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Look how far we have come. When I first started in this industry, we could take classes in the summer and learn what was coming up in the next tax filing year year. Now, we have to wait until summer to find out which tax returns we prepared need to be amended. Tom Newark, CA

How in the heck do you stay in business doing $60 amended returns? I charge a minimum of $75 and that is if I prepared the original return (oops, I forgot about the brokerage statement that has 28 trades on it). Otherwise, I charge the fee I would have charged for the return plus $75. This bat, oops, I mean pleasant lady, just is not as afraid of you as she should be. You need to scare her like you scare me!!!! Merry Christmas Rita. Wishing you and your family all the best. Tom Newark, CA

This helped answer some of my "procedural" questions on the ATX software --- From a comment on the ATX site made 11/17/14: The software will include the IRS instructions and forms, however there are several pieces of data that you must obtain from the client and enter manually. If the taxpayer had full coverage all year, then you will just need to check the box on line 61 of the 1040. If the taxpayer receives a 1095-A, you will need to complete Part II of the 8962. If there is a difference between the Premium Tax Credit calculated and the Advanced Premium Tax Credit received, it will flow to line 46 if the taxpayer received too much or line 69 if the taxpayer did not receive enough. If the taxpayer didn't have insurance or is claiming an exemption, you will need to fill out form 8965. If the taxpayer claimed an exemption through the marketplace, then the preparer will enter the Exemption number in Part I. (The taxpayer would provide that exemption ID number to you) If the taxpayer is claiming an exemption on the tax return, then you will select the exemption in Part III. If the taxpayer did not have insurance, then you will have to complete the Shared Responsibility Payment worksheet for each member of the household that didn't have insurance and the total amount will flow to line 61 of the 1040. Note: Part I, Part III and the Shared Responsibility Payment worksheet could be filled in the same return depending when the exemptions or lack of coverage apply. It is also possible that a 8962 and 8965 could be completed in the same return if the taxpayer had insurance for part of the year. Stephanie B Customer Care Director

I reviewed three years of returns for a bat I mean real pleasant lady. Amended one year to recover $150 for her. Plus interest. Charged her $60. "Well, I'm not even coming out ahead," she bleated I mean said. She is either Grinch or does math like Congress.

Well, she's an old bat I mean pleasant elderly lady, and my meds and therapy don't cost as much in Tennessee as they do in California. Merry everything and happy always to you, too, Tom.

She could have saved the $60 by doing the amendment herself.

That's correct. Mexico and Canada have a tax treaty with the US and people living in Mexico and Canada can be claimed as dependents. The original poster didn't say if the parents were in Mexico or Canada.

I have a client who has legitimately claimed his parents and his disabled sister, who live in Mexico for many years.

I think the qualifications for dependency are fairly clear. 1. Can the filers be claimed as dependents by someone else? If no, then 2. Does the potential dependent meet both of the following tests? a. Was a US citizen, US resident alien, US national or a resident of Canada or Mexico, for some part of the year? b. Does not file a joint return...? (The answer to this question may be the determinant factor.) 3. Are they qualifying children? 4. Are they qualifying relatives meeting all the tests? a. taxpayer provided over half the support. b. they were child... or other defined relative or live in the household all year c. not the children of another person d. had gross income of less than $3950. Also check this http://www.irs.gov/uac/Who-Can-I-Claim-as-a-Dependent%3F

Once I've given the return to the client to review and sign the 8879, I Lock it. My company copy was a .pdf. And, any further opening in the tax program does NOT get saved upon exiting. (We're talking looking at something I couldn't drill down to in a .pdf, finding out where I entered something last year, that kind of stuff; not a real change before transmitting or an amendment.) I click on No.

FROM MALWAREBYTES: Looking ahead: 2015 Ah, the security predictions! Everybody loves them, don’t they? Well, we’re not going to use our crystal ball for this one, but instead we, bloggers at Malwarebytes Unpacked, shared some of our thoughts on the trends we think will be most noticeable. On the mobile side, we expect ransomware to be a major issue. We have already seen mobile malware variants that encrypt phone data and demand payment to retrieve. Pre-existing phone backup options will make this threat less severe, however many users still might be willing to pay to get their data back. With more people using mobile devices to bank, it’s becoming more popular for malware authors to exploit. Creating a fake site that looks like a mobile banking site may be a bit easier for cyber criminals since many sites are limited to keep the data processing of the site low. In the Exploit Kits world, there will be more fileless payloads. In an effort to circumvent detection a special breed of malware doesn’t leave a physical file on the system but rather only runs in memory. This will likely be a trend adopted by new and existing exploit families in 2015 and the antivirus and anti-malware communities will have to quickly adapt to contain the wave. We expect a major Internet of Things (IoT) attack in the new year against an Internet connected device that was previously not connected. Take for example a thermostat that can be controlled over the internet. Cloud security is now more important than Desktop security, this is due to the fact that users are uploading tons of personal data like images or documents to ‘cloud’ storage. This makes it easy for an attacker to gain access if they are able to compromise the account. In addition, with the trend of users making purchases, downloading games, songs, movies, etc. through cloud services, the attractiveness of these accounts has increased and we will see more of an effort against gamers and video/music streamers. Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) are a nuisance to the modern user because of their high requirements for system resources and constant bombardment of advertising. However, we have seen numerous instances this year of PUPs actually going a step further and installing near-malicious and full-malicious software on the host system. This trend may very well become more prevalent in the coming year as the war against junk software leads some developers to dabble in illegal activities to make a profit. Phishers will continue to use sophisticated and effective tactics to get users to hand over their information. It’s also highly likely that, due to the bombardment of Personal Information stealing breaches at large companies, the pool of spear phishing targets will be larger and not just limited to the selected few (like executives)

Sounds like the seminar could have found a much more competent presenter. That kind of arrogance is NOT indicative of a good teacher or presenter.

I guess it depends upon what legacy you want to leave with your clients. I would NEVER dump them to the "no customer service" world of H&R. If you don't care, then it can be a profitable "exit strategy." My professional reputation is much more valuable than that. When the day comes I choose to exit, I will interview perspective purchasers and find someone who will provide the same level of customer satisfaction and professionalism as I strive to have.

IRS pub 5157 that is the ACA guidance provided to VITA preparers. It's a nice overview with some brief quiz questions and answers that highlight a few of the more common fact patterns we may see. It's a pdf that can be downloaded. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5157.pdf

My immediate reaction to seeing this article on the ATX/CCH site was that the title should have read Get Ready For “The Worst Tax Season Since 2012”