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And while the spouse in the car is signing, the client can look in the glove compartment for the check book.

The attitude of most IRS people we deal with these days is abysmal. As tax professionals, we are considered about the same level as the goo at the bottom of the crude oil tanks.

I think the IRS has been visiting the ATX forum, look at the topic for the 2104 IRS nationwide tax forum: 23. Is This Deductible? My Barber Seems to Think So! (T) (F) Your clients receive bad advice all the time. Worse yet, they bring that bad advice to your office in the form of "my neighbor tells me he deducts <insert crazy, completely illegal idea here>." As a paid preparer, you're signing that return and only legitimate deductions may be included. The course will address deductions in general, the concept of "ordinary and necessary," and deductions some professions, such as fire fighters, law enforcement, and transportation workers, believe are acceptable. Presented by the National Association of Enrolled Agents, www.naea.org.

Regarding the 8879, I am always amused that the clients are so particular in signing EXACTLY how "they" (I) have it on the form. I always want to say, "Just sign already; you didn't give two 's about anything else on the return. Now is not the time to get concerned with accuracy."

Also, and this is overly simplified, for the same ownership, moving DOWN the entity chain means "selling" or distributing the assets as the entity closes. But, to move UP the entity chain, SMLLC to one-shareholder S-corp for instance , can't the assets be contributed in a tax-free transaction with the new entity picking up where the old left off? (I've done something similar only once years ago, a partnership went to an S-corp, with their lawyer's help and a CPA on the lawyer's staff advising me.)

You need to have a standard policy. Either you agree to file the return and get paid later, or you don't give it to them to sign until they pay. Spouses can't sign for each other. Send him/her out to their car to get the other spouses' signature.

I put a blank cassette tape in my tape stereo last night and turned the volume all the way up....the mime next door went nuts!

Idunno how I missed this a couple days ago. Short answer, I don't know. Not sure how Windows 7 backup/restore works. Or how Carbonite works. I haven't used either of them. I usually work with dumb backup systems that simply create a disk image of the entire drive. Other software that specializes in moving data/applications from one computer to another sounds like it'd a better fit, and without looking it up I couldn't tell you if Windows 7 backup/restore or Carbonite have that capability. I know that others in this forum have mentioned having good luck with software from EaseUs. I use Acronis True Image for backup, but like I said, that simply makes a complete backup of the entire drive. Transferring it to another computer is possible, but since hardware / drivers are totally different between the two machines, results may be unpredictable. Personally, if move to a new computer, or upgrade the motherboard in a computer, I prefer to do a clean installation of my operating system(s), manually transfer data, and then install software on the new computer as it's needed.

If you mean that the husband signs on the wife's space and the wife signs on the husband's space? If that's the case, I make a couple of arrows and file it. If one of the spouses want to sign for the other, I DON"T ALLOW IT. I tell him/her, "YOUR SPOUSE MUST SIGN, please take the form and bring it tomorrow" Most of the time I stay in the office and I don't follow them to their homes. BUT all the time the other spouse signed at home.

Dee, I think you and your client have to decide, not the CPA, whether the Sch C ended 12/31 and the new Corp started 1/1, which would be my choice, or if it ended on 1/1, which would mean a lot of extra reporting for one day. And since that would be a zero income day, what's the point? I'm not clear why you have to explain anything to the CPA, but if you do, think about this. A business starts when it is open for business, and it ends when it stops being 'open for business'. So the Sch C ended 12/31, regardless of when they sold the assets. How often have you seen a business close, but not sell the assets for a month or more? And I've seen a business sell off some of their assets before closing, too. Hope this helps.

