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Can I interrupt this thread to say that education credits are the biggest time suck of my entire practice? They NEVER remember the Bursar's Statement. I have copies of a sample statement in my top drawer and pull one out as soon as I see the 1098-T. It's as if I pulled a unicorn out of my, ahem, left ear. The second biggest time suck is: "This is my W-2 (it's a 1099-R), this is my husband's W-2 (it's a 1099-R), this is my pension, this is my husband's annuity, this is this, and this is that, and here is my bank interest, I don't know it's enough to count (yeah, if you bring it to me it's going on the return), BBFB. (Blah, blah, freakin blah.)

I had one guy say, "Oh wow, what a coincidence. The lady I've been emailing at Jr's school is named Bursar."

I too have clients who have very nice incomes and little in the way of interest or divs. When I call them and say they can put $28k into their SEP, owe IRS and state $10k, and need to make first-quarter estimates of $5k, they say "okay." Where is that money coming from? Most are not in cash businesses and are smart enough not to keep their cash under the mattress.

Idiot clients? Client makes a solid salary and is a single earner in the household - last few years he'd made about $150k. They always received a $7k refund which they used on vacation. Nothing changed from what I can tell in their lives except he took a new position in the company and this year earned $345k. Nice. Except now they owe about $4k with the return. The wife informed me she didn't have a clue how they were ever going to be able to afford to pay that and is wondering about a monthly payment plan. How is that possible?

Jack's dream job.

One couple, each with a separate office in the same house, whose businesses started at different times. One person with a single home office, who moves during the year and the office sq ft percentages are different. I'm sure there are other instances as well.

It needed to be a separate 'form' because one home office might split to multiple 8829s. Glad to help!

Sometimes the obvious hides on us. I've never been a fan of that extra home office worksheet. Liked the old input directly to the 8829. Anyway - thank you!!

My guess is high-end phone plans, top-of-the-line cable TV service. Dinners at nice restaurants, buying lunch every day at work. Vacations that involve hotels and airfare. Eats up the money fast.

My dad had a hand-crank one. The thing weighed a ton!

Maybe they can do a payday loan.

Home office expense form, Expense input tab lines 30a & 30b.

Another way is to right click on the client's name from the personal client manager and then click on search EF database. I find this a bit quicker to do.

It's called Various now. Although, on K1 inputs it was still called other.

cbslee, if your question is a more general one about the acks and error codes - In addition to Catherine's instruction, another way to find the information again for any return is to use the EF menu and choose "Search EF database". From there you can find the acks, the ack code, and any error codes by searching for the return by name or EIN. Clicking on the error code or message usually brings up more information or takes the user to the spot requiring the correction, iirc. Also contained at the right in that EF search box is a button to click that will take you to Drake's online database that is part of the support site. Clicking that will bring up the log in screen, and from there you would have access. Still not sure exactly what else you need, there is a KB that may be helpful to you. It's # 10783, if this link doesn't take you to it.

Not sure about the rules or a fiscal year partnership with calendar year partners, but overall doing a partnership return until the LLC partnership was created seems like your only option.

Because I wasn't sure exactly what cbslee was asking about, I didn't cover that, Catherine. My PM wasn't about further researching of errors and codes for e-file transmissions. It was specifically about the state of OR returns and whether OR was accepting returns yet, as one poster on the Drake forum had asked. Merry, the main tech rep that answers on that forum, wrote that OR is accepting returns but the state legislature has not yet decided on whether it will conform to the federal Bipartisan Budget act passed on 2/9 or if it will choose to disconnect from the extender provisions. According to her post, the OR legislature is supposed to meet mid-March to make a decision on its handling of the extenders, and she said that OR e-files will include a note of instruction. That note of instruction that Drake is including in OR e-files may be what cbslee was asking about, but I wasn't sure about that. Posts subsequent to that stated that OR is sending messages that if returns are filed with discharge of qual. princ residence indebtedness, mortgage insurance premium deduction, or tuition and fees deduction, that OR will disallow those and correct the returns to current law, and those returns may require amendment later in the year depending on OR's decision on the extenders. See why I didn't post all of that? Plus, I didn't want to quote others from another tax forum on here that is unrelated to ATX, so I send cbslee a pdf printed version of those postings since he is a Drake user that would have access to its forum.

