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Showing content with the highest reputation since 02/19/2024 in all areas

  1. My daughter gave me a placard for my desk that reads, "I can explain it to you, but I cannot understand it for you."
    13 points
  2. In case anyone here needs a laugh today besides me, it is so corny that I couldn't resist sharing.
    10 points
  3. The program doesn't allow you to create two. We always just add the two together and let the stone land where it falls. IMO, the 8962 is one of the most difficult forms to understand. At least, they gave us more leeway this year.
    7 points
  4. that was able to use a passive loss carryforward - in full! I have been waiting for a very long time.
    7 points
  5. I'm glad I'm winding down.
    7 points
  6. I used to teach taxes (first for Tax-Aide, then for HRB and local chapter of FSEA) but somewhere along the way I apparently lost the ability to explain taxes to anyone.
    7 points
  7. Detail pages for dividends - the crucial bits, that show the foreign amount (for foreign tax credit), the federal percentage of dividends, the state breakdowns for tax-exempt interest or dividends, etc. No, I don't need or want the "preliminary" or "summary" statement that's 6 pages. I want the 28-page extravaganza that looks like boilerplate mixed with gobbledygook to the client. And the 5498s. Not exactly a form, but the bursar's office printout for all college costs.
    7 points
  8. I opened the storage area to where they all are and said someday I'll get to those. Closed the door and did something else. I've probably done that each time the topic has come up over the years. Today is the day! . . . maybe.
    7 points
  9. I would say even if they were gifts, she takes the giftor's basis (is that a word?) in the gift, so basically, if she sold them for more than what the 'basis' was, gain, and if not, personal loss not deductible. My 2 cents, and I'm ready to stand corrected.
    6 points
  10. It's based on this quote by Upton Sinclair: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
    6 points
  11. I've had a lot less of forgetting all the dividend pages since I've had my portal and more clients are getting their 1099s in PDF form. They just upload the PDF and voila! I've got it all.
    6 points
  12. My favorite is "Why is my 401(K) distribution included on my return? I already paid the tax (pointing to the withholding box). It shouldn't be on my return." Some people are convinced they are "paying" the tax twice and can't grasp the concept that the withholding is just a prepayment of the tax that is going to be due, not the tax itself.
    6 points
  13. 1095-A. Whether they have a subsidy on their insurance or not, I have got to have that form or the return will not go through on e-file. Year after year, they "forget".
    6 points
  14. I would file the return for the child. IRS is not good at picking up cost basis on stock sales. I think we have all seen the letter from the IRS with gross proceeds and no basis added to a return when a client "forgot" to tell us about stock trades that produced no income or a loss. IMHO, you will be doing the clients a favor by filing the return. You may be dealing with a letter in a year or so if you don't. And it may come back as a letter to the parents on why they did not include the gross income as kiddie tax on the parents return. I would also only charge a very minimal fee for filing the return and add it to the parents invoice. But that is just me. Tom Longview, TX
    6 points
  15. Not necessarily. Those details run and hide until you ask for help, at which point they come out of hiding as if they had been there all along.
    6 points
  16. I am starting to get millennials in the 16 to 18 year old range, mostly kids of my clients, who are filing their first tax returns. I have to make a conscious effort not to laugh when I watch them try to sign their names in cursive. They get a pained expression on their faces and it takes forever. Many just give up and print or make an illegible mark. I'm afraid that within a another generation cursive writing will be lost art.
    5 points
  17. I love real books. We felt it was one of our missions to keep small independent book stores alive during Covid, so we bought lots of books. Still do. Give books to grandkids for every occasion and any reason. (Another mission was to keep our favorite restaurants alive by doing take-out every Sunday; we're still doing that.) However, we both have Nooks, and hubby has the Nook app on his tablet also. Sometimes the Nook is lighter, plus it doesn't require an external booklight to read at night. And, I don't have to wear my reading glasses in bed, because I can adjust the font. (I've bent and broken a few reading glasses by laying in bed reading.) I just got a cover that has an elastic hand-hold-thing, because I usually drop my Nook on the floor when I fall asleep in bed. As well as preferring the Nook for reading in bed to unwind so I can fall asleep after working late (unless I'm reading a lightweight book that holds my booklight without flopping), I prefer it for travel to take lots and lots of books with me in one compact, lightweight package. Right now, I have one hard-cover book and my Nook on my nightstand; hubby has a tall stack of books and his Nook on his nightstand and his tablet in the living room.
