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A new update on Hobbes-I was afraid to say anything. but Andrew took him to another vet Tuesday before he making a final decision and we are glad that he did. The vet said that he would try to save him by getting the fluid out of his lungs and trying some different heart medication. He improved some by yesterday and today he is eating a lot and they took him off of all oxygen. He won't live to a ripe, old age and maybe even just a few years, but it's something. He will need pills twice a day, so he will have to decide how to make sure that Hobbes is taken care of while he is flying. I just hope for him to have a happy life, since the first year that he lived on the streets was terrible. A lot of family and friends were praying and maybe it helped some. I am relieved and just hope for no more emergencies for awhile. Thanks, Bonnie

There are times that we all wonder why we as taxpayers need to obtain some type of credentials. In the articles below, I didn't see any specific designations for the prepares who were caught by the IRS, in the past I have seen CPA's and others guilty of some type of wrong doing. Some of these cases just amaze me. Do folks who are preparing returns actually think they could squeak these things by the IRS? To me, some of the expenses and other items come glaring right off of the article. Now for the client, do they really trust these people and do they know their return is being fraudulently prepared and what the consequences are? Personally. I couldn't begin to do these things. I worry about honest mistakes and question the death out of a suspicious client. How do these folks sleep at night. https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/tax-season-begins-jan-29

Wow, I am always surprised that I am surprised. What an article. And, oh my goodness, at the DIY stuff we all see. Not to hijack your thread, Terry, but recently I was asked to amend a self-prepared return done by a taxpayer that bills by the 1/10th of an hour. (And that's all I'll say about that.) She wanted a dependent removed. When I looked at the enormous return, she had a $38,000 loss on line 17 for five passive rentals, four of which had zero gross income. She omitted AMT. She had a sale of commercial property, and a 50,000 loss on a retail business. I don't have a clue if anything on Sch C, 4797, Sch D is correct, but I know that the rental loss and missed AMT jumped off the page at me. She owes IRS at least $46,000. I told her I'd have to amend everything or nothing. She was going to think about it, and surprise, she decided she could do it herself. I doubt she does anything, but if she amends that thing to only take off the dependent, will IRS catch any of this? Surely they will. But I don't know.

I am so glad that your son got a second opinion! Sometimes it makes all of the difference.

Great news to start the day Bonnie. There's usually nothing we won't do for our pets. As a veteran of keeping many rescue dogs alive with a good quality of life, I know the feeling when you find the right doctor and medications, pure elation. Yes, it gets very expensive, but the reward can be immense. All the best to Hobbes and you and your family, you've done a great job helping Hobbes, what would he do without you? Bill

Crying. Team work makes the dream work.

Bonnie, I'm sorry Hobbes is battling this at such a young age and am relieved for you that he got that second opinion! With a good vet, meds, and attention to details, I hope that your son and Hobbes will have lots of quality time for a long time yet. I've been battling this with my pack for years now and am finally now down to the 4th and final dog of my pack going through CHF. Getting the pet stabilized and out of oxygen is a big part of the battle, and then finding the proper dosage of meds to maintain that is critical. It will be especially important for your son to watch for signs that some fluid may be building and get it to see the vet when the dosages need adjusting.

From your details, it appears that he is a qualifying relative and the parents are entitled to the dependency exemption and also the AOC. Pub 970 states : Who Can Claim the Credit? Generally, you can claim the American opportunity credit if all three of the following requirements are met. You pay qualified education expenses of higher education. You pay the education expenses for an eligible student. The eligible student is either yourself, your spouse, or a dependent for whom you claim an exemption on your tax return. Note. Qualified education expenses paid by a dependent for whom you claim an exemption, or by a third party for that dependent, are considered paid by you. It does not distinguish qualifying child vs. qualifying relative. If the parents' income is too high for them to receive the credit (over $180,000) then you could consider having the student file and claim the refundable portion, He can only do this if the parents do not claim him and he does not claim himself.

Chili is not Chili without the beans. I haven't tried bacon but it sounds delicious.

I remember a wedding in the 60's with a potluck reception and chili. We were all starving college students. The student who brought the chili said "chuck." It was woodchuck.

Beef chuck if I don't mind simmering for a long time, otherwise grass feed ground beef.