Without a baseball bat!

Probably not according to the rules of this thread, but I'm nominating Southwest Airlines as Tax Star of the Week. This company has a top-notch reputation and I see one reason for that in their attitude toward their customers. A client included their Southwest check stub in their tax info, and I see that every time a Southwest employee cashes their paycheck, it states in bold letters across the top, "DEPOSITS MADE POSSIBLE BY YOUR SOUTHWEST CUSTOMERS". Nice perspective - more companies should adopt it.

I've been to their house - I don't see the wife as a big spender. It's a nice house and they drive nice cars but they've had them all a few years. It's certainly not clothing or jewelry from what I've seen. I have another couple about 30 years of age and no kids. She makes $100k and he makes $130k. They live in a $150k home (with a full mortgage) and have no assets outside of their retirement plan (they do contribute about $30k there). WTF is the money? I have friends who make exceptionally similar money at 50 years of age - NO dividends or interest and a full mortgage (they just built a new / slightly larger house but nothing massive).

JKL, You took the words right out of my mouth..."She's one that won't be invited back next year." Life is too short for such nonsense, and you can count on the fact that she's a tad bit smarter than she lets on. Not too big of a tad, but a tad anyway! With all of the changes that have come and gone and will come again next year, if you don't give it your all, you don't come back! You may even be told to go somewhere else before next year! Take care, Cathy

Robert, Robert, I think your answer to "How is that possible?" is in the prior sentence (same paragraph). It's the wife...the husband is a single wage earner for the family and the wife is a stay at home shopaholic and may have found a nice little place to gamble too. I have seen couples like this and God forbid, something tragic happens with the wife. After, the widower trucks on and always has plenty enough to pay me without asking me to hold his check. I can say this outloud because I'm a female too! Not one who would live way beyond my means....but nevertheless I have seen it happen too many times over the years.

But I bet there double spender! I see these kinds too often and I always ask, 'no interest or dividends', with my most incredulous look.

Twilight Zone reruns are fun to watch. You constantly see many actors in their younger years as they were starting out before they went on to become famous.

The internal workings are amazing to watch! https://i.imgur.com/mfIT62X.mp4 My uncle had a hand crank one. It was like playing a slot machine!

I have one clear winner who wears the sickliest sweet perfume like some really awful cheap bubble gum. I try to avoid the hug at all costs. We can still smell her perfume 4 hours after she's left. You wouldn't need a hound dog to track her down!

Exactly. And if it happens again next year, and the issuer is a business, I might hand her a 3949-A. Just kidding. Maybe.

But I used to love multiplying on an adding machine by holding the plus bar down long enough to "add" for each place, putting an extra zero on the end as needed. Miss that sound. Calculators aren't nearly as much fun.

Technically it's a calculator. I'm old enough to have used an adding machine. Damn thing nearly threw my back out carrying it to clients. I think it was the CPA firm's version of hazing.

It's just a prop these days. I occasionally use it when facing a client and I'm afraid I'll screw up the math in my head.

But it would not hurt for her to just politely tell him that he should not report alimony on a 1099, and that if he is concerned that former spouse will have records showing a different amount, he is welcome to send her a letter stating what his records show. Then he will still do whatever he wants, and so will she. That is, if they are being polite to one another and can speak without an arbitrator.

Well, he may just not know. I mean, we do have the question here from a tax pro. He may have been given bad advice from his attorney or barber. For all we know, he paid an accountant to prepare the form. Of course, you are most likely correct, but this can be handled with a Sch C or a letter in response to a CP2000. Either would be more efficient and cost effective than going back to court. And she can smile sweetly and wave at him knowing he looks like a fool and she doesn't.

The payer is being an A _ _ H _ LE!! The payer should be dragged back to court.

Limited to profit, and if they end the business without using it up it gets lost.

Impresses the clients?

I'm referring to the picture that Abby Normal posted...nice ivy plant...but there's an adding machine on your desk?

Pic of ivy after I 're-tangled' it. https://photos.app.goo.gl/9I7Mlr1dXgSVfeCE3