Leaderboard

A group of women were at a seminar on how to live in a loving relationship with their husband. The women were asked, "How many of you love your husband?" All the women raised their hands. Then they were asked, "When was the last time you told your husband you loved him?" Some women answered today, a few yesterday, and some couldn't remember. The women were then told to take out their cell phones and text to their husband: "I love you, Sweetheart." The women were then instructed to exchange phones with another person, and to read aloud the text message they received, in response. Below are 11 replies; some are hilarious. If you have been married for quite a while -- a sign of true love -- who else would reply in such a succinct and honest way? 1. Who the heck is this? 2. Eh, mother of my children, are you sick or what? 3. Yeah, and I love you, too. What's up with you? 4. What now? Did you crash the car again? 5. I don't understand what you mean. 6. What the heck did you do now? 7. Don't beat about the bush, just tell me how much you need? 8. Am I dreaming? 9. If you don't tell me who this message is actually for, someone will die. 10. I thought we agreed you wouldn't drink during the day. 11. Your mother is coming to stay with us, isn't she?

Dear Client Again, Thank you for waiting until you got everything and bringing it in Monday. Thank you for calling Thursday to say oh ha ha just kidding I got another form. Your record oh ha ha just kidding I got another form is pretty much out of reach now. Congratulations and yeah I'm not touching your stuff for three weeks.

"Hello, Rita, this is 85 year-old Taxpayer, I was wondering how much you charge for a simplified return?" (Discuss, discuss, blah, blah.) "Well, my return is very simplified, but let me tell you: I screwed it up royally for two years in a row, and my husband says you are doing it from now on or he's trading me in."

Thank you everyone for checking in on this topic. The return was ready for pickup prior to him pressing me to make a change. I said I would do additional research before he picks up. Schedule A is where it stays. I guess I just needed a little backbone support.

If he's still breathing it's his.

Tom is spot on. So make sure that, regardless of which way he decides to go, he gets, and keeps a detailed breakdown from his insurance co of what he gets for what. You don't need just a total, he should get a breakdown of how much is for what, landscaping [clean up replacing plants and/or paving, etc, damage to trees, etc] building, possibly loss of rental income, depending on his coverage.

Linda, I believe that the transaction would be a sale or other disposition of an asset. There may be two transactions if he does not want to build. There will be a cost, covered by insurance hopefully, for the clean up and restoration of the land. That cost will be a non-taxable transaction, as it just puts the land back to the condition that it should be in to sell it. The proceeds from the insurance for the home that was destroyed would be the selling price of the home asset. Gain or loss would be recognized based on the remaining basis in the property. It will flow through the 4797 to the 1040. The short year schedule e will also go to the 1040 as normal, and if their are any suspended passive losses, they will be released and flow to the 1040 as well. The land will convert from rental property to investment property until sold and will will produce a capital gain or loss depending on the sale price and the basis. Hope this helps. Tom Newark, CA

Oh, I can't wait to get one of these calls and play with them. I got one last week from the Microsoft technical center wanting to help me "fix" my computer. I just kept laughing at them and they finally hung up. Next call I told them I had a MAC now. Then I answered one of these at my mom's house and I told that one that there's no computer at the home (truth). I was not so politely informed by that caller that all Americans are rich and all have computers. I just about fell off the chair laughing at that one! Several of my clients got the scammer calls complete with spoofing of the caller ID. The latest was an elderly Japanese man who is brilliant retired college professor. He played along and told the caller he was so upset over the call that he had to go lie down and would wait for the police to arrive. Next call he received, the caller ID said " local police". We have only state or county police, both of which show on caller ID, and again my client said he'd be resting until the police arrived to arrest him. He said the callers got more belligerent as he wasn't cooperating and falling for their lies. Then he called me laughing about the whole thing. I love my smart, funny clients.

Mine did. I told him that I'm a special agent with the IRS and I was having his call traced.

