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http://www.pcworld.com/article/3073457/windows/how-microsofts-nasty-new-windows-10-pop-up-tricks-you-into-upgrading.html Run this (no install needed): https://www.grc.com/never10.htm Or get GWX Control Panel here: http://ultimateoutsider.com/downloads/

Thanks. I had clicked the "x" in the upper right-hand box this morning (as always) without looking carefully at the screen. Sure enough, when I checked the status, it told me Win 10 was scheduled to be installed this upcoming Thursday. So I went through the extra steps to cancel the upgrade. Now I think I'll run one of the above blockers. Talk about sneaky - this is unforgivable behavior by Microsoft. They really are accountable to no one.

Our termination letter goes something like below, and is modified based on the individual circumstances. We also send this message to the last known email address. The letter below was recently sent to a client who wanted us to file prior year returns. Dear XXXXXX, This letter is to inform you, that we are releasing you as a client. Although we have been on standby to complete your delinquent tax returns, we have had insufficient communication from you, to enable our office to proceed with completion of your work. Therefore, I have reconsidered the ability of our office to service your needs. For this reason, your client file has been closed. Since your tax issues require a closer working relationship than we have been able to establish, please contact us regarding return of any tax documents remaining in our files. At this point, because you have not returned any of our recent phone calls, we are uncertain that the above mailing address is current. For this reason, we are reluctant to mail your documents that you provided to us. It is not our responsibility to store your materials, so unless we hear from you, at some point we will dispose of them. Please know that we wish you well. Sincerely,

Catherine, Be sure and tell your E & O company that the business still owes you approximately $2,000 and Pro about $500. As you have not been paid for your work, do you legally have to give them any information? I hate these situations with two owners. The ONLY 2 owners I will take on are a husband and wife team and have been thankful over the years as the ones I have sent down the road weren't worth the headache and, of course, didn't stay in business long. Sometimes, even family will steal from each other, so I am very careful about which husband and wife team I will take also. Please let us know how this turns out. And if you need us for any drive-bys, we're here for you! We'd we happy to drive by and wish you well! Take care, Cathy

Shouldn't the FTC be doing something about this? I think it would qualify as an unfair business practice.

My recommendation is to call your E&O. I have had two situations over the years that just might have given rise to an issue even if not a lawsuit and called about them. In both cases, an advisor called me to discuss the particulars and gave great advice. Nothing came of these issues but I felt so much better having someone else in my corner giving advice and prepared to support me. Good luck! I think I need to also reconsider how long I stick with these grandkids trusts. I know one is being moved this year because the beneficiary has gotten so nasty. I don't want 2 more years of her.

Take it from someone that is still dealing with the unwanted upgrade to 10, it sucks! I am still so mad. ATX fixed my databases and backups, but ALL of my preferences, print packets, complete or incomplete checkboxes, etc. were gone from all years.

If you can get Rita to give them each a hug, I have a client with a backhoe and a huge plot of forest land...

You will have to start with her return and amend to add his information. Who is primary will have no effect on tax or penalty consequences. Amending to include his unfiled information will NOT eliminate penalties and interest. Amending to MFJ will make her jointly and severally liable for penalties and interest. They chose the path/actions/procrastinations. They are the cause of the penalties and interest. Be sure you charge adequately for your work.

While my legal education does not extend past Perry Mason and Judge Judy, please don't take this as legal advice. But I feel compelled to give my opinion as I had a similar experience with H and W shareholders and it makes me angry seeing someone try to take advantage of a friend for their own gain, which is what Books is trying to (blaming you for his carelessness, ignorance, and greed). In my case I had all hard copies and notes, but as you say you had to make adjustments so wouldn't you be able to retrieve hard copies of the returns and amended returns if prepared? From your synopsis it appears your memory is good so why not re create notes, and explanations, especially the reason for Pro not being able to deduct losses, from your knowledge of what Books was telling you and the continuous statements from Books of unreported loans and other items. I don't think this is a violation of 230 as they are both questioning and answering the same situation, I don't see it as talking about one without the other's permission. I think your being prepared will show them they are barking up the wrong tree.. Getting a consultation from an attorney and speaking with your E&O will give you good preparation as to what you might expect and what you should do. Count me in for the drive by if needed, and let me know if you need me to call Brooklyn. It's not you, it's them. Good luck, Bill

