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Okay I'll give this story a shot. I have been preparing taxes for an elderly couple that lives approximately 35 minutes away. The old guy I am told is terminal (been hearing this since 2008 and he is still here). Usually I make the trip to their home to pickup their documents, return to my office and make a return trip to obtain the signatures and deliver their copies to them. The elderly lady is just plain crazy and a hoarder. Every year she looses or can't find the documents and it has gotten worse as time goes on. Fast forward to this year. The old guy is now hospitalized and the crazy lady is now by herself. First call goes like this her: When can you come pick the documents up and which ones do you need? Me: I can come on Tuesday. Her: okay but you will tell me which documents I need cause you do this all the time so you know what I need. Me: Well I'll see what you have when I get there. I get there pick up what she has. Keep in mind there is only a very narrow path to move anywhere in this place. A week goes by, she calls. Her: When are you coming here to finish the return? Me: Remember I normally take drop offs in the order I get them so I am almost to yours. Her: Well this is important so you be sure to come and I want you to do the return here. After enough conversation, I grab the laptop, printer and off I go. I prepare the return from what she has. I ask about documents from the previous year that she did not give me. Her response: Can you go online and get them? I explain the need to setup accounts for access and I have no idea where to begin to look for stock transactions that may or may not exist (1099 Barter exchanges). Now she says, she gave me everything. So, I print the finished return, gather the signatures (she has POA to sign for her husband) leaver her with her copy. Two days go by and she calls and says: I found the papers you need when can you come get them? Me: Please mail them to me. Her: I'm sick and cannot leave the house so you have to come pick them up. Please call before you come to be sure I am here. With stupid looks on my face that she can't see, I'm thinking if you can't leave the house to mail the *&%^)))) document why should I call to be sure you're there? Okay, I'm a push over at times so I give in and now make the third trip to pick up whatever it is she has. I hate to say it but the additional information will cost her on her return but now I'm kinda enjoying that. Two days go by she calls: Are you coming today? I'm not sure but I thought you said you were coming here today. If you are and I'm sick you know but call to make sure I'm here before you come. What ??? Really??? Are you kidding me???? BTW- her return was never transmitted. I added the new information and am waiting for the next round. Some how I need to get the new 8879 signed and escape for the rest of the year. I think I will tell her that I am out of business when she calls next year.

I recently met with my broker, and he had me sign a form that I had not seen before. Basically, what this form does is designate someone that the broker can contact if he thinks that I am losing it and need help managing my affairs. Perhaps tax preparers need a form similar to this that we can have our clients tell us who to call when we think they have lost their minds. I don't know who will hold a form telling our clients who to call when they think we have lost our minds - or if they could tell since most of them have never met me when I wasn't on the crazy end of the spectrum.

Me, too!

Crying. You can't make this stuff up. If they only knew the things in the thought bubbles over our heads.

And I had it on my list but I had not gotten to it yet. Will now!

I donated right after you posted, just didn't announce it!

Yes, but it's far easier to try to dun people for money - since many will panic and pay. I have NO sympathy for these states (especially my own); there is waste enough to choke a horse, but they just want more.

My insurance is through AICPA, brought to me by Aon, underwritten by CNA (whatever all that means). It's the AICPA CPA Value Plan. I really only do taxes now with minimal bookkeeping for certain tax clients and no other assurance work. As my gross income is pathetically low, my fees are too. Hey, as long as the profit pays for my dive trips

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......

the husband is active duty military. He is a FL resident. He remains a FL resident unless/until he changes his state residency or he separates from the military. The spouse could possibly come under the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act of 2009(MSRRA ). If she were also a resident of FL and she lived with him under military orders. However, we don't know if she is (was) a FL resident, but from the post, I think that we do know that she was not living in the same place as the active duty husband, so the MSRRA does not apply to her and she is just like any other civilian: She is a resident of the state where she lives and works. My understanding is that she worked in PA all year, so PA would tax her earnings whether she lived there or not. It is PA source income. Those of you who know PA and NJ well will know the process for those that live in NJ but work in PA.

This whole discussion that took place earlier should bring you up to speed -

CT is getting desperate! This week we had four clients bring in letters from DRS saying the agency got info from IRS (citing an official sounding code section that refers to nothing more than the IRS's permission to share tax info with states) that the client lived CT in 2013 (3 three clients) and 2014-15 (1 client) and never filed a CT return. The letter gave them the "generous" offer of paying up before the Ides of March and not paying interest. In all cases the clients had moved and filed full-year resident returns in their new states. I just made copies of those returns and told the clients to send them to CT, but after reading the above I'm not sure that will be good enough. One of the clients had one tax doc out of many addressed to a parent's house in CT, but the others had all of their docs addressed to their new state. I really think the DRS is grasping at straws at this point and will end up having spent a big sum on man hours to determine who gets letters and then producing and mailing them with the result that 99% of the recipients can prove residence in another state. Going back FIVE years is ridiculous. We had an audit once when the state wanted year-end credit card statements to see where they were using their card. These states should clean up their fiscal messes and stop picking on people in a last-ditch effort to squeeze out some more revenue.

Thank you, Catherine and all. NY may try to hold on to them. But, if they do sell their house, I'm going to suggest they use the mail drop idea and change as many documents as possible. They just want to be rid of the house before the roof and furnace break down!

Short answer is NO.

If solvent, line 21 with a note. If insolvent, form 982.

I think so. The only condition is that the dependent doesn't file a joint return and even if filing jointly with 0 liability to claim a refund, STILL qualifies as a dependent.

You are correct. Thank you.

