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I like that in the areas where we can enter details (such as the charitable gifts) we can delete as well as add new rows.

What is that person smoking?

My response to the sales reps will be: Sorry I moved on to an alternative option. To be honest, I feel almost as sorry for the sales reps as I did for the Caribou Maine employees that all got canned when CCH took ATX over.

Did you see this line up there in my post: "Qualified education expenses. For purposes of tax-free scholarships and fellowships, these are expenses for..." ? http://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/ch01.html http://www.ehow.com/way_5858919_do-pell-grant-money-taxes_.html http://www.collegeloanconsultant.com/if-my-pell-grant-exceeded-my-tuition-am-i-taxed-on-what-is-left.html http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc421.html http://www.freetaxcourse.org/Other_Line_7_Income_on_1040.html I also have three kids, ain't it great?! But you are older than me, apparently. Bahahahaha, just kidding. The two in college get merit scholarships, they don't exceed qualified expenses, and my daughter gets a meal ticket and books as a member of the track team. The financial aid office doesn't know me from Adam, but they don't know beans about taxes, so I don't really have time to be talking to them anyway.

New software is the only fix for my problems at the firm. The rest of this season we must muddle through with ATX.

The taxpayer screwed up, so they'll just have to wait for the check to clear and the another check mailed out. Calling the PPL might get it expedited.

You can only be the good guy just so long. I pretty much let them know that once they are on their own and working, there will be a fee; all depending on the circumstances. Some of these "kids" are making more money than I am and spending it all.

I'm liking the FAM now that I've had time to play around a bit in it. And the three returns open. I was amending some returns in 2010, and it was driving me nuts that I couldn't open two!

My post indicated (or at least I meant for it to indicate) that if the scholarships exceeded the qualified expenses (including but not limited to the ones appearing on the 1098-T) the student had income from scholarships. I guess you are thinking that I think all qualified expenses appear on the Form 1098-T. I do not think that. Books, for example, are qualified expenses for the purpose of reducing taxable scholarships, and they do not appear on the 1098-T. If you look in Pub 970, IRS says things like "qualified expenses for the purpose of blah, blah, blah..." I was trying to talk like them, and apparently not pulling it off in this instance. I know to subtract all qualified expenses, not just the ones appearing on the 1098-T. All "college related expenses" are not deductible for this purpose. For example, my two kids have college related housing, there's no other reason for it, and it's not deductible. Here's an excerpt from Pub 970: Qualified education expenses. For purposes of tax-free scholarships and fellowships, these are expenses for: Tuition and fees required to enroll at or attend an eligible educational institution, and Course-related expenses, such as fees, books, supplies, and equipment that are required for the courses at the eligible educational institution. These items must be required of all students in your course of instruction. Expenses that do not qualify. Qualified education expenses do not include the cost of: Room and board, Travel, Research, Clerical help, or Equipment and other expenses that are not required for enrollment in or attendance at an eligible educational institution.

I am not yet being deluged with offers to renew. The software had allowed me to have a lot of overtime at the firm this year. (My boss doesn't see it as positive though...) I have improved my ability to tell customers why it is taking so long without using inappropriate words about the software.