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Happy New Year to everyone here. May we all have a season without too much turmoil. Enjoy the last deep breath before the onslaught.

It's January 2. The year is going by fast.

Ditto all the above! Don't always agree with you (but that's OK), and your use of abbreviations, (most times), leave me confused. But your insight, and especially your "view" from the other side of the table on employment issues, have been invaluable! This is 1 vote against you having "outlasted my welcome". Please reconsider.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

The tax code has always changed frequently, so nothing new there. (Remember the year the ACA was introduced, the same year the expense/capitalization requirements were changed? For experienced tax pros, that was almost like starting over again.) Preparer requirements have bounced around a lot too. I think what has kept me engaged is that I have always worked for a firm, never self-employed. No worries about E&O insurance, ordering supplies, IT security, etc. Of course I pitched in with some of the tasks of running a business, but for the most part I was able to focus on tax research and preparation, planning--you know, the skills we acquired to enter this business in the first place. I like taking courses (an academic at heart), so required CEs were never a burden. The biggest complaint I can think of is the long hours during tax season, which repeat as Oct 15 comes around. That said, I have finally retired! Time to have some fun and read more books. I will eventually volunteer for VITA or AARP, but first I want to get organized around the house and do some things I always wanted to do. I will depend on this board to keep me in the loop so my tax knowledge doesn't fall by the wayside.

There is a time and place for Roths in a financial plan. There is a time and a place to do conversions (very low income years). Conversions are not the solution to all financial and tax plans. Tom Longview, TX

So, we have come full circle once again. I hope that you all have a productive and prosperous New Year. I believe it may be a difficult one as mine is already starting out that way with two days to go. Phone, text and cell have all been busy already. They just don't want to let me get away. I have signed on for another year and am looking at other options going forward. Health and time will be the deciding factors. I want to thank you all sincerely for all the help that you have given me and I want to wish you a very Happy and Healthy New Year 2025.

To see if your S-corp election was approved. Clients never know. Paper gets lost. Why can't we just have a quick look up?

I encourage questions in the off-season, because it usually involves selling something. I would rather inform them than to deal with a surprise at filing time. I will not charge unless research is necessary, and I don't go through the misery of collecting until the next tax season. I put a reminder in their file so I won't forget. Almost all those calls involve a taxpayer selling something. And it's amazing how many people believe if they replace the property with more expensive property, they are off the hook. That treatment has been gone for decades.

I live in Myrtle Beach SC and we are in those disaster areas. The filing deadline is extended until May 1, 2025. Yes, that means the IRA you are mentioning. Beware, I filed my LLC 1065 after Sept 15th that qualified for an extension and still got a late filing penalty. I called the IRS and got it taken care of but....... Funny thing was the notice contained an insert alerting me that I am in a declared disaster area and may qualify for relief. No Judy I don't think your lucky with searches and you are just plain good at it.

Actually it wasn't until the TRA of 97 that the tax code started to change frequently. Prior to that the big major change was 86.

We have had clients who brought some situation to us and we advised them to see their attorney. They admitted they didn't want to pay an attorney, which is why they called us!

I would like to eliminate partnerships just because of some of the potential issues but I don't feel like I can drop existing clients who will get major sticker shock going to someone else for a 1065. I feel like I have to do 1041's because of the demographics of my clientele (I inherited about half my clients from a 90 year old preparer) and usually the estate returns are only for one year. I'm okay with complexity if the client didn't deliberately seek it out (some folks just love to complicate their lives). My biggest beef is with brokers who have clients invest (often trivial amounts) in limited partnerships with no regard to the tax preparation consequences. I know H&R Block loves a K-1 with an amount on nearly every line (generating about $1,000 worth of forms) but I don't.

I don't think this is government overreach, just one of many attempts to stem abuse of the charitable donation deduction. Remember before charities had to provide 1098C for car donations? People would take the blue book value for donating an old car that had been sitting rotting in a field for ten years. I recall that in the year the form was required deductions for cars dropped something like 80%. Conservation easements are another area of rampant abuse that is in focus. And we all have a lot of clients who say "same as last year" or pick a number off the ceiling when we ask about their donations. We don't get those answers so often now that we remind them they have to have receipts.

I feel your pain. It just hit me this morning that we are back to real life today. I am not finished resting.