Here's to Hobbes, that he has comfort being with those he loves and with those who love him. As for a joke or two (or a half), nothing like a little pressure, but here goes. This could happen to us someday. Technically not a joke, more of a public service message. In the village of Riverwalk, an over 55 community people often eat at the clubhouse. One morning Jerry, an older gentleman didn't show up for breakfast. Some of his neighbors went to check on him and knocked on his door. They could hear him thru the door and he yelled he was running late and would be there shortly. So everyone went back to the clubhouse. An hour later Jerry was still not there. They went back to the house and found Jerry at the front door with a death grip on the railing. He was having trouble walking. They wanted to call an ambulance but Jerry said he felt fine, just help me to the clubhouse. Once there he had breakfast but could not get up from the table. His friends called an ambulance and brought Jerry to the hospital. An hour later the friends called the hospital and asked how Jerry was. The nurse said, he's doing fine, but that he just had both his legs in one leg of his boxer shorts. Moral of the story, if you get old, be careful and pay attention. The Biggest Lie I tell myself is....I don't need to write that down, I'll remember it. Gone are the days when girls used to cook like their mothers. Now they drink like their fathers. I decided to stop calling the bathroom the "John" and renamed it the "Jim". I feel so much better saying I went to the Jim this morning. I didn't make it to the Gym this morning. That makes five years in a row. Last year I joined a support group for procrastinators. We haven't meet yet. Why do I have to press 1 for English if they just transfer me to someone I can't understand anyway? Am I ready for the Catskills yet?

Business returns (1120, 1120S, 1065, 1041, 990) can be Efiled starting Monday Jan 8.

I thought that he could only do this if the parents CAN NOT claim him, regardless of whether they do. And if he has no income and fully relies on their support, they can claim him. Just out of curiosity, in 2018 when there are no dependency exemptions, will the situation be different?

Accepting returns as of 1/29 but no processing for another couple of weeks. Sure; we'll go with that (like we have a choice). That's actually the date I expected (though on an online poll I picked a slightly earlier one for some bizarre reason).

I got all my client W-2's printed out today but have not answered the phone or really any client emails today. The snow has been blowing sideways all day (I took a video on my camera and need to figure how to put that on facebook), there are drifts, and the winds are really howling! Still have power, hooray. The local emergency mgmt folks did reverse-911 calls last night telling folks to set their house thermostats to 72F (I guess to keep them warm a bit longer if power does go out). It feels decadently warm in much of the house - but not the office, on the north side above the garage. I made a white pizza for dinner and as soon as it cools off enough to cut, we'll see how well it turned out!

Thanks for clarifying, Terry. I also itemize now, even as HOH, but I'll lose my last dependent in 2018 (she's graduating with a Doctorate in Physical Therapy thank God on many fronts), so the 20% deduction will be a lifesaver when I move to Single brackets. So glad it's a deduction for income tax purposes only. I don't mind paying SE tax (well I do who am I kidding), but I look at that one as a pension investment. LOL.

Dan is gone, there is now only OLTPRO. Found this out after I paid to renew and never received a link. I am disputing the charge with my CC. OLT would not match the price so it cost me $100 more. This will likely be my last year doing taxes and I never had enough returns to justify more expensive returns.

