Lion EA

SIMPLE plan for a SMLLC, Schedule C, with NO employees contributing. SE individual deducts both his SIMPLE contribution and the 3% match on his Form 1040, right? Neither are deducted on Schedule C? Should the checks be written from the business account or the personal account? How should the SIMPLE be titled at the brokerage? Joe Individual's SIMPLE? Or, ABC, LLC, SIMPLE for benefit of Joe Individual? I read all The Tax Book information and think I have the general concept and how it flows, kinda. Want to feel clearer on the details before opening an account.

May I change this topic slightly? I have a client who wants to do her own payroll, probably one employee during two quarters (when they're busy) each year. She likes that the payroll services take the taxes in small bites and handle everything so no big check to write quarterly, no big fines if she's a day late. She hasn't found anything cheaper than $30 per payroll plus some extras such as the W-2, so nearly $800 per year. NY state. Any suggestions for her? I've used QB which is pricey. She looked at Medlin online, but that still has her writing checks. People's United Bank has a payroll company in VT that I have a CT client using, but she called and no NY yet.

Holy Cow Alerts.

If he sold voluntarily at a loss (to a relative, say, at a discount) when he could have gotten FMV, only then a gift tax return would come into play. If he can't get any offers any higher, then he didn't "give" anything away.

I've stayed in MD and in VA and ridden the Metro. And, drove with a bunch of sorority sisters making a reunion of it. Also taken buses to Georgetown from our hotel to get to some fun pubs and restaurants. Took a tour bus in from a hotel; it stopped at major sites where you could get on and off any of the tour busses at your convenience. But, mostly walked around DC. The roach coaches do offer a wide selection of meals and snacks. Stay late to see things lit up, and avoid the evening rush hour. Take comfortable shoes, two pairs to alternate. All of the monuments have their charm, as do the museums. Map out what you want to see. Is it the FDR that has a bit of a "town" to walk through with people/statues standing in line for a soup kitchen? The National Cathedral is gorgeous and has organ concerts which you can hear all the way out on the lawn if you're picnicking.

Hey, Jack: If he has a Q&A, I'm counting on you to attend and fire ask away!

The Korean War monument is also noted for realistic statues of soldiers (although, about 3/4 size, but you'll forget that quickly) instead of some smooth-faced generic statues; all ethnicities, etc, that could be your sons or neighbors or fathers. You walk among them. I think they ran out of money or space, so the polished wall was designed to multiply the number of soldiers and as mentioned create some ghost-like soldiers for those who did not survive. Catherine, tell your cousin that the Holocaust Museum is amazing. There is a children's section, if you are taking young ones; but even that tells the story honestly. In the main museum, some of the most intense exhibits are over a wall; so if you have young children too short to see over the wall, YOU get to decide if you want to lift them up to see, which also puts you right there to talk to them about what they're seeing if they need it. Schedule time to decompress afterward. In good weather you could sit in any green space. We were told to find the food court in, I think, the Agriculture Department building. It looks like offices and not open to the public, but when you tell them at the desk you want to eat at the food court, they send you back. My son who was in eighth grade and hubby and I picked our own food and gathered at a table and were quiet for a very long time, just processing what we saw.

The Holocaust Museum is amazing. Any of the memorials. I'm from IL and enjoy the Lincoln. Viet Nam wall is great. I lucked out with one of those visiting WWII vets flights at the WWII Memorial when I was there, complete with a full-dress Marine playing Taps and current soldiers escorting the vets and a flag ceremony for each service. I went around thanking all for their service. I was in tears. That group was from Chicago; if my Dad had still been alive, he'd have been there. A tour of the memorials and area at night is a beautiful perspective. Once with a group of women, we left the group taking a tour bus and struck our own deal with one of the private tour guides to take us around. He knew things we didn't know about, took us where ever we asked, and knew people to sneak us into tours that were booked up. I agree with all the above ideas. Oh, and go by the IRS !!

1. I wait for payment. 2. I tell the spouse with me that BOTH need to sign. I do not spy on him/her to see if that was the case. (I had a colleague long ago that used to hand his client a black pen and a blue pen!) Many of my 8879s are uploaded to FileShare on my website or emailed, with BOTH spouses getting the notification or emails. Note: I am much stricter about this if I know or suspect a divorce is looming. 3. I add the date I received the completed form when I sign and date myself.

Also, and this is overly simplified, for the same ownership, moving DOWN the entity chain means "selling" or distributing the assets as the entity closes. But, to move UP the entity chain, SMLLC to one-shareholder S-corp for instance , can't the assets be contributed in a tax-free transaction with the new entity picking up where the old left off? (I've done something similar only once years ago, a partnership went to an S-corp, with their lawyer's help and a CPA on the lawyer's staff advising me.)

And, a 2013 deduction will be what? 2106? LL? How much is that worth to her 2013 bottom line? If she's really sure she'll be reimbursed, as KC said, she can save reporting income in 2014 if she forgoes the 2013 deduction. But, if she has any doubts on the reimbursement, she may choose to take the 2013 deduction. Lay out her options with the corresponding consequences and let her choose.

And, don't both properties have to be titled in the same name?

Yes, unless it was personal use property to your client: used as grounds for the house he lived in or for hunting or store his cars/equipment or.... As long as it sat vacant during your client's ownership, it's probably investment property. Ask a few questions to determine its use.

Yep. So few were taking advantage of the advanced option that it was eliminated.

