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AND this year, Cinco De Mayo falls on Taco Tuesday! It's what we've all been training for, according to @RitaB!

Yep, I'm the toilet paper culprit. But to answer the question seriously, I've made a major change in my work plan today. I spent the past week and a half in India, having returned on Friday night. I had initially planned to limit personal contact for most of the coming week, simply because there are a host of viruses it's easy to pick up when traveling internationally. (India itself has an incredibly low incidence of Wuhan Virus cases so far) This afternoon I received a link from a relative who is a family practice physician. Even allowing for the fact that it might be an overreaction, the article got my attention. I also trust the judgment of the person who provided me with the article. She's a very good doctor practicing in Seattle, so she's in the middle of the storm. I'm refusing to meet with anyone this week, and probably next week as well, at least until we see more data on the pattern of expansion of the Wuhan Virus. Clients who won't mail in their info or leave it in my drop box will have to agree to an extension. (We're close to my informal extension cutoff date anyhow, so I'm just accelerating it). I can do this fairly easily because I'm transitioning into retirement so my volume of returns is decreasing by design. Also I really don't care if someone can't live with these changes - they're welcome to go somewhere else since that's a decision they're going to have to make within a couple of years anyhow. I'm also going to follow special procedures in handling the info that does come in. I know everyone can't follow this type of plan because not all of you are transitioning into retirement. But whatever you do, you might want to read the article I'm linking below and then make your decisions on next steps. I'm risking being an alarmist in posting this, but if I don't and then the worst-case scenario begins to unfold, I'd be wishing I had done this. (I've stared at this post for about 20 minutes before hitting the "submit key") https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/03/a-covid-19-coronavirus-update-from-concerned-physicians.html?fbclid=IwAR2T8za3H5PDKOLiNYolFlrEfDf_bNyewJPMAxgTMhKhIvjadMUpqqqLy8M

Thank you. Perfectly timed, and with our dearest friends. Gives me time to reflect, and to not think of the nightmare of dealing with two (my grandmother too) intestate passing's with a (now highly valued as commercial property) home involved, that a reclusive relative (with half interest in the property) lives in now. I guess I am the first generation "grown up" in my family. I had been working on a folder for my personal items for those I eventually leave behind, and I have promised myself to get my things in one place first. I promised to not leave a mess for my heirs...

I love them for being remote and paperless, but when the W2 is almost 3 ft x 2 ft, it triggers my patience mantra.

Here's a visual aid to help you compare SARS, MERS and COVID-19. You might want to crack open a Corona or Dos Equis (Ambar is my preferred), first.

The article JohnH posted in another thread had a chart of countries and when the virus arrived. Taiwan had the same date as the US. I have a friend who teaches elementary school in Taiwan. They closed the schools for a couple weeks and taught online. When they reopened schools, everyone -- students, teachers, staff, visitors, everyone -- gets their temperature taken outside to be allowed in. Every Day. Our local schools closed just last week, and it's still a district by district decision. We are not doing a good job of self-quarantining, and the states and federal government are not requiring strong measures. We WILL overwhelm our health system soon.

Yay, my Wednesday biz client cancelled, so I don't have to cancel him! I go to his biz site and really didn't want to; I've canceled face-to-face appointments. But, he's my biggest client; I work at his site a couple times/month creating reports to his clients, overseeing his bookkeeper, etc. I completed his S-corporation returns and e-filed, so that was done a week ago. I was dreading canceling, but now I don't have to. Yay!

Doctor on the news said it is highly unlikely to catch it from a door handle. CDC has made it pretty clear, it's an airborne virus and that's why they are limiting group sizes so much. My brother in law is a scientist and said touching someone with the virus doesn't increase your risk significantly but if they sneeze in your office it could spray for 12+ feet. I'm mailing back multiple returns to older clients so that they don't have to leave their homes and I don't have to go inside their space.

One thing I read recently pointed out that if we have not done enough, we will know that with the mortality counts. If we have done too much, well, we will never know for certain. With lives at stake, I'm on the side of overkill, oops, too much. I do agree that the hoarding and price gouging is unconscionable.

No face-to-face meetings until further notice, drop off, email, fax or smoke signal.

