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My daughter gave me a placard for my desk that reads, "I can explain it to you, but I cannot understand it for you."

Reminds me of an article I read many years ago about a pregnant woman who was ticketed for driving in the car pool lane and went to court. The judge dismissed the ticket because he did not want to rule on when a child in the womb reached the status of a person under the law. Pregnant women should be able to drive in carpool lanes now in Georgia. Tom Longview, TX

When AI gets that smart, AI can do the whole tax return and we can find something more fun to do.

I urge all of you to check your AMT form on the 1116. That is where I had my issue. You have to enter the AMT carryover manually on that form. That may or may not be your issue, but it was for me. Tom Longview, TX

Jasdim, when this stuff happens I turn proactive and turn the tables by telling the client that I am here all year and why didn't s/he talk with me before taking such a huge distribution. If your client (ex-client?) is on Medicare, wait until he finds out his premiums go way up in a couple of years.

A lot of people are suddenly going to be pregnant, every year. When the IRS started requiring SSN for dependents, 10s of millions of dependents just disappeared.

My favorite is "Why is my 401(K) distribution included on my return? I already paid the tax (pointing to the withholding box). It shouldn't be on my return." Some people are convinced they are "paying" the tax twice and can't grasp the concept that the withholding is just a prepayment of the tax that is going to be due, not the tax itself.

I'm such a dunder brain. Client withdrew $250,000 from an IRA and had no withholding, but there is no way he can possibly owe taxes because he withdrew it over several months and not all at one time. Absolutely no way. After a 30 minute conversation (30 minutes that I'll never get back) and haranguing my staff for another 30 minutes, unfortunately, we still do not understand. I wish I were better at my job. Do you think if I recommend one of the big box preparers they might have someone who could understand more easily? I would say Rita hugs all the way around, but I'm in no mood to be that close to him or his offspring, who came to join the 'this has to be wrong' chorus. Happy Wednesday.

I've had a lot less of forgetting all the dividend pages since I've had my portal and more clients are getting their 1099s in PDF form. They just upload the PDF and voila! I've got it all.

I like when it's a 45 year old, they withhold 5% and you explain the penalty is 10% before you even get to the tax. Every year the same client thinks she can deduct all the clothes she buys for work entertainment events. I explain she can't deduct dresses but every year she sends me all her receipts. Seeing the prices of those outfits, I'm glad my wife is exceptionally cheap.

I used to teach taxes (first for Tax-Aide, then for HRB and local chapter of FSEA) but somewhere along the way I apparently lost the ability to explain taxes to anyone.

I'd love to hear their arguments / thought process. Have a client who inherited about $5m from her brother and had NO CLUE it was coming (he was much younger, they didn't really talk, died unexpectedly and had no one else in his life). Every time I talk with her she's royally ticked off that she owes taxes on the income. Um, you retired expecting to live on $40k, now live on $200k per year and you are upset?

I haven't had issues filing with the 1116 as long as I check the election 'tp elects not to file form 1116'. But when I have to file the 1116, that's when the issues are popping up.

Here's an onpoint article: https://www.picpa.org/articles/cpa-now-blog/cpa-now/2019/12/27/pa-treatment-of-1099r-distributions

There are special notes notes section on the 1040 EF form called Preparer Notes. It's my understanding that those go with the efile. Not that the IRS or anyone will ever read them. Maybe someday the IRS will have AI to read those notes and look at all of our attachments. Won't that be be fun?

Doesn't that fall under "legally placed in the home". I am doing this from memory, but I thought that was a specific line in the relationship tests. Tom Longview, TX

the gain, if any, would only be deferred in a like-kind exchange. Otherwise, as personal use property--a gain would be reported on Schedule D ($35,174 minus cost), a loss would be a wash (but should be reported because of the 1099-S).

ATX posted that they were aware of the error message but have not followed up (yet).

Patrick! That is one of my favorite's, also! Incredible!

A good primal scream out in the backyard works too.

I do tax returns for a lot of states, but thank goodness I have NO and never had any and will NOT accept any Georgia clients.

Someone told him about the 72(t) rule that can avoid the 10% early withdrawal penalty if the distributions are determined as a series of substantially equal periodic payments, and he heard it as "avoid tax" and never made it all the way to how the payments must be determined !! You can bang your head against the wall or give him a Rita hug, but he knows he will "avoid tax."

You have the tax season sillies! It's better than crying, but that works too.

We all have moments like this. The only way to move forward is to accept the mistake, learn from what you did wrong and move forward. Since I don't have any staff, I have to yell at myself. By making mistakes is how we learn what are limitations are which is why I don't do any Trust or Estate returns

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-provides-tax-inflation-adjustments-for-tax-year-2024

Thank you all. Appreciate you. My clients think I am a hero... We are paper filing with the 14039 attached. Proof of dependency is also being attached to paper return (Birth Certs, Passports, College enrollment docs). It required a phone call to AXT support to find out which SS# was compromised. Taxpayers are taking steps to freeze credit, call banks, etc. Tom Longview, TX

I still have the same clients getting a pin year after year. Not that they had identity theft; but their workplaces were compromised. The pin is different every year. I have finally taught most of them to watch for it.

OMG, I am laughing so hard and I don't know why. Thank you @Catherine Tom Longview, TX

In case anyone here needs a laugh today besides me, it is so corny that I couldn't resist sharing.

This guy should have received way more than 33 months given all the aggravation he probably caused many elderly people. https://www.tigta.gov/articles/investigations/man-sentenced-his-role-nationwide-internal-revenue-service-impersonation

https://dor.georgia.gov/life-act-guidance