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What I say in the privacy of my own office is only subject to my own soap! Not outside sanctions!

Oh, &^%% to the no, that's the only way I can find it when I need it. One more year, $%^&*#.

Damn, Sara is on a roll....cussing on this site is now an event that can be sanctioned! I need Judy to go back and change the title on my post about the iterative method of determining the SE HI deduction before I lose my license. Tom Modesto, CA

One Manhattan (no fruit) with a splash of Cointreau before you start.

Did you know that under Circular 230 Sect 10.51(a)(12), a practitioner can be sanctioned for "Contemptuous conduct in connection with practice before the Internal Revenue Service, including the use of abusive language...." So all you EAs and CPAs out there, watch your mouth!

The IRS liaison has told us that if you zero out line 21, the side notations don't go with the efile. Always leave $1 on the line so the statements are sent. I have had my card compromised twice and never received a 1099C, nor has anyone I know. The card issuers routinely remove charges that don't belong to the cardholder. Are you absolutely sure that the C relates to the false charges, or did this client really have forgiven debt?

I would add back depreciation before making that calculation. Positive cash flow would cut it. Also, knowing the property would increase in value, supports an ultimate profit motive.

Well, at least it's working now. I tested it by posting the lyrics to Thick as a Brick and it didn't crash.

Even if it is an unrelated party and the rental shows a loss for 3 out of 5 consecutive years, it could be classified as a not-for-profit rental. From Pub 527 Presumption of profit. If your rental income is more than your rental expenses for at least 3 years out of a period of 5 consecutive years, you are presumed to be renting your property to make a profit.

All of our computers are connected to the internet by necessity. Sites that are hacked are websites that store data for access. Our computers are not websites. If you look at your router logs you will find programs have been probing your ports trying to connect, but failing. Most times it's from a college IP address and it may just be harmless probing. Such is the world we live in, but I'm not going to use an outdated, inefficient paper process in my office.

If a client mails or hands me their documents, it's stay in my office overnight or even weeks until the return is completed, once completed, I then scan the return copy I am going to issue my client and any document that supports the tax return and save it as one file.

Lifetime Learning Pacun. I was on the phone with a guy from a Liberty tax office. My days of multitasking are about done sorry to say.

Top floor of 4 level townhouse, locked file cabinets in locked file room, full house alarm system with broken glass sound and motion detectors, and attack Yorkie. If thief can get files in 1 minute before cops are on their way I don't know what else I could do.

We CAN trust the military W2 for HOR. If the military HOR is FL, no state tax return is done. If the same military taxpayer gets an extra job (which is not the usual military gig) in a state he/she happens to be living in, that particular income is subject to THAT state's taxes. As far as the military spouse relief act goes, in order for the military spouse to claim the same HOR as the military taxpayer, they must have BOTH been residents of the HOR state when they began their married life together. If they were not BOTH residents of say FL, (or the same state as HOR) then the spouse must file MFS tax returns in every state the spouse works in for as long as they are on this journey.

Please research the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act for additional information about taxation of military spouses. The posted link may be useful to determine the service member's state for tax purposes. I believe the Home of Record (HOR) is the determining factor for state taxation. If the service member enlisted in Florida, they will be subject to Florida taxation (no state tax), no matter where they are stationed, unless he or she changed their HOR to a different state. https://www.military.com/paycheck-chronicles/2015/02/27/residence-vs-home-record

SARCASM ALERT!! I have not even logged on that board since the shut down fiasco. They have nothing I need.

I find this discussion fascinating. We use filing cabinets, have no cleaning crew, and an alarm on the office. We log off computers that aren't in use at the time. But I still think a determined thief will find a way.

And what makes you so sure that those are secure, unless they are stored off-line, if banks and credit agencies and even the gov't and IRS can't secure their info? Practically all identity theft nowadays is by electronic means and it is done by the tens of millions. It is probably safer to just have an alarm for the office/home and just keep paper records. Locks on most filing cabinets can be breached in seconds. Then the thief has to either copy or cart off the records. One office I know of is vulnerable as there are cleaning people that come in in the evening. The filing cabinets are unlocked, so someone could theoretically copy several dozen names and SSN's every night.