    5 points
  18. If truly gifts, the rules for basis of gifted property should be used: sold at a gain, the basis in the hands of the donee would be donor's basis sold at a loss, donee's basis is the lesser of FMV at the date of gift or donor's basis I am willing to bet that this basis information does not exist. Was this activity a multitude of generic mass-produced toys accumulated since childhood that were sold off, or more valuable pieces considered collectibles that either held their values or possibly increased (true antique pieces, or something like the original handmade cloth Cabbage Patch dolls, etc)? I'd say that the schedule or form where to report these depends on the client's intention. Did the client view these toys as an investment, or is client talking about this as a business where more toys may be obtained as inventory with the intention of flipping for profit?
    5 points
  19. That reminds me when I went to elementary school we had phonics. As a result I am a good speller. When my wife went thru elementary school they dumped phonics for "sight reading". As a result my wife struggles to spell, even though she was a good student.
    5 points
  20. I'm such a dunder brain. Client withdrew $250,000 from an IRA and had no withholding, but there is no way he can possibly owe taxes because he withdrew it over several months and not all at one time. Absolutely no way. After a 30 minute conversation (30 minutes that I'll never get back) and haranguing my staff for another 30 minutes, unfortunately, we still do not understand. I wish I were better at my job. Do you think if I recommend one of the big box preparers they might have someone who could understand more easily? I would say Rita hugs all the way around, but I'm in no mood to be that close to him or his offspring, who came to join the 'this has to be wrong' chorus. Happy Wednesday.
    5 points
  21. I always take the word of the client, unless there is a suspicious reason not to. It is the job of the IRS to audit them, not mine. One concern is that these assets were purchased prior to the formation of the partnership, and were contributed as capital investment - i.e. "hot" assets. They will have to be tracked if that is the case for five years. Also, my experience is that the partnership will not last long, unless they are bound together like family members. I don't know how many of these partners love each other to start with, and after six months they are ready to go their separate ways. Running a business is not the same as painting.
    5 points
  22. That's why we need to move to Colorado. Our son DIL are there to help us. My step-daughter came over today and cleaned and dusted since I don't have a robot that can dust or clean bathrooms yet. This was a first in 34 years and I was super grateful. I highly recommend RoboRocks! I had a Roomba and a separate mop before, but they are not nearly as advanced as the RoboRock. Hubby came home yesterday with 24-7 oxygen so now I have 50 feet of tubing running through the house. I have to find a way to get it off of the floor. This is a new phase for us, but we will figure it out.
    5 points
  23. Oh....I love that. Is that your own or is it a quote from someone else. I am stealing that line. Tom Longview, TX
    5 points
  24. First question I have is how much money are you talking about? A couple thousand bucks of ladders and drop cloths and stirring blades? Or tens of thousands including scaffolding and compressors and sprayers? If the latter, and they honestly don't have invoices, send them to get you (1) a detailed & annotated list including item, who purchased from, for how much and when, and then (2) prices for new same-type items from Lowes or Harbor Freight or specialty suppliers, showing prices. If comparing those two shows a reasonable price paid for used - as opposed to new - equipment, then I would accept it. After reading them the riot act (in print - and get them to sign & date that, give them a copy and you keep the original) that they are never, ever, to buy substantial equipment again without at least a sales receipt showing date, amount, what, and from whom purchased. If the former, I'd still do the letter riot act, and have them bring price sheets for similar ladders etc., but not necessarily require as strict an itemized list. If that means they go on extension while they dredge this all up, that is not your problem, but theirs. Of course, if you think they're cheating, or that they stole the equipment, hand 'em back their docs and wave bye-bye.
    5 points
  25. It's very difficult for a person to understand something when they recognize that understanding it is going to cost them money.
    5 points
  26. Except for fuel cells, the 25D credit is not just for the main home. The solar credit is for any "property which uses solar energy to generate electricity for use in a dwelling unit located in the United States and used as a residence by the taxpayer." So vacation homes, etc. qualify. Only for fuel cells does it say "principal residence". The Form 5695 instructions say:
    5 points
  27. Ours is the 1099-SA and 1099-INT's. With the 1099-SA being number one. Close third is the year end investment forms (1099-DIV, 1099B's). With those, clients seem to forget to bring us "ALL" pages of those statements. Always just the page showing showing interest and dividends. Always missing the 1099B part. And its always the same clients no matter how many times you remind them. But the 1099-SA and INT are our most.
    5 points
  28. My panels are on my 'extra' building. Holds my hubby's game stuff, tv & stereos. I look at it like if the panels were on land next to the house. The panels are for my 'main home'.
