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I kinna miss the fun tax season communications.....

Main reason that sellers pay closing costs rather than cutting the price has always seemed to me to be because the real estate agents convince them that it is a good idea. They like it because their commission is calculated on a higher number. Maybe that isn't it, but that was what always struck me.

Unless the $80K is a gift from a friend or relative selling the property to him at a below-market price, then it has no effect. I can't imagine why it's even on a closing statement other than to impress on the buyer what a great bargain he's getting. The cost is the cost and the $80K made-up figure is nothing to him (certainly not income-by that reasoning the seller could enter a million dollar sale price less a $780,000 credit and your friend would be in a fix). I'm assuming the buyer is interested in tax basis - here's the IRS Pub. 551 take on that (check out page 2). https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p551.pdf

I went overboard with a netgear for over $300 but got it with points, no cash. Really sped up the response for my Ring Doorbell and camera's. As others stated, especially with kids, you have your phones, kindles, Xboxes, printers, laptops, etc all on Wi-Fi at the same time.

Anyone with a cell phone and a free app can see any network broadcasting, whether or not they have the SSID or password. If someone is in range, given the right tools and time, they can get in. MAC spoofing is simple. Getting the SSID is simple. Passwords can be tougher, if complicated and long enough. For most of us, with a reasonable password, the expense and time to crack it far exceeds the return on whatever we have to get stolen. My biggest concern is making sure I can get reception in our hot tub . Personally, I buy my own modem, and a separate router. I do not like the rental or provided ones, since they often do not allow you to access all of the settings (to try to keep you from asking for help).

Knee Jerk Response - Home to first job or first business related stop commuting, same for last job or last business related stop to home. Exception to this would be qualified home office for more than admin related tasks, for example, he buys his own cleaning supplies and equipment and uses his garage to store them then carries them in his vehicle from job to job.

I agree with Tom and Rita there are cases where individuals might wait until they are sick to buy insurance, but I believe for most people it is a matter of economics. The problem I see with the surcharge is a one size fits all solution. Unlike the individual mandate, there are not exemptions for hardships like loss of employment. With the risk of sounding political while discussing potential financial impact on clients, I am surprised to see the surcharge as part of the AHCA proposal. As you might recall, the individual mandate was at the heart of the case before the supreme court to repeal the ACA in 2012. The argument was made that congress did not have the authority to impose the penalty. Chief Justice Roberts shot that argument down as he construed the "penalty" was in fact a "tax" imposed on those who do not have health insurance; and, since congress had the authority to impose a "tax", that made it OK. Now there is a proposed 30% penalty that is called a surcharge which will go into the pockets of insurance providers. So individuals who are struggling to get ahead enough to purchase insurance will have an additional 30% to pay for up to 12 months. However, it comes as no surprise that the health insurance industry is a strong supporter of the surcharge.

For some reason I always have a problem remembering all the annual changes. But I never have a problem remembering the ingredients with Avocado when I make Guaca"mole".

DITTO!! Nothing is as dependable or as fast as a GIGABIT wired network. Wireless is only for guests and only has access to the internet.

Our home network has to have a device's MAC address before it will even admit that it (the network) exists. And then you still need a password - although all the main machines are hard-wire. Wireless is for visiting daughters' phones, and my Kindle. But at the office, everything is hard-wire. Wireless is not even turned on.

I just can't do it. I am a paper and manila folder nerd. There's something comforting to me, knowing I can pull out the file and hold in my hand. With the wine per diem in the other hand.

We have a guest wireless network that is separate from our work network, but all our work is done over cables. I don't like the idea of broadcasting sensitive client data out into the parking lot, regardless of how much 'security' I think I have.

Just thinking about it and that's right - it does get processed eventually. At first I was thinking it's incompetence, but maybe instead it's just that they have a mountain of stuff to do and since their staff keeps getting reduced, it takes a long time to get around to each person in turn. I remember once looking at TIGTA's (IRS oversight outfit - Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration) website and got into a message board there. Actual IRS employees were taking suggestions from tax preparers and taxpayers. One back-and-forth was especially interesting; an agent was replying to somebody and said he thought their idea was a really good suggestion. He said he was going to put it into the system, but not to expect a quick result because it generally took two years for them to implement a change.

Going "overpowered" is always better than "just enough" because once you get it hooked up, you'll realize you have smartphones and tablets that don't use data if they're on wifi; gee I can watch YouTube on my TV if I hook that up.... etc.