her. And, great shrieks of how much they owe, so going over each line to see if I'm accurate.)

Sorry. My memory is fried by this point. Thank you for directing me. How can I prove that what NUS provides qualifies as MEC? I'm sure NUS doesn't worry about meeting Obamacare requirements. Going to the ACA Forum right now.

Client moved to Singapore a couple years ago to teach at the National University of Singapore for a few years. Healthcare coverage continued from his old job through July 2015; I have his Form 1095-C. What do I need to know? What do I need to ask him? Married with two children; whole family is in Singapore. What forms do I include in his return?

It sounds like you're also going for GSG !!

Hubby has a lot of fun with those calls. Plays dumb. It's doing what? Wow, I didn't know that. How do you know that? Can you help me? What do I do? With all kinds of excuses to pause, like turning on the computer, waiting for it to load, etc. like Sara said. When the caller has been very specific -- such as this is a Windows problem -- and hubby can't string him along any longer, he eventually says something about his computer being a Mac or otherwise not matching the problem the caller identified. He tends to get an angry Fxxx Yxx comment and a hang up.

Then you're probably going to pay handsomely for truly customizable software or else customize something yourself from Excel or a database software. For economical + customizable, you're going to have to demo a few (or maybe, many) to see what might meet your needs. Obviously, something that allows you to add custom fields. Call your current software provider to see if they have something for you to demo. Take a look at Catherine's worksheet. By the way, all the "calendar" programs I've seen DO include payroll, sales, that sneaky NY LLC fee I sometimes miss, etc., so you'd need fields to add client-specific needs, such as financial statements, info needed, staff, etc. When my sister worked at Northrup Grumman as government liaison with all the paperwork she had to deal with and government as well as company deadlines, she used a Windows calendar to track. She set it to alert her of upcoming events. Her computer would Ding, and then talk to her, such as, You need to get information from Jane Doe in XYZ dept. by Friday, and send her an email, and leave a text on her screen. I was sitting in her office one day when her computer spoke to us telling Jan she had to buy me a birthday present by tomorrow if she was going to get it in the mail to me by Friday to get it from IL to CT by my birthday! Since I was in town, she'd already given me my gift (Cub's tickets) but had forgotten to mark that activity done. Maybe you have a staffer who's good at research, demo-ing, customizing, etc., or three staffers.

I'm getting a good yield per acre on my corn crop this fall. Just a coincidence, I'm sure!

How complex do you want? For instance, the IRS has a calendar to download with all the various tax deadlines to keep on your computer. I think you can add to it. Or, my web site comes with a calendar with tax deadlines already entered. I used to then add my personal items, but continue to rely on my Filofax mainly. But, you could put all your client deadlines, personal appointments, anything on it, and have it accessible on your computer and from anywhere you have an internet connection. Check with what you already have in your tax prep software or web site or email provider or optional modules that work with what you already have. I think Catherine or someone on this board (maybe more than one) had a good work-in-progress spreadsheet. Excel allows you to create the fields you want and need for your own purposes.

Well said. Amen!

Yes, current plus two prior years. But, check on your state.

Exactly. Even if I don't have time for a robo-call, I put the headset down and let the live person come on and talk to the air. If I can tie up their line for a minute, and if thousands of others do also, there's thousands of calls they can't make today.

And, yes, one spouse can make a payment without filing a return.

We got a bunch over a few days, more than one a day. Hubby really wanted to play with them. But by the time he'd pick up, they were gone; and their callback numbers went to voicemail or didn't connect to anything. He's retired with time on his hands and wants to string one of them along!

OP didn't mention if her client has other foreign taxes paid. My clients with a K-1 often have more K-1s plus lots of other investments with total foreign taxes running more like $800 and requiring the full Form 1116. Or, are children with no tax liability so we want the 1116 carry forward to use in a later year. Or, had foreign earned income in the mix. There are options with foreign taxes and foreign income, just like with education credits/adjustments/deductions. Knowing how to input in your software for ALL the options makes it easier to calculate the best option for a given client in a given year, while you save time by putting your software to work for you. (That's why this is a great forum with users of different software to chime in!)

Call Drake. Ask them where to input. Let the software "flow" the amounts for you. And, charge the client even if you use a short cut. Let them see on your invoice your price for K-1s. They pay plenty for those investments, especially if they purchased via a broker who told them it's just like owning stock! So, let them pay you for the tax reporting consequences of their decisions. Some of them have multiple activities that must be reported separately. And, wait until they make partial sales of their shares and you have to work with basis adjustments and ordinary income. Explain to them that it's not stock or a mutual fund; it's a company and they are a partner. Charge them now and explain to them why, so when you need to charge them even more for partial sales, for instance, you've prepared them.