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I could use those in my office. Would make it easier for my clients to see their contributions and business mileage figures when I ask about them and the client looks up to the ceiling to read off the amounts.

Male client who just picked up said, "Love you, Sara." I've been called worse. Not a bad Wednesday so far.

Suck ups! You are just trying to get the gold star this week. Tom Modesto, CA

I'll take my pints anywhere I can get them.

What a terrible waste of prime office real estate. That's where my desk would be.

There are a lot of men that will stand up and with you too, many of them are right here. But I see here I don't have to worry about any of you, you can handle yourselves well and not take any ship from anyone. Joint locking techniques and killing with paper cuts? I would be careful if I was one of your clients. PS. Don't forget the deadly triangle if things get rough. A swift jab with the base of your hand under their nose will stop them in their tracks. I can't believe we're talking about killing our clients, hugs anyone? NON-VOTING POST

I and my cohort think of our clients as family. It is sad when we lose 1. As said previously our clients tend to rely on us for more than just tax prep. Anyway group hugs for EVERYBODY. Is it june yet?

I can kill with a paper cut.

I had a client expertly....I mean, accidentally...brush his hand across my breast after the unwelcome hug that I tried to cringe away from. Then again, maybe my breast accidentally brushed against his hand. In any event, I added $1700 to his accounting fee and my breast is fine with that as long as my foot accidentally finds his a$$ if anything like that ever happens again. Which it won’t because I insisted on mailing the documents to him and he is accidentally fired two minutes after the check clears. Quality of life, my friends.

Ah, there's nothing like a little victim blaming and shaming to round out the day. Yeah, this would work well, eh?

After all the time I've spent staring at this return, I think a couple of pints are in order.

Hah! Got it! Recalling that the 2441 fields were blue (can fill in) I just typed in child's information. If taken as dependent, that fills in automatically. How grateful that I can still learn something new!

Yes, I have an idea. It's because the decrease in FMV is used to determine the loss if that decrease is less than adjusted basis.

I agree with Abby that the proper reporting is as he described. Points aren't part of basis, so I'd say that they don't belong on the 4797. The amortization of points is an expense that is deducted ratably over time, again not part of basis. The law says that remaining unamortized points are to be deducted when the related loan terminates by events such as payoff, refi, foreclosure.

Today's email from a client let me know my fax line was out of order, I called the fax and indeed the line went to a recording, 'the number you have dialed is unavailable , etc.'. I called ATT support and they answered. Within 40 minutes the fax line was working again. So, I let the client know and she went to Home Depot to send the fax (hers at home is broken). Second email stated the same as her first - the line is out of order. I called the fax number and the fax attempted to connect. I again let her know the line is working and confirmed the number. whereupon she said they tried several times without success. No idea what is going on but my guess is it's a combination of issues . Now I am home waiting for the landscaper to go over her plan for my gardens that died in the January freezes.

I am not taking the bait and telling you that I know how obviously brilliant you are and how giving of your time you are for the betterment of all on this board and how wonderful it is to have you here and how much better all of us are because you exist (takes breath). As true as that statement is, I would never lower myself to sucking up to get a gold star. No sir....not me. I would not try to fool that brilliant mind of yours in any way or try to gain any type of favors from you because you are way too smart and would see right through the attempt because you are so smart and brilliant and wonderful. Besides, I don't have a great story this week, and I don't want to go up against a ninja paper cutter. Tom Modesto, CA

Just received the following phone call: Caller - "May I speak to Gina please" Me - "This is she" Caller - "This is Donna from Curves. I'm just calling to let you know if you come in before 5 p.m. tomorrow you can join Curves for only $5. Are you interested in setting up an appointment for tomorrow?" Me - (trying not to laugh out loud while munching on a bag of cheddar puffcorn and slurping an orange Fanta) "Uh, I am doing income taxes. It's only March 7th. I will not see the light of day until sometime after April 17th, so thanks but I think I will have to pass." Caller (now identified as Donna) - click......

Do you have an hourly fee? If not figure it based on what you charge for complex returns/hours you spend on complex returns. I'd probably not charge for any research I needed for my own general knowledge that can be used on other 1041s or other returns/questions in my practice. (Show everything on the bill, but then apply a discount.) But, I would charge for research specific to only that 1041. Also, know in your own mind what your minimum is, the amount below which you never want to see that client again. Hand the client the bill and act like you expect payment. If they balk, you can offer to increase the discount because they're a continuing client or organized or nice or have multiple family returns or it's Wednesday or whatever. If you have to go below your minimum, fire the client as soon as the check clears. If this is a one-time client anyway (estate, no other family as clients) I start with NO discounts at all. If you gave him a quote, don't be afraid to go above it if the work increased from what he originally outlined. Explain what changed to increase the time and work. (If you're not done yet, stop to call him to explain what's changed and what your new quote is.)

Only qualified expenses paid with after tax funds can be used for education credit / tuition and fees deduction purposes. That is correct. I figure out what qualified expenses they paid with after tax dollars (yes, there are strategies) and enter that number in the input sheet in Box 1 "payments received" if it's tuition, or at the bottom for fee and books. I am not doing what the worksheets want me to do, but I know what I'm trying to say on the tax return.

