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​Actually, you can can go to many websites today, including Dell, and buy a very powerful Win 7 Pro 64 bit system. If I was buying a system this year it is what I would buy. Microsoft has committed to supporting Win 7 until 2020.

One of my daughters posted this link. Sweet pictures. Baby Bunnies

Yes, my computer is a few years old now but has been upgraded with memory and tweaked. Doug, my guy, has already said that I probably have about another year, maybe 2, left on it. I/we are holding off because I am downsizing looking at retirement just not sure when. I do expect one more computer. His comment is related to upgrading Windows, not the entire computer, in case you thought that. He's saying the same thing - no new OS on an old computer. And he is joking about the 2021 year. He likes to exaggerate at times.

I have enough to do with my hands with keyboard, calculator, paper control (even in a paperless office!). Plus the issue of replacing monitors that are too far away for comfortable touching distance. I will leave the touchscreen to my tablet, thank you very much. And I just made the switch to Windows 7 a couple of years ago; it's still a half-decade too early to be thinking of another upgrade!

Here is a list of IRS phone numbers. HTH. IRS -PHONE LIST.pdf

I did find this interesting title on the Church and Clergy Tax Guide site, which I now have on order: "The Enforcement or Return of Donors' Designated Gifts - Feature Report" I think that's going to give me some pretty good guidance on this issue, so thanks for the suggestion.

I asked the guy who builds my computers about this. He said to agree to be on the list for a free code to reduce annoying reminders but don't install. "In 2021 maybe maybe maybe then we will load it. One should NEVER upgrade a perfectly fine, working PC." I have 7 Pro and always follow his guidance. He hasn't led me astray yet!

Thanks, Catherine, but the guide knows more! The ask for redirection of donations is better than returning because that can call into question the status of the church. As I indicated to the OP, there is much more to consider and too much for me to post. My mouth works faster than my fingers

Copied from Accounting Today: IRS Changes Identity Theft Policy The Internal Revenue Service has agreed to change its policy on identity theft and provide victims with copies of the fraudulent tax returns that have been filed under their names by scammers. The move comes in response to a request from Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., who wrote to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen last month urging the IRS to provide tax-related identity theft victims with copies of fraudulent returns, which the agency had refused to do, citing privacy concerns. In response to Ayotte on Thursday, Koskinen wrote, “As a result of your letter, we have decided to change our policy regarding disclosure of fraudulent identity theft returns to victims whose name and SSN the fraudulent return was filed under...We will put together a procedure that will enable victims to receive, upon request, redacted copies of fraudulent returns filed in their name and SSN.” Ayotte said she is pleased with the change in policy. "I'm glad that the IRS has agreed to my request to reverse its policy and provide identity theft victims with copies of fraudulent tax returns so they can take proper steps to secure their personal information,” she said in a statement last Friday. “Victims of identity theft face significant emotional and financial hardships, and they shouldn't be left in the dark about the extent of the theft. This is a positive step that will help them protect themselves and their families." Ayotte said she became aware of the issue after hearing from New Hampshire victims of identity theft who told her that the IRS's refusal to provide copies of fraudulent tax returns prevented them from knowing what information was stolen. Last month, Ayotte helped introduce the Social Security Identity Defense Act of 2015, which would require the IRS to notify potential victims of identity theft, something the agency has failed to do in the past. It also requires that the IRS notify law enforcement and that the Social Security Administration notify employers who submit fraudulently used Social Security numbers. The bill adds civil penalties and extends jail time for those who fraudulently use an individual's Social Security number.

There has been discussion on QuickBooks time to time, so I thought some of you might be interested in this upcoming webinar Yes, there is always a "sales" side to these things but --- no pressure as the CPAAcadem.org : http://www.cpaacademy.org/ actually has a lot of information --- it is just up to you to glean and also not buy something ---- unless you see a real benefit ---//// BUT the information is good regardless. Enjoy the summer, easytax HOSTED QUICKBOOKS DESKTOP VERSUS QUICKBOOKS ONLINE Available Date(s) Thursday, June 4, 2015 1:00pm Eastern 12:00pm Central 11:00am Mountain 10:00am Pacific CostFree CPE Credits1.0 hour Subject AreaSpecialized Knowledge & Applications Course LevelBasic Instructional MethodGroup Internet Based PrerequisitesNone Advanced PreparationNone Who should attend?CPAs and other accounting professionals Type of CreditCPE for CPAs Course DescriptionWhen you visit Intuit’s website you might come to the conclusion that QuickBooks Desktop has deceased and that QuickBooks Online has been overwhelmingly embraced. But today QuickBooks Desktop is as critically important to small business and accounting firms as ever, and QuickBooks Online may not be ready for prime time for years to come. Join Cloud9 Real Time CEO Robert Chandler in his discussion of QuickBooks Desktop hosted and QuickBooks Online. Learning ObjectivesWhat the Cloud is and the specific benefits the Cloud can bring to your accounting firm and your clients The explicit benefits of putting any version QuickBooks Desktop software in the cloud The particular differences between hosted QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online

​ I might disagree depending on whether the $300K was included in income in the prior year and what it was for. When things like signing bonuses or other income paid and included in an employee's income under claim of right, meaning it was included in income because he had unrestricted use of the funds and held and treated the funds as his own, if the subsequent repayment is more than $3,000, then that person may be able to take a credit against tax in the year of repayment. In Pub 525, look at Method 2 under "Repayments". Also, your client may be able to recoup the Medicare taxes withheld on the $300K also, and here I'm assuming that since this payment he received was so large that he was already over the FICA limit and FICA taxes were not withheld, so there is no amount of FICA to be regained. If he wouldn't have exceeded the FICA wage base without the inclusion of the $300K, then there may be some FICA withholding to be recovered also. This is also in Pub 525 further down in the same Repayments section. In addition to Pub 525, if you want the official cite, it is Code Sec 1341 and Reg § 1.1341-1. The client will not be able to recoup any excess Medicare surtax from the employer though since that would have been paid on the individual tax return form 1040, and in that case it would be through a tax refund from the IRS by filing an amended return for the prior year on form 1040X.