This BB goes bonkers when I try to start a new topic, so maybe one of you can cut/paste this into a new subject line... Issue Number: IR-2018-1 Inside This Issue 2018 Tax Filing Season Begins Jan. 29, Tax Returns Due April 17; Help Available for Taxpayers WASHINGTON ― The Internal Revenue Service announced today that the nation’s tax season will begin Monday, Jan. 29, 2018 and reminded taxpayers claiming certain tax credits that refunds won’t be available before late February. The IRS will begin accepting tax returns on Jan. 29, with nearly 155 million individual tax returns expected to be filed in 2018. The nation’s tax deadline will be April 17 this year – so taxpayers will have two additional days to file beyond April 15. Many software companies and tax professionals will be accepting tax returns before Jan. 29 and then will submit the returns when IRS systems open. Although the IRS will begin accepting both electronic and paper tax returns Jan. 29, paper returns will begin processing later in mid-February as system updates continue. The IRS strongly encourages people to file their tax returns electronically for faster refunds. The IRS set the Jan. 29 opening date to ensure the security and readiness of key tax processing systems in advance of the opening and to assess the potential impact of tax legislation on 2017 tax returns. The IRS reminds taxpayers that, by law, the IRS cannot issue refunds claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) before mid-February. While the IRS will process those returns when received, it cannot issue related refunds before mid-February. The IRS expects the earliest EITC/ACTC related refunds to be available in taxpayer bank accounts or on debit cards starting on Feb. 27, 2018, if they chose direct deposit and there are no other issues with the tax return. The IRS also reminds taxpayers that they should keep copies of their prior-year tax returns for at least three years. Taxpayers who are using a tax software product for the first time will need their adjusted gross income from their 2016 tax return to file electronically. Taxpayers who are using the same tax software they used last year will not need to enter prior-year information to electronically sign their 2017 tax return. Using an electronic filing PIN is no longer an option. Taxpayers can visit IRS.gov/GetReady for more tips on preparing to file their 2017 tax return. April 17 Filing Deadline The filing deadline to submit 2017 tax returns is Tuesday, April 17, 2018, rather than the traditional April 15 date. In 2018, April 15 falls on a Sunday, and this would usually move the filing deadline to the following Monday – April 16. However, Emancipation Day – a legal holiday in the District of Columbia – will be observed on that Monday, which pushes the nation’s filing deadline to Tuesday, April 17, 2017. Under the tax law, legal holidays in the District of Columbia affect the filing deadline across the nation. The IRS also has been working with the tax industry and state revenue departments as part of the Security Summit initiative to continue strengthening processing systems to protect taxpayers from identity theft and refund fraud. The IRS and Summit partners continued to improve these safeguards to further protect taxpayers filing in 2018. Refunds in 2018 Choosing e-file and direct deposit for refunds remains the fastest and safest way to file an accurate income tax return and receive a refund. The IRS expects more than four out of five tax returns will be prepared electronically using tax software. The IRS still anticipates issuing more than nine out of 10 refunds in less than 21 days, but there are some important factors to keep in mind for taxpayers. By law, the IRS cannot issue refunds on tax returns claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit before mid-February. This applies to the entire refund — even the portion not associated with the EITC and ACTC. The IRS expects the earliest EITC/ACTC related refunds to be available in taxpayer bank accounts or on debit cards starting on Feb. 27, 2018, if those taxpayers chose direct deposit and there are no other issues with the tax return. This additional period is due to several factors, including banking and financial systems needing time to process deposits. After refunds leave the IRS, it takes additional time for them to be processed and for financial institutions to accept and deposit the refunds to bank accounts and products. The IRS reminds taxpayers many financial institutions do not process payments on weekends or holidays, which can affect when refunds reach taxpayers. For EITC and ACTC filers, the three-day holiday weekend involving Presidents’ Day may affect their refund timing. The Where's My Refund? ‎tool on IRS.gov and the IRS2Go phone app will be updated with projected deposit dates for early EITC and ACTC refund filers in late February. Taxpayers will not see a refund date on Where's My Refund? ‎or through their software packages until then. The IRS, tax preparers and tax software will not have additional information on refund dates, so Where’s My Refund? remains the best way to check the status of a refund. IRS Offers Help for Taxpayers The IRS reminds taxpayers they have a variety of options to get help filing and preparing their tax return on IRS.gov, the official IRS website. Taxpayers can find answers to their tax questions and resolve tax issues online. The Let Us Help You page helps answer most tax questions, and the IRS Services Guide links to these and other IRS services. Taxpayers can go to IRS.gov/account to securely access information about their federal tax account. They can view the amount they owe, pay online or set up an online payment agreement; access their tax records online; review the past 18 months of payment history; and view key tax return information for the current year as filed. Visit IRS.gov/secureaccess to review the required identity authentication process. In addition, 70 percent of the nation’s taxpayers are eligible for IRS Free File. Commercial partners of the IRS offer free brand-name software to about 100 million individuals and families with incomes of $66,000 or less. The online fillable forms provide electronic versions of IRS paper forms to all taxpayers regardless of income that can be prepared and filed by people comfortable with completing their own returns. Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) offer free tax help to people who qualify. Go to IRS.gov and enter “free tax prep” in the search box to learn more and find a nearby VITA or TCE site, or download the IRS2Go smartphone app to find a free tax prep provider. If eligible, taxpayers can also locate help from a community volunteer. Go to IRS.gov and click on the Filing tab for more information. The IRS also reminds taxpayers that a trusted tax professional can provide helpful information and advice. Tips for choosing a return preparer and details about national tax professional groups are available on IRS.gov. If you know someone who might want to subscribe to this mailing list, please forward this message to them so they can subscribe. This message was distributed automatically from the mailing list IRS Newswire. Please Do Not Reply To This Message.

The state with the highest sales tax allowance, $3745, for incomes over $300K, is .............. TN. Mississippi's is $3613.