Dear Client, When you sell stock that is spun-off from or merged with another stock you own that was itself acquired from a spin-off, I can NOT figure out basis for you without ( a ) the date you bought the original, ( b ) the number of shares you originally bought, and ( c ) if you have sold any in the interim. If you can only narrow the purchase date down to a 6-month range because you are missing statements, I will use the *lowest* historical price during that time frame. I will charge you through the nose for this work. Instead, why don't you either track and provide your own bleeping stock basis (c'mon; you both have advanced degrees in sciences, I KNOW you can figure this out), or at LEAST do the online research on the spinoffs and mergers and give me the best source data you can? Or I can just use zero as the basis....

I just checked my acks and the client who had six states has acks on the Fed and ALL of the states. My sigh of relief can be heard 'round the world. Now, "only" 54 behind and appts all next week. BUT, I can now print e-file stickers. How about that Lion?

Oh, But Rita are you up for Trade?

I wish somebody would give me a gift of 14k. Or gasoline with FMV 14k. Or Cadbury mini eggs. Ok, carry on.

I turned that over to my client last year to do himself. I think someone else suggested it last year as not wanting to take the responsibility. I still have the 8938 with the return.

I have told clients to get an itemized bill. But, if I have their other information, I give them an estimate of what their 2% floor is likely to be. If the client's here with me, we have called the lawyer to see if his potential deductible fees are higher than that -- because he'll probably charge her to itemize her bill, too! If original divorce fees, probably not a big $ amount of his bill is for getting or keeping income, unless they had businesses, rentals, sources of income to divide up, besides just alimony. (Child support is not income/deduction, so legal fees re child support won't be deductible.) If a return to court to negotiate a change, might be a large amount of the fees to get/keep income. You can give client info re 2% floor and let him/her use judgement re getting more details from lawyer.

LJ: He also has up to two years to reinvest the proceeds from a casualty loss. ITs Code Section 1033 or 1034. He may not want to be a landlord at "that" location anymore, but maybe in a "new" location. Today is just a day to ponder what was lost. Tomorrow may bring to your client other info to make another choice. Rich

Yes, but it may not speed anything up, since you would have to paper file, and it might well delay things longer than waiting for the SSN. If they have a local SSA office, they might be able to take their paperwork there and get someone there to look up the number for them. At least, several [10-12?] years ago that worked for a client of mine.

You are right, The IRS almost acts like it's just a nuisance having to fool with sorting out who is the 'good guy' and who is the crook.

They called me a couple of months ago. My husband answered and went into a panic. I told him not to worry we owed nothing. The called again last week while a client was in the office. I put them on speaker phone and let them rant. Then explained to what happened to be an elderly client that it was a scam and to never return the calls. It Could be dangerous and if she was truly concerned to always have her daughter handle it. PS her daughter is up on most of the scams

Yes, her implants were abnormally large to increase her tips and she swore she was going to have them removed when she quit working! So, if has an abnormally large implant to increase the attention he draws in face-to-face meetings....

From US. Treasury Website: Statement from a Treasury Spokesperson on Forms 1095-A 3/20/2015 WASHINGTON - In light of today’s announcement—regarding additional incorrect information on certain Marketplace tax statements (Forms 1095-A)—the Department of the Treasury is expanding the relief it announced previously on February 24,which will mitigate any harm to tax filers. Any individual who enrolled in qualifying Marketplace coverage, received an incorrect Form 1095-A, and filed his or her tax return based on that form does not need to file an amended tax return. The IRS will not pursue the collection of any additional taxes from these individuals based on updated information in the corrected forms. This relief applies to tax filers who enrolled through the federally facilitated marketplace or a state-based marketplace. As before, some individuals may choose to file amended returns. Treasury intends to provide additional information to help tax filers determine whether they would benefit from filing amended returns. Individuals also may want to consult with their tax preparers to determine if they would benefit from amending. Only a small fraction of tax filers received incorrect Forms 1095-A. Treasury estimates that in the vast majority of these cases, the impact on an individual’s tax liability will be very small. We continue to urge individuals who have been notified of errors on their Forms 1095-A and have not yet filed their tax returns to wait to file until they receive corrected forms.

