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You are correct. So every fancy overpriced coffee bought from a fancy overpriced coffee chain, paid by BitCoin, goes on Schedule D and Form 8949. Most of those who actually use the stuff (as opposed to getting given a fractional BitCoin as a Christmas gift - had one of those this year) sign up with one of the online tracking services that give a tracking document or spreadsheet at the end of the year. Just like a summary of trades from one of the standard brokerage firms. In the past, we had our own spreadsheets we made up and tracked people's crypto purchases and sales with. And we charged them a lot for that, too, cuz boy oh boy oh boy was it ever a pain in the hindquarters!

Yes! I also mined a list of charity donee names, addresses, etc. from previous tax returns that I keep in an Excel spreadsheet window screen (along with college name, addresses, etc. and other data) that can be instantly copied into ATX).

Wow, I just dealt with this.... WHAT A PITA! I'll add another sun to your power of dislike.

Not a tax professional. Runs a business providing hardware repair, virus removal, surveillance systems, and IT consulting.

No, the IRS won't see any difference in the POA. At this point and without a valid perfected POA that IRS will accept, the only return the wife could file is her own as MFS. If the wife wants to file either return (MFJ or MFS for husband, she MUST "perfect" that general POA because the general POA isn't specific enough with its wording of only "tax return". To summarize...again: Spouse can only sign joint return on behalf of if - INJURY OR DISEASE PREVENTS SIGNING If one cannot sign because of disease or injury and tells his or her spouse to sign, then spouse can sign on behalf of the other followed by the words, “By (your name), Husband (or Wife)”. Attached a dated statement signed by you which includes the form number of the return you are filing, the tax year, the reason your spouse cannot sign, and that spouse has agreed to your signing for him or her. (Don’t forget to also sign in the space provided for your signature.) SPOUSE DIED BEFORE SIGNING If your spouse died before signing the return, the executor or administrator must sign the return for your spouse. If neither you nor anyone else has yet been appointed as executor or administrator, you can sign the return for your spouse and enter “Filing as surviving spouse” in the area where you sign the return. SPOUSE IN COMBAT ZONE – NO POWER OF ATTORNEY You are permitted to sign for your spouse serving in a combat zone, or performing qualifying service outside of a combat zone, or in missing status in a combat zone. Attach a signed statement to your return that explains the situation qualifying you to sign. SIGNING AS GUARDIAN OF YOUR SPOUSE If you are the guardian of your spouse who is mentally incompetent, you can sign the return for your spouse as guardian. Sign your spouse’s name, followed by the words, “By (your signature), guardian.” SPOUSE AWAY FROM HOME If your spouse is continuously absent from the United States for at least 60 days prior to the due date for filing the return, you may be able to sign the tax return with a properly executed power of attorney. Otherwise, you should sign the return and send it to your spouse to sign so that it can be filed on time. DIVORCED TAXPAYER If you are divorced under a final decree by the last day of the year, you are considered unmarried for the whole year, and cannot choose married filing jointly as your filing status. If the divorce became final after the end of the tax year, you may file a joint return. However, you generally can sign on behalf of your ex-spouse only if you are given a “valid power of attorney” that is enforceable after the divorce. (See “SIGNING WITH A POWER OF ATTORNEY” below.) OTHER REASONS SPOUSE CANNOT SIGN If your spouse cannot sign the joint return for any other reason, you can sign for your spouse only if you are given a “valid power of attorney”. (See “SIGNING WITH A POWER OF ATTORNEY” below.) Again, because Taxman's client doesn't fit into any of the above reasons except the last one of "other", if she wants to file a joint return or file a MFS on behalf of the missing husband, she needs a valid POA. Right now, that general POA doesn't contain all of the language to meet the IRS requirement but may be perfected as described below. SIGNING WITH A POWER OF ATTORNEY (POA) Regulations §1.6012-1(a)(5) permits you to rely on a POA as authorization to sign a return for another person only if that person is unable to sign due to disease or injury, continuous absence from the United States for at least 60 days prior to the due date for filing, or if specific permission has been granted by the IRS. The POA must specifically state that you are given the authority to sign, and give the specific reason why as listed above. You may be authorized to sign either as the taxpayer’s representative or agent. Generally, a representative must be an individual eligible to practice before the IRS, such as an enrolled agent, attorney, or CPA; a family member (limited to spouse, parent, child, brother, or sister) may also act as your representative. There are no restrictions on who can be appointed as an agent for the specific purpose of signing a specific tax return. The tax return (or electronic filing authorization) should be signed in the following manner: “(Taxpayer name), by (attorney-in-fact name) under authority of the attached power of attorney.” The POA must be attached to the return. If the return is filed electronically, the power of attorney must be attached to Form 8453 and mailed to the appropriate service center once the electronic return is accepted for processing. A non-IRS POA may be used, but it MUST contain: the taxpayer’s name and mailing address, social security number, the name and address of the agent or representative, the type of tax involved (“income tax”), the federal tax form number (1040, 1040A, etc.), the specific year(s) involved, a clear expression of the authority granted, and the taxpayer’s dated signature. To be authorized as the taxpayer’s representative (as opposed to agent), the non-IRS POA must also contain or have attached to it a signed and dated statement made by the representative referred to as the Declaration of Representative (which can be found in Part II of Form 2848). If the non-IRS power of attorney does not contain all the information listed, the IRS will not accept it. Non-IRS POAs typically do NOT contain all the information required, simply because they often don’t specify tax form numbers and years, and don’t specifically authorize the signing of the tax return. A non-IRS POA may be “perfected” as follows: by signing a Form 2848 on behalf of the taxpayer, as long as the original non-IRS POA grants authority to handle federal tax matters (for example, general authority to perform any acts), and a statement signed under penalty of perjury is attached to the Form 2848 stating that the original non-IRS POA is valid under the laws of the governing jurisdiction. Sign Form 2848 in the following manner: “(Taxpayer name), by (attorney-in-fact name) under authority of the attached power of attorney.” The individual named as representative on Form 2848, often the attorney-in-fact, must also sign and date Part II of the form. The specific authority listed must include the authority to sign the tax return

