Leaderboard

Having gained and lost the equivalent of a couple of people in my 67 years, I think I'm qualified to comment about your 5 lbs. I found that every bit of it was gained and lost one ounce at a time. So congratulations, Joan, you've lost 80 ounces so far.

I have a pen and a phone. Oh, wait, that doesn't work for us.

It looks like just another average storm this far north, only 8-15".    And don't bother going to the store for bread and milk or whatever people are always buying before a storm.  If you're going to stock up on anything, it should be booze and snacks.

This is an awesome post. I cannot budge even one ounce. However, exercises to strengthen my bones have made my clothes fit much better and I feel so much better about myself. Would feel even better if I could lose 80 ounces.

Naveen, the 3115 will not be created automatically, if needed. This is a very complex form and needs a lot of studying. I have taken several classes on it and have determined that I am an idiot. I keep reading posts on various blogs, forums and emails and there are lots of different opinions on the 3115. I just sat through a webinar from my CNA liability insurance and their suggestion is to put most of your business returns that are affected on extension so that we can prepare the returns correctly. The IRS has not been very helpful yet and the ramifications of not filing the form(s) correctly or timely are very serious. My suggestion is look for webinars right away and start studying. I'm sorry, but for small preparers, this is terrible news. One of the webinars suggested farming out the work if we don't feel comfortable preparing it. That's not a very affordable option for me.

To all you northeasters

I think we should force ATX to make the error message RED for silence and yellow for Rita's lack of pulling.

You go girl. 5 pounds is a big deal. It is not "only 5". Keep up the great work!

In defense of ATX, I have to note that when I take a peek at the ATX Original Board; ATX reps are on there answering questions to the extent that I have never seen in all the years I have used the product. I spend very little time there because so many of the questions are from the new users asking for help with things that most of us have known for years. There don't seem to be a lot of tax questions; more along the line of software questions and the support gals are jumping right in there.

  I'm still not sure if Jack's chinese food response had anything to do with me offering to eat the chocolate lab with lava cake for dessert.

The picture says it all!!

Let give another example, this error on our part, is listed at the same level when we forget to check if client wants to buy or decline protection. The bar needs to be raised for ACA silence.

The medal always has two side, you know .... I am amazed how most of you are surprised by TT experience! Haven't you tried before any free or trial version of such self-prepared tax return preparation softwares so far!? We do this every season at least to know to what we face and what to expect. Actually the main point here is that all these programs are softwares for self-prepared tax return - you know, that means no preparer, no fee, no extra spend. Remember this. Add IRS " ... it is the taxpayer who is ultimately responsible for all the information on the tax return." and we get the clear picture. Your can read about the miraculous "nonprofit coalition of industry-leading tax software companies partnered with the IRS" here and here.

I will have to wait and see what my client shows up with. I will not do any work for either the estate or the spouse's taxes. My client will be reporting the income as long as I am doing the return.

Remember the receivables have been distributed to the former members, the bank account would not remain open. Each member would collect his own receivables.

Once upon a time, employees of the government were very very busy promulgating endless rules and regulations to instruct the citizens how to follow that wondrous creation known as The ACA. One day after the moon and the sun had circled the planet many many times,spokespersons came forth and said, "Lo and behold citizens, if you have been a member of an HRA, the rules are all different and to show that we are most thoughtful the rules go back to the beginning of this year. The citizens and their advisors were most confused crying, "This makes no sense, what will we do?" The advisors went to the country's revenue agency, "This makes no sense, what will we do?" The employees at the revenue agency said, "We don't know, the left hand knows not what the right hand is doing." The employees at the agency promulgating the new rules and regulations said, "We don't know, the left hand knows not what the right hand is doing." Moral of the story: If the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing you may be in big trouble. Footnote: It is said that this is what actually happened. The employees of the DOL and HHS did not know that rules and regulations they were writing would be in conflict with the rules already in place at the IRS. The employees at the IRS had no idea that the employees at the DOL and HHS were going to publish these rules when they did and were extremely surprised. After all no proposed rules or regs were ever published nor were any hearing ever held.