Seriously. If I left $13 in interest off my return, they'd put my in the cross bar motel.

There's no need for the husband to gift the shares to his wife before it ultimately is gifted to the son. Even if the shares are solely in his name, he can gift shares directly to his son and elect to gift splitting the gift with his wife. It's as if husband gifted shares to the wife first without having to actually go through that step. If the total value of the gift is less than $30K, meaning with gift splitting that each gives an amount that is equal or less than the annual exclusion of $15K for 2018, then only one gift tax return is required with the split being reported all on the one return. If the combined total value of the split gifts exceeds the combined total of their annual exclusions, again the $30K, then each will file a gift tax return that reports the gift splitting, and it will also report how much of their share of the unified credit will be used to offset the excess of each of their gifts that exceeds the annual exclusion. Per the from 709 instructions, both returns should be mailed in the same envelope so that they are processed at the same time.

Greed, on the parts of the preparers and taxpayers, is a powerful motivator. Sadly, our society has devolved and continues to do so into a strong consumerist and 'me' centric environment. It's sad to see the growth of me vs. us. There are times when I question clients about non-charitable deductions. When they have to put the value on that bag of clothes, I ask them to consider whether the intent of the contribution was charity or simply a tax deduction. Would the donation have been made without the tax benefit? It will be interesting to see how contributions compare with the new tax law.

This kind of stuff amazes me. I don't know how people think that they can or should get by with this stuff. I would never be able to sleep if I had knowingly done anything like that.

A proper spoon is a must.

iirc, HSAs can be used after retirement for the primary health insurance premiums including medicare and the medicare drug coverage, and long-term care policy premiums, but cannot be used for medigap supplemental policies. If the premiums aren't paid directly from the hsa, the owner can request reimbursement from the account for these. If paying for these or being reimbursed from the hsa, then obviously they aren't eligible for inclusion as Sch A deductions. HSA can also pay COBRA premiums.

I will bring my appetite and a spoon!

The problem you present is that the house was sold FIVE YEARS after the TP died. For basis you will use FMV at date of death. All you can add to basis that I can think of are the realtor fees, title transfer, state tax stamps--those items at the bottom of page 2 of the HUD. Also the cost of any improvements made to make the place saleable. If the house was sold reasonably soon after death, the estate could make a case that the maintenance fees, taxes, utilities, etc. were part of the process of liquidating the asset so the value could be distributed to heirs. RE taxes would be deductible in the year paid, and the rest as 2% misc deductions. Attorney fees could be added to basis. The fact that it took so long suggests that the house was being used by someone--a beneficiary?--or no one took responsibility and let it languish. In this case attorney fees can be deducted as administrative expenses, and the RE taxes for the year of sale can be taken (be sure to subtract what the buyer repaid shown on the HUD), but I don't see a way to deduct prior years taxes or the maintenance because it clearly wasn't being maintained all those years to attract a buyer. Note that your fee for preparing the 1041 can be deducted (not subject to 2%) even if not paid yet--the code actually allows it. No 1041 was required for prior years because there was no income. When you file the 1041, you will have to include an explanation as to why the estate was open for more than 2 years. Hope this helps.

Are we going to have a beans vs. meat debate?! And, what kind of meat?

A qualifying child must be younger than age 19 at the end of the year or younger than 24 and a full-time student. Since your son has already turned 24, he is no longer considered a qualifying child. ... As a qualifying relative, your child can be older than 24 and still be claimed as your dependent.Feb 5, 2013 Thanks to both of you. Andrew will not be younger than 24 on 12/31/18. He will remain a full time student. I'll check to see if he can get dependency as a qualifying relative. If so we still have the question if the AOC applies to a qualifying relative.

I put carrots in my chili to soften the heat. Bacon Jalapeno? Yes! Why didn't I ever think of that?

It's soup and warm bread for us tonight. Saturday is a really, really big bonfire at church, burning Christmas trees with our volunteer firefighters in control, and the proceeds going to Weston Warm-up Fund to help our neighbors with heat this frigid winter. Chili and all the fixins inside. I'll watch the bonfire from inside, I think!

