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How silly. When I get a cold drink I always ask for either zero or very little ice. No server, ever, anywhere, has objected to that (although sometimes in busy restaurants they forget). It's just too easy to scoop up too much ice. Open your mouth and say what you want; done. Here's a good place to "go public" with my Italian Grandmother Tribunal idea for tort reform. Before you can bring a lawsuit, you have to go before a tribunal of Italian grandmothers to present your case. If their response is, "What are you, stupid?!" with a good slap upside the head, your "case" is dismissed - permanently. If they add "And if everyone jumps of the bridge you gonna jump too?" then YOU pay damages. Only if they agree do you get to sue. End of frivolous lawsuit problem. (Side note: my nonna had a heavy hand; you did NOT want that slap and would take big steps to avoid one! Bless her; she was a good woman.)

I think anyone who puts a freshly-made hot coffee between her legs and drives off, cover off, to add sugar and milk while driving *definitely* needs hospitalization. But not for the only-to-be-expected burns.

i love this quote from the article: The lesson, of course, is that in order to get a tax break for work clothing, the clothing must be so specific, awful, or embarrassing that no well-adjusted person would dare to wear it outside of employment. I would like to quote that in my newsletter this fall.

This is how they should do it..............

First: Finish their return. Second: Get the POA. It can't hurt Third: Tell your mother and Step-Father: ITS NOT YOUR FAULT, or their fault. Its the IRS's fault. The fraudster has already filed a return (1040A) for your step-father. The Letter 12C is just saying that that the fraudster claimed the PTC in order to increase the refund. Not your fault. The IRS's fault. Only your mother and step-father can speak to the IRS, and an office visit may be required to clear it up. You can go with your mother, but the IRS is really weird in these situations. Sorry about all this. But its a PITA. Rich

I tried Drake's forms entry early on. But I found the entire forms entry concept to be inefficient and flawed on several levels. Drake's power is its speed, and you can simply work faster by efficiently using the data entry screens. Even in ATX, the forms entry feature only applies at the most basic level. For anything remotely complex, you wind up leaving the forms and working in a worksheet or data entry screen. May as well make that your default the way Drake does it - understand the data entry screens and trust them to feed into the form correctly. (Of course, it's very easy to click on "View" to take a peek at the form if you need reassurance, then return to data entry. It's nothing more than a toggle there and back). You can even write a macro to do that for you if you wish.

Check with your state law. Depending on how held, and if not a community property state, Jane's percentage could pass to her children while husband still owns his percentage. Cultivate a friendly, local lawyer.

This story reminds me of the lady who didn't know McDonalds coffee was hot.

But she is NOT not self employed though, and that reimbursement policy is worth a $100/ day per employee penalty to her employer, which is probably why she just got cash. I wouldn't sign a return with your creative solution.

This could be useful - framed in the waiting area. "This week, the Tax Court reminded us that even though your boss may have an expectation that you dress a certain way while at the office or while working the assembly line at the cracker factory, that doesn’t necessarily mean you can claim a tax deduction for your work “uniform.” http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonynitti/2016/04/29/tax-court-cost-of-ralph-lauren-salesmans-polo-wardrobe-was-not-tax-deductible/#4d3915b96eb2

as someone with many pizzeria clients, the restaurant would rather give more soda than ice since it cost more to either buy or make the ice than the soda costs.

Hot coffee almost always is. Yes, common sense isn't very. [There are also strong indications that obesity (and its health issues such as diabetes) is strongly related to government recommendations/requirements to increase carbs and decrease fats (especially saturated fats). See Karl Denninger of market-ticker.org's many blog posts on the topic.] But by babying people too much you prevent them from learning whatever they are capable of learning. We used to learn about sharp knives by cutting ourselves as kids. Now as kids we don't learn (too dangerous! don't touch!) and then as adults sue the knife manufacturers. Same thing with hot foods/beverages. Starbucks and Peet's and the like use extremely hot water for coffee prep. Use that same water for tea and it's dangerous. One sip, once, from over-hot Peet's tea and I learned to approach with caution. If you order HOT coffee - anywhere - you should treat it as being hot. Perhaps McD's should have been more open about how hot -- but my opinion remains that if YOU order something hot, it's up to YOU to expect it to BE hot and to treat it as such. But then, I was raised by my Italian grandmother and had plenty of run-in's with the "what, are you stupid!" until I learned not to be.

Common sense isn't common. Seriously, we have government advertising, warning labels and calorie information all over the place documenting a proper diet and what not to eat repeatedly. To eat a candy bar you literally have to tear through the warning labels. With all this information over 1/3rd of Americans are morbidly OBESE. We all pay the price in higher taxes and insurance premiums because they can't figure out when to stop eating. Common sense is something people without it think they have. The reason McDonalds lost that lawsuit (and had settled hundreds previously) was because their own people and their own documents showed they recognized they were serving a dangerous product and failed to provide a warning even though they recognized a warning was probably a good idea. Oh and, not all coffee is served hot.

If it goes this far (as in, they won't speak to you with a POA by phone), get a letter from your dad's doctor, too, stating his inability to speak and go in himself.

With all of the above caveats noted, there is often a way to do it. However, it usually involves very specific wording and other requirements. You must, must, MUST get a lawyer who is expert in the field to be certain it is done correctly.

In thinking back to when I started with Drake, I spent considerable time watching their training videos during the first few weeks. They are short and to the point, but they help you to get familiar with basic operations and also familiarize you with the terminology Drake uses for different parts of their software. They also provide info on shortcuts and the various routes you can follow to accomplish some tasks, depending upon what works best for you. And they make it crystal clear how simple the program is (contrary to all the hysteria we hear about how difficult it is to switch from forms entry). The switch is fairly seamless, once you lay aside the misconceptions.

Learn to use macros. Do it as soon as possible. Maybe modify a few of the macros that come with the program just to see how they work and how easy they are to write. Then write a few simple ones yourself. Once you get the hang of it, you'll reach a level of transparency fairly quickly, being able to see the end result and formulating a rough idea of how to get there before you start. Macros will help streamline your repetitive work. I suspect you might be able to write macros that streamline some depreciation entry work and save yourself considerable time doing that task.

It would qualify as a uniform for me, because I think it's foolish to pay extra money just to have someone's emblem on my clothing. I don't waste my money on this sort of vanity. But I guess that would automatically rule me out as a sales rep for the company in the first place.

If the daughter is not claimed on her parents return, you will need to list the parents 1095-A on her return and allocate the agreed upon amount to her.

That is definitely a question of law in your state. The persons involved need to consult an attorney experienced in probate issues for your State.

NECPA - get the POA and have it ready to fax to the IRS. I dealt with this issue last year, and although it took us several months to resolve, the IRS will talk with you and help you through the process. You will need patience and maybe have to dial up the ID theft phone number several times to just get through - but they will (despite Jack's quote) talk with you once you fax them the POA. You will most likely have to paper file the return and attach a Form 14039 with that return.

Pricing is for months of purchase as follows: April & May- $1095; June & July- $1195; Aug & Sept- $1295; Oct & Nov $1395; Dec 1 and after- $1495 .