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I love you, Jack, but I still think your position on this one is silly. It benefits not only the client and the preparer, it also benefits the IRS when we efile a return, and I do not consider it a lie at all, since everybody has normally had, over a year's time, some 'unreported income' of at least a dollar. Like the quarter I found on the ground next the the gas pump last time I filled up, the nickle I found in the change slot of the vending machine at the hospital last week, along with my own quarter in change, etc. And yes, there is a big difference in $1 and $100, because one makes no difference to the taxes and the other probably does. But I don't see it as any difference than the issue of amending a return for a late arriving 1099. The IRS says clearly that you should NOT file a 1040X that makes no change to the amount owed or refunded, unless it involves some other significant item. And when doing an audit, they will write up as a 'no-change' any audit where the changes they did find did not change the bottom line more than $50, where there are no other issues that might affect a past or future return.

John G. is 63 years old and owns a small business. He's a life-long Republican and sees his dream of retiring next year has all but evaporated. With the stock market crashing and new taxes coming his way, John assumes now that he will work to his dying day. John has a granddaughter. Ashley is a recent college grad. She drives a flashy hybrid car, wears all the latest fashions, and loves to go out to nightclubs and restaurants. Ashley campaigned hard for Barack Obama. After the election she made sure her grandfather (and all other Republican family members) received a big I told-you-so earful on how the world is going to be a much better place now that her party is taking over. Having lost both roommates, Ashley recently ran short of cash and cannot pay the rent (again) on her 3-bedroom townhouse. Like she has done many times in the past, she e-mailed her grandfather asking for some financial help. Here is his reply: Sweetheart, I received your request for assistance. Ashley, you know I love you dearly and I'm sympathetic to your financial plight. Unfortunately, times have changed. With the election of President Obama, your grandmother and I have had to set forth a bold new economic plan of our own” The Ashley Economic Empowerment Plan." Let me explain. Your grandmother and I are life-long, wage-earning taxpayers. We have lived a comfortable life, as you know, but we have never had the fancier things like European vacations, luxury cars, etc. We have worked hard and were looking forward to retiring soon. But the plan has changed. Your president is raising our personal and business taxes significantly. He says it is so he can give our hard earned money to other people. Do you know what this means, Ashley? It means less for us, and we must cut back on many business and personal expenses. You know the wonderful receptionist who worked in my office for more than 23 years? The one who always gave you candy when you came over to visit? I had to let her go last week. I can't afford to pay her salary and all of the government mandated taxes that go with having employees. Your grandmother will now work 4 days a week to answer phones, take orders and handle the books. We will be closed on Fridays and will lose even more income. I'm also very sorry to report that your cousin Frank will no longer be working summers in the warehouse. I called him at school this morning. He already knows about it and he's upset because he will have to give up skydiving and his yearly trip to Greenland to survey the polar bears. That's just the business side of things. Some personal economic effects of Obama's new taxation policies include none other than you. You know very well that over the years your grandmother and I have given you thousands of dollars in cash, tuition assistance, food, housing, clothing, gifts, etc., etc. But by your vote, you have chosen to help others -- not at your expense -- but at our expense. If you need money now sweetheart, I recommend you call http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/; You yourself told me how foolish it is to vote Republican. You said Mr. Obama is going to be the People's President, and is going to help every American live a better life. Based on everything you've told me, along with all the promises we heard during the campaign, I'm sure Mr. Obama will be happy to transfer some stimulus money into your bank account. Have him call me for the account number, which I memorized years ago. Perhaps you can now understand what I've been saying all my life: Those who vote for a president should consider the impact on the nation as a whole, and not be just concerned with what they can get for themselves. What Obama supporters don't seem to realize is all of the money he is redistributing to illegal aliens and non-taxpaying Americans (the so-called "less fortunate") comes from tax-paying families. Remember how you told me, "Only the richest of the rich will be affected"? Well guess what, honey? Because we own a business, your grandmother and I are now considered to be the richest of the rich. On paper, it might look that way, but in the real world, we are far from it. As you said while campaigning for Obama, some people will have to carry more of the burden so all of America can prosper. You understand what that means, right? It means that raising taxes on productive people results in them having less money; less money for everything, including granddaughters. I'm sorry, Ashley, but the well has run dry. The free lunches are over. I have no money to give you now. So, congratulations on your choice for "change." For future reference, I encourage you to try and add up the total value of the gifts and cash you have received from us, just since you went off to college, and compare it to what you expect to get from Mr. Obama over the next 4 (or 8) years. I have not kept track of it, Ashley. It has all truly been the gift of our hearts. Remember, we love you dearly....but from now on you'll need to call the number mentioned above. Your "Savior" has the money we would have given to you. Just try and get it from him. Good luck, sweetheart. Love Grandpa

You can do it! In fact, earning the RTRP is one thing you have some control over right now. Your pain in the @$$ is at the mercy of the legal system, and won't ever really go away due to the children. So, living well is the best revenge!

I'm sitting here with Forms 1099-INT for $0.42 and $0.18 for one client. My software would round those amounts down to zero. And, I know that many of my clients had up to $9.99 in interest that was not reported to them from one or more banks. Some even tell me they called their bank and had $7.56 interest, for example, which I report. The IRS wants me to e-file and the client wants to e-file and it's April, so NO I do not feel dishonest if I report interest that the client agrees to but is not reported to the IRS.

Jack, that $1 could be chalked up to rounding. The difference in reporting $1 and your hypothetical $1 million is that the $1 will not affect the amount of the tax liability calculated on the return, but you already know that. When we complete a Schedule D, I hope that we all tie in the total proceeds reported back to the 1099-B, but in order to get to that number, sometimes it is necessary to adjust one or two of the sales by $1 to make the total work out. Does that make it a lie? I don't think so. What about the cost and net gain or loss? Rounding on entering each individual cost basis sometimes yields a difference of several dollars in the totals of the cost and gain or loss as compared to those totals reported by the brokers on their summaries when not rounded.