Authenticators are implemented with a hashing algorithm. They simply hash a "secret code" with a counter derived from the current time to get the 6-digit passcode. The "secret code" is obtained from the QR code or the equivalent string when you setup a site. Any authenticator initialized with that code will produce the same passcode at the same time. It doesn't even need to be connected to the internet as long as the clock is accurate. For those technically inclined, you can google or wiki TOTP (time-based one time password) for details. For that reason, you should treat the "secret codes" with care, as anyone who has them can set up an authenticator to mimic yours. Pasting them into a Word document named "Authenticator codes" is probably not a good idea.

I haven't filed because I didn't get around to it, and then when they said I didn't have to I thought maybe I would never have to and that would just be one less thing to do. Not that I care about reporting the information, I just get tired of filling out ridiculous government forms.

Less than 30 % of the total filings expected by FinCen have filed. You really think the other 20 Million people that haven't file are trying to hide their ownership? I haven't filed yet for the same reason I don't have an ID.me account.

Yes, you should paste it into a text document, and save it.

We have all benefited from your participation here, and will miss you. I do hope you will reconsider, perhaps after taking a break. After all, Walter Cronkite came back the next evening.

It is my understanding that codes can be reset if you lose your phone. Here is a brief video from the solution center. https://support.cch.com/oss/sfs/video/U7mpfMUm17s

I got it !!! He had tried all caps. He has a PO Box, but we haven't used it on his returns, so I told him not to use the PO box, to make sure it's blank. He said it's on his IRS account, so he kept trying with the PO box only and PO box w/street address, and street address only. It did finally work for him: all caps, no PO box, and I forget which browser. Yay! Thanks everyone. I learned alot.

One suggestion I saw from someone that was also having difficulty, specifically with the address, was to type it in all caps. As you already suggested, he should try again on another day. The only other way other than what you've already mentioned is to pay by same-day wire transfer that the TP's bank initiates. Scroll to the bottom of this IRS payments page and you should see a link to another page. That next page has a link to a payment information worksheet in pdf form for the TP or business to fill out and present to the bank. Hope it isn't an identity theft issue. Sorry he is having troubles.

I cannot believe that you feel that way. Your assistance has been invaluable to me. Like others, I don't always agree, but I do bow to your knowledge and pass much of it on to my IT person. Please reconsider, if you have the time to spend with us.

I don't know why you made your decision, but if you do come back, I will welcome you. I have enjoyed your company on this board. Tom Longview, TX

WK CCH doesn't care, and customer support has been awful ever since Glynn Willett sold the business. The reason this unofficial forum exists is because the company closed down the official forum on April 11, 2007 because some of the more outspoken users were complaining about the program, leaving users without any means of support or help. That is how little it cares about its customers.

The purchaser has obligated him- or herself by paying the vendor with borrowed funds, so the deduction is when the charge occurs, not when the payment is made to the credit card company. Here are some references: Rev. Rul. 78-38 states that you may deduct a donation to a qualified charity via a charge to your bank credit card in the year the charge is made, regardless of when the bank is repaid Rev. Rul. 78-39 states the same rule for medical expenses. IRS Pub. 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records (Rev. January 2007), p. 13, eludes to treatment of business expenses charged to a credit card using the transaction date for recording the deduction.

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/webinars-for-tax-practitioners?fbclid=IwY2xjawHwx5dleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHRYafiHrVwoU25gT4eHQebxGALuGm4E7MMStjxkLJ26yZn0mQ0dXdJ9QdA_aem_q6_rxKXJs6oXEA3Ac-OEog

I have had 4 phone calls wanting appointments and 6 people emailing me this morning about appointments. It's Jan 6. Lay off people. I haven't even figured out what day we're doing appointments yet. Good grief.

It is best practice to write down the "secret code" (and save it in a secure place) even if use use the QR code to set up the authenticator. You will need the code if you lose your phone or it breaks, and you need to set it up on a new phone.

I've been doing taxes a long time. Makes me wonder if I started all over again as a green person, would I choose to become a tax preparer knowing what I now know? Will there be a supply of new preparers to replace us when we quit or retire? Getting into the business now is worse than several years ago. In addition to tax law which changes more rapidly (thanks to Congress and politics), there are now requirements which drag us into a modicum of IT. And EA requirements because the laws change so frequently. And dealing with the IRS is no great pleasure of life either.

