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IRS says they'll never call, wants a phone number on your return. IRS says they'll never email, wants an email address on your return.

If cryptocurrency is sold, then there would be gains to be reported on 8949 to pass to Sch D as I remember it. In the last CPE I took discussing this they argued your kids would technically have this if they played world of warcraft. Oh the pits the IRS keeps digging. At some point we'll all just join the vanlife movement and turbotax will be the only option

I separated out an existing pinned topic on ATX tips and tricks and added a quote from the latest post in there. That pinned topic now appears at the very top of General Chat.

Unless your client sold virtual currency during 2019, I don't think there are any other requirements other than checking the box. Here's a decent article included in Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/shehanchandrasekera/2019/12/20/cryptocurrency-question-on-irs-schedule-1-part-1-of-6/#3cb4df5c673a An excerpt from the article suggests the box must be completed if you do have any Crypto affiliation even if you don't have any other information to report on Part 1 or Part II of Schedule 1. Best Practice Is To Answer The Crypto Question According to the draft instructions for 2019 Schedule 1, if you have any crypto affiliation covered by the question, you must check “yes”, even if you do not have anything to report on Part I and Part II of Schedule 1. Leaving this question blank is not advised. As with the example above, there may be situations where the taxpayer will check “yes” but there will not be any reportable transactions on any other tax forms. This is completely fine!

...this is where ATX not automatically saving and ability to close without saving come in super handy. Delete client's email address and press Enter. (Important to press Enter) Create efile and print return. Close without saving!!! The email address will be there when you reopen the return, but it will not be in the efile or on the printed forms. Sure, this will be a hassle when recreating an efile, but at least it's on the first page of the 1040 form, Main Info. Bonus tip: The fastest way to get to the main form of any return: Ctrl+O, Enter. And the fastest way to get to the first page of any form, Alt+P, Enter.

My fav is if the person being paid can sub the job out to others, or have someone else do the work, and no time accountability. If not, then employee. If someone really is running a business (not an employee), they likely have setup some sort of entity to help shield their personal assets from any business issues. Extra complication with being in separate states, if employee, as the employer has exponentially complicated their HR and payroll compliance issues (which I have posted about before).

That is the magic word, to me. If the entity being paid could not have others work, (and also whenever they elected, not for a specific amount of time within a window, and did not have other clients, business license, business insurance, etc.) then employee is proper. In the OP, the deduction for a day off is employee all the way. Probably not a huge chance of getting caught, but I personally would not be comfortable with a 1099 in the OP.

Client on their end will need the ability to access the portal or website. Assuming they do not have the ability to sign any forms electronically, they'll need a printer to print the forms and sign them. They will also need a scanner or cell phone camera to reload the signed form to the portal.

This has been an ongoing problem ever since the program was rewritten about 8 years ago. During the printing process the printer cache gradually fills up with garbage until the program crashes or stops printing. The only fix is to exit the program and clear the printer cache or rebooting your computer which also clears the printer cache.

I agree Eric and that is what I will use. The Pell Grant fills that bill leaving some $705 of uncovered qualified expense which the dad covered by payments and loans. Thanks to all for all assistance. Having yall's assistance to clarify this was much appreciated.

Christian, In ATX, go to the 1040 ExExp worksheet, Scholarship Worksheet tab. The default is to show the scholarship as nontaxable on Line 7a. You can enter a different number you want to be tax-free on that line, and it will show the balance as taxable.

If you have a state tax return, especially one that starts with federal AGI, then do check the T&F which lowers AGI to see if it gives a better result for your client than AOTC which lowers federal tax only and not state tax.

Sorry but I can't help you with ATX. However, in Drake, you enter the total qualified expenses, then enter the scholarship (drake is education assistance), then the balance would go to the credit. With the AOTC, you can only claim up to $2500.00. So in your case, 5950.00- 2223.00 = 3727.00. The AOTC should be 2500.00, part credit to reduce taxes and part refundable. 40% refundable up to 1000.00. The remaining 60% is to reduce tax liability to zero. A lot of times the client spends significantly more than what can be recouped from the credit. As in the past, I believe you can only take one of the credits. Either AOTC, LLLC, or tuition and fees but not two at the same time. If your client qualifies for the AOTC, then that will always return the best result.

From pub 526. Note that "best practices" at the bottom suggest that travel expenses should be paid through the donor organization but that not doing so does not preclude the deduction of expenses.

Max W is stating the general rule for cash contributions, but there are other rules concerning contemporaneous records too, and there are instances where a receipt from the charity itself for certain expenditures may not be possible, just like in the OP's example of someone traveling for missionary work. The travel cost is clearly related to the charitable work, yet the funds were not paid to the charity itself where any substantiation could ever be obtained, yet the deduction is valid. A good summary is found here on the IRS site: https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/substantiating-charitable-contributions

If the expenses exceed $250, a written letter is needed from the charity and whether or not the charity provided any goods or services to the volunteer. And needless to say, the volunteer has to keep good records.

1. Install voice recognition app. 2. Press Alt and Ctrl simultaneously. 3. Clearly and distinctly enunciate: "SHAZAM!" 4. All will be revealed.

One secret code I just learned this year is F9 to recalculate. A next form code would be great. I often use Ctrl+o to bring up a list of open forms to move between forms. It's especially useful to jump to 1040 (or first form) or fixed assets because Ctrl+o followed by up arrow and enter takes you to fixed assets, and Ctrl+o, enter takes you the first form. Having a mouse with forward/back buttons on the side works for forward and back in ATX. I use Alt+p to bring up the list of pages in a form. Hitting up arrow takes you to the last page, just like in the Ctrl+o list. I call this the mobius strip feature. The user manual has most of the shortcuts. One of the main selling points for me in ATX the ability to move quickly among the hundreds of pages in a tax return. This is my list of ATX shortcuts on a stiky note on my screen: ATX Shortcuts (Ctrl+) E Error check F Add forms I Itemized List O Open forms List P Print R Restore field S Save T Add note Z Undo (Alt+) P Pages of form E,E Create efile R,R Print page F3 Form Instructions F9 Recalculate