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Translation: Despite multiple posts and directions, users chose NOT to follow the very well written and detailed installation instructions.

Jack from Ohio, there are business expenses and personal expenses. You may be referring to my whine about missing a bit more of the price reduction on ATX MAX while spending quite a bit more on the Surface Pro 2. The software is a business expense and an annual one on a declining client base. The second is an upper grade 'toy' expected to last at least as long as my now dead 6-7 year old laptop and it is far more versatile than the business software or that old laptop. My husband also uses it as it is personal with minimal outside (no deduction) business use. My dive trips to quite exotic places are comparatively very costly but I buy most of my clothes from KMart and such places. I value experiences more than most stuff but the Surface Pro gives me wonderful experiences not possible with the tax software. And the lower my business expenses, the more money I have for fun stuff and experiences! Said earlier, your mileage may vary.

One person's toy is another person's productivity tool. I use my desktop (PC), iPhone, iPad, and my MacBook pro at various times and in various contexts. Each of them adds to my business and personal productivity in its unique way, and I would miss any one of them if it were taken away from me. Maybe that's because I've discovered it is indeed possible to walk and chew gum at the same time. Or maybe that's why I learned to use a hammer to drive nails into wood, a drill to make holes in the same material, and a power screwdriver to install screws in those same holes. Every tool has a unique purpose, and every piece of electronics is simply a tool to get something done.

Sometimes we HAVE to have our toys. For me it is a form of self-gratification and thanks for all the work I do. On the other hand, I now have three laptops and and two desktops. My XP desktop is only for programs that don't convert to Win 7. My oldest Win 7 laptop is for leaving at the other house. No number pad, but the external works just fine. Have two identical workhorse 17" laptops; one for in house and one for back and forth. Of course, we all value different things in our equipment. My laptops do have dedicated video cards and have i5 with turbo boost. Win 7 Pro. My main working machine is an i5 desktop; which will be entering it's third tax season. Thankfully it was brand new for 2012 and handled most of the issues with little pain. And then there are the real toys: Tablets. I use that when I am (rarely) sitting on the couch and want to check e-mail or FB. Or, my husband says something like, "Is that guy still alive?" I have an almost immediate answer. My tablets also work through my phone line if I am traveling and wi-fi is not available. Wonderful for Gas Buddy and/or just browsing. We all lead different lifestyles and have different needs. Hopefully, we have lives outside of tax preparation. In my mind, it isn't so much what you have, but how you take care of it and whether it meets your processing needs. Does it have the features YOU want and does it make YOU happy? Last, but really first, backup, backup and backup!!!!

Sometimes, they're already an LLC but getting more profitable and want to be an S-corp to save SE tax or even a C for fringe benefits. The organizational costs to the CT secretary of state as well as the annual reports to her are much cheaper for LLCs than for corps. Or, their barber told them to do it. I tell clients the lawyer organizing or incorporating in CT isn't doing anything they can't do themselves on the SOS website. But, the lawyer can put their operating agreement down on paper for them to sign now and save them larger litigation fees later when a disagreement arises, such as dealing with beneficiaries when a member dies. You might get along great with your other members, but do you want to be in business with their spouses and children?

    Could it be that different people might value different things in a laptop? Perhaps someone else would feel that a laptop without a number pad is a toy.  Or a laptop without two internal hard drive bays.  Or a laptop with a screen smaller than 17". Or a laptop that can't last 10+ hours on a charge.  Or a laptop without a dedicated video card.     I looked for quite a while for a good convertible laptop/tablet hybrid with an active digitizer, but never did find one that really fit all of my needs (that I can afford).  For me, a Surface Pro or a Thinkpad Yoga would be excellent for note taking, drawing quick flow charts, sketching website layouts, etc.  In my opinion, the CD is the new floppy, and I'm thankful that my laptops don't have the bulk and weight of an optical drive that I personally have no use for. The Wacom digitizer and pen would be a thousand times more useful to me.   If someone is looking for those pen features, but a comfortable tablet form factor is less important, I'd suggest looking into the Thinkpad Yoga.  It's a bit bulky/heavy for use as a tablet, but it'd work well on a table top like that.    EDIT: I think you can only get the Thinkpad Yoga with the digitizer/pen directly from Lenovo's website, not from retail/online stores.  Last time I looked, the model that you could get from Amazon was without the pen.   There's also the Fujitsu T904, which had everything I wanted, but it's out of my price range.  Extremely nice though.   EDIT 2: If you don't care about the pen, and just want a hybrid... well, idunno what to tell you.  It seems like you have to choose between a decent tablet that turns into a crappy laptop, or a decent laptop that turns into a crappy tablet.  I don't know that you can have the best of both worlds.

Understood, the however there is --- what will the "program do"? It is simple if the answer is yes --- continue moving on. If "no", will the program move to the different forms to figure the penalty, etc. and if so, will they be "mandated" by the "program" to be used in order to e-file, etc.. Given there will be a LOT of entry and information gathering -- there almost MUST be an additional cost as there may be A LOT of additional time. Just a different perspective. Just like the IRS does not "bow to the courts" for use of what is done, said in divorce decrees, etc. --- a lot may depend on how our illustrious "programmers" read and understand (or not) what really needs to be done (hopefully by code and just not what is "understood", read, heard, or been stated in seminars, etc. by the IRS employees or presenters). Remember the IRS has specificially stated that you can not rely on their information (instructions, forms, regulations, etc. as the definitive answer or way to do things -- their words) but MUST rely on the "code" as written. ----- SCARY isn't it ....

How do you liven up an accountant's party? Invite an undertaker.

How do you ruin a party? Invite an accountant.