They have an FAQ page here https://www.bls.gov/respondents/ars/faqs.htm found via search engine. Looks legit, I guess, but sheesh they want us to be suspicious of everything, then also send out-of-the-blue emails wanting people to click on links.

Yes, in a way. But I'm an old man now. I like easy and boring. And I like taking more time off.

I also charge flat fees for prep and base them on the circumstances. No complaints so far. I do not charge for calls and questions throughout the year. I tell them that I am available for them all year and not just during tax season. I would rather get a heads up than a surprise later. If paperwork is involved, there is a small fee to cover costs.

I just got out of an NAEA Update webinar with A.J. Reynolds where he touched on RMD for IRA Beneficiaries. Long answer is... https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/required-minimum-distributions-for-ira-beneficiaries Notice 2024-35 extends the temporary relief from RMDs for certain inherited account holders. Short answer: ROTH owners always deemed to die before the RBD, so no RMDs required in year 1-9 for beneficiary; drain account by end of year 10 (planning might suggest a lump sum is not the most tax advantaged way to distribute). Responsibility of beneficiary to take year of death RMD if not yet taken by decedent. [Note: this paragraph based upon beneficiary being a non-spouse person, and not an estate.]

I just bump up my tax prep fee when I have clients that do that. If their questions would require a tax projection for the coming year , I give them a quote for in advance.

Had a few call to see when we could start filing. But when covid hit we stopped sit down appointments. Never looked back. Only lost 2 clients due to no sit down appointment. So much more efficient. Sit down appointment time with clients was probably 20% working on their taxes and 80% listening to how their year was. Calling them with questions is 100% more effective. Not to mention that since 2020 I have not been sick once during tax season !!! So many would come in sick that it seemed I was always snotting around and feeling puny. Actually would love to lose about 20% more. Been seriously thinking about posting a sign to that effect and attaching letters to finished returns. First will be getting rid of partnership and trusts. Just stick to personal. And get rid of the "file an extension" every years clients and the PITA ones. Then raise prices 20% !!!!

After the last tax season wrapped up, I received calls from 3 local preparers asking if I was interested in purchasing their book of business. Others have raised their minimum fee to over $500 for a personal return. I have been getting many people in panic mode looking for a new preparer. It looks like it's time to raise my minimum fees too!

If the trips are primarily for business then treat the rent as business travel as long as it is not lavish per sec 162(a)2. Personal allocation depends on fact and circumstances. For example if she spends 6 to 8 hours a day consulting then don't worry about personal time in the evenings. If on the other hand she spends 2 days consulting and a day of personal then the allocation is 2/3 for business. If the trips are primarily for personal purpose then there is no deduction. OIH is not a consideration in this case; taxpayer is renting an apartment for lodging instead of a motel as I see it. I don't believe self employed taxpayers are allowed to use a per diem for lodging.

My response is then, "That makes your deduction $0." Except for 4. and 5., when I ask for their detailed P&L. I need clients less than they need me, so disengagement comes sooner the older I get.

IRC sec 170(f)(8)(C): scroll down linked page to 8C where it says:

"Contemporaneous" was taught to me as meaning: by the time the taxpayer files their return. So you are supposed to have it in hand when you file.

Happy New Year Catherine...

Printing always to PDF then printing always from PDF to paper, ensures that you always have a PDF copy.

Merry Christmas to all. And Happy New Year, when we get there next week. This is the last week before loin-girding starts in earnest!

What could go wrong with this plan????? Tom Longview, TX

The Happiest of Holidays to everyone. I feel as though you all are family and I look forward to spending some precious time with you. Always take the high road!

Does anyone have to provide MFA to sign into prior years ATX? I don't think so. I just got a new computer with Win 11. Hopefully I can figure out the Win authenticator and use the built in antivirus. Then hopefully I can download Medlin's AR program too. It doesn't seem to recognize that I have an internet connection (!). I am really over all these restrictions. I want to quit.

I've had several calls asking if my welcome letters have gone out yet. Told them all "this week, I hope." We'll see. Yeah, sheesh, people. Lighten up - you won't get any official docs for some weeks yet.