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then I guess those "teachers" are assuming that the 1099's are prepared correctly. Remember, they are being prepared by those same people here that disagree on how the income should be reported, so why assume that the 1099's are correct. I do 100 of buildings and I can't tell you how many times I get 1099's with the rent reported in box 3 or 7. Even errors on 1099's prepared by big institutions like Hospitals and even some local municipalities.

If this was an UGMA account, all the money Mom put in for the first 18 years belongs to the son. It was a gift to him over the years and is his money. She was only custodian--if she withdrew any she would have to account for it and use it for him (and not for the basic necessities that parents are supposed to provide for their minor children). There have been many lawsuits where adult children sue their parents or grandparents when they learn they once had a custodial account and the older generation took some or all of the funds. When Mom changed it into a joint account, the son actually made a gift to her! Of course it wasn't a completed gift because she didn't withdraw anything, as Max noted. I don't see any issues with him removing her from the account--it was never her money to begin with. If she put money in after it became a joint account, then that is her money. She should withdraw it and gift it to him. Why do people go through all the shenanigans so they can go on Title 19 and let the other taxpayers take care of them? I truly believe that we as a society should take care of our impoverished elderly. But too many are becoming impoverished by choice. Yea lady, I'll be happy to pay for your care with my hard-earned tax dollars while your son is sitting back counting his $150k.

That mirrors my experience. Box 3, Box 7, Box 6... I have seen ALL of those used for one client for whom the work is all the same and definitely SE work. I have seen honoraria of less than $150 reported in Box 7 when it was clearly NOT SE work (and under the $600 threshold). All manner of nonsense on these forms where many are clearly prepared by people who have no idea what they are doing; they've just been told "send these out." So while what @mcb39 and @Jack from Ohio state may well be the official IRS position, it does not absolve us from firing up the old neurons and seeing if the information presented to us is good - or garbage. GIGO, after all.

IRS Releases Plan for Fraud Victims to See What Thieves Stole Washington, D.C. (November 10, 2015) By Keri Geiger and Margaret Collins Bloomberg (Bloomberg) The Internal Revenue Service has introduced a formal policy to assist identity-theft victims in getting copies of bogus tax returns filed in their name. The measure comes after a surge in taxpayer identity theft during the 2015 filing season left many victims frantic to learn how much of their personal data thieves had obtained. Many were then frustrated by the agency’s refusal to provide answers. The logjam was reported by Bloomberg News in April and drew the attention of Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, who put pressure on the agency to act. The IRS, which posted instructions for fraud victims on its website for the first time this month, said it would acknowledge requests for copies of returns within 30 days and respond within 90 days. Due to strict IRS privacy laws, some of the information will be redacted to prevent fraud. “We have decided to change our policy regarding disclosure of fraudulent identity-theft returns to victims,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen wrote in a May 28 letter to Ayotte. At that time, the IRS said it would develop a way for people to access the fraudulent returns. The IRS said in June that identity thieves had stolen information on about 100,000 U.S. taxpayers from the agency’s website and used the data to file some 13,000 fake 2014 tax returns and get about $39 million in refunds. The agency had said part of the problem in getting the fake returns to victims was a conflict in existing policies. While the IRS legal department allowed sharing such information in certain cases, employees were following a section of the tax code that said they could face criminal penalties for improper dissemination of personal data. Many of the identity thefts resulted from thieves getting past security filters on the agency’s website, according to the IRS. That allowed them to gain access to past tax returns, which contained the information they needed to file fake returns. In August, the IRS said it identified an additional 220,000 taxpayers whose information may have been compromised. The new policy, detailed on the IRS website, lets taxpayers request a copy of a fraudulent return by mailing a letter to the IRS and including information such as their Social Security number and proof of identity like a copy of a driver’s license or passport.

Welcome back, Dot.

I have had zero success, but I don't try very hard to get people to correct forms. I tried years ago, a few times, to get Fidelity to stop putting the code for early distribution on my late sixties age client. I gave up on that and just used Form 5329, exception to penalty on Line 2, and did the tax return correctly. That's my policy - just do the tax return correctly, and try to satisfy IRS matching as I go. Say for example, somebody puts a figure in 1099-Misc, Box 7 that they shouldn't have, I enter a figure as income on Sch C, then back it off with an explanation on p. 2. Then enter the figure wherever it should go. If my clients want to chase the issuer of an incorrect form, they can. I don't have time.

How successful has anyone here been at getting companies to correct 1099 forms? If they don't know how to do it to begin with, how do you get them to correct them. We have about 2% success with getting them changed.

This mom and dad have plenty of money. Mom was just curious because a mutual friend has a 98 year old mother and was denied Medicaid because they transferred assets when that mom was 94. For the record, I agree with people trying to get the govt to support their elderly parents. I have explained to the mutual friend that it's her mother's money....NOT her money....but she doesn't want to hear this. The people I was asking about really just do things to make life easy....as far as transfers and access. They'd rather keep things "as is". Son is the opposite of greedy. Thanks for the opinions.....

I switched in 2012 also and I don't think I paid for the fast path last year, it was included in my package. And at my discounted rate, pro is still a better value. At there full rate of over 5k I might return to ATX after my discount runs out.

Just returned from a 3 day tax seminars. Teachers addressed this issue and flatly stated that if it is in box 3, it goes on line 21; if it is in box 7, it goes on C or F.

I don't think that happens. But if you've had those states the prior year, they will appear in the new year when you roll over the return.

Welcome back. I left after the 2012 fiasco and returned last year. How many returns are we talking about for you? I do north of 500 and conversion was not available for me. So it was roll over each return to 2013, open the return, and save the return. And then roll over to 2014. Then I could start working on the 2014 return. Very time consuming process. Conversion has its own set of issues. Rolling over you will need to be very conscious of any changes to client information in the intervening years.

According to Rev ruling 69-148, money in the joint account is not a completed gift, Until it is withdrawn. Now, the question is, would yearly withdrawals over $14K require a Gift Tax return? Another issue will arise when a 1099R is issued after the funds are withdrawn. The son will have to prove that the basis was a gift and that means coming up with records going back 30 years. What are the odds on this? I had a case where there were non-taxable IRA contributions going back 12 years made without filing 8606. We tried to get the statements from the broker, but they only went back 10 years. http://www.andrewmitchel.com/charts/rr_69_148.pdf

What's with all this flap on tents?