We are really cute. Most of my clients really like and comment on my presentation folders. Much nicer than a bunch of papers thrown together in a green and white envelope. I have a very few clients who want their copy of the return in a .pdf format. It doesn't cost that much for me to give them something in return for what they pay me.

I can't get my clients to go paperless. Just have a couple clients who accept the .pdf electronically instead of a paper copy for their files. (And, a few more who want both.) So, I add the sticker to the client copy. But, you are right: we are cute!

Maybe I need the Sparty helmet logo in green for my stickers!

I have a friend who finally tried to text her high school daughter some thing and she used the text slang. Her reply was: "I know this isn't my mother so who is this, not funny" I didn't mention mother is blind. We laughed tell her daughter got home.

Is the color GREEN or WHITE?

I think what the OP wants to know is if he can give as much as he wants to as many people as he wants -- and that answer is Yes. Then if he keeps it to $14,000 PER PERSON, will he avoid filing a gift tax return -- and for most cases that answer is also Yes. And, he didn't ask, but if he goes over $14,000 per person (gave them a birthday/holiday gift plus $14,000, for instance) what happens -- gift tax return, exclude the $14,000 per person, but unless he's used up his lifetime limitation, no tax is due, as the excess simply reduces his lifetime limit. Now, as Judy as said, that's the simple answer; but if your client is doing something less simple (giving property and the donee takes over a mortgage/liability or any of the more detailed transactions Judy mentioned) then the answer becomes less simple real fast. So, strongly tell your client to get back to you BEFORE he gives large gifts.

I read somewhere that the IRS treats dental work not as cosmetic but as a medical condition and it can be deducted on Sch A without much issues. So, I would deduct any dental work on Sch A, but it will be hard for me to include it on Sch C. Of course now with the 10% limitation, that means nothing or a few bucks of benefits.

PS I like the pop of color they provide also on a B&W tax return.

I wonder sometimes.

These are the small labels with the efile logo that you used to be able to get free from the IRS. Those of us who use them to adorn our finished returns are nearly out of them. Last week, my daughter-in-law created a template on Word that allows me to print them by the page and in living color.

Now that you have knowledge, I would quiz the client as to the nature of the documents and attempt to clear up the ambiguity. You may find that you already know too much to sign the return that it is true and accurate to the best of your knowledge. And amending 1120S's is not just about amending the 1120S, the K-1s and consequently the shareholders' 1040's will need amended. If the two shareholders are putting pressure on you, re-direct that pressure to where it belongs. At this point, the S should already be on extension. Tell the shareholders that your hands are tied and until you can finish the S accurately, there is nothing you can do and they may have to extend their 1040s.

I cannot believe how much discussion is on this thread. Schedule A, just like all dental work. Any request by the client to add it to Schedule C should be met with some kind of statement pointing out the outright fraudulent nature of that request. Is the client really ready to spend thousands of dollars to preserve a $1K "business deduction?" To keep it, he would probably have to end up in tax court. However, SFA did say the client was an attorney, so maybe my last statement may not be too far fetched...

The scammers use internet phones and spoof the phone number. Impossible to trace. Police won't get involved. The best defense, if your clients are savvy enough to listen, is to simply hang up. Stats are one out of seven end up giving money.

And removing the insatiable need of Americans to get their refund RIGHT NOW!!! This is the driving factor for the way the system is structured. Thereby giving the fraudsters free reign. Comes down to greed by the average American citizen, and the disease of INTENTIONAL APATHETIC IGNORANCE.

