JohnH

The client will get a check. Scroll down to your answer near the bottom of the following page: http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/newsroom/articl...=179181,00.html Q. I chose direct deposit for my 2007 tax refund but also requested a Refund Anticipation Loan (RAL) from my preparer. How does that affect my stimulus payment? A. Taxpayers who use RALs or enter into any other loan or financial agreement with their tax professional cannot receive their stimulus payments by direct deposit and instead will get a paper check.

Mike: Seems like every time you post I learn something new. I've been adding the unused H&U allowance on line 21 for years, and now I learn it should go on Line 7. Same net result, but I haven't been doing it according to IRS instructions.

You could tell the guy that was looking for someone a little cheaper that buying quality is like buying oats. For a reasonable price I can get you good quality oats. On the other hand, if price is your only consideration, then for a little less money you can always take a chance on getting oats that have already been through the horse.

I'd want to get a list of all checks written to him duiring the year and reconcile them back to the W-2 to be sure the housing & utilities allowance is being reported correctly. That may answer all your questions, including why the prior CPA handled it the way he did (although it was incorrect). As for the extension, I've been telling people since Mar 12 that we would be filing an extension. Only those that are in pristine condition or need slight clarifications are getting filed by Apr 15. Anything else has to wait. I think it's important that the tax preparer take charge of the situation and insist that the client wait for the best result. They chose to wait until now to get their info together. If they are suddenly in such a hurry, let them go rush somebody else. One thing I have noticed is that many people are under the impression that if they don't file by Apr 15 they don't get the rebate at all. Once that misconception is dealt with, they are much more understanding about the extension. After all, if they waited this long to get their regular refund claim under way (assuming they have a refund), then why should it matter that they will need to wait another month or two for the rebate? It just isn't that big a deal.

I had exactly this same thing happen to my first ocmputer running XP. Problem is, I can't remember much about what I did to correct it. I believe it had something to do with the "Accessibility" settings in the Control Panel. Anyhow, I'm pretty sure that at some point I went to the Microsot web site and typed in "Display Upsde Down" to find the fix. AHA! Here it is. Hope this helps. http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?...kb;EN-US;826480

dexterman: Line 21 is an addition to income, not a deduction. Are you saying that the previous CPA entered a negative number on line 21? On the other hand, if f the line 21 entry is a positive number, then that is not unusual because Line 21 is exactly where the UNSPENT portion of the H&U allowance would normally be entered in order to bring it back into taxable income. For example, if the H&U allowance is $15,000 and the minister only spent $12,000 for all H&U related expenses, then it would be proper to enter $3,000 on line 21. (This assumes that the H&U allowance was not included on line 1 of a properly prepared W-2 form.)

But its alternate spelling isn't a 4- letter word -> ghoti

You are right - they are not all paid so poorly. But by far the majority are vastly undercompensated, even when taking into account the tax-favored treatment for the H&U allowance.

I'm on the fence. The program has worked very well for me this year, but based on the comments I've seen regarding tech support, I've been dreading the moment I'd encounter a problem. In any case, I don't trust them enough to commit any $ until the very last minute. All things considered, I don't think the discount is enough of an incentive to make an early decision - I see that as being penny wise & pound foolish. So I definitely will not renew early and I'll keep my options open until the last minute. I'm pretty familiar with Ultra Tax and would have no problems going back to it (except for the price premium), but I plan to evaluate a couple of other programs after Apr 15. Will probably do most of my extensions on other programs just to keep my powder dry. I followed this practice last year and was prepared to go live with TaxSlayer if I needed to do so, but finally bought ATX in Dec. I expect I'll follow the same practice this year, but with at least one other program validated and on standby. I also raised my rates about 20% this year just in case I had to swtich to something more costly, so that's been a nice profit addition once I decided to stay with ATX. So at this point the true irony is that ATX added to my profit margin this year because of the loss of trust I have in the company. But that could all be soaked up (plus some) if I returned to UltraTax.

No. Charge them an extra $100 and give them a $50 discount - twice the $25 discount those JH cheapskates are offering.

Congratulations! Each new grandchild seems to alter one's perspective on life. Sounds like your plate if full right now, but you'll make it.