Here is a reference that states basically --- if caregiver is not in business, and a family member, etc. then NO self-employment tax but still compensation must be reported: http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Family-Caregivers-and-Self-Employment-Tax . If doing it as a business, it is a business and all taxes are due. The reference Tom makes is I believe to a Medicaid reimbursement for care givers and can be referenced here: http://www.irs.gov/irb/2014-4_IRB/ar06.html . Please note that the original post (I believe) references that the receipentent would NOT be doing the care but would just be managing, etc. so (not being an attorney - my disclosure) my personal opinion is that the "attorney" was "blowing smoke" and a 1099 would be the proper way to go.

OK, now I think my lack of pulling was alright as the option that applies to her is not listed, and I get a red error message if I fill in name and SSN and leave the exemption blank. So I guess we'll see. This is Science, y'all!

Believe it or not, this is NOT (to me) a POLITICAL comment per say as it pertains to ALL parties -- it is issued (tongue in cheek ) and with the intent of correcting a misperceptions on our "poor" weatherpersons ... (alone) The picture is incorrect as it states only Meteorologist but in fact is true for "Politicians" too. (It does take some of the fun out, when one needs to "explain" rather than just make fun of) - but it is what happens when one is as "anal" as me.

You are getting some very good advice here. I do question the attorney's statement and would probably offer up another preparer if something doesn't pass the smell test.

And most likely there was not an agreement. In any case, I believe it is important to educate the client in the difference between "draws" and GP's. In particular the effect on SE income. In the case where one partner performs more work and receives more $, fair allocation of SE income can be achieved through GPs. This is common in farming operations where son/partner performs most of the work while dad/partner provides capital. The fact that payments to the partner are not consistent or vary with cash flow does not preclude them from being classified as GP. The bottom line is to work with the clients to determine what works best for them within the tax laws.

Hunker down, my friend. I was there during the blizzard of '78 when the city closed down for days. I lived in the Back Bay. It was never so quiet before or after. But we didn't have gale force winds just small mountains of snow with drifts way taller than me. Do take care. My best friend lives in Quincy and I spoke with her last evening. So glad her son is marrying in September (possible visit alert!) and not now!

Yeah, Jack, I'm not slamming ATX either because so many of their other worksheets are well-designed and so easy to use that it really did take me by surprise.

Good luck to all of those north and east of me. I am breathing a big sigh of relief that our total accumulation has been downgraded to the 5-8" range without the blizzard warnings. Earlier models predicted 2.5 times than that for us. I haven't watched the updates this morning but husband heard that the Boston area is to have hurricane force winds of over 75 mph!

Yes, we could only hope! Nobody's making it easier, but nobody seems to totally understand it.

So for the heck of it I offered to help a cousin of mine and his wife file their return though turbo tax because I was curious as to what the experience was like and what I am up against. It's pretty simple return, MFJ, one income, education expenses, one dependent. Getting EIC and Child Tax Credit. The experience was pretty shocking. First of all, it was not fast. It took me almost just over an hour to get it done. I probably could have done it 50% faster because I know all of the forms and rules like the back of my hand, but I read through pretty much all of the material presented because that's more than likely what the average taxpayer would do. I will admit that I skimmed some areas that I am already very familiar with so it would probably take the average person even longer. Here were my findings: It was absurd how little evidence is required to claim dependents or the EIC or child tax credits. Underneath the dependents name is basically several bullets that ask you of this dependent lived with you for more than 6 months, etc. I almost overlooked it. So while we have to detail with the 8867 and all the ramifications of that, Turbo Tax s allowed to simply put up a few bullet points. Claiming education credits didn't require a 1098-T or even the educational institution EIN. Turbo Tax just said the TP should receive it by Feb 15. He had one but it didn't require one because initially it let me go on without entering any info on the school other than the name, and it gave him the American Opportunity Credit. I am an experience preparer and I found it complex, as it should be because taxes are complex by their nature. But I cannot understand how an average person cold understand half of the material and make an informed decision. There are so many links and popup windows to sift through. There is dumbed-down language but even still, I can't see the average person just skimming through. The questions on the ACA were absurdly simple. It asked did you pay for health coverage? No. Did you apply for health insurance through a state or federal marketplace or receive Medicaid? Yes. That's it. No more questions on that. It wasn't cheap. The total cost of the return, including the state, was $119, and that was with a 30% "discount". To have the fees deducted from the refund, the total cost was $154.00. Total time for preparation, about 70 minutes. I'm pretty sure it would have taken a non-tax person about 90-100 minutes minimum. And this was for a simple return. The TP has to print the return themselves. I cannot understand why people bother. What I did like was how Turbo Tax offered options to track the refund by email or text message alerts. There is an estimated refund date. There is also a status bar showing the status of the return (i.e. transmitted, received by IRS, Refunded, etc). I like these options. I'd like to know why ATX hasn't incorporated some of this in the program. I'd probably be willing to pay for such a service because I think clients would like them.

