Form 8949 - Rounding

[Yardley CPA]

I believe we discussed this topic last year and I know some people round on their own.  Is there a reason form 8949 is not programmed to round automatically?  Almost every form I use on ATX allows you input numbers with cents and the form is programmed to round.  Its a nice feature from an input standpoint because you can simply input exactly what the numbers are on the various W2's amd 1099's we work with.  For whatever reason, ATX has programmed 8949 to not allow cents during input and its not a very effiicent process. 

[Jack from Ohio]

I NEVER use a decimal point on any input to the tax return or program.  Problem solved.

[Cathy]

Yardley,

Good point! I've been wondering why also. Entering the decimal and cents is a way I make sure I enter all figures correctly. I compare my software total to the sheet I use to manually enter totals that I've rounded and then add them using a calculator. If the total on the software and the total from the calculator don't agree, I have an ESP!

True story: Years ago (I'm telling my age here) a state auditor was at one of our local colleges reviewing their books. The auditor kept seeing "ESP" in various lines on the ledger sheets. After he scratch his head for a good while, he turned to the employee who kept the ledger and asked what the "ESP" meant.

He was almost reluctant to ask as he thought the employee may know something that he should have known until the employee replied to his question:

"Oh, that be an Error Some Place"! TRUE STORY!!!!!!

[easytax]

I believe we discussed this topic last year and I know some people round on their own.  Is there a reason form 8949 is not programmed to round automatically?  Almost every form I use on ATX allows you input numbers with cents and the form is programmed to round.  Its a nice feature from an input standpoint because you can simply input exactly what the numbers are on the various W2's amd 1099's we work with.  For whatever reason, ATX has programmed 8949 to not allow cents during input and its not a very effiicent process. 

 

It depends on which team coded which form. Some teams automate the rounding and some do fixed dollars only. ATX apparently does not demand one threshold here. Many of the forms are coded by very different teams -- who reside -- who-knows-where.

 

My pet peeve(s) are when they allow entering just month/day with year auto filling (client sig lines bottom of 1040 but make you input the year on the Practitioner date just a line below. And things like control numbers having a limited entry field allowing certain data (it is a reference field but they restrict).     But we all have different preferences.

[Randall]

I don't enter the cents either. 

[Jack from Ohio]

If I can't look at a number and round it up or down immediately, I should NOT be a tax preparer.

[michaelmars]

over on another forum someone posted a similar topic and is worried that with 50 schedule D items then he might be understating the total by almost $25 if every item was at $x.49.  some people have too much time on their hands.

[Abby Normal]

In looking at IRS transcripts, I've learned they truncate instead of rounding so 1.99 rounds down to 1 in IRS system.

[Yardley CPA]

Its not a matter of whether or not someone can round.  Obviously, I'd like to think we can all round.  My point was simply stating that from a programing standpoint the form should be able to accept cents and then round automatically....just like the other forms in the program. 

[Jack from Ohio]

Its not a matter of whether or not someone can round.  Obviously, I'd like to think we can all round.  My point was simply stating that from a programing standpoint the form should be able to accept cents and then round automatically....just like the other forms in the program. 

ATX is STILL struggling to make the program solidly functional.  Whether a form rounds or not is 135th on my list of things they need to attend to.  I can round numbers easily.

[jklcpa]

Is there a reason form 8949 is not programmed to round automatically?   For whatever reason, ATX has programmed 8949 to not allow cents during input and its not a very effiicent process. 

 

Its not a matter of whether or not someone can round.  Obviously, I'd like to think we can all round.  My point was simply stating that from a programing standpoint the form should be able to accept cents and then round automatically....just like the other forms in the program. 

 

This topic wasn't about whether someone chooses to round, how to work around the issue by not entering decimal points, who has the ability to round or be a tax preparer, program stability, or whether it's a particular user's priority; it was a question about how ATX chose to program the form.

[Yardley CPA]

Well said, Judy. 

[Cathy]

This kind of reminds me of my 1st year with ATX. I posted to the forum that I was surprised the software didn't have a particular feature (forgot exactly what feature), and I might add, I remember it being a major feature that my DOS program (AMTAX) had. Anyway, from the responses to my post, one would have thought I was an idiot!

The following year, ATX did have this particular feature and the welcoming comments about the "new feature" were abundant.

The negative comments I got that year makes me hesitant to suggest that the figure we enter on the W-2 for FICA taxes (if necessary) would also populate to the Medicare taxes box. Listen....I can almost hear the comments. ;)

[Jack from Ohio]

This kind of reminds me of my 1st year with ATX. I posted to the forum that I was surprised the software didn't have a particular feature (forgot exactly what feature), and I might add, I remember it being a major feature that my DOS program (AMTAX) had. Anyway, from the responses to my post, one would have thought I was an idiot!

The following year, ATX did have this particular feature and the welcoming comments about the "new feature" were abundant.

The negative comments I got that year makes me hesitant to suggest that the figure we enter on the W-2 for FICA taxes (if necessary) would also populate to the Medicare taxes box. Listen....I can almost hear the comments.

ATX had done this for at least 14 years.  Check the box. 

[Abby Normal]

This kind of reminds me of my 1st year with ATX. I posted to the forum that I was surprised the software didn't have a particular feature (forgot exactly what feature), and I might add, I remember it being a major feature that my DOS program (AMTAX) had. Anyway, from the responses to my post, one would have thought I was an idiot!

The following year, ATX did have this particular feature and the welcoming comments about the "new feature" were abundant.

The negative comments I got that year makes me hesitant to suggest that the figure we enter on the W-2 for FICA taxes (if necessary) would also populate to the Medicare taxes box. Listen....I can almost hear the comments.

Post anyway but also email your sales contact. Mine has been immensely helpful. She got a form changed for me in a matter of days and almost everything I emailed her about last year was fixed in this year's program. I need to send her a gift basket!

 

I for one am very pleased with ATX's response to suggestions and feedback.

[Max W]

If ATX provides rounding, I hope everything is rounded DOWN, as that is what gets reported to the IRS, whether it is stock sales/purchases, mortgage interest, W-2's, 1099's........