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Getting ready for the first of the update seminars today. Got my powerpoints all ready, but still on shakey ground since the final instructions for Schedule D haven't been released yet. There's going to be mass confusion next season in properly filling out Schedule D and the new form(s) 8949. Individual capital gains transactions are no longer reported on the Schedule D, but are reported on the form(s) 8949. Initially you classify each transactions as a type A, B, or C, and then fill out a separate 8949 for each type. Classifying the transactions as A, B, or C looks deceptivly simple, but it is not. The 8949 form indicates that if the basis is shown in box 3 of the 1099-B, it's a type A. If the 1099-B does not show basis in box 3, it's a type B. And if there's no 1099-B, it's a type C. However the draft instructions clarify that this refers to the 1099-B as submitted to the IRS, not necessarily the 1099-B as received by the taxpayers. Brokerages have the option of providing gratuitous basis information to the taxpayer even if it is not required by the new law. If they do so, it will be shown in box 3 of the taxpayer's 1099-B, but not in box 3 of the IRS's 1099-B. Fortunately there is another box (box 6) on the 1099-B that is checked if the basis shown in box 3 is gratuitous, and thus the transaction is a type B. Preparers who simply follow the directions on the 8949 form will be wrong. (Didn't this forum previously have a spel checker built in?)

Take care of yourselves, everyone, and especially NECPA and bstaxes Get healthy and stay healthy for the upcoming holidays and, probably, very rocky tax season. Happy Thanksgiving!

OK; that's it. It's official. I am NOW going to go hide under my desk and whimper. And hit myself in the head with a brick while I'm there. AND cry. Do they have any idea what a mess it will be for THEM (the IRS) if they drive all of US (professional tax preparers) out of the field with their convoluted and STUPID rules? How about ONE form and send a copy of the brokerage statement as a pdf attchment to the return or with an 8453? How can we work according to what THEY receive when we don't get the same info? Put everyone with any stock sale on extension until the 1099-B's are added to the account info on e-services late next summer or into next fall? Rant over. Time to check on the plumber. Grrr.

NECPA & bstaxes BOTH -- take care of yourselves and get better!! I haven't even been lurking. We've been in this house close to 8 1/2 years and knew from the beginning that the master bath was going to need to be re-done, as it was barely functional (for the last 8 winters, the "heat" in there has been my hair dryer - with the cord dangling IN the sink). Now with Gwen off to college, it was time to re-do that room. I've spent the fall choosing contractors, agonizing over design minutiae, coordinating, ordering -- and in my copious free time dealing with the late clients and the few representation clients I still have and the inevitable agency letters (you did your taxes WRONG and owe umpty gazillion dollars NOW - that are always wrong but need careful, documented answers - wasn't e-filing supposed to FIX some of this?!?!). Busy enough to want to crawl under my desk and hide.... LOL! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone here. I am grateful and thankful for each and every one of you - your knowledge, your wit, your challenges, your friendship. Catherine

Me been very busy.....................But......................... Me still like hot soup..................A lot................. TAXES.....................What A Mess.......... :scratch_head:

Things always slow down this time of year as we approach Thanksgiving. I think most folks are recovering from the recently passed deadlines and are beginning to rest up for the next go around. As for me, I had an interesting last couple of days. I installed the new update for the Client Write Up, Fixed Assets and Paperless programs over the weekend. When I attempted to open the different programs, CWU did not have any of my firm information nor client info. FAM errored out while streamling the client base and will not open until the streamlining is complete. And Paperless (the old Document Manager program) looks very new and improved - I am impressed. I spent three hours on Sunday trying to figure out what was wrong and finally decided to uninstall all of the new updates and reinstall the old programs on Monday monring so my employees could work. Alas, that did not work either. Still no firm info nor client info. (I did find the database for the client info so knew it was there but the program just was not pointing to it. We are networked with a file server running server 2003. I spent four and a-half hours on the phone yesterday with two ATX tech support folks and they were able to bail me out. I spent another couple of hours after they finished doing their things but all is much, much better today. I can not say enough good things about tech support. Never once did they make me feel like a was a burder to them. They went way, way beyond the call of duty to get us back up and running. The bottom line, near as I can tell, the issues for CWU centered around something I had done on the original install and update. And the FAM issue had to do with a wayward tax return file that was setting in the FAM database. None of us could explain how that got there. As to CWU, we got the 2010 version running on the server and the workstations and all of the client info and firm info is there. They wanted to go ahead and install the 2011 update but I told them I needed to recover a couple days and build up enough courage to give it another go around. They told me to call them, if I wanted, when I got ready to install 2011 and they would monitor the install and give me assistance if needed. By the way, I dialed the phone at exactly 8:00 yesterday morning and was not put on hold at all.