Margaret and Rita, Thank you both for your helpful responses. I now understand how to enter it into ATX and I have contacted him for the actual expenses. I cannot express how much it means to have everyone here as a resource. Linda

The CPA Practice Advisor article says we may have details tomorrow. The article also has a link to a chart with information compiled on states that have made changes related to the virus.

Well, Tom, the problem is that very few have been tested, and that was intentional by those in charge. Partly because they knew how bad it would be for the stock market and hospitality industries, both of which a certain "person" is heavily invested in. The problem with that approach is you can't bulls4!t a virus. You can't bully a virus. You can't payoff a virus to keep quiet. You can't threaten it or ask it to "do you a favor, though". You can't impugn it's character with baseless charges. You can't fool it with talk about God or fluff news pieces.

Thanks, John. Now we know where the toilet paper all went.

If one more person....just one; comes in and starts in on what all's gonna happen; I swear I'll either overdose on a bottle of Germ-X or throw myself out the window (even if it is only a one-story building). (Not that I, myself, haven't already mentioned every possible dire consequence in the world 'til my other half finally told me to shut up.)

I sent out an email to all my clients whose packages I have not received that I would only be accepting electronically sent docs by the end of the week. Watch, I'll get a flood of mail on Wednesday and Thursday. Some of them called today and wanted to talk about the virus. The older ones are very scared and I tried to calm them and explained they should have a plan. I got little work done today but with a possible filing extension on the horizon I could use the break.

Oh yes, and I've had 4 calls today from one elderly person that is worried about *everything* and must have thought I'd have time to chat!

Since everybody is mostly working from home or staying home, let's all call today to see when they can drop off their documents

I think with gift splitting, both spouses would have to file a gift tax return and sign off on the other's return. Can't file a joint gift tax return. If siblings are married, he can divide that sibling's gift to his spouse. Either way, there should be no tax with the lifetime credit.

From your post, is the gift actually a split of only cash since you said the house was solely in his name? Or did he voluntarily spread the inheritance of the house to include his siblings? If he sold the house in his name alone and gave cash gifts, then he must file gift tax returns. The gift splitting is done on the gift returns as is the use of unified credit. If he elected to split the inheritance of the house by including the siblings in the ownership of the house, that is not a gift. That is him as a beneficiary voluntarily sharing the asset with others.

And this after reading about 2 Seatle ER docs in serious condition with COVID19 - a physician friend forwarded this to our church, she used to be a member: From a physician in Seattle: At her hospital, all ventilators are in use and they have reached the point of rationing care. They are now having to choose between venting babies and COVID-19 patients. One of their own 40 year old emergency room physicians is in critical care. Everyone please stay at home. If you absolutely must go to the grocery store or work, stay 6 feet away.

Max W, if you or anyone ever feels strongly about a post being political, you are welcome to report it to me and I would consider it for deletion. Unfortunately I wasn't on to see it until others had already responded. We definitely need to do what we can to slow the spread of this virus, and we need people to take this virus and the suggested "social distancing" seriously now. Here are some facts about why some people weren't taking it as seriously as they should have earlier on, and just some of why our initial responses to it were too slow: Instead of allowing an official position by experts to be released earlier than they were, Fauci's appearances on the news channels were cancelled while the talking heads were frothing at the mouth as they blathered on about this while a plan was formulated. Now about not having a plan in place... In 2018 National Security Advisor Bolton, in an effort to streamline the National Security Council, disbanded the Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense whose mission is to lead federal coordination and preparation for disease outbreaks, he fired Homeland Security Adviser Bossert who had called for a "comprehensive biodefense strategy against pandemics and biological attacks," and he also fired head of pandemic response, Rear Adm. Timothy Ziemer, and the entire global health security team. That team was never replaced. We are relatively early in this outbreak, and in addition to distancing, we should have already been testing many more people. All one needs to do is look at how South Korea has been managing this and the fact that it has tested a much larger population earlier on that lead to earlier isolation and earlier supportive patient care, both actions that have resulted in a greatly reduced number and percentage of fatalities compared to any other country. Because South Korea had learned from the MERS virus, it had an established response plan that it very quickly initiated. It was testing early on as many as 10,000 people a day including through drive through stations that we are only just now setting up. That country has already tested more than a quarter million people because of having a readiness plan and using the WHO formulation for the tests. As for testing here, we could have started earlier if we had used that same formulation from the WHO instead of having additional delays because the CDC wanted to develop its own test that it thought would be more accurate. Not only was there a delay to develop the test, but also because when it was rolled out it was found to be faulty in some way. I liken this to what it takes for a lot of major plane crashes, that it isn't just one problem but a series of smaller incidents that all compound into a larger "perfect storm" that brings the plane down. I hope we don't crash too badly with this.