No, I used one of those about 20 years ago and know how they work, and how they have extensive interview features to help the user along. They aren't bad programs and serve many people well, but those aren't the type of clients I currently have, or that I want to market and expand into. I'm also not worried about any of my clients leaving me to self-prepare their own returns. Also, I don't base my pricing on outsiders' costs, whether it be from these self-prep programs or the big box outfits of HRB or JH.

Yes, Rita, it might. I watched that ATX video for the ACA input that I'd posted for someone else, and I was surprised that the worksheet didn't have a checkbox or dropdown to auto-fill the name or to auto-fill all of those boxes if no coverage for all 12 months.

I'm trying to lose weight and don't want to think about chocolate! Only 5 lbs so far, but I don't need to backslide during the season....damn.

Ask for the form "Elections'. Once that loads, look at the tabs along the bottom of the page and choose depreciation. The safe harbor elections are near the bottom of the depreciation page.

After attending a class on Monday presented by the Oregon Society of CPA s, that covered this in depth, I have modified my position as follows: 1. The Regs issued November 6th change HRA s which affects the Self Employed Health Insurance Deduction for S Corp shareholders. 2. The ACA Marketplace Reform Regs are in direct conflict with IRS guidance for S Corp shareholders and partners ( See Pub 535, IRS Notice 2008-1, Rev Rule 91-26, and Ann 92-16 all of these remain unchanged.) 3. Until this conflict is resolved, we need substantial authority to rely on prior IRS guidance. 4. By subjecting the reimbursed premiums to Social Security and Medicare and including the reimbursed premiums in Box 3 and Box 5 wages, the assertion that there is a Group Plan which is subject to ACA Market Reform Penalties is significantly reduced. 5. The argument in favor of this position is the reasonable cause exception under Sec 4980D©(1) based on our reliance on Pub 535, IRS Notice 20089-1, Rev Rule 91-26 and Ann 92-16 all of which still exist unchanged. I take no credit for this strategy. The strategy originated with the National Tax Partners of CliftonLarsonAllen, the 10th largest CPA Firm in country with more than 1,000 CPA s employed who prepared over 100,000 tax returns last year. This strategy is the official position of CliftonLarsonAllen according to the course presenter and coauthor Andrew R Biebl CPA, one of the National Tax Partners for the firm.

I thought Marie was asking about the repair reg/capitalization elections.

I think 1040 if they were here for 183 days or more in 2014.

And how about lawyers? In NYS...you need a CPA or lawyer "on the premises". By training, they know the least. Whenever someone asks me "my credentials" I tell them I've been doing this over 20 years...and I have an MBA. If the person feels that his situation is "so complicated" only a CPA can handle it...I'm more than happy not to take the job. I actually tell them that they should look for someone else. (IMHO...potential PITAs)

the bigger the ego wall behind you the better for initial meetings. When you are waiting for your doctor don't you look at all the certificates they have hanging on their walls?

Welcome to the board. You got the answer and I just want to add: 1.- Fill out the form anyways because they computer might generate a letter to your client if you don't mention ACA for 2014 and later years. 3.- Even if they register before Feb 15, client will be penalized if they didn't have insurance in 2014 AND they will be penalized for not have 2 months of insurance when they file their 2015 taxes in 2016. There a good course at www.apluscpe.com that is called ACA in the real world, you should take that video course since it only costs $5.95. I took it and it is worth it. If you have more questions, please feel free to post them and a lot of people will help you.

