Lion EA

Thank you for everything.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Good for both of you. Don will be more comfortable, heal faster at home. And, you'll be able to get more done, get more rest, etc., now that you're not confined to a hospital room (where you probably couldn't use your cell or laptop wifi) or always in your car driving back and forth. My prayers are still with you. Take good care of yourself; you deserve good care, too.

Thank you! I'm a Chicago girl, born and bred. Living out here in CT where fights break out over Yankees vs. Red Sox, because we have no team of our own. I miss my Cubbies. But, only day games; won't go with the lights on.

It has to be an exact match of the name and EIN, or at least for the first four letters. So, if "The" or some other starting point is omitted or added or "Three" is written as "3" or...

What if the price were substantially lower? I was able to buy my domain name DollarsSense.com for $700. (I already had DollarsSense.biz for $39 for three years or something like that.) Do I really have to amortize that over 15 years?

Did more than 50% of the partners change? Did the partnership get a new EIN? Start with your client to see what might be different for 2007 from 2006.

Does the partnership operating agreement state your client will pay expenses without reimbursement? Did he, perhaps, get reimbursed or did his Schedule C get reimbursed?

If you're just receiving his QB file, to prepare his return, for instance, and have no need to return it to him, then you can open his file as long as you have the same or newer year and at least the same version (must have pro or premier if he has pro, for example). If you want to make changes and return it to him to incorporate your changes, more details come into play.

The LLC is disregarded. So, wouldn't you report the K-1 information as you would for an individual?

I'm a real neophyte with QB, but here's what I'd add: As you've been told, if you update a company file to a newer version, you must now work with it in the newer version. With that many years between versions, I'd take lots of precautions. Back up the older version, more than once, and keep it safe; also, keep the older program CDs, so you can load it if needed. Or, just keep the older version and company file as is, renamed so you can get to it if needed. If any difficulty in upgrading the company file to the newer version, call on QB. Their daytime telephone support is US-based, but night time could be here or overseas. You can send your company file to QB for them to convert and send back to you to restore into your new program. I'd also keep lots of hard copies both to check on the conversion and to refer to if you have to recreate anything -- transition point P&L, balance sheet, chart of accounts, last invoices sent and statements with current balances owed, invoicing done in new program, documentation of any activity you're performing in QB, etc., until you're comfortable that you have and can retrieve everything of importance.

Why would you need a rapid refund in November? Will your bank reopen its site mid-January?

I let Service Pack 3 install a few days ago. It took a very long time. But, now some things that had not been functioning well are working again! Who knows?! Then we had a thunderstorm and sudden power outage. Now, my computer can't find my F drive which is an external hard drive I use for back ups, attached by a USB cord. You win some, and you lose some.

But Rich Boyfriend 1.0 is fun in the interim.

Did Jainen just admit to sharing the housework?! I'm very impressed.

Mine, too, KC. In fact, I'm lay reader tomorrow morning, so I will pray for you and Don aloud during church with the congregation praying along.

Sandy, I love your avatar. Where can I get it for my kids? (Your information was interesting, too, but since I'm not in CA, I concentrated on your avatar!)

Thank you very much, Jon. I just registered.

I want to know who's paying for lunch? And, what are we having? How many martinis? Should we cancel all of our afternoon appointments?

What's the "old" input method? Worksheet? Interview? I've been using Interview and am getting comfortable with it. I have a very, very part-time assistant who I pushed to worksheet, thinking it might be better for the data entry she does for me. I purchased last minute before tax season, so had no chance for any training or substantial practice. I intend to get some serious training this fall. Hope my assistant is available for some, also. Thank goodness the support at CCH has been absolutely amazing. Today I tried Chat to find out where to enter something on a CT-1120; she directed me to the right form, buried a couple of menus deep, in minutes. And, Michael, thank you for offering up your local expert; I'll keep you in mind.

Jon, I used ProSystem fx for the first time this tax season. Keep me posted if you discover a board. And, if you find yourself with free time on your hands and love to teach, I'm always in need of pearls of wisdom, tips, tricks, and work-arounds....

I haven't used ATX in over a year, but come here every day to read all the posts. That's one way I keep learning about taxes.

I've had great luck with Gateway. I like their color coded connections and their helpful people on the telephone. Necessary for an old lady like me. I need a teenager back in the house to deal with our computers. But, since they've grown up, I'm on the lookout for a friendly, local techie who'll answer the phone in the middle of the night during tax season.

We've been e-mailing back and forth for a week. We've been talking about AMT hitting working people like her ($2,000 of her taxes are AMT). I've been telling her what to change her withholding to. She's been asking about paying. So, I've been explaining why dipping into her IRA will cost her on 2008 taxes, pros and cons of borrowing from her 401(k), whether her charge cards give cash back, installment plans, how CT is less businesslike than the IRS, etc. I ran a projection for 2008 taxes -- she bought a house in February, changed jobs, receives bonuses, qualified for a 401(k) plan, dependent care benefits, and a flexible spending account for health premiums and expenses, and other changes. I even calculated the change in her alimony due to her income, per her divorce decree; and will run a separate computation when she obtains her ex's info. If she takes up any more time, I will raise her price to drive her elsewhere!

I don't like to bring up changing withholding for a single year event for many clients for all the reasons you're worrying about. But, if a client has questions or has shown a tendency to be on top of his situation and to follow my directions.... I have only a couple who actually increase their withholding when I tell them to, though. And, I have a lot of high earners that won't see a benefit this year or next year either. So, for most of my clientele, I won't be bringing up the subject.