Unfortunately the crisis started in a country where there is no free press and strict government control. https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-doctor-who-issued-early-warning-on-virus-dies-11581019816

Besides charging upfront 50% if you are on your 60s, 75% if you on your 70s, and 100% if you are 80 or above... I am planning to close my office for two weeks after Tuesday. In the meantime, I will wash my hands constantly and have the people sit 6 feet away from my desk, along with other precautions.

Ca Newsom called for all bars and wineries to close. Called for home isolation of those 65 and older.

I know CT's governor spoke with the governors of surrounding states to work out something common for the northeast... With such a long lag before one gets symptoms, the only way to stop the spread is to severely limit contact.

I agree and I disagree. There is a HUGE push towards panic by the media looking for clickbait. So the panic is most decidedly being pushed. Cui bono? Who benefits? What important issues are no longer in the public eye? Distraction works, no doubt. However, there is a long time between exposure and symptoms, but not between exposure and sharing the wealth (as it were), which means that for every case known, there are up to hundreds that are not yet known. The emergency measures are a good idea, but not because it's "so dangerous" rather it's logistics. Most people who get this will have mild cases; the younger the milder - so with kids it's almost un-noticeable. Serious cases tend to be those compromised (by age, by pre-existing condition, by smoking, by local pollution levels, by general sanitation, and more). That's a big factor in the seriousness they had in China; older population living crowded with bad sanitation, some of the world's worst pollution levels, and adult male smoking rates near 50%. If you get a boatload of serious cases needing ICU support *at once* you overwhelm the system. Then death rates skyrocket, because people who could recover with care can't get the care because the necessary equipment is in use for someone else. Plus anyone who has another health issue (bad accident, heart attack, who knows - acute scrofula, fer gosh sake) also cannot get care. Health workers are exhausted; they get sick. Or make sloppy, exhausted-people errors. When you slow down transmission, that overwhelmed system does NOT happen. The serious cases can all get attention, because there is space within the system to provide it. Death rates plummet. They found in the Spanish Flu in 1918 that cities like St Louis, that instituted school shut-downs etc earlier (before there were any cases in the city) had incidence rates and death rates far lower than cities like Denver, that didn't shut down until after cases cropped up. (Side note: as it turns out, a lot of the young, healthy people who died in the 1918 incident died from massive *aspirin* overdose - Bayer had a new drug, and was recommending dosage levels that turned out to be lethal. That got covered up for them, but the symptoms presented of hemorrhage etc in the younger victims were not signs of flu, but rather of aspirin overdose.) Transmission rates are high, yes - but transmission rates are far higher for measles or chicken pox. I remember being sent to the neighbor's house when the three boys had measles, so my brother and I would catch it and get it over with. We shared lollipops with them. Neither my brother nor I got measles. I'm sure most of us here are old enough that we remember similar events. Death rates will go DOWN as more cases are identified. There are so many mild cases simply not being reported currently that death rates are over-stated since those diagnosed are largely the more-seriously ill cases. If you are under 70 or so and healthy (and don't smoke or vape), there is a very low chance of having a serious case. Those who do get a serious case need substantial care for a longer than normal (for a flu or pneumonia) time. So slowing the rate of incidence of all cases will keep us better able to treat anyone who needs more help than a box of tissues, motrin, and chicken soup.

At the office, we are using bleach wipes on all knobs, the light switches, and keyboards a couple of times a day - more often if there are a lot of people in and out. We scan all client docs, so if I'm using docs on a screen, and my keyboard etc has been wiped, while I'm still trying (and failing, mostly) to keep hands away from face (hard, with glasses and allergies), I'm not too concerned. More hand-washing. There is a bottle of sanitizer; that is getting more use, too. The huge box of pens we bought a year or so ago is getting more use; I'm putting out new pens for each client and urging them to take 'em away with them. We're finding more people want to drop off docs without talking (fine with me!) and more are using our portal (even better). More people want returns mailed back rather than coming to pick up, so we are getting signature forms later. LOTS of questions about what is going to happen about deadlines; my standard answer is that we'll know when there is an official announcement.