I have a small clientele with complex returns. No two are alike. Getting new situations each year is fun and challenging. Researching the tax law is great, and I might hit one of these boards for clues. But, there comes a time when I understand how the return needs to flow but have never done that in my software. Usually in March or April when I don't have time to duplicate the return and try a couple of possibilities. Probably once or twice a year I end up calling support to find out how to do something new in my software, or in which order to do several things so it flows correctly and does not duplicate something already picked up from the K-1, for instance, or even to find out why something IS duplicating. A year or two ago I was sleep-deprived and preparing a partnership with a SEP, a partnership with a SIMPLE, an S-corp with s SEP and an S-corp with a SIMPLE, two also had HSAs, one had employees, both shareholders and non-shareholders, that contributed to SIMPLEs. (When I'm king of the world, I'm going to make partnership and s-corp returns more alike.) One of the returns was duplicating the SIMPLE or the HSA as the numbers were identical. Tech support came into my computer and fixed it in moments. I took notes and have them in those four folders. But, the time I saved late that night paid for itself. As a sole proprietor when I went out on my own, tech support was at or near the top of my list as I shopped for tax prep software. I called one support line re downloading Flash to run their demo. The techie fixed the issue (Norton) but asked what I was up to and offered to walk me through using their software. I chose trusts, as I was new to trusts but getting some, and he walked me through all the menus in a trust return, spending hours on the phone with me. When the salesman called, I was ready to buy and have never regretted my decision. I don't call but once or twice per year, but the time saved is huge. When tech support saves me enough time to prepare a couple more returns instead of struggling on one with a problem, it saves me enough money to afford my pricier software.

I think that's the point. Have whatever the percentage of NONprofessionals in the C-corp that's needed to avoid the PSC designation and, therefore, the 35% tax rate.

It's really case by case. I usually show the full charge and then either discount the child's return, maybe by half or more or charge the parents full (with no or minimal discounts) and then discount the child's down to zero. Got stuck on one this year. Had done the parents complex return with only a bit of a family/multiple return discount, mom's retirement income-type of return with a family discount, and two college daughters with very deep family discounts even though multiple jobs, multiple states, etc. This year, dad returned to preparing his own (retired) and that of the younger college daughter. I still have mom who pays her own. But, I also still have the oldest daughter, graduated, multiple states, investments, and used to daddy paying and used to a really, really cheap price. I gave her less of a discount this year since I don't have her whole family, especially since I lost the pricey return that helped cover the whole family. But, as Catherine, I need to email her the invoice again.

Just a wild guess, but probably as an agent for your client, that MD CPA must release the sales tax info to his client/soon-to-be-former client. Your client may be able to get the information to pass along to you -- either from his former MD CPA or directly from the MD governmental unit that handles online sales tax reporting and payments. Or, MD will reset his info, so you/client can log in anew with all the historic data.

A smart and a CREATIVE son, Jack. Wonderful video to celebrate the big day. The entire family looks wonderful. And, Marilyn, those baby peas are always the most awful color of green that you can't help but make a face!

I use the back-to-school specials at Staples to get a different color each year of the two-pocket portfolios for as little as a penny each. Then I pick up their store-brand vinyl folders in the same/similar color for my fat returns as well as some slicker paper folders that also hold more than the cheapest. I buy metallic ovals with the year embossed on them from M&C Mostad & Christensen for the front cover and tuck a business card into the pre-slit space on the inside pocket. I like a different color for each year (someone on this board, Catherine?, recommended that years ago) for times on the telephone when I need to tell the client to look for his green folder, for instance. I've gotten compliments on my "packaging" from clients. I'll spend more money on software and courses, but I do skimp on office supplies, furniture, etc. Returns are getting fatter over the years, so many don't fit in the cheapest folders. But, more clients are sending me their documents electronically, so I have fewer documents to return to the client/fit in the folder. Usually I put client documents in the left pocket and return in the right (anything they have to deal with and not file, such as ES vouchers, stays outside the folder), but a few this year with no documents to return got their state returns in the left pocket and federal in the right so it still all fit in the cheaper folder. Sometimes I have paperclips and such in the same color for clipping the payment vouchers to envelopes, etc.

Congratulations! And, how thoughtful to wait until after tax season so you have time to spoil your new grandson.

I try to charge a base $100 plus any new forms, schedules, worksheets -- if it was obviously the client's error. If the client is a PITA or this isn't the first time they've forgotten to bring in the 1099R for the distribution they took or the second/third 1098 because they refinanced without telling me, for instance, I aim for half the original cost or more. If the client doesn't see it as their fault (IRS issue, I didn't question them enough, etc.), I lower it considerably for a continuing client based on their perception of the problem and how much I want to keep them. I hate doing amendments. If I'm going to do it for free or cheap, it goes to the bottom of my stack.

Or, The Tax Book's All States Edition.

IL gets first dibs because she earned all her income in IL. SC will want a share for the time she resided in SC, but will settle for a share based on their formula for taxes paid to another jurisdiction on that same income. Read the IL instructions too.

So all of her income is from IL, and IL will tax her on all of it.. SC will tax the income earned in IL while a SC resident, but give her credit for taxes she paid on that income to IL while a SC resident (I think; I don't have any SC returns this year). I don't use ATX, so can't tell you how to achieve that goal. Read the instructions for SC PY returns. I'm guessing you're familiar with IL NRPY returns.... Essentially, you'll have a federal column on her states. SC will have the federal income and a SC column for income earned while a SC resident from all sources. If there's a column for SC income earned while a NR, it will be blank. IL will have all federal income and all IL income, some earned as a NR and some earned as a resident. When you divide her earnings into columns, even if you start with pencil and paper or Excel, you'll see where each belongs -- after reading the SC instructions. Also, you'll want her pay stub from her last payroll while a SC resident so you know have her Y-T-D amounts while a SC resident.