10 Things to Consider on a Form 990 05/01/2014 By Brooke Karafin, Ralph Citino and Stuart Katz As most exempt organizations know all too well, preparing a Form 990 can be a time-consuming and complicated process. To help them have a better understanding of the form's importance for both compliance and marketing, we have compiled a list of 10 things to consider on a Form 990. 1. Good governance: Form 990 requests information regarding an organization's governing body and management, governance policies, and disclosure practices. Although federal tax law does not mandate these policies and practices, there is an expectation that a prudently managed organization would have specified policies around conflicts of interest, whistleblowing, document retention, determining compensation and joint ventures. 2. Review of the Form 990: An organization is not required by federal tax law to provide a copy of the form to its board or governing body, or to have them review the form before it is filed. However, the IRS believes board review is a fiduciary duty and encourages board members and executives of nonprofits to review and understand what is being filed each year. 3. Not all tax-exempt organizations are charities: There are more than 50 different 501© classifications that organizations can be, depending on their purpose and activities, from business leagues to social clubs. 501©(3) organizations are exempt from federal income tax as charitable organizations. The major difference between charities and other tax-exempt organizations is that contributions made to charitable organizations by individuals and corporations are tax-deductible. 4. Not all income earned by nonprofits is tax-exempt: Even though an organization is recognized as tax-exempt, it still may be liable for tax. The organization may be subject to unrelated business income tax if an activity is regularly carried on and is not substantially related to the entity's exempt purpose. 5. Functional expense allocation: Form 990 Part IX reports expenses in three categories: program service; management and general; and fundraising. Proper allocation of expenses between these functions is very important. The amount of funds spent on program services (when compared to total expenses) is a measurement of the organization's effective stewardship of its assets. 6. Public support test: Part I of Schedule A requires an organization to indicate why it is not a private foundation by checking the box for one of 11 categories of public charities. Many publicly supported organizations must describe their revenue in either Part II or III. This information allows the IRS to determine whether an entity meets the applicable public support test. For those organizations whose exemption category requires performing the support tests in Parts II or III of Schedule A, failure to pass both of these tests may result in their loss of public charity status and being characterized as a private foundation. 7. Lobbying vs. political activities: Many nonprofit organizations mistakenly assume that it is illegal for nonprofits to lobby. To the contrary, federal laws actually exist to encourage charities to lobby within certain specified limits. Knowing what constitutes lobbying under the law, and what the limits are, is the key to being able to lobby legally and safely. Unlike lobbying, Section 501©(3) organizations are prohibited from participating in a political campaign. Schedule C provides the IRS with information concerning political campaign activities and/or lobbying activities of Section 501©(3) organizations. 8. Unreasonable compensation: Unreasonable compensation is one of the IRS's most active areas of inquiry and enforcement. To avoid loss of tax-exempt status and/or intermediate sanctions, the organization should use a process for determining compensation that includes review and approval by a governing body or compensation committee, data-based salary comparisons, and careful documentation and record-keeping of compensation-related deliberations and decisions. 9. State requirements: Most states require nonprofit organizations to file one or more documents to give them permission to operate and solicit contributions in that state. Each state has different requirements; therefore it is important to consult with a tax or legal advisor. Filing requirements may include annual reports, annual financial returns, periodic renewal of state nonprofit tax-exempt status, and registration as a fundraiser. 10. The Form 990 is a marketing tool: The Form 990 can be a valuable marketing and development tool. Once the Form 990 is filed with the IRS, it becomes a public document that potential donors, sponsors and grant recipients can use to obtain information about the organization. Information can also be accessed by state regulators and the media. The organization should consider Form 990 disclosure as an opportunity, rather than a burden. Use it as an opportunity to tell the organization's story by effectively stating its mission and program service accomplishments. The IRS and various watchdog agencies encourage the public to review organizations' Form 990 tax returns. Brooke Karafin, Ralph Citino and Stuart Katz work at Shechtman Marks Devor PC, a Philadelphia-based accounting firm that specializes in working with nonprofit organizations. Reach them at [email protected].

I think this is one of those cases where intent actually matters, as Tom pointed out. And being military, there out to be some evidence that they were separated as well as under separate roofs. For example, while his wife was deployed was he the emergency contact for her, and while he was in the hospital was she the emergency contact for him? Did they actually agree to separate in 2010, and the deployment and hospitalization in 2011 were irrelevant to actual living arrangements? Or were they living together until circumstances separated them and they decided that they liked it that way? Facts and circuses matter.

I think I'll just stay within driving distance of home.

IRS regulations were never intended to be fair.

"Time" is not one of the statutory factors for determining who can claim a dependent child. Various units of time may apply, such as days or nights or months or years, and qualifiers like normal or temporary, so assumptions are not reliable. It sounds like the divorce agreement was for the children to live with the mother. Before I would believe that didn't happen, I would ask for a detailed explanation that doesn't involve the divorce decree. I confess to being overly conservative on the point--in my experience, the father is almost never right.