Cancelled the few appointments I have left and I'm working from home. I'm in a high risk group and I already have an over-reactive respiratory system. Plus I've always been a 'better safe than sorry' kinda guy. I'm actually more productive at home, due to fewer interruptions and no phone ringing all day. Plus I save an hour a day on the road.

My client inherited his Dad's house. Just my client. He wanted to be fair to his siblings, so he split the sale of the house. Siblings did not officially inherit it, just my client. I told him we would have to file a gift tax return, as these gifts were $27,800, $33,000 and $38,000. I'm right, RIGHT?

I think your statement above is correct sir. It is getting to that time of year. Tom Modesto, CA

Medlin, I am so sorry for your loss. This camping trip was well timed. I hope it is comforting, healing.

I would too. If your client is married, he can elect gift splitting with his spouse and eliminate the gift tax on the $27800 gift. If the other two siblings are married and your client elects gift splitting with his spouse, he could effectively eliminate all the gift taxes. He could also use up part of his unified credit that would show the taxable gift, offset with the credit, and still eliminate any gift tax owed without doing any gift splitting at all. He has options!

Personally... I am finding county health departments seem to offer the most reasonable advice, even through they are stuck with some statewide requirements. I also have a son who works in a major hospital, one which is one of the first to take patients such as this issue. So I do benefit from the advice he can share, and that is after he hears from hos mother about keeping safe. This is our 3rd or 4th time where there has been something new or scary to cause us worry for him. For us, we are being thoughtful as to our actions. But, we are going about our normal life for the most part. Today, we are regular grocery shopping and preparing for a camping trip. Our friends, who are all over 60, are also camping with us. However, we will likely practice the social distancing, and will not be meeting in any of our RV's. Instead, we will be hanging out in covered tents with propane fires, and walking our dogs. We were frank with each other, and all in agreement we want (need) to go, but we can easily be more careful. The campground is owned by someone in their local politics, and they are 100% deferring to their health department, which as of this morning, says camping is fine, with precautions. To be very candid and balanced, my mother had an emergency medical event over the weekend. She did not survive. It was not related to the virus at all. However, while we talked to her pre-op, we all thought it better not to go there to visit before surgery, since we cannot say we were not carrying the virus, or flu, or a cold, etc. The reality is, the virus was not the deciding factor, just plain common sense for an elderly person facing open chest surgery and recovery, when we have the technology to have voice and video communication. Had she survived, we would have been there the next morning, in full containment suits, just to be safe for her (even without the virus threat). The biggest issue our son told us was lack of test kits, and the 48 hour wait for results. he was shifted to a group who is working on a way to be able to test more people, faster, without having for test kits to be supplied. For me, things like this virus are not the first or last to come along. We cannot live in a bubble forever, so we have to figure out how to mitigate reasonably. Trying to slow the inevitable spread is a good thing, as if we can spread the "bubble" out over several more weeks, we can lessen the pressure on treatment facilities. But, it cannot be stopped, and the majority of us will be exposed, if we have not been (and already recovered) already. Looking at my newly rediscovered grandfather's dog tags from WW2, which show he served during WWW1, reupped in the 20's, volunteered for WW2 at 41 years old (and we know he tried to volunteer for Korea in his 50's), reminds me people can go through and get though much worse than my generation can ever imagine. All of his volunteering after hearing how his grandparents were marched west (Trail of Tears), and him and my grandmother making the Okie trek to CA during the dust bowl.

I would, for sure.

I was not trying to go down this road, I was more looking at this from my own point of view, which may be very ignorant as an accountant and not a health expert. I was just looking at what I thought was a panic produced by the media, and I may still be correct about that, or I may be very, very wrong. My question was more if the media was driving our governments and policy makers to "do something" and they are trying to look like they are "doing something". Time will tell if the steps taken are proportional to the problem, or if "out of an abundance of caution" we have "over-reacted". Personally, I am starting to move my opinion a little bit as I try to understand more about the scope and the outcomes. The steps taken may be appropriate, and I am not going to throw stones at anyone right now... except the people who are standing in line for 3 hours at Costco to get a pallet of toilet paper...I still don't get that one. But if they are trying to get hand sanitizer, good for them. Tom Modesto, CA

