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I love my Kindle. I have a houseful of paperbacks and hardbacks. But I can have thousands of books on my kindle (which is waterproof, so I can read poolside or in the tub) and at most shows an ad before I open the book I am reading. I can also carry all those books with me on my Kindle, or have them available instantly for download on my phone or tablet. The kindle is lighter weight than even a paperback, and I can adjust the font size if I want to read without my glasses. I can even read in bed without turning on a light and disturbing my husband if he is sleeping. I did not think that I would prefer e-books to "real" books, but in some ways I do. And I know my husband appreciates not having the whole house taken over by books; it gives him more room for his albums.

I started in 1984 after finishing some accounting courses at Queens College and taking a tax preparation course at the old Sobelson School in Manhattan. My first clients were firemen and their families and I would work on the top floor of a 3 story firehouse in the early hours of the morning when fire calls quieted down. If I did go out on a run I would have to leave everything on the table, no security of a clients info. Looking back that was not a good idea, it was a bad neighborhood and one time when we came back from a fire the TV was gone and they stole our shoes. To this day I still have many of those clients, and if I'm up at 3am, I still go to work on the top floor of a 3 story townhouse, but my shoes are now safe.

I have received numerous cash tips over the years. (I consider flowers and booze and fruit to be gifts.) Often they come from the people who can least afford it. I try to refuse, tell them I'm paid very well, but I've come to realize that they have a need to express their appreciation that way and I hurt them if I don't accept. The cash goes into the office ice cream or pizza pool, so I've never reported it.

I can never find the right lighting to read a book, or be comfortable holding a book (hand cramp). I read ebooks on my regular sized cellphone with white letters on a black page, which is so great for my eyes. The glare from light shining on a white paper page bothers my eyes. And, if I fall asleep reading an ebook, I never lose my place. And there are no popups in my ebook reader, Google Play Books. If you get books from libraries, be wary of bedbugs. They had to fumigate our local library for bedbugs recently. eBooks don't have the HUGE carbon footprint that paper books do, cutting and hauling trees, processing paper, waste, transporting heavy books around, etc. Trees are essential for our climate, especially now. And a lot of smaller authors can create an ebook whereas they could never get a publisher to do a printing. We're all different, and books just don't work for me.

Debit Cash, Credit PPP loan. Other Liability for now until the repayment terms come back from the lender after the forgiveness is calculated. Then broken out into Long term/Short term based on the ownership intention of how they will repay (indications that they will immediately repay any portion not forgiven). Tom Modesto, CA

At this time, it's a long-term loan. Down the road, it might be forgiven in all or in part.

I stay informed online, and every time I watch new or read newspapers, they're reporting things I learned about days or in some cases, weeks earlier. A lot of people do crossword puzzles an Sudoku electronically now.

First I would check Visa type and SPT. A US taxpayer ( via Citizen, GC or SPT) reports worldwide income and gains wherever derived. Yes it's a regular schedule E except the fact that you report share of income and expenses and depreciate under ADS (30 years for foreign rental using lower of cost or FMV date assets were place in service). Foreign real estate direct holding/ownership is not an asset under FATCA. So value of property is not considered when testing for SFFA F8938 and for FBAR filing requirements. Passive FTC may be available if taxes are paid/accrued on the RE net income in Germany. IRS pub 519

And I am a diehard newspaper fan as is my husband. I read enough stuff on a screen and do read e-books but news I like at the table with my breakfast and linger with coffee. Even though I already know most of it, the paper just feels right to me as does the crossword puzzle. I do have a Kindle Fire and love it for all the books I can carry on trips and read in bed. I can also watch lots of videos while on the treadmill. But I need my newspaper!

Thanks Abby. As always, I greatly appreciate your help.

I never realized this but that's why so many bars price beers at $3.50 instead of $3 or $4. Many years ago my barber (when I had hair) went from $8.50 to $9.00 to get a haircut. I joked with him that it was a pretty big percentage raise and he said he didn't make any extra money. Everyone always paid him $10 regardless but now he has to share more with the owner. He said he didn't think he'd get an actual raise until he raised it to $10.50.

I agree with Lion EA in every respect except the life of the property: Foreign residential property generally must(*) be depreciated under the Alternative Depreciation System. Property placed in service before December 31, 2017 had a 40-year ADS life. TCJA changed the life of property placed in service after December 31, 2017 to a 30-year life. [Section 13204 of the Act, amending IRC Sec. 168. Top of page 139 of the online pdf of TCJA.] (* Some commentators argue that "shall" means "may" and so the IRC lets tax preparers elect different depreciable lives. I disagree with that arcane conclusion and would not file a return employing it without including a Form 8082.)

Got a big one yesterday. Won an EIC audit for a client. They got a big check - so they added 50% extra to the check they sent me for my bill. BTW, they were totally entitled to the EIC, these were not scammers. I like it when the good guys win and the nasty tax agents without a clue lose. Makes me feel good to get for my clients what the tax law says they should get. Tom Modesto, CA

Not needed. The IRS will not question it. This is what happens when you only know to enter 1099's and don't understand the implications.

That is a good point. One of the factors in rr 72-86 is that the director expects compensation for his work. I would also lean towards SE tax based on the information provided but would have a few more questions to ask.

Or the calls about their tax returns, mailed priority, and aren't in their mail box on the expected date. As if I can do anything about how or what the postal service handles the mail. Ugh !!!

Recently all the calls about the stimulus checks have been taking up a lot of time.

Yes! Just because you did their tax return, they think you should be “on call” to answer all of their stupid questions tax-related or not.

Almost but not positively. I've seen these were all was reported on the individual, and the "trust return" was either nonexistent or had demographic info only and a disclosure that all income was claimed on return of John Q Smith ssn 123-45-6789. Start with trust document and prior year returns. Talk with lawyer who set it up, if needed.

I think the better solution is to have the charity write a check to pay back the loan, then write a check back to the charity and get a receipt. Not saying your plan won't work, but I would have a hard time documenting the forgiveness to the level that would pass IRS standards. Tom Modesto, cA

I'm not feeling particularly whiny about it, but the only downside is that I don't feel that 'post tax season' relief/freedom that I usually feel. Because I have work in the office, I still feel like I need to spend weekends/evenings preparing returns. On another note, did anyone else get behind on returns that would usually be out of your office by 15 April as a result of providing countless hours of support/assistance to people applying for PPP/EIDL loans, self-employed unemployment, or just trying to run various cashflow scenarios, or am I the only slacker? I hope everyone is doing well.