The marketing side of me is guessing that the real reason for their reinstituting the board has everything to do with sales positioning and little or nothing to do with customer service. The probably learned that not having a Forum was a competitive disadvantage, so they restarted it in order to give their sales people a response when someone objects to buying the software because they no longer offer a forum. "Sure, we've got one. Whoever told you we don't have a Forum is mistaken."

If I understand your question properly, your client doesn't need to do anything if he is in a combat zone on Apr 15. He doesn't even need to file an extension. He has at least 180 days from the time he leaves the combat zone to file a return and it will be considered timely. I say "at least" because the 180 days is extended, expecially if he was in the combat zone on Jan 1 of this year. All he needs to do is enter a notation on top of the return when he files, stating the date he returned form the combat zone. http://www.irs.gov/publications/p3/ar02.html#d0e3367

We could but judging from the activity on the site right now, only two people would see it.

I sgned into it this morning to see: 1) what was happening, and 2) what advantages it offered over this one. The answers were fairly simple: 1) Nothing 2) None

The last time I prepared one we didn't do anything except write a note on the top of page 1 of the 1040 "Member of US Military Serving in Combat Zone until xx/xx/20xx" when we filed the return. No advance notice or other notification to IRS is required.

Tell them they won't get the rebate if they owe for any of those years, and they'll probably drop it. The rebate is probably why they've decided to file anyhow - people just love getting "free money". As for excuses, use the same one I use for all my clients who resist filing an extension at this time of the year - "You don't want me doing your return under deadline pressure - too many chances for a mistake." It helps if you look & sound really tired when you say this to them.

Did the client file a police report or write to the state regulatory authorities or BBB concerning the scam? Does the client have any news articles or other third-party info to support the worthlessness of the investment? How about mail sent to the scam artist that has been returned undelivered? There must be some evidence that the person who took the money is no longer reachable. I'd assume the return is going to be audited and document the file accordingly, although I've done several of these for this much money or more and never heard a word from IRS about them. Part of what you are doing is making sure that you are not being scammed by the client.

Why not call the employer & ask? If their W-2 forms are that difficult to read, I 'd imagine they are already getting calls about it and probably have the FEI# info handy for the receptionist to give out. Also, if you prefer to do it on your own, many states require the FEI# tobe listed on the corp annual reports that can be accessed on their Sec of State web site.

You're probably typing the response in the "cc copy" box. Scroll down a little more and you'll see where you're supposed to type your reply.

Which takes us back to the whole issue of how best to file the stimulus payment returns. I acknowledge how wonderful e-filing is and I don't question its many benefits. This post really isn't to bash e-filing in general (even though I still don't plan to do it until I'm forced to do so). However, there are enough unknowns about this whole thing that I stick to my contention that the safest way to file a stimulus payment return is a paper 1040A. IRS has issued fairly clear instructions form Day 1 on how the paper stimulus payment claim should be filed, including specific instrutions on how to insure that the rebate is direct deposited. I expect that many preparers who think they got it right electronically at the outset may find themselve doing some explaining in mid-to-late May. Maybe not, but I really think that will be the case.

Happy Birthday JB. How did the back & chest-wax thing work out?

No need for concern. If they don't get their rebates, they'll let you know.

That's what I'm struggling with. Given the numbers, I'm not sure they pay over half her support. She isn't a dependent, because they don't file a normal tax return - they are only filing a "stimulus return". On the other hand, if she is ELIGIBLE to be claimed as a dependent, then she can't file a stimulus return regardless of whether she is actually claimed as a dependent or not.

So this all brings me to my Stimuls Return question. Husband & wife, age about 50, are both disabled. Only income is SocSec disability - $15K for him and $9K for her. We file a stimulus return for them so they can get their $600. Now I learn their granddaughter, age 12, lives with them and she receives $8K in SocSec dependent benefits. The check is made out to grandma but the SSA-1099 bears the granddaughter's SocSec#. There is no other source of support for the granddaughter. They're asking if she can file a stimulus return as well. I'll look it up when I have time, but jsut curious if anyone can give me a quick answer.