As Margaret said, yes, the HA is subject to SE tax. The pastor can exclude the lowest of these three for income tax purposes: 1) The designated amount 2) The actual housing expenses 3) The fair rental value of the furnished home plus the actual cost of utilities. These sites may be helpful: https://www.clergytaxnet.com/expenses-can-used-justify-housing-allowance-exclusion/ https://www.guidestone.org/LearningCenter/Ministry/MinistersTaxGuide.aspx

The last thing we need are factless and baseless opinion statements that do nothing to solve anything and don't add anything to the discussion. When the latest travel ban went into effect, hotel stock took a deep dive and 2nd quarter earnings are expected to fall 50% over last year. The last thing that investors want to see is the stock market plunge as it has. Investors have large portfolios made up of dozens of stocks. Even if some stocks went up, the vast majority will have gone down, pulling the value of the entire portfolio with it. We can discuss why there has been a shortage of test kits without politicizing it.

1. You are correct. 2. Add the 1040 Clergy Worksheet form which will be extremely helpful in putting things where you know they should go. Ask again if you still have questions. I and others here have much experience with clergy tax returns. And I always keep a copy of Church and Clergy Tax Guide handy.

That was excellent Catherine, I read it twice. Something must have happened about an hour ago. At close to the same time I got an alert from the NY Daily News that NYC schools would be closed immediately, then a red alert call from the small city I live in that our schools will be closed, and all this while watching governor Baker telling us, no in restaurant dining allowed from March 17th on. That's going to be a lot of lonely corned beef. What I think happened today was Dr Fauci hitting all 5 Sunday morning news shows and telling us that we need to do better. He probably saw the kids partying in bars Saturday night like it's 1999. Then they come home and infect their family members . Like governor Baker said with a serious face, "it's not all about you," so he pulled the plug on bars. And yes, poor St. Paddy's Day, I assume they were considering that day is one of the biggest party days on earth, at least that's what I remember from all those parades. Fauci explains that the current rate of infection is exponential and it will probably double every 3 days, that's 100 million people by May 1st. Whoa! Put on the brakes! I think that's what happened.

Just now from AICPA: Yesterday, we told you about our efforts and conversations with the Treasury Department and the IRS to secure filing and payment relief for taxpayers and tax preparers in light of the uncertainty and challenges caused by the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Based upon our conversations, we anticipate that Treasury and the IRS will announce this week an extension of the April 15th deadline by as much as 90 days, and a waiver of penalties and interest for most taxpayers. Additionally, Treasury and the IRS are aware of the major deadline for businesses tomorrow, March 16th, and the challenges facing taxpayers and tax preparers in meeting that deadline. They have indicated that they would be generous in determining reasonable cause abatement of any penalties for taxpayers and tax preparers unable to file in a timely manner. We will continue to keep you updated as we receive more information.

You mean, like half of our tax clients?

I found this to be true. On the worksheet it calculated it correctly to what I knew it should be. On the 8949 it however did not show correctly' Had to back force the worksheet to get it to come out right on the 8949 and the schedule d.

Let's start a pool on when the notification comes out. I say 8:00 pm on April 14. ======================= Trying to determine whether the notification will say "Yes, we are extending the due date" or "No extension" will be a separate pool.

I’ve instituted one new procedure in my client waiting area

The toughest thing for me is to NOT touch my face. I tend to lean on my hand, scratch my itchy eyes and nose (allergies), brush hair out of my eyes with my hand, and otherwise touch my face. I'm making a conscious effort to NOT touch my face, but it's very hard.

I found the duplicate last night and did that just like Rita suggested. That was very useful. I will probably go back and try the MFJ vrs MFS Form just to see how accurate it is. Thanks everyone!

I prefer Dos XX.

1. The transmission rate is several times higher than the flu. 2. No one has a natural immunity since it's a new bug 3. There is no vaccine for another year or two 4. The mortality rate is somewhere between 10 to 30 times higher than the flu. 5. The 250 positives is illusory since many sick people have yet to be tested. Tom, I hope you're right, but it doesn't look good.

Ever since this started, I have wondered if Chaz, Janitor Bob's friend that stands on the corner and drinks warm Corona, has anything to do with it. I don't know about drinking corona warm - does that cause disease?