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Well, Peter, if I may speak for everyone here, you insulted almost all of us in one way or another. First, you insulted EAs directly. Second, you insulted the ATX program that almost everyone here uses successfully and has done so for many years, and most here really enjoy the program and its features. Third, you insulted all of the CPAs saying we are all anal and thereby also insulting anyone else that isn't a CPA by implying that non-CPAs aren't sticklers for detail or that their professional designations were somehow easier to obtain. Then, you insulted me indirectly by not listening to my posts where I basically hand held you through the mechanics and some theory related to Delaware nonresident returns until I gave you some of my background. And now lastly, you've insulted all small firm owners as being "greedy" and making you "bend over backwards." After I gave you the first answers and a link to the instructions, you should have gone back and used that to learn about the form and where you were going wrong in your preparation, and not continued on in an argumentative tone about what should be included on the return. Also, I have to say that firm owners or supervisors in tax prep firms, whether they are CPA or EA firms, are not able to devote this level of hand holding to each individual member of staff, especially when things heat up and the season gets rolling. I know because I did the hiring for the firm I worked for, was the supervisor that had to keep work flowing and help the underlings, and did about 85% of the review of products before they were finalized. Our group here is comprised of mostly very knowledgeable and well-seasoned tax professionals that don't feel the need to put out all their credentials in their usernames or signatures, and we all give freely of our valuable time to help each other. I'd also venture to say that most of us are also the firm owners, a mix of solo preparers and those with employees.

Excuse me Peter, but I take that as a slight. As an EA, I dedicated the same two days of my life to an exam (8AM to 4:30PM), had the four parts scored on the same type of weird scale (1/3 or whatever pass), and have to take the same continuing education (24 hours required by the IRS, 30 by the professional associations; you might have to take more). The exam has changed some since I took it, but it's still a bear that requires months of study. Unlike a CPA, all four parts of my exam were devoted to tax. Only one of your was. Also unlike a CPA, I am licensed to practice in all 50 states; you can probably practice in one. I work at a CPA firm. One CPA gives us most of his tax work to do. The other does his own tax work but gives me his tough situations, the ones that require legal research or considerable knowledge that takes time and patience to learn and apply. The CPAs do audit work that I cannot, but that has to do with training and education, not software. By the same token, they give me their tax work that they cannot or choose not to handle because of my training and education. I'm glad I work for them and not you. How can you imply that a software program that doesn't seem to handle multistate issues is "okay" for anyone who does serious taxes? I guess you don't think EAs do serious taxes. You are an accountant who also does taxes. EAs are tax professionals who also do some accounting.

Jack is correct in his statement that ATX is a quality product in the right preparer's hands. Each of the programs the OP mentioned would be able to do this return in question, but each tax preparer must still know the rules and proper reporting of the items on the returns, and should never rely solely on any piece of software to produce a result without knowing when inclusion or exclusion of an item is proper. Relying on any software without knowing what's right or wrong is a crutch to be avoided and will only lead to errors on returns. Knowledge and experience are equally or more important than the amount of professional credentials or letters one can list after his name. Still, we all were newbies at one point and had to start from there. I don't care if it's EA, CPA, RTRP, or whatever...I've seen the good, the bad, the ugly, the unethical, and the incompetent preparers in each of those designations. Over the years I've also seen some bad professionals that must have been good at test-taking, but they surely couldn't apply what they learned. I've also seen CPAs with MSTs that were excellent and specialized only in the tax area, and other CPAs that worked in audit that couldn't even do the most basic of returns. I don't think we should make blanket statements about what CPAs can or cannot do, or EAs for that matter, because I've seen the work of some unethical EAs too, so I think we should look at what experience each person brings to the table and go from there. Thanks, off my soapbox now.

John, while all of that is true, Drake is far less intuitive and may not be the best choice for this new preparer. That brings up the issue again on placing too much reliance on the software as a crutch though, but it is up to him to choose what best suits his methods and needs.

ATX is a very high quality tax software program for an EXPERIENCED tax return preparer. The CPA designation does NOT indicate such experience. I am seeing statements and questions in your posts that indicate very light experience in preparing personal tax returns. As an E.A., my studies and testing were 500% more about tax and preparation than the CPA exam. Your statement is demeaning and condescending. I would have handled the situation you described in less than 5 minutes by knowing how the return is supposed to be prepared and when it is correct, and making sure the numbers flow and are entered appropriately. For the record, I live in Ohio (check the name) and do about 5 DE returns a year. Never have had any issues with multi-state.

Because we've hashed some of that out, the topic has now been derailed. Let's try to get this thread back on track by discussing the ATX handling of this return and its input. If anyone would like to start a separate topic on the merits of the various professional designations, that would be fine too, as long as it doesn't lead to personal attacks. Thanks.