We need to have a chili cookoff. I will bring my Bacon Jalapeno chili with red kidney beans. I will bring some cornbread too. And I don't want to hear from any of you Texans that chili should not have beans in it. Tom Modesto, CA

Microsoft issued an emergency patch for all supported versions of Windows, including Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10, but added that users should also apply firmware updates when they become available from device manufacturers. Google patched the flaw in Android with the January 2018 update, issued Tuesday (Jan. 2), although only Google-managed devices have the patch for now. Patches for macOS, iOS and Linux may not yet be fully available. https://www.tomsguide.com/us/intel-cpu-kernel-pc-mac,news-26320.html

We got lucky enough to be in the area with lower accumulations, but it's still drifting. As long as the power stays on, we're fine. If not, we'll fire up the generator. I do feel sorry for those suffering the more extremes of this storm and especially the southerners that aren't equipped. I'm fighting the bone-chilling colder temps and the wind (only at 45 mph here) with a big batch of homemade chili. Who's coming for dinner?

Lots of wind. My commute is just down the hall. No stairs. Although, all my clients know I must be snowed in so are calling me! I haven't changed my phone from the away message I left while visiting my granddaughter, so only pick up the calls I want.

Snowing (and wind) to beat the band here. Benefit of a home office is the 2 flight commute. I heard Jacksonville had snow, hope it didn't impact the early bird specials.

I stayed in today. We have about 7 - 8 inches but its blowing sa hard that we have drifts of 3 - 4 feet. Power is on so I'm happy.

FYI, you can only suppress the Client copy print packet. That's the one I use for K1s so I can email them to recipients. I asked ATX to allow to suppress SSNs on any print packet but they said that we were too stupid to have that feature.

3 ft drift outside my door. Stayed home and doing some CPE. No sense digging out with the wind still blowing the snow around. It's still snowing too. Here's a cam of the worst hit area about an hour east of me: http://www.chart.state.md.us/video/video.php?feed=c1000a2d004700e700498436cf235d0a

January 29th.

Our area has been in a deep freeze for a while now, it was so cold they canceled the polar plunge.

Staying safely inside. Haven't lost power yet, but we installed a generator after multiple hurricanes and don't have to worry about that now. Total white out. Doctor called yesterday to reschedule today's appointment. Have an education committee meeting for NY/CT-ATP on Friday, but someone offered to pick me up.

All I can say right now is that I am VERY glad I don't have to program these changes - OR design the forms and schedules. For the rest, I can wait.

And when e-file opens, I think I've had to first get a rejection for prior year returns and then recreate the e-file to get the year to change. I don't know if this is still the necessary process or not. Or if it was never the necessary process but I just didn't know what was happening.

Nature is phenomenal! I am jealous that i did not get to see this. I did once stand at the end of a real rainbow. No there was not any gold. But it is a sensation i will never ever forget. Happy New Year!

Drake has changed the length of time to 180 days before you need to change the software password.

Actually, the House of Representatives held a "Tax Simplification " news conference several weeks ago, where they waved around the proverbial postcard tax return. However I did notice it was an extra large sized postcard.

This is an IRS mandate for all tax software starting with tax year 2016 software. The same goes for requiring a password as well as changing it every 90 days. All IRS mandates.

FYI Roberts, no I am not pitching software. If you read my post I was diplomatically trying not to say anything too extreme about TRX. For the record, I was lured by TRX after Orrtax succumbed, but thankfully I left them before the season even got started. I sensed that something was off kilter, and good thing I got away from them when I did. The point of my post was that I trying to see if anyone had any experience with Community Income Tax (CIT) AND whether CIT was associated with TRX, in which case I would not even waste my time considering them. Frankly I am not a fan of Taxwise (which CIT is offering) . Yes it is simple use software, but nothing can be taken for granted. Information may not automatically populate or calculate, as you might take for granted with other software. I used Taxwise two years after Orrtax for individuals, and ATX PPR for business returns. Yes Roberts, well put regarding Drake. Drake is not forms driven. Personally, I prefer a forms driven brand of tax software. I have a friend who uses Drake and I assume he is well pleased with it. I have heard many wonderful things about the company. Yet Drake feels very foreign to me. To each his/her own. I am comfortable with ATX (but liked them much more when they were owned by the originators, based in Maine I believe?). I like that they have nearly every form you can imagine. I began using ATX when they also went by the name Sabre. I nearly left after the 2012 debacle. Presently such tactics as hampering access to support for current or prior year purchased software by blocking use of the normal support phone line if you have not ordered the next year's software by November; the nuisance and nonsensical requirement to log in to the software if you are idle 20 or more minutes; problems even opening the program, these are matters that I don't like about ATX. These issues and the fact that price keeps going up gave me cause to give consideration to an alternative.