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i see you like the post count idea but you know the level will be set at 4,000 so you have some more postings to do!!!! /s/s/s/s/s/s/s/s/s/s/s Actually Catherine, your n/t posts are some of my favorite.

This time on Pythagoras.

totally agree. This is one of those. "How to make a clarinet from a carrot"

Mine as well.

I like the idea - while I love the NT topics, it does make it harder sometimes to find that tax topic you ignored yesterday but is suddenly pertinent after today's phone call. I just got back from a one-week bike trip with Gwen in the NY finger lakes region. Haven't even off-loaded the pics from my camera (just a digital point-n-shoot; no fancy lenses at all) and will share a couple of good photos with people here. That's exactly the sort of thing a non-tax, hidden forum would be perfect for. Also *really* like the private part and post count requirement. And I was glad to hear that folks liked the Fibonacci number videos. There are SO many totally cool things out there to share - that have nothing to do with taxes.

Eric, that sounds nice. Truthfully, some of the political posts were getting so mean-spirited, IMO, that I was about ready to quit visiting this site altogether. (It was kind of like a train wreck - I could not NOT look, LOL.) I too enjoyed the post about Fibonacci numbers - I love any post where I learn something completely new. And I like the pictures of people's kids, dogs, cats etc. The idea of keeping it "private" is very appropriate! And I am glad that you took a vacation where you got away from it all. Maybe you can start the new forum off with a peaceful picture of your idyllic vacation spot!

Good manners is the most basic rule we insist on here. No one should be treated rudely for either asking or answering a question. Even if someone gives a wrong answer, the correction should be made politely. As long as I am a mod here, that will be enforced, I promise.

Especially numbers 8 and 20. https://www.thedodo.com/24-bunnies-you-wont-believe-ac-652776457.html?utm_source=DodoFBMV

Also, I plan on having a post count requirement to view the new forum.  It will be invisible to the public, and even new members won't see it until they have created a few posts.   The Off Topic forum will therefore not be crawlable by search engines or spam bots or anything/anyone else that isn't a contributing member of the community.

August 12, 2014 By Jim Buttonow For the third time in three years, the Internal Revenue Service has changed Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, which Circular 230 licensed tax professionals use to represent their clients before the IRS. Several major updates to the form anticipate Affordable Care Act compliance and reflect the retirement of e-Services online tools for tax professionals. However, one important change was not found on the form at all – but, rather, in the instructions. The IRS changed Form 2848 instructions to point out to practitioners how to get a list of their active authorizations on file with the agency. Authorizations automatically stay on file with the IRS for seven years. But when your client’s engagement is complete, it’s a best practice to withdraw your authorizations to limit your professional responsibility to the client and the IRS. When your client’s Form 2848 remains on file with the IRS, the IRS will come to you, as your client’s authorized representative, to speak on behalf of your client – even if you’re not engaged to do so. This can present client challenges and disrupt IRS compliance efforts. The IRS expects tax professionals with a power of attorney authorization to be in a knowledgeable position to represent their clients, or withdraw the authorization. As the Form 2848 instructions now explain, practitioners can request a list of active authorizations by submitting a Freedom of Information Act request to the IRS Centralized Authorization File unit, which keeps track of practitioners’ filed tax authorizations. This FOIA request is called a CAF77 request. Submitting a CAF77 request The IRS requires a specific format for this request and provides a sample CAF77 request letter as a template. The IRS also requires proof of identity with the letter; attach a copy of your driver’s license or a notarized statement swearing to your identity. Fax or mail the request to the FOIA office: Internal Revenue Service HQ FOIA Stop 211 2980 Brandywine Road Chamblee, GA 30341 Fax: (877) 807-9215 You can request that the IRS provide the listing of your authorizations on a CD (in a Windows Notepad text file) or in a paper document. The listing will show all clients with active authorizations under a single CAF number. If you have multiple CAF numbers, you should request CAF77 listings for each CAF number. The listing will include all Forms 2848 and Forms 8821, Tax Information Authorization, in effect. It will not include the third-party designee from any filed returns. It usually takes two to four weeks to receive your CAF77 listing. Once you receive the listing, review it for authorizations you’d like to withdraw. Submitting an authorization withdrawal request You can withdraw authorizations individually using the existing instructions on Form 2848. To withdraw multiple authorizations, it’s easier to use a CAF77 listing. Here’s how: 1. On your CAF77 listing, identify and mark out the clients for whom you want to keep authorizations on file. The remaining authorizations will be withdrawn. 2. Include a cover letter explaining that you want to withdraw authorizations for all clients listed, excluding the client information that is marked out. You, as the client’s representative, must sign and date the letter. 3. Send the cover letter and marked-up CAF77 listing to the assigned CAF unit for the state in which you practice. When the CAF unit receives your request, it should withdraw the authorizations you indicated. After the CAF unit processes your request, the clients for whom you withdrew authorizations may receive Letter 2675C, Power of Attorney Termination Response. But the IRS is inconsistent in following this procedure. Likewise, you may or may not receive correspondence about whether the CAF unit processed your request. In addition, because this process is still manual, sometimes the IRS doesn’t process withdrawal requests at all, leaving authorizations erroneously in effect. There’s no immediate, direct way to confirm that the IRS withdrew your authorizations. That is why it’s a best practice to regularly submit CAF77 requests to view your authorizations on file. Many tax professionals have suggested that the IRS facilitate this process by allowing practitioners to view a complete listing of their authorizations and withdraw them in an online account. The IRS has expressed interest in this solution, but has not provided a timeline for development of this functionality. As reflected in the IRS changes to Form 2848, withdrawing authorizations is an important practice. It provides needed closure to engagements and defines your professional responsibility to the client and the IRS.