I am a CPA that has used ATX for 16 years and feel that ATX prepares correct returns for my clients. I prepare returns for many different states and they all are handled differently. You have to read the instructions to make sure that the return is prepared correctly. The state rules often change every year, just like federal taxes. You are able to override many lines by right clicking on the entry and selecting override. I am careful when I do that, because many times, the program is smarter than I am. There are way more expensive programs that will streamline more items and Drake is reasonable with great customer service. By using this website or the ATX website, you can get help from many knowledgeable tax professionals. ATX monitors their website and will help as much as possible.

For Small Businesses: IRS Raises Tangible Property Expensing Threshold to $2,500; Simplifies Filing and Recordkeeping IR-2015-133, Nov. 24, 2015 WASHINGTON —The Internal Revenue Service today simplified the paperwork and recordkeeping requirements for small businesses by raising from $500 to $2,500 the safe harbor threshold for deducting certain capital items. The change affects businesses that do not maintain an applicable financial statement (audited financial statement). It applies to amounts spent to acquire, produce or improve tangible property that would normally qualify as a capital item. The new $2,500 threshold applies to any such item substantiated by an invoice. As a result, small businesses will be able to immediately deduct many expenditures that would otherwise need to be spread over a period of years through annual depreciation deductions. “We received many thoughtful comments from taxpayers, their representatives and the professional tax community, said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. “This important step simplifies taxes for small businesses, easing the recordkeeping and paperwork burden on small business owners and their tax preparers.“ Responding to a February comment request, the IRS received more than 150 letters from businesses and their representatives suggesting an increase in the threshold. Commenters noted that the existing $500 threshold was too low to effectively reduce administrative burden on small business. Moreover, the cost of many commonly expensed items such as tablet-style personal computers, smart phones, and machinery and equipment parts typically surpass the $500 threshold. As before, businesses can still claim otherwise deductible repair and maintenance costs, even if they exceed the $2,500 threshold. The new $2,500 threshold takes effect starting with tax year 2016. In addition, the IRS will provide audit protection to eligible businesses by not challenging use of the new $2,500 threshold in tax years prior to 2016. For taxpayers with an applicable financial statement, the de minimis or small-dollar threshold remains $5,000. Further details on this change can be found in Notice 2015-82, posted today on IRS.gov.

It's investment interest expense subject to the usual limitations.

I've never tried overriding a state when I need it to be MFS while the federal is Joint. I've always just made a copy of the client to do just the state. It would be a great enhancement if ATX could handle MFS for states on a joint return.

Peter, the Delaware 200-02, page 2, col 1 (the left-hand col) should report ALL income shown on the federal return for that individual if MFS, or all Federal income for both people if filing DE on a joint basis. Column 2 on page 2 is where the DE sourced income is shown. Delaware changed this years ago to include all of the income and all of the deduction and exemptions on a total basis based on the Federal income in col 1. From there the DE tax is calculated on the total of all income, no matter what state it is from. Only then is the proration calculated for the DE sourced income reported in col 2 as a % compared to the total, and that % is then applied to the tax. In that way, the income has the potential to be taxed at a higher rate because of the graduated brackets that DE uses. I can't answer why Pro-System handled it differently, but you should look at the instructions for 200-02 to see that the correct handling is as I've described above. I am a Delaware CPA.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone here. I'm very thankful to know each and every one of you and to be a part of this wonderful group.

I also do this in a separate email.

Margaret, all you have to do for the letter to the client is indicated the PW is TR2014XXXX where XXXX is the last four digits of your SSN. Generally, they would be the only one to know the last four digits of their SSN.

Same here Jack. I'll probably wait until mid-Dec.

COPIED FROM IRS.GOV Where to File Your Taxes" (for Form 2553) If the corporation's principal business, office, or agency is located in Use the following IRS Center address or fax number Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service Cincinnati, OH 45999 fax # 855-270-4081 (NEW) Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service Ogden, UT 84201 fax # 801-620-7116 Page Last Reviewed or Updated: 10-Nov-2015

Call the IRS and ask for help, or...... How to Update the Information There is no form available to update the information, and the IRS asks entities updating their information NOT to submit a second EIN application. Instead, the IRS asks that the entity send a letter, on company letterhead, if available, providing the name and Taxpayer Identification Number of the current principal officer, general partner, grantor, owner, or trustor. Be sure to include the entity’s complete name, EIN, and mailing address so we can correctly identify your IRS account. Depending upon the entity’s principal business address, the entity should send the letter to the following IRS campus: If the entity’s principal business, office or agency is located in: Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia or Wisconsin Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, or any place outside of the United States Send Letter to: Internal Revenue Service Stop 343G Cincinnati, OH 45999 Internal Revenue Service M/S 6273 Ogden, UT 84201 Confirmation The IRS will send a letter confirming our receipt of the updated information. If the entity has not received the confirmation letter within 60 days, it should mail a copy of the original letter, annotated “Second Request”, to the campus that services the entity’s state. https://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Correcting-Business-Information-Where-a-Nominee-Was-Used