Does the Canadian University participate in our student aid program?

As long as your client didn't cut employee wage rates too drastically or reduce FTEs it should be pretty easy, especially if you can cover the $53,000 with payroll only, if you have to document additional covered expenses then it will be a lot more time consuming.

I informed all clients in my pre-Tax-Season letter that it is advisable to obtain an IP PIN. I included a Yes and No check box for them to indicate whether they did so or not. Approximately 20% obtained an IP PIN, 10% tried but were unsuccessful (some of whom couldn't pass IRS's confirmation-of-identity test), and the remaining 70% didn't pursue it at all. I'm surprised to read that a PIN for 2021 has already been received because it's usually not issued until the end of the year.

CCH's more powerful (expensive) version that will do the 8615 is ProSystem fx!!

Does ATX have a more powerful (expensive) version that will do the 8615? In UT, you simply mark one return as the parents. Then you go to the utility, choose the parents and each sibling, and run it. Done! Last year it even told if it was better for the child to use the trust or parent tax rates. I too used to set up each family member on different computers and run back and forth. It was work and doubtless less accurate. Can you save or print each child's return before the kiddie tax calcs and the parent's return to somewhere and work from there (hopefully you use two monitors)?

The short answer you are looking for is this: if MFS and BOTH PARTIES AGREE, then the overpayment carryforward may be split in any manner they choose, and the IRS will accept that allocation. This is done by each filing a return claiming their agreed-upon share of the carryover. Absent both filing or If they can't agree, then the IRS will allocate based on a formula that divides based on each person's proportional share. Cite is reg sec 1.6015(b)-1(b) Also, the IRS may still question and reject that POA even though it includes "tax returns" because IRS wants its POAs to include the very specific language found in the code. Sorry if that isn't much more help on how to file. At the risk of being rejected, I think I'd try to file it as MFJ rather than as separate returns because at least the attention won't be drawn to the splitting of the carryover right from the beginning. The only other thing I can think of is on a MFS return is questioning whose funds mostly created the overpayment to begin with? If it came from a separate account in husband's name, or if it was all from withholding from husband's retirement distributions or social security, I think the wife would have a harder time claiming the overpayment if the IRS questioned the MFS return claiming the carryover if a return for the husband is rejected or never filed.

I won't touch ANY representation work without a retainer (unless I'm willing to do it pro bono). They are already proven to be fiscally irresponsible, so if I respect my own time and expertise, I have to get that retainer. It's also an excellent way to weed out the ones who are not going to follow through. Once they've handed over money, they are invested in the process - which makes it worth my while to dive in to the work.

I need to make better use of this. You should do a webinar after the season!

ATX won't let me open two returns at a time; even simple ones. I clearly have something amiss in my setup.

Copied from MarketWatch: Long-languishing 2019 tax returns and tardy tax refunds are being held up partly because of a shortage of working printers and copiers at Internal Revenue Service processing centers, according to a new Treasury Department report. Copy that, you heard right. “Lack of functioning printers and copiers contribute to the inability to reduce backlogs,” said a Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) report on the current filing season. Some background on the printer problems and their wider significance. When the pandemic first hit last spring, the IRS temporarily shut down its facilities and wound up with more than 20 million pieces of unopened mail and hard-copy 2019 tax returns. Then began the slow process of digging out from the 2019 backlog — all while sending out three rounds of stimulus checks and then revving up the current income tax filing season, which ends May 17. Meanwhile, taxpayers counting on 2019 refunds from their hard-copy returns waited and waited and waited. By the end of 2020, 8.3 million individual tax returns and transactions still had yet to be processed, TIGTA said. The tax collection agency has 1.7 million returns still in process that were filed before 2021, IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig told Senators last month. Most of those are 2019 returns, he said. The plan is to work through the backlog by the summer, Rettig said, noting that the agency is resorting to overtime and weekend shifts. When TIGTA staff inspected Ogden, Utah, and Kansas City, Mo. tax processing centers, they wrote, “a major concern that surfaced during these walkthroughs was the lack of working printers and copiers.“The IRS workers at those centers said “the only reason they could not use many of these devices is because they are out of ink or because the waste cartridge container is full.” That mundane office headache matters, the report said, because the copiers and printers are used to copy and churn out important tax documents. “The employees we spoke with were concerned that they would have a work stoppage if these remaining devices became unfunctional. This issue has been an ongoing challenge since March 2020,” the report said. 42% of the printers and copiers used at the centers are either unusable or broken, and others are still functioning, according to IRS estimates cited in the TIGTA report. The snafu has to do with a new contract for printers, the report said. The old contract ended in September and the new contract started in October 2020. But the employees speaking to TIGTA “indicated that the new contractor may not have been coming into the sites to replace the old printers due to COVID-19 concerns.” IRS told the watchdog agency it’s working on the matter and replacing the devices. The IRS had no additional immediate comment beyond report. The TIGTA report comes at a time when the Biden administration is seeking an increase in the IRS budget. If approved, the money would go toward measures such as adding staff to increase tax audits of rich people and corporations. But opponents say a report like this shows that’s a bad idea. “This report again demonstrates the ineptitude of the IRS,” said the right-leaning Americans for Tax Reform, founded by Grover Norquist. “The agency’s inability to do its job is due to incompetence, not lack of funding.” The IRS has so far received 121.1 million tax returns for this tax season, according to agency statistics through the end of April. The authors of the TIGTA report say they are concerned about whether the IRS has brought on enough seasonal staff to handle the current tax season and the backlog." Truly unbelievable It's like watching a slow moving train wreck They still have over a million unprocessed 2019 paper filed returns.