I'm with you, Rita. His "normal place of work" will be church B, no matter where the paycheck comes from. Just imagine if that 'other accountant's logic was applied to Lowe's or Walmart, where the 'employer' is probably in another location for 99.999% of all employees. Since this is not a 'temporary assignment', church A is not his 'tax home', nor does it sound like the distance from A to B is significant even if it was a 'temp' assignment.

The decedent did not reside in the house after death. (I hope!) The estate never resided in the house. Did any of the beneficiaries reside in the house? The house was not a personal residence after DOD, unless one of the benes moved in. No personal residence exclusion. Was the house rented for profit? Step up or down. Inherited = long-term capital treatment.

I usually post any questions I have here and on the official ATX board feeling that having greater input on any issue I have is not a bad thing. I invariably receive excellent opinions here but over on the other board while most folks try to help there are one or two who prove insulting. My query on Form 1041 produced one or two of these but also produced a large difference of opinion as to how the deductible items need be handled. I finally decided to pass it on to a CPA friend which is my usual modus if presented with something I normally do not handle. I may simply stop posting on the ATX board as some of them are lacking in common good manners.

WOW, I'M JUST AWED AT SOMEONE DOING ALL THAT DRAWING!

Linsey Pollak is totally cool. Google his name and watch him make clarinets from other household objects. The curly garden hose is a fun one:

Would not the capital gains be treated simply as long term gains on the sale of inherited property with any tax due being paid by the heirs ?

Instead of the beneficiaries getting the personal residence exclusion, they should get a stepped-up basis. There may not be any gain since the estate's basis in the residence is the value at the date of death (or 6 months later if the alternate valuation date was elected.) For most estates recently, this has meant a slight loss once the closing costs were factored in since even though real estate values have recovered somewhat they are not trending upward in any great hurry. At least this has been my experience.

I lost a very dear friend that I have known for four years now. He died suddenly of a massive cerebrovascular accident. He will be missed. He and I have spent many hours together over the years, and the amount of knowledge he allowed me to compile is enormous. Finding someone to replace him will be a daunting task as his passing was so sudden and I need his assistance every day, including tomorrow. For those that need it..... /s Just a week ago, this desktop sent me a warning that the Hard Drive was dying. I am still in process of rebuilding, and am not sure if this one will live or die yet. For all those that have heard my speech about computers, I DO HAVE all information backed up!!

  I'm a private person, so I'm hoping that keeping the new forum locked down is something most people will agree on.  I do have some good photos from our camp; I'll post a few to get things started once the new forum is in place.  I wish I had taken my whole camera bag full of lenses with me--the one lens I had is better suited for portraits.  Even so, I got a decent photo of a bald eagle grabbing a fish out of the water right in front of the camp.         My thought is that new members won't know about it until they hit the magic post count, which wouldn't be very high.  I'd prefer not to have any trace of it visible to the public.    Personally, I don't care if there are a few NT posts mixed in like they currently are, so we'll have to figure out if it'll stay that way or not.

I hope I don't wear out my / key. /s

http://www.woofipedia.com/articles/dr.-seuss-quotes-depicted-by-dogs

CAN I make that my signature?? /s

I may have trouble remembering that /s.

I'm just going to jump in here to share some internet wisdom. Adding /S to the end of a line or a post indicates sarcasm.

I find the traffic usually runs in the opposite direction. Namely, people pay me for advice that they DON'T follow.

I love all you people like a nerd loves math class.

Have the client take all missing RMD's now. Then make sure (s)he is set up for automatic payments (either monthly, quarterly or annually) going forward. File the 5329, without paying the penalty due, along with an explanation of the client's age, health/mental status, that once the omission was discovered it was immediately cured, and steps have been to prevent such omission in future years. The IRS will generally not require payment of the penalty in such circumstance.

It was tongue in cheek, and spot on. I got a new client yesterday that told me the lady giving her record keeping advice (not an accountant) told her not to record the cash. I told her what I thought about that. It aggravates the living daylights out of me, and it is cheating. My guess is it happens all the time. And people get away with it. I think a great number of them also receive entitlements. Wow, now I just want to go home and eat donuts.

I couldn't believe that I was reading this correctly. Surely it was posted tongue in cheek. I do pay for all my groceries with cash; but each one of those cash payments is carefully recorded as Income. I never "deposit" the cash, but it is becoming less and less each year. That is my spending money for the year; but every penny of it is included in Total Income before deductions.

Just: You are new here. Something troubling you about the folks you work for? Looking for validation? You can get it here. I told one of my landscaping clients that *none* of my income is reported the IRS. NONE. I could say that I made whatever I wanted. The checks come to me, made out to Rich, CPA, or Rich CPA LLC, or just Rich. So I could deposit them anywhere and to any account I wanted. I DON'T. I report all of it. And my O&N expenses. If I get audited, and the IRS finds out I am up to something fishy, then they can do things that destroy my business, and I am not interested in having that happen. So, if someone is looking for short term gain by not reporting all their accounting revenues, in the long run, you will be caught up in it also. Rich