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First nomination of the week is for @Lynn EA USTCP in Louisiana for this post that made my head swim and made me thankful that I don't deal with anything remotely this convoluted and confusing. Lynn may not post as often as some others of us, but when she does chime in her answers are always spot on!

i am going to start using California as my go to foreign country.

It's Bart for the win with 11 positive votes!

This stuff ends when Men start calling out the other Men. Rich

Illmas the support will be the client's copy of the check they received and their paperwork showing they rolled the money into an IRA within the 60 day window. Also, the respective 5498's.

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

ATX just pushed out an update to this form - I'll have to check it to see if it cured my ills. Maybe this post could qualify me for the Tax Star of the week, don't ya'll think ??? !!!

Yeah and turning the clocks up an hour didn't help either.

Get the check copy and BOTH brokerage statements NOW, while the clients still knows where they are. Scan or copy, and put them in the file. I had one of these a couple of years ago, and sure enough we got a letter. I already had the letter written - put in the then-current date, printed the letter, check copy and both statements showing within the 60-day window, and it was done.

Chris, if your client already had an existing IRA, it's not as simple as "I put money in one year and decided to take it back out." You have to consider the whole IRA. The prior 8606 shows the after-tax basis. When you take money out you can't say "I want to take this particular contribution out." You have to allocate it to before- and after-tax amounts. I'd put that 8606 back in.

Box 1 is the amount of the distribution and Box 2 is the taxable part of that distribution. If your client doesn't meet one of the exceptions and is under the age of 59 1/2 then he is subject to the 10% penalty and 20% Federal tax at the time the distribution was taken. Code 1 is premature distributions with no known exceptions and code 8 is excess contributions plus earnings/excess deferrals taxable in 2017. You are correct the tax and penalties are assessed on the amounts in box 2. What software are you using? That would be helpful to know to further assist you. Use form 8606 for the traditional and Roth IRA contributions.

JKLCPA ! Thank you for the nomination, CATHERINE for the second. My head is still spinning over these issues. I like your term, CATHERINE, legis-vermin. Oddly enough, the legislative attorney contacted the LA EA Society for our input on two bills being introduced next week to regulate tax preparers in Louisiana.

After reading Lynn's post, I may never complain about any of my returns ever again.

I found a problem just *reading* your description, Lynn! I think I went cross-eyed about half-way through.

Thanks everyone. My client does have the paperwork and her ins/broker will be faxing that paperwork to me on Monday. Thanks Judy and Lynn. I didn't see the information at the bottom of the 1099R screen. I guess it has just been a seriously long day. 8:00 PM here, still working and started at 9:00 AM this morning.

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.

My experience with ATX support has been very good, with short wait times, helpfulness, etc. Plus, even more importantly, I have rarely needed to call support. Some of that is due to my self-sufficient, dogged nature, but a lot of it is due to the software just working.

Switching to Drake was the best software move for me. Customer service has to be far and away the best in the industry. They answer on the first ring, are very helpful,courteous and friendly, and they even answer on Saturdays. Every once in a while you will get someone with a heavy southern drawl that might be a little hard to decipher, but at least their native language is English.

The state legislature is to blame for these frickin' issues, which complicates what used to be a reasonably easy return to complete, 4 pages. This return is now 17 pages long!! My eyes cross trying to complete one without problems; tackling these with the legislature mandated limitations is so aggravating.

Yep, either CT cast a wide net in hopes of catching some working under the table or (more likely) a computer hiccuped. Another preparer told me to have my clients call, that calling wards off further action. So, far my clients who call have been treated kindly and not asked for any proof. Even my client who actually did NOT file 2013 (out of the country, house robbed, recreating 2013-2014 data) was treated kindly. One had moved in 2012, so had filed a CT 2012 PY return reporting his last date in CT; he still received a 2013 letter. 2013 letters for personal tax returns and 2012 letters for OP-424s are what I'm seeing so far. Gotta be costing CT a fortune to answer all the telephone calls. And, I'm not enjoying answering all the questions, either!