Oh, and as far as PA, I'm sure as a PA preparer that you know PA doesn't require joint filing but allows it as a matter of convenience to the married filers. Did husband actually establish PA residency on 12/1, because you said he was stationed in CA all year. I think it is possible for him to settle on the purchase of the home but not yet establish PA residency. It may be that the husband has no filing requirement in PA for 2017, and the wife should file MFS in PA as a PY for the one month of Dec.

The first question I have is whether you've established where the husband's state of domicile was for the first 11 months of 2017. Did I miss that piece of information, or is that still up for debate? If it is not NJ, then this client may be better off filing separate NJ returns because he wouldn't have any NJ-sourced income. NJ generally requires the return to use the same filing status as the federal, but it will allow separate returns in the case where one is a resident and the other full year nonresident. With the way NJ includes all income for the entire year on a joint return to calculate the tax and then prorate for the portion of income from NJ, it is a way that the state taxes gets more of the income into the higher brackets.

Ah, I see now why you asked, and thanks for clarifying. Sorry, my software doesn't have a screen with any notation like that, in fact no preprinted line at all. As Ron said, I'd just type it in on a blank line.

Probably not best timing BUT CPAAcademy is offering a webinar on "Changing Your Residency": https://www.cpaacademy.org/webinars/a0D1A00000xyPcZUAU CHANGING YOUR RESIDENCY Register Available Date(s) Monday, March 19, 2018, 4:00 PM EDT Tuesday, April 10, 2018, 4:00 PM EDT Choose Your Time Zone: Please select Alaska Arizona Central Time (US & Canada) Eastern Time (US & Canada) Hawaii Indiana (East) Mountain Time (US & Canada) Pacific Time (US & Canada) CostFree CPE Credits1.5 hours Subject AreaTaxes Course LevelBasic Instructional MethodGroup Internet Based PrerequisitesNone Advanced PreparationNone Who should attend?CFO / Controller CPA - small firm CPA - medium firm CPA - large firm Other Course Description

Abby, yer doin' it all wrong! It's been too many years for me to remember how ATX handled the state tax deduction where none, some, or all may be partially allocated as directly related, depending on if the state includes or excludes the foreign income. Blah, blah, blah, and so forth. I don't see how this could ever be automatic because it doesn't relate to the Sch A deduction. Are you not doing calculations for this? Or is it really automatic in ATX? I got sick of looking at this particular return because after the FTC, I then had the analysis and annualization for the state's version of the 2210 and underpayment penalty where the "quarter's" dates do not conform to the federal quarters and dates for reporting on the 2210 annualization. That return was thrown back in the stack for final review when I can look at it fresh again.

I say that about the entire tax code!

I just write in "Form 1099-C Cancellation of Debt" and the amount

AMEN!!! As the Queen of Snarky Comments, I would be in BIG trouble if kidding was not allowed.

As a man, I have had women touch my arm, rub my chest, touch or pull my hair, hug me from behind with no warning and even smack my butt. I understand as a man I (usually) am in a position of power (physically, emotionally, etc.) so my reaction to these things is way different than a woman's would be. And, none of these things rose to a sexual level, in my mind.

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

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.

The W-2 indicates FL. Thus, the service member has changed his state of residence to FL. He no longer has a filing requirement for PA. Active duty military can maintain residency in home state unless they take the steps to change it. MANY military become residents of FL and TX while stationed in those states so that they do not pay state tax. Of course, there are other states with no state tax (WA, NV, NH) and those that don't tax active duty when they are not stationed in the state. PA does not tax the military pay but it would tax all other income. FL has no tax, so no state tax at all. If spouse is also a FL resident, then both would not be taxed by any state that they are stationed.

Can not speak for tax-ability of CA but for PA: From section E, 1 of PENNSYLVANIA PERSONAL INCOME TAX GUIDE http://www.revenue.pa.gov/FormsandPublications/PAPersonalIncomeTaxGuide/Documents/pitguide_chapter_07.pdf Full-time federal active duty military pay and federal active duty for training pay, including housing allowances, earned or received by a Pennsylvania resident member of the U.S. Armed Forces while serving outside the state is not taxable for Pennsylvania personal income tax purposes. However, a taxpayer must include such compensation when determining eligibility for tax forgiveness on PA-40 Schedule SP. While on federal active duty or federal active duty for training, any other income that the Pennsylvania resident earns, receives, or realizes remains taxable for Pennsylvania personal income tax purposes. The taxpayer has the burden of establishing that income received for military service outside the commonwealth was earned while on federal active duty. The Department of Revenue requires a copy of the military orders directing the taxpayer to federal active duty outside the commonwealth. Residents must file a Pennsylvania personal income tax return and include their W–2 form(s) and copies of their military orders as evidence of active duty military pay earned outside Pennsylvania.

So true!! I've lost two already this week because I would not use the Affordability exemption (since SRP did not support it). I also kinda understand their point....these particular clients were not actually offered a plan through the marketplace that was anywhere near what SRP uses in calculating affordability.

Offtopic - client received a 1099-C for a credit card writing off $4,500 in balance due. Client tells me initially they hadn't made a payment on it in years but he was getting ready to pay it ALL off. With the code given I told him it is highly unlikely they will ever ask for the money again and it's on his credit report as lost. Now all of a sudden he's obsessed that the credit card company has screwed up his credit rating. His not making payments for years isn't applicable?

AND... They will want documentation of all the entries on the worksheet. Every time I have told a client to be sure to have documentation for all debts and assets, they decided just to pay the tax...

Every time I have used insolvency, the IRS has written back asking for a copy of the insolvency worksheet in the publication. So you might want to keep that handy.

I agree, if you can prove insolvency then you client is insolvent and option 2 would apply.

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

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.