Yes, the Hess case. But remember that one reason she won in Tax Court was that the extreme degree of those implants made the Judge agree that they were NOT a personal benefit. She went under the knife twice, that enlarged her bust size -- first to 56FF and then to 56N. (No, those numbers aren't misprints.) The IRS contended that the Tax Court should characterize the outlays as nondeductible personal expenses. Get real, responded Special Trial Judge Joan Seitz Pate, who reasoned that for someone like Cynthia, top-heavy breasts are business assets and implants are a necessary "stage prop." Hence, no personal benefit derived by Cynthia from those particular implants, which, Judge Pate pointedly noted, aren't the type usually sought by women seeking to enhance their personal appearance. Instead, it was Cynthia's financial desires that motivated the dancer to undergo the surgery. Cynthia helped her case by testifying that because she and her husband routinely endured off-color, vituperative comments from people they encountered, she had decided to have the implants permanently removed when her exotic-dancing career ended. This bolstered her contention that the surgery was just for business purposes. The judge compared the implants to work clothes and uniforms, which are allowable only if they satisfy a two-step test: (1) required as a condition of employment and (2) unsuitable for everyday use. It was a cinch for Cynthia to get over the first hurdle; her large, cumbersome breasts are a "costume," needed to retain her employment as a professional exotic dancer. As for the second stipulation, the court cited Cynthia's testimony that she would remove the implants each day, were that possible. As they cause bacterial infections and other serious medical problems, her understandable preference would be not to "wear" them while offstage. The decision was that implants so extraordinarily large are "useful only in her business" and, therefore, deductible.

A fire can be very debilitating and disheartening experience. Anyone who has experienced it first hand will attest to that. Your guy is asking the right questions. And the rules are pretty simple. Use the insurance proceeds to rebuild and pay little to no tax. Use the insurance money to go play and the piper will need to be paid. Your guy needs to explore all of the different approaches and decide what makes most sense to him going forward. He needs to be honest with the insurance appraiser and gather all of the info necessary to make an informed decision. My first hand experience with fire? My parents house, 8 years after I left home, was the victim of a fire that spread from the neighbor's house. The neighbor's house caught fire because the kids in that house were playing with matches under the bed. At the end of the day, both houses were completely and utterly destroyed. They say no one died or was injured in the fire. My Mom, just a couple years later at the very young age of 58 years old, died never having gotten over losing every thing she owned in that fire. I attribute her death, from a massive coronary event, directly to the fire. I relay that story simply to reemphasize my first two sentences in this post. Your guy needs to understand that his decisions do not affect him alone.

The difference is that SFA's client had a broken front tooth and would have (hopefully) had it repaired anyway, so it really isn't ordinary or necessary specific only to his job. It's also different than the breast implant case because it is fairly common in the pole dancer or stripper industry to have implants, for for those that earn higher revenues, her boss suggested it for exactly that purpose, and she would have removed them during off hours if she could have. Having size 56N breasts that weigh 10 lbs each and look like a deformity compared to the average woman is vastly different than have a cosmetic procedure to repair a tooth to make it look normal. SFA, can you be a little more descriptive of your client's line of work? What type of "professional" is he?

If you're going to report the income to stop matching when no return is due, then report it on the kid's return where there will be no increased tax liability. Don't add income to the parents' returns.

Just to add, your client will need to complete a police report and notify the FTC as well as the three major credit reporting agencies. One of my clients who is currently going thru this told me the IRS requires the police report with the return and form 14039 to investigate. That makes no sense. The IRS has to know who they are sending this money to or at the very least, what bank account it was deposited in. My client's SS# was used to get a 12,000.00 refund. I hope they do investigate.

But I am not sure what tax preparer training has to do with this. I don't think the problem is honest mistakes by preparers who don't know any better and can be trained to not make the mistakes. The problem is intentional FRAUD.

and this one is not that bad; but it started off with a two and a-half hour delay due to a complete power outage. And it has progressed, or regressed, if you will, to just a little while a go, a retired Priest (new client referred from my other retired Priest client (upwards in age 75 to 85), turning left into my parking lot, turned right in front of a vehicle and the other vehicle hit his. Neither was injured too badly but both vehicles will not be driven away. So as of this moment, I have a police car, an ambulance, and two wrecked vehicles and a party of eight people in my parking lot with two wreckers on the way. And I have got to get some work done. Annie - where are you? Oh there you are: Tomorrow, tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar there'll be sun. And I will get some tax returns done.