Here's the spot to post and have an opportunity to be the Tax Star for week #4! What to post - Post something about your week, a kooky client, wacky situation that happened in your office, or whatever you want to share with us here that brought smiles, laughs, exasperation, or appreciation and gratitude from those around you. It's ok to chat here too, but those won't count as official entries. If there's a lot of chatter, those will be marked as "nonvoting". If your story is in another topic, make mention or link to it here. Nominate other members and tell us why the person should be considered. How it works - Valid posts are those made through 3/16/18 at 11:59pm ET and must be about something that happened during this current week. Voting will continue through the next day, 3/17/18 until 11:59pm ET. Vote for your favorite Tax Kook/Aficionado by clicking one of the positive emoticons of "like", "thanks" or "haha" within this topic. If referring to posts in other topics, reactions made there don't count. Thumbs down and angry faces won't be counted. The winner will be the member that earns the highest number of positive reactions for any one post within this topic. For members having multiple posts in one week, the posts will be considered as stand-alone entries; votes not tallied across the multiple posts.

Great nomination, Judy!

Converted to personal use = withdrawn from service, but that is not a disposition of the activity. For a qualifying disposition that will trigger current and suspended losses to be currently deductible, three conditions must be met: (1) dispose of the entire activity, (2) in a fully taxable event, and (3) to an unrelated party. Unless there is other passive income enough to use up these losses, you will still have the suspended losses to track, so I would mark this as out of service but not delete it from the depreciation schedule, and the 8582 will continue to track the losses.

Years ago, I decided to refer to ALL of them (local, state, federal) as legis-vermin. There's something very satisfying about that term. And everyone who hears it laughs (ruefully) and gets it immediately. Said it once to a nice female legis-vermin and I thought she was going to fall out of her seat, she was laughing so hard. Said I didn't know the half of it, and couldn't wait to tell her husband.

Take solace in the fact that no auditor will understand it either. When I'm faced with at situation like this, if there are no red errors, I make some notes, call it day and only have to see it again if the government asks about it.

Abby has the correct answer.

Terry, in Drake fill in the 1099R screen with the data from the form as issued, and then use the "Rollover" section at the bottom of that same screen to indicate that the amount was either partially or fully rolled over. It worked when I tried it with code "S" for "rolled into same type of plan". If fully rolled over, no entry is required in the box for the amount; only for a partial r/o. With those entries, the 1040 will print with "ROLLOVER" at the very left side of line 15, gross distrib in 15a, and zero or blank in 15b.

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

Enter Box 11 as tax exempt interest and box 6 as an adjustment code B.

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.

Have you had a chance to donate to this forum in appreciation for its emotional and technical support? Let's take a minute to click on the "donate" pestaña.

Override the amortization for this year to take the entire amount left in 17. Delete the asset next year.

First of all, get the Bursar's Office statement. What the 1098-T and the 1098-Q say do NOT match up. If a scholarship paid all but a couple hundred of "amounts billed" then why a gross distribution of $14,100? There is information missing here that is crucial. Does that "amounts billed" field only include costs NOT paid by the scholarship? Were education funds (529, Edu IRA, whatever) used to pay private housing instead of campus housing? Start there. Then we can help you figure out which payments qualify for what treatment, and if taking some of the 1098-Q money as taxable then makes the family eligible for credits.

I'm soooooo lonely in this topic all by myself! I'm going to start it off by nominating someone that isn't here very often but always tackles the very hardest questions, gives succinct and informed answers, and many times with the cites. Vote for DANRVAN using this post.

Vote here for @RitaB as I am nominating her for a star because of her announcement last Friday in the "ATX client letters" topic that she is willing to play host to a bunch of you this coming June 23rd. Rita, you are a treasure, always willing to help and always with good humor.