    5 points
  29. NECPA, that is a heavy load that you are carrying. I hope that you have family or close friends that can help you.
    5 points
  30. I'd smile like this if my Robbie Robot could prepare the one I just finished and meet with the client too.
    5 points
  31. Only until the notices come in!
    5 points
  32. Clients always think they're doing me a 'favor' by only giving me the 'important pages'. ***SIgh***
    5 points
  33. Reminds me of an article I read many years ago about a pregnant woman who was ticketed for driving in the car pool lane and went to court. The judge dismissed the ticket because he did not want to rule on when a child in the womb reached the status of a person under the law. Pregnant women should be able to drive in carpool lanes now in Georgia. Tom Longview, TX
    5 points
  34. I'd love to hear their arguments / thought process. Have a client who inherited about $5m from her brother and had NO CLUE it was coming (he was much younger, they didn't really talk, died unexpectedly and had no one else in his life). Every time I talk with her she's royally ticked off that she owes taxes on the income. Um, you retired expecting to live on $40k, now live on $200k per year and you are upset?
    5 points
  35. Hey, Frog, don't you love it when the statement shows custodial fees of $7,500 but the client whines about your $750 fee?!
    5 points
  36. I hear it’s really easy to make a small fortune trading crypto by using a simple 3-step plan 1) Stat with a large fortune. 2) Begin trading crypto. 3) When you notice you’re down to a small fortune, stop trading. Sounds foolproof when you do it that way.
    5 points
  37. Tom: I've never dealt with a Self Directed IRA directly. However several clients have come to me with schemes to use one for a rental property, or even to invest in a franchise business. It seemed really popular among some franchising companies a decade or so ago - the franchising company would ally with a S/D IRA administrator to promote this as a way to buy into the franchise. (Maybe they still do). After reading a little about the rules, and studying a few stories about how these schemes failed, primarily over "prohibited transactions" as you mentioned, I decided to never touch one. I learned just enough about them to avoid them like the plague. I'd just tell the client that if they moved ahead with the plan they would need to find another accountant. Furthermore, I knew someone who was scammed by a financial advisor who set up a promissory note in a S/D IRA that even their family didn't know anything about until it blew up in their face. So I have a strong bias against these contrivances. Not saying they never work or there isn't a place for them, but there's too much room to get tripped up by seemingly minor mistakes as well as lots of room for outright abuse.
    5 points
  38. The fatal problem with AI is that it doesn't know how to say, "I don't know" or "I'm not sure," or our favorite in the tax business, "It depends." That inability is what gets it into trouble when it hallucinates, makes things up, gives irrelevant or wrong answers. When I retire next year I'll just do the office's trusts and estates plus family returns. That's enough. Time to organize those old photos, revamp the gardens, read more books, explore more of the history and attractions of our new state, help out at the library that does so much in the community, just maybe volunteer for AARP or VITA, spend more time with friends and others I've met whom I'd like to know better. It will be a relief to be free from so many commitments and deadlines.
    4 points
  39. Too many people putting on new roofs !! They cut out the one most used for credits.
    4 points
  40. 4 points
  41. A good primal scream out in the backyard works too.
    4 points
  42. Sorry, I lost you at “JohnH has a tax-preparation and consulting business in North Carolina, which makes $100,000 per year.”
    4 points
  43. While the PIN isn't overly common, 90% of people who got the protection pin lose the letter from the IRS and we have to paper file.
    4 points
  44. As a retired fee only CFP, I wish I could recommend someone locally, but your client can go to the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards website to find someone in the area and then research their qualifications/reviews/ disciplinary record/ and any other recommendations. I think your client would do best sitting down with someone in person. For my own needs I use someone at Fidelity locally as a point person, and he can draw on the expertise of others in his office. In my case, just like your client, they have to know exactly what are their goals, needs, and most importantly, risk tolerance. The advisor will do a good job if he listens to the client and not try to just do what is best for the advisor. Strictly fee only, no commissions is a good way to go in my opinion.
    4 points
  45. Tom, it might be the biggest one out there -- Schwab.
    4 points
  46. While it seems a bummer that mechanics can't deduct the cost of their tools, don't forget that they own them and can take them home or to their next job or sell them. Many mechanics are fervent about their tools. My husband was never a professional mechanic but started working on cars when he was a boy. Today he has this tall chest of tools and can tell you when or how he acquired most of them, specific jobs this one or that one is good for, and tasks from way back when one or the other saved the day. When one of our sons neglected to put a screwdriver or whatever back where it belongs, he got in more trouble than if he was beating up his brother. So while tools are an expense, they can also become part of a person's identity.
    4 points
  47. enter "Plan Loan Offsets" in the irs.gov search box for some fun reading--IRC 172(p)-1. My reading of it is that it counts as an actual distribution--combined with Code 1, looks like a penalty as well, IMO.
    4 points
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