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We need Maxwell Smart's "Cone of Silence" for all our conversations! Who remembers "Get Smart"?

Agent 99 was a hottie. Tom Newark, CA

Many phone calls are carried over the internet. VOIP, Skype, Ooma, MagicJack, etc., so one has to assume every call is over VOIP since you never know what the other party is using, and you may not even know how your own provider connects. So no, I do not worry about someone looking for a few voice mail transcriptions out of the many, nor somehow monitoring the conversation - not any more than any phone call at all. I simply assume they are not private. Something I started doing with the first phones without cords, since those were easy to monitor, accidentally or on purpose.

99! The truth is, at least for me, the reverse. I use a 360deg camera when driving. I have cameras outside my house (good cameras make good neighbors, not fences). I have the ability to record my umpire gigs - yes umpires have been and do get sued, and worse yet, get assaulted. No matter the scenario, when it is clear there is a camera recording, it helps certain types behave better. Also have two cameras inside my house - but those are to check on the dogs when away .

Paranoia seems to be an appropriate response to internet technology these days.

The fact that the new owner will be actively working in this business is irrelevant to the S corp status. My own practice was an S corp for many years. As long as this new owner is an individual that will not cause an inadvertent termination of the S election (eg- being a non-resident alien, corp, partnership), adding that individual as a stockholder would not exceed the 100 shareholder limit, and the S corp's gross income from passive activities doesn't exceed 25% of the gross income, then the corporation will remain an S corp. S corps aren't PSCs.

Has gone to join Gilda Radner. RIP, Doctor Frankenstein et al.

They can use any number to show up on your caller ID. One time I received a call that showed that it was coming from my own phone. When I get a robo or telemarketing call I usually save it under the name of "Z" so that it appears at the end of my address book and when I get a call from Z, I just open the phone and close it. Even though a lot of those calls come from different numbers, the Z helps a whole lot.

Kodak (name licensed to JK Imaging) SP360. I mount it to windshield using their suction cup mount. Records to SD in 10 min (IIRC) loops. Has a setting to power on and off with the vehicle. Fun little gadget to use for many things. Stuck it on a letter when our daughter was marching in her HS band for a night parade. They twirl the letters... Underwater case is fun to use. Mount it on one of our dogs - to their harness - when we walk, for fun at first, but now for security. Plenty of loose dogs around, and we do have to pepper spray the loose ones from time to time. There are many cameras now marketed for driving. I have seen them at Costco. I like the 360cam since it shows more, including me. On the other hand, not showing me might be better if I mess up, but that is not my concern. If I mess up, I can accept that. I just want to be sure the truth comes out. Same with the cams around the house. I am really not the worrying type, but it is so easy to record things, and is a nice peace of mind.

I am curious about the 360deg camera when driving. Does it record? How is it mounted? I have often thought it might be helpful in the event of an accident to have a record to back up your statement, but I have not seen technology advertised for this purpose.

Whether it's an operating loss or the sec 179 deduction, they will be disallowed and carried forward until the owner has basis. If not taking the sec 179 deduction, does the S corp have ordinary income in excess of $3K? With a starting basis of -0-, that is the only way those excess distributions of $3K could be nontaxable because of the ordering rules. I don't like the idea of switching the distributions to being due from shareholder, although it's a common practice. What do the books and records of the company reflect the transacton to be? If its a distribution, report it as such. If the owner had the intention to repay it, is that documented with a promissory note or in minutes of a meeting, or anywhere? Finally, to answer the easiest of the questions you asked, if the stock of the S corp has been held more than one year, and if we are only talking about stock basis (no debt basis), then the excess distributions would be long-term.

Sec 179 has limitations at both the corporation and shareholder level. Have you done the calculations within the S corp return to calculate the 179 allowed at the corp level? If you look at that calculation, stockholder compensation is an add-back, that's why Abby said he'd need at least $39K in compensation to allow it. If not, the 179 won't show on the K-1, won't flow onto the 1040 at all.

Good point.

Medlin, while the Google voice seems a workable solution to the problem of unwanted calls, aren't you spooked by the possibility that your entire life is out there for advertisers and data miners? Google is pretty famous for sharing your info (not as bad a Facebook, but bad enough). If they turn your phone messages into words, they can mine those words and suddenly everything you ever said or anyone said to you is ripe for the picking. They may sell your info only to "reputable" parties, who then sell it to other reputable parties, and it eventually can wind up on the dark web for sale to organized criminals. In recent months IRS had to shut down taxpayer access to transcripts and PINs, including IRS-issued IP PINS. Even though these sites used "out of wallet" questions to verify taxpayer identities, thieves had enough info to answer the questions and get in. Where do you think they got that info? Social media and google searches to be sure, but maybe GV? We have been warned to never answer surveys of any kind because anything we voluntarily offer is owned by the survey taker and can be sold to anyone at all. Can the same be said for our internet phone calls and messages? I'm scared.

And the support techs will like it too, because we can both cuss and fume out loud at the other without hearing each other, then type something more polite and calm. It will be cathartic. https://support.atxinc.com/myatx/ChatWithOrientationTeam.aspx

I've gotten the fake IRS robo calls repeatedly too, got my first one on the cell phone earlier today. It's just so annoying.