No cherry! Oh, man. That's my favorite part!

Have you considered just scanning and placing them in a folder per client on your computer?

Digitally. We don't want to spend time pulling/filing files or looking for misplace documents.

We don’t, after going paperless all paper return are digitallly stored, just like the tax software files.

I should note, I've seen all different types of systems the last few months. Guy upstairs uses a gun safe (would take <10 minutes with a crowbar but looks safe). Guy next door has a lockable filing cabinet from Wal-Mart (would take <10 minutes). Attorney I deal with has a full safe he stores them all in (weights 3000 lbs).

Had a situation like this a few years ago. Same scenario as the OP. I agree with easytax. Domicile is the important thing to determine. Again HOR and domicile are two different things. Look into CA domicile requirements as well.

Disagree. HOR can be different from domicie and does not define state taxation. Regulations and facts of "domicle" define state taxaction.

Trickier than you might initially think. OP said joint checking - so technically, all funds that go in there belong to both. But it may also be that only one really funds the account, so you could also rightfully say it's the funder's money regardless of whose name(s) are listed. The long and short of it, though, is if they both own, both liable for costs, then they can jointly decide who claims what. As long as they agree, and no fraud of any kind is involved, that's copacetic.

IRS has only released updated software to handle mortgage insurance, tuition and fees adjustment, and cancellation of debt on primary home. The other extenders have not been updated yet. Keep that return in the "waiting" pile.

Set your computer on fire.

Supplemental security income (SSI) is not taxable. It's assistance. Supplemental security disability income (SSDI) IS reportable income. Recipient will receive a 1099. It is entered on the same line and uses the same formula as regular SSA retirement benefits to determine the taxable portion.

How did the trust pay for it? Gift to the daughter for educational purposes? I would like to know how that transaction went down. Tom Modesto, CA

You can do both electronically.

Seems longer.

I kind of suspected from the beginning that you had unchecked the wrong box.

I just discovered that I unchecked "Show popup tooltips..." NOT "Display Tax Research..." I happened to be on the phone with tech support about RITA 37 and a malfunction still and asked about the blue triangles. She directed me to the right place. Happy camper here

I am so impressed, it's only taken 6 months !

Most of the time the client drops and runs and we scan later. But we only work from scans and just keep the records secure until client picks up returns. Some clients who are far away just email us everything so we don't even have to scan. We code them in ATX with an 'N' so we no there's no physical file to deal with.

So when the client delivers their documents for this years taxes, you immediately scan all of them and immediately return them to the client and never keep them in your office over night?

Oh man. Just got a part-year MA return who moved to MD. Any sage advice before I dive in? At least I get to use Sch R(?) this time so it might make more sense.

We have a locked, deadbolted, windowless storage room, but it's mostly to keep current year records secure. We have carts that we roll away every night so everything is as secure as can be. We're in the process of shredding all historical paper records.

Yes, I did. And I can't go back and redo because it is grayed out. I could only 'reinstate' what I thought I deleted to redelete. But that didn't work either. I've been using this program since 1997 so am sort of familiar with how things work although don't know everything - and there is always some new thing. Like now on Sch. A for Tax preparation fee, you can't just put in the number. There is a whole new link to billing. Yes, I can put in the number at the top but it is one more click I don't need. Rant over....

Pacun, there is no 1098, no mortgage. I was asking about the real estate taxes paid directly to the auditor from a joint checking account. I split it.

Who paid the mortgage? That's who gets the deduction.

Check what the domicile of the individual actually is. A W-2 stating FL does not mean anything. Facts and circumstances along with intent. There are specific things needing to be done to change domicile. It is not done easily. Just ask someone trying to prove they moved from NY to anywhere else. NY wants all they can get and other states although not quite as stringent are moving that way.

If they are not married, and they do not double dip, who cares who claims what deduction? She will probably not pass the standard deduction anyway???

Sometimes Excessive is ordinary and necessary.

Darn. More questions for the interview/organizer. Did you steal something in 2017? What was its Fair Market Value? Did you return it in 2017? What if its value went down/up before it was returned?