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I hit the Macy's sale online and picked up some nice sweaters & tunics for my 'professional wear' for the upcoming season. Had coupons on top of sale prices. I don't fight the stores at all. I might have to go into Kohl's to look at purses, though. Their site isn't as good and I'm very particular on handbags. Self-employment helps when you can hit the mall (I hate malls) at 11am on a Tuesday.

I don't think I could ever go back to "working for someone"....just because of the "freedom of time"!

That is not correct. The divorce settlement is an agreement between the two spouses. It is not binding on the IRS or any other third party. We have no information as to whether the attorney tried to get the loan released, but the lender is certainly not required to do so and typically would not without additional security or fees. So suing the attorney is a long shot, and can't even be done until she tries to mitigate the damage in other ways like filing for innocent spouse. Though no guarantee of success, innocent spouse would be easy and cheap to claim based on fairness and maybe lack of knowledge. But one of the requirements is that she not benefit from the loan. That could be hard to show since the car was part of the property division, especially if she used itr during or after the marriage. At least she must resolve the problem that she was in fact relieved of a legal debt. Meanwhile she can probably get a settlement adjustment or other judgement against him. But that would mean a private investigator would have to find him to serve papers, and she might be better off if he stayed out of her life.

In our case, he didn't quite laugh. He did say that the IRS is not interested in what the divorce papers say. IRS law overrides civil law. They both signed the tax return so they are each liable for the entire amount of the tax owed. Besides that, we have community state laws to deal with.

That shouldn't be so obvious. Paying the tax is the simplest solution, so it should be considered a viable option. There are other options, but they may incur accounting or legal fees with no promise of success. Sometimes it is best just to move on. From your position as a professional, don't be too quick to believe her one-sided story. Finance companies don't write off debts without trying to collect them first, so how did this happen? Did they repossess the car? Do you have an opportunity to serve her further, by advising her attorney on tax implications of seeking an amended order in family court?

Missed the point.

One thing to consider about laptops is their legs. They walk away easily. How will you feel if your laptop was your main computer and got stolen on Feb 15th, March 15th or April 15th. Have you thought about a fire in your office on those dates? How backed up is your hard drive on a remote location? Just some thoughts.

>>> I could remote in but don't always have dependable wi-fi. Just as a caution. If you use someone else's Wifi connection while preparing a return you cold be exposed if their router is not configured correctly. I do home visits for some of my elderly clients and have noticed their Wifi to be open because they forget their passwords. It is like walking into McDonalds and logging in!

I also don't like to roll over in advance because it makes it easier for me to see who has and has not been in yet if I wait until the client is due to come in or has come in before I roll over the return.

Frankly, I'm glad to hear that some level is actually trying to reduce the EITC fraud.