How much does a car cost? The answer depends on the description of the car - new car, used car, manufacturer make, model, year, options included, 2 door, 4 door, etc. How much was the value of the assets? That should impact on the fee charged. How much would you charge a client for that billable time under normal conditions? What issues had to get resolved in completing the return - multiple sets of similar information, or highly technical tax issues involving discretion or decision making on specific special conditions that would/could cause IRS or state audit disputes?

Scholarships can come in flavors, (a) restricted usually to pay tuition or unrestricted when means that you can use them to pay expenses like room & board, potentially leaving the tuition & fees to qualify for credits.

*taps foot* waiting for Tom to post in another "star topic". Maybe best to wait for another week for a better opportunity. On second thought, I may have to devise a special award for Tom for being instrumental in suggesting this presitgious award. Or was it Yardley?

Well, I'm not a programmer but I'll take a wild guess that it is flowing there because it is an item listed on the depreciation schedule, however that doesn't make it the correct reporting. All of the programs I've used over the years allow some flexibility by providing the preparer with check boxes to stop some items on the depreciation schedule from flowing to the wrong form, line, or section of a form, and will be labeled something like "do not include on 4797" or "not sec 1245 property", etc. If the loan was paid off in a transaction that was not part of the sale, we wouldn't even be having this discussion, and all should agree that the proper reporting would be to deduct the remaining unamortized balance on Sch E in the year of payoff. This is no different except that the loan's payoff affected the final net cash due to/from the seller because it was included in the sale's settlement transaction. As I said before, it's an item that the law specifically says is NOT basis, nor is it an improvement or an expense of sale, so I see no justification for reporting it on the 4797. And as John said, in some cases, it may make a difference on some returns.

I found I can replace my fluorescent tubes with the new led tubes. I originally had daylight bulbs and these seem to help. My question is do you like the varidesk? How much $

That's how it's supposed to work. If you're getting the deduction on Sch A, you're fine.

This will be my second trip. Non-stop from SF, economy (uh!). You must see the Tower of London. The Crown Jewels are amazing. St. Paul's Cathedral is awe inspiring. If you can get to Bath, the Roman history is something to behold (and geek out over if you are a history buff). If you are into music memorabilia, dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe should be on your list. I hope to see the British Museum this time. Our hotel was right across the street and we still did not have time to get there. I hope you have as memorable time as we did 27 years ago. Tom Modesto, CA

Hey girls - this summer I can teach you some easy joint locking techniques if you'd like. NON-VOTING POST

#notmetoosucka. NON-VOTING POST

Excellent response! We have to stand up for ourselves - no one else will if we don't. NON-VOTING POST

Great response! Indeed, as you opined elsewhere, priorities are important and putting up with boorish behavior is not a job requirement. NON-VOTING POST

I’m doing OK with all of this after the shock of my dad’s passing resolved, but I’m making decisions from now on based on the effect on quality of life. Period. Starting with firing any and all PITA clients.

Oh you poor woman; I can't grasp how horrible that time must have been for you. Yes, we need to watch priorities. If you come to the summer bash at Rita B's, you'll get lots of hugs!

Oh, my - so much loss. My heart goes out to you. Yes, rethinking priorities is also on my mind. BHoffman, be sure to take care of yourself.

Don't listen to her.

I say this a lot as well^^^^ Rich

I hired a part time reparer a couple of weeks ago. I had to leave earlier than her yesterday so I explained that the front door lock was just a button in the knob and she would be able to lock it and still leave and have it locked behind her. She thought I meant the door to my office not the main door to the whole office. She locked my door with the key safely tucked away in my desk. I have spent half the day trying to take the door off it's hinges so I could get back into my office.

Legal fees are deductible when paid to protect sources of income. We don't know all the details of this case, but depending on what the other family member originally demanded, it could well be that these fees (or some part of them) protected the income source.

Thanks for educating me everyone--I had not realized that 1099R income was considered unearned for kiddie tax purposes. Just wait until 2018 when the kiddie tax as we know it goes away and the child is taxed at the highest rate on unearned income above $12,500. Be sure to set up estimated payments.

Well, yeah - but you know that is NOT what they mean...

Easy answer, call ADP or Paychex

Beth, I'm not going to defend for a split second your hand-wandering client, but I'm getting weary of society trying to find the latest and greatest persecuted group to make news about. This stuff has been going on for centuries, and although that doesn't make it acceptable, it will continue long after society/press has moved on to yet another persecuted group. It has been my observation that 75% of female population has at some time experienced lewd behavior from men, and the other 25% wish they had. I wonder how most of them would feel if men in the workplace started ignoring them. Of classic irony are the sanctimonius "me-too" women on TV awards shows half-dressed in low-cut and high split clothing. Either suck it up or if a guy "accidentally" does something, resort to an "accidental" slap in the face. This has usually worked for years and years. From an old-school, politically incorrect guy who is out-of-step with the times. NON-VOITNG POST

Last summer my dog died, my aunt died, my childhood friend died, my mentor shot and killed herself. These things all happened within a 10 day period. Then, my dad died unexpectedly in his sleep in January. I'm completely rethinking life's priorities.