Leaderboard

Christian, if I remember correctly being a half time student is not enough to claim dependency - the student must have been a full time student for at least some part of 5 months of the year. Not getting the degree would be irrelevant - you don't have to be a successful student, just a student.

From Accounting Today (https://www.accountingtoday.com/opinion/tax-strategy-irs-expands-focus-on-digital-asset-reporting?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=V3_ACT_Daily_2023%2B'-'%2B09252023&bt_ee=7jXmSOk9k89v2KKJINwG%2BptBxryLwmkr26gmdBbyuzYmd2vNQetW91Wy8I1QODYQ&bt_ts=1695643801434) "It appears that there will be a new broker reporting form, Form 1099-DA, to address the reporting of digital assets. For every digital asset sale, the broker is required to report the following: 1. Name, address and TIN of the customer; 2. Name or type and number of units of digital assets sold; 3. Time and date of sale; 4. Gross proceeds of sale; 5. Transaction identification number; 6. Address from which digital assets were transferred; 7. The type of consideration received, such as cash, other digital assets, other property or services; and, 8. Any additional information required by forms or instructions. Regs with respect to the computation of gain or loss and the basis of digital assets are proposed to apply to tax years after the finalization of the proposed regulations. The proposed rules with respect to broker reporting of gross proceeds apply if the sale is on or after Jan. 1, 2025. The proposed rules on broker reporting of adjusted basis apply if the sale or exchange is effected on or after Jan. 1, 2026. The information required to be reported may relate back to Jan. 1, 2023." Thankfully, most of my clients are older and want nothing to do with digital assets. Last year I only had one that did anything with cryptocurrency.

I had two clients who dabbled in cryptocurrency back in 2021, but fortunately they both closed out their investments

She can be a dependent qualifying as a full time student until she turns 24, provided the rest of the dependency requirements are met. The mom can get AOC for 4 years if daughter is he dependent. LLC is available for any years in which AOC is not claimed. Tom Longview, CA

A woman I knew who was the bookkeeper for a nonprofit said she fell in love with bookkeeping in high school. When they'd pass out those practice packets with journals, checkbook registers, and fake bills for the cash, she'd take it home and complete it all in one night. Another woman was a scientist at a cosmetics company until she discovered Quickbooks. It was love at first sight. She abandoned her science degree, and now does bookkeeping for many small businesses. Some people are just born to compute, just like some are born to make music or race fast cars. Have people changed so much that fewer are being born to compute, or is the political/education system telling them that only STEM degrees count? Not everyone has that aptitude, ya think? Good thing, or who would make the music?

Be careful, there is a lot of misinformation out there. Most clients have preconceived notions which aren't always accurate. Also, certain situations can be significantly more complicated than you might expect. Because of these minefields I don't give specific advice, I speak about issues to be considered. Clients wanting specific advice probably should be referred to Certified Financial Planners.

Out of curiosity per Oregon DOJ division of charity: Who may conduct bingo, raffle and Monte Carlo events in Oregon? Only organizations exempt from paying federal income taxes may conduct charitable gaming events in Oregon. This includes public agencies and public schools. Private organizations qualify if they are active nonprofits. An organization must have held tax-exempt status for at least one year and been engaged in its charitable, fraternal or religious purpose during that time. ======= Do all bingo, raffle, and Monte Carlo gaming operations require licenses? Generally, all nonprofit organizations wishing to operate bingo, raffle and Monte Carlo events are required to have licenses issued by the Oregon DOJ. Following are the only three exceptions: Nonprofit organizations operating bingo games with a handle of no more than $2,000 per session and with a total handle of no more than $5,000 per calendar year. Nonprofit organizations holding raffles with a cumulative handle of no more than $10,000 per calendar year. Nonprofit organizations holding Monte Carlo events with a handle of no more than $2,000 per Monte Carlo event and a total handle of no more than $5,000 per calendar year. === For Oregon, it does not look like a good idea for an individual to conduct a raffle.

Like Tom said, if NOT a FT student but over 18 and earning over the then-current amount ($4,700 for 2023, for example), daughter will NOT be a dependent of mother, and mother won't be eligible for education benefits. Daughter will take her own exemption and can take education benefits. Sounds like mother already may have lost her tax dependent in a prior year.

Ash Ahluwalia https://www.oneteamfinancial.com/

I think the SSA.gov has a lot of good information if you know what you're looking for. The Tax Book has a SS/Medicare book, or it's included in their Tax Library. I know I've done webinars in the past, likely either Surgent or Checkpoint. In a nutshell, benefits are based on highest 35 inflation adjusted earning years. There is software that you can buy to calculate this, or if you are an Excel person, you can calculate it yourself. One word of caution. When you get the statement from projected benefits from SSA, they assume you are working at the same level as past year until you collect benefits. This can be misleading for people especially for people who want to retire now but want to wait to take benefits until later.

Probably not even a raffle by definition since participants are only making pledges and not $$ for tickets, and the pledges might be for time or talent instead of dollars.

Had a colleague sign up to be a Ramsey "Endorsed Local Provider" after they promised he would get many good referrals and grow his business. Turned out he spent most of his time answering questions for free, with few new clients.

The e-file system still operates, so file as much electronically as possible. Postmarks for returns mailed should be honored as usual although possibly no one will be at IRS to process paper returns. Statutory deadlines still must be met, so plan for your clients to make all payments by normal due dates. IRS hasn't finalized the contingency plan yet, but I'd assume that there will be no one to issue refunds unless automated, and definitely assume no one will be there in customer service areas to answer the phones or answer questions. In prior shutdowns, somewhere around 88% of IRS employees were furloughed, and there was a catch up period when it reopened. In one year, the start of tax season was delayed because of the extended shutdown that occurred. https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2023/sep/irs-developing-contingency-plan-as-government-shutdown-looms.html If you have audits with deadlines after the possible shutdown date, contact the auditor to be sure that the deadline for materials submission will be extended or meetings rescheduled. Although this page was updated this year, this IRS page has details related to the shutdown and reopening from the 2019 shutdown: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-activities-following-the-shutdown Donations to this site are appreciated any time of the year.

Ramsey Soultions?? I looked into being a Ramsey Pro and quickly declined. To join, they wanted $1,000.00 training fee plus $149.95 per month membership and 40% of your fee for individuals and 60% for business. I thought this was crazy. I had never heard of the Lampo Group, LLC and didn't know they offered any tax prep. I'm glad I refused.

I only read the headings before posting. I guess they were talking about appraisals. (I wouldn't defend a return like this one not even in front of a revenue officer... for sure not in tax court). "Tax Court Says No to $25,500 Deduction for Clothing Donations MAR. 27, 2023 Duncan Bass v. Commissioner DUNCAN BASS, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent United States Tax Court Filed March 27, 2023..."

Hmm, those entered in this raffle will not have paid anything, though. And the church is not sponsoring it. The person giving out the points is a member but she is doing this on her own to encourage others to pledge early. So maybe the points donor should file the W-2G. As nothing is paid for the possible entry into the raffle, (a) 0 (the amount a person paid for a chance...) reduced by the wager = less than zero or (b) the payout is at least 300 time the amount of the wager or 0 x 300 = 0. And since it is not an organization providing the prize, I read that it is not the responsibility of the church to withhold anything. Thanks for looking this up! I will ponder a bit more but am not seeing any responsibility of the church here.