Just for the record, I've offered Eric free returns for years. Closest he ever came was one year when he did let me 'help' him with one form......

Hi Elizabeth, welcome to the forum and please accept my apology for Jack's less than helpful post. Easytax gave you the answers to your questions. For a good guide that may help you get started with the ACA for 2014 returns, you might consider using Pub 5157. It is the IRS guide covering the ACA for VITA preparers and is in a lesson-style format with the more common situations that we'll encounter this season due to the ACA.

This is the last season for me and I am not sure I am going to make it through the whole season. I cannot find a cite that states we have to use the W-2 for preparation and not the last pay stub but I know we have to. I have a client that has made an appt. called 7 times and even had her MIL call then the last call was...I don't have husband's W-2 but we can use his last pay stub. Sorry....make another appt after you have the W-2. She makes an appt for Monday but doesn't have the W-2 yet...really? Please tell me where to get the cite so I can include it in her packet to take home. Another client called, made a appt. didn't show up, called the next day and said her boyfriend didn't know about the appt so he let her sleep. She wanted another appt as soon as possible but was told that 3 people wanted her original appt time and I was booked for 2 weeks. Another local bookkeeper e-mailed me so I could create 1099-MISC for one of her clients. She did forget to put amounts in the e-mail. Last year I did this for her and she called a couple days later to say that the amount was incorrect and I needed to re-do the 1099-MISC. This year I told her that I didn't buy the software. Mostly rant and thanks, Karen

I'm no expert on OH taxes, but in answer to your "asked me if she still needs to file year after year." I'd just point out to her that she has to have a legal domicile somewhere, so having it there where she's exempt may be a wise thing to hang on to.

Since this is your last year, you could tell your clients what you really think of them? What would it hurt, they just won't come back next year? Think about it, have some chocolate, and enjoy the possibilities. Tom Newark, CA

I know it is early in the game for this kind of comment, but the facts are the facts, what's a lunch, Jack and Eric?

Agree with both of you. If the realtor received a 1099 for commission he didn't received, he should either take that issue up with whatever entity paid him to have the form corrected, or he should report the gross amount and take the discount as a business expense. The discount he allowed your client in no way falls within the definition of any payment that would require the issuance of a 1099 to your client. That doesn't even make sense.

JB, On a simple 1065, don't overthink it. You still have the same revenues, cost of sales, and expenses to get to net profit. The 1065 just asks a lot more questions about the partners and their business. Then it gets different when you have to put in the balance sheet (do it even if not required) and the partnership percentages to get the K-1's to spit out. ATX is not real friendly in that area, but once you go through it, it is not bad. Take your time and ask questions here about where to find things in the software. From what you posted, this is a nice introduction to the 1065 and well within your ability. Tom Newark, CA

Agree with Margaret.

Another point, most likely not required on your 1065, but I ALWAYS do the balance sheet even if not required. Keeps things cleaner from year to year.

Well, partners don't receive salaries. See the operating agreement as to guaranteed payments, likely they don't have them. More likely these are just distributions from the capital accounts.

Chowdahead - thanks for a detail and very informative dialog of your TT experience. I guess the only thing I would question is that your attempt to be an average taxpayer is tainted. You are too much of a professional to think like the average taxpayer. I imagine the average taxpayer is looking at the refund amount and clicking a bullet and saying "that increased my refund so I will leave that one clicked". Or, "that decreased my refund, I think I will unclick that bullet". You are, in my opinion, giving the average taxpayer too much credit. Just sayin'.....

Rita is the absolute BEST at the snarky one-liners!

Everybody but that guy wanting to "discuss" was great. He's late on every sales tax return, late to pay me, then wants to know what exactly counts as a business expense. Uh, what you actually pay for a business purpose. For example, my fees, oh, here's another copy of the statement I gave you last week, this will count for 2015, thank you.