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I'll bet sooner or later we will have this conversation with someone: CLIENT: I've got $300 worth of receipts for masks & stuff we can take above the line. PREPARER: That won't help. You're confusing masks & stuff with contributions. CLIENT: But my hairstylist said... PREPARER: Sorry, your hairstylist is wrong. CLIENT: (S)he's pretty smart about this stuff. Can you look it up again, just to be sure?

You don't need to attach anything. Just use codes M & W on the 8949.

Thank you for asking. Our prayers have been successful!! She has recovered quite well. Her closet friend also got sick and they have been holed up together. They both have lost their sense of taste and smell. But thank the Lord above they are both okay. It's quite frightful. She's had Type 1 since she was 7. Then Celiac. Then eating disorder. Then Graves disease. So every little thing that comes along keeps me worried. Thank you again for your prayers.

I personally would add the $11,700 to the basis and depreciate. It was part of the cost of putting the property into use for the first time. Interested to see what others would do.

Despite no income, there are expenses. Yes, a partnership return should be filed for calendar year 2020.

Anyone can get an IP PIN now. That will prevent e-filing with the dependent without the IP PIN.

Spot on. For most people, they would need to have purchased a significant amount for it to potentially benefit them even a little. Not to mention, they would need to itemize to begin with.

Just received a very polished spoofed email purporting to be from PayPal about problems with my PayPal account. Fortunately for me, I don't have a PayPal account.

This seems unfair to those of us who were taught to rub some dirt in it.

I guess that’s why they pay us the big bucks. I do realize all I had to do was read.

I don't believe 195 would apply unless the rental activity rose to the level of a trade or business. That was not indicated here, OP mentioned passive loss offset by profit of other rentals.

I don't tell them what to put in an operating agreement. I tell them to work with a lawyer so they can have an operating agreement that meets CT state law. I don't think anyone mentioned an LLC except for your mention of an attorney and an LLC. Lawyers have a strong lobby in CT, so I suggest a legal advisor to every biz who isn't a sole proprietorship. I also suggest a biz develop a good relationship with a friendly, local banker. And, a broker or someone who can administer a retirement plan. And, an insurance agent(s) for health, liability, etc. And, a professional organization in their industry. But most importantly, to keep me in the loop!

Was the partnership actually open for biz, available to do what it's in biz to do? Or, still getting it's location ready or certificates applied for or other pre-opening requirements?

I have never had a problem. Wash, dirty, clean, no questions. The wash amount is on the Sch D and the detail is on the attachment.

The important thing is to not click on links in emails, unless you are certain it is legitimate. For me, even for legitimate emails, I still manually open the web site and navigate to what I need. In many/most email readers, you can set up the incoming messages to be shown only in text (not html), which makes it tougher to click something bad in the message (also prevents the tracking gif's from working). Something to also consider when sending emails, even if a link seems appropriate to send, provide plain text instructions on how to navigate manually. Added: Sending in plain text (only) is never a bad idea, as some recipients may have settings or systems in place which more heavily filter html messages.

Like telling teachers they can deduct PPE as their $250 above the line. I never met a teacher who didn't spent over $250 already, before PPE became a necessity. Politicians making their voters happy and leaving it up to us to explain how it doesn't benefit them at all.

Thank you for sharing the good news. The first client that comes with a bag of receipts from masks, etc will be fired.

I found this site and it's updating as the states decide: https://support.taxslayerpro.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500004451042-State-Conformity-to-the-2020-Federal-Unemployment-Compensation-Exclusion

That sounds right in this situation.

To answer your original question, yes, you can take the AOTC, reduce the amount of qualified expenses, and potentially pay the additional tax on the distribution, as described here: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p970#en_US_2020_publink1000178546 But as Randall said, it's best to try to find expenses that aren't qualified for the AOTC that are allowed for 529 plans to "use up" the distribution.

The official procedure is to take the originally faxed in POA (no word what to do if you *mailed* it in), write "REVOKED" all over it in heavy marker, and fax that to the CAF unit. I've done it for several clients over the years. It has NEVER stopped me from getting notices for them, annoyingly.

For a $300 fee, sure.

I'm not sure if this applies to you. But 529 qualified expenses includes much more than the AOTC qualified expense. Room and board. Even if they're living at home, I think there's a chart for the school area you can use for 'room and board' expense.

I agree with jasdlm. Those expenses cannot be deducted in the year occurred because the house was not rented. You have to add it to the basis.

While I agree that a PTS Return should be filed, depending on the circumstances, the expenses could be start up expenses or be deductible expenses.

We are still waiting for the IRS to update their schema. ATX has posted about this on their daily blog.

I did read page 5. My wash sales are reported as required. I can attach a .pdf of the summary statement or any other parts in Drake as well. I really doubt that I could get anyone at Robinhood to give the 1099B in excel format. I would love it if they would.

Not correct. Suggest you review pg 2 of the instructions under "Declaration of Representative".

I have been using online payroll for over 8 years now. Doesn't mean I would vouch for it. Actually I will be looking a replacement after tax season is over. I already use Medlin for my smaller accounts, less than 10 employees. Almost all of the services charge between $39 and $69 per month plus $ 4 per employee per month.

No, mine says PayPal

I don't mind paying my broker. Of course, he's not churning... LOL He's just making me money.

That's why I like the import. It includes everything, ties out to the 1099-B, isn't a problem to proofread, and looks impressive to justify my hefty fee! But a summary with your .pdf attachment would do the same thing. Those brokers on our clients' managed accounts make a ton of money, so I should get a piece of that. Love when a client complains about my $600 fee when they paid $1,500/Q to their brokerage. When I point out that my fee is only 10% of their broker's, they usually stop talking.

Did you read page 5. You might have to list the wash sales. I ask the broker for the gain/loss statement in a format that can be read by Excel and import it into the return. I've also attached a .pdf to an e-filed return. If you're lucky enough to have only covered sales with no wash sales or other adjustments to basis, you can just summarize on Schedule D. Read the instructions.

Yes. And mine come in telling ME if they didn’t. I’ve not had much aggravation out of this one. Knock on wood.

I scan the details and attach it to the Sch D where I have summarized the statements. I have done that for years with no problem. Mine are easily attached in TWise.

I have used QB in the past. For the most part it is not beginner friendly. But.. if the payroll is setup correctly and not too complicated with fringe benefits; etc. It does do a fairly decent job. PR tax payments can be setup for automatic EFTPS deposits, state deposits; etc. I agree with Medlin though, to start they should use a service.

See especially page 12, and watch out for Wash Sales page 5: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040sd.pdf

It is not paypal... it is payApal. I got it too but I read it carefully.

"Yes, I completed Virginia Schedule of Income, Page 1 correctly..." is what I should have said.

Did you enter the parents' information correctly? And, that of any siblings? Step through the worksheet your software generates. Basically, the first $1,100 is excluded, the second $1,100 is at the child's rate (10%), and the excess at the parent's marginal rate. Did child have any other income? If parents' rate is low enough, capital gains can be at the 0% rate. Step through the worksheet...

I already posted the latest from irs.gov that covers the Social Security calculation and others.

I can't believe they took down the site to check and see if the payments were sent.