More info is required. Payback - what & maybe why. Can he just take 150 now from new employer with other 150 paid to him next year, etc. (If understood, basically the 300 is @‌ 50% so the 150 might be there to -- but it saves 75 intax - yes he needs to come up with 75 but maybe that can be -- next year??) 2015 income is income -- so why would old employer deduct the 300 from that for him --- again, what is 300 paid back - for?

I've never been a first day bandwagon person, but have usually been a relatively early adopter of new soft & hard technology. Frankly, I've never had any upgrade issues. I'm fairly tech savvy (until recently, I built a lot of my own machines from parts) and do my homework and plan my process. Based on my research, I chose to not do Vista nor did I downgrade to Win8 (though 8.1 did come on a machine I bought; I'm not thrilled with it but I've learned to live with it). For Win10 I will probably wait until late August before upgrading one of my non-critical laptops. After I play with it for a couple weeks and get the hang of it--and, of course, assuming all goes well-- I'll go ahead and move the rest of my machines over.

​And business entity type. If it is a sole proprietor occupying a building owned by the sole proprietor, he is not permitted to rent from himself and therefore, indirectly the rent would be subject to self employment tax because he would not be permitted to deduct the rent on Schedule C.

Thank you Margaret, Catherine, and MAS. I do think it's important to keep in mind that this is a non-profit ministry, not a tax-exempt church. So there are reporting requirements and representations to be made on the Form 990. My initial recommendation was to suggest to the donor, in order of priority: 1) retain the credit to apply to a future trip; 2) convert the gift to "undesignated/unrestricted"; 3) designate for another purpose; 4) request a refund Anything in 2, 3, or 4 implies that the donor did not relinquish control of the funds and therefore calls into question the deductibility. That could in turn jeopardize the non-profit status in an extreme reading of the rules. However, the fact that the category of "temporarily restricted" funds exists would imply from a common-sense standpoint that some degree of input from the donor is acceptable when the initial purpose cannot be achieved. This differs from the issue of returning undesignated contributions, which is an absolute "no-no", other than in a few extreme situations. There are court cases involving situations where the organization willfully violated the intent of the donor, and the donor demanded a refund, but that sort of thing is not in play here. This involves committed donors who each contributed and/or raised $3K or so of support specifically to participate in the mission trip. It's important to insure that they are treated fairly as a matter of good stewardship, acting with integrity, and not stepping outside the bounds of acceptable practices for a non-profit. I was surprised to find that ECFA didn't have specific guidance that I could find on this matter. I'm checking out Margaret's recommendation to find what "Church and Clergy Tax Guide" has to say on the subject, and also subscribing to another service as well.

​This is solid advice. Do NOT call the IRS about this situation. In fact, even 4 weeks apart would be better. Under NO circumstances send more than one year in an envelope. Keep it simple for the IRS. If she is contacted about the amount she still owes, she can tell them that amended returns are being filed, ask for time to allow all the amended returns to process, then contact them about payment on the total amount due. Keep it simple for the IRS.

With so many things going on with that, I would call the priority line and explain to them that you would like some guidance or a conference with an IRS person to take the returns and see that they are properly processed and posted. If she is on a payment plan, this may require defaulting the payment plan and getting the whole thing back to collections (not automated collections, but a real person collections). I know with the current state of the IRS, that all sound like a pipe dream, but if you and your client have the waiting time, it might work. If that does not fly, you might want to file Form 911. I think your problem is bigger than just deciding whether to send the returns together or separately.

I'd send each one separately....about 3 weeks apart....so one gets posted before the next one arrives. A few years back I sent 2 at the same time (same envelope) and there was some kind of carry-over (I forget exactly what)....and it was just too confusing for the IRS to figure out.

There are several pages in "Church and Clergy Tax Guide" that address this issue, too many to reprint here. I would be happy to read some of this to you if you like or perhaps you can access the material elsewhere. I purchase this resource as a business expense as I do have clergy clients and advise my own church. PM me if you would like to pursue this from the resource I mentioned.

Thanks KC. That was helpful, but I'm still researching several avenues, both tax-focused and also non-profit specific. It's surprising how little definitive info is out there regardiing this issue.

Information on claiming the refund just came out over the weekend. There's a FAQ question page on Comptroller of MD website. There's a link on that page to the Wynne Decision Information that goes to this pdf. Amended returns on Form 502X are to be filed for the prior years and 2014 returns already filed. MD will not be recalculation and correcting this automatically. Preparers will be waiting for the software updates to forms and revised calculations of the credit. For 2014 returns have not yet been filed, MD is developing a supplemental form that must be used and that is scheduled for release no later than 6/30/15, so again, preparers will be waiting for this form's release in the software. This decision affects other states as well, and the Supreme Court left it up to the states to fix it. .

OMG....seriously? I do know how to use "where's my refund". And when I checked there over a month ago it said he'd be getting a letter within 30 days and he'd have 30 days to respond. Over 30 days later...it still had the same message. But he still didn't get the letter. I do hope this satisfies everyone.