Judy, I have client that spent a small fortune on their website, over 200K. I took the cost amortized over 3 years, but subsequent costs are expensed as website maintenance. I found this article that may help: http://www.bakerandcompany.com/tax-information-for-businesses/tax-treatment-of-website-development-costs/

I update individual software products, not Windows itself during that period. No time - the risk to a meltdown is greater than the risk of a hack. Client always tells me I should shift to Linux - reality is that it's just as vulnerable as Windows. Another client is a Linux developer and said because of its fragmentation of ownership - it doesn't get the news stories that a Windows hack gets.

You can also transfer your QB Online edition into the Desktop version, and then run it thru the condense process noted above. Much detail is lost in this translation. So far, it is the only reason to like the QB Online edition. Rich

Limit QB copy for IRS audit My client is being audited by IRS- The agent wants an electronic version of the books - basically a copy of the QB file. Is it possible to limit the backup to only include the transactions relevant to the year being audited? We are trying to avoid a "fishing expedition" but also want to get this audit over with asap. Any suggestions? Asked byDEjan728 QuickBooks Accountant 2012 3 years ago Options RECOMMENDED ANSWER 1 person found this helpful Using your accountant's version, you can create a "period copy" including only the year being audited. File > Utilities > Condense Data. Remove transactions before and after the year needed. Was this answer helpful? Yes No Memere AllStar 3 years ago 1 comment Thank you!! DEjan728 3 years ago View more ANSWER Read in Help on "Period Copy." Also, look here: http://longforsuccess.com/2011/09/10/quickbooks-accountant-2012-create-a-period-copy/

Except QB online is HORRIBLE!

A cute spoof of all the no-tax nonsense we all hear about. Sent by a friend; the link goes to YouTube. How To Pay Zero Income Tax

Under the heading of no good deed going unpunished... Former clients. Small S-corp, two owners, now fighting. One was the pro, the other did the books (incredibly poorly). One who did the books might have been skimming (after they became former clients). Will call them Pro and Books. I was brought in by Pro whom I knew from a civic group. When they came to me it was after the prior acctnt died. His balance sheet was totally mucked up (apparently he had mild dementia problems in his last years). Books gave me startup paperwork that did NOT support the balance sheet from the first year's return so I had to make corrections for prior-year errors. Then every year for 2 -3 years there was another twist on that first year. Books would say "Oh, I forgot to tell you about the loan from my uncle," or "Oh, don't you have the info on X; I thought I gave that to you?" etc. So every year I was making prior-year corrections as new info came up from Books. Pro never wanted to talk about the money side being too busy/didn't understand. Until Pro wanted to know why Books got to deduct loss on 1040 but not Pro (suspended losses). Told Pro that Books said Pro had no equity. Turned out not to be the case but I never saw one bit of paperwork on Pro's equity. I was *so* glad when they moved their accounting and tax work to a firm closer to their location, several years ago. So now Pro has agreed to let Books buy them out but Books is wrangling for less money than is right (says Pro). Pro tells me Books is trying to blame me for prior-year messes. Books has accountants (possibly) working for lawyers who want all my info on the case. But I got rid of all my hardcopies some time ago (about a year after they became former clients), and the password in my notes to the ancient QB files does not open them. My question is do I dare cooperate with Books' accountant firm, or do I hire an attorney pronto? If the latter, anyone here have any recommendations for someone in MA? I did speak with the accountant in very general terms (not using any client names) last Friday and have a brand-new, so-called "Section 7216 Disclosure" that in NO way, shape, or form, meets IRS requirements so I can stall on talking - for now. As a total side-note, the business still owes me something like $2K and Pro about $500. Should have sold my practice last year....

Some of us sounded the warnings 3 years ago...

Schirallicpa, Wait...did I just hear you that you "are hopeful that the preparer does not wait til Oct 15 to get the return done"? Then, if the taxpayer is not going to have you prepare his tax return even though the other preparer didn't do his job correctly with not filing the electronic extension, etc... what in the world are you wasting your time for? Or maybe not....I hope your fee was extremely gratifying once you collected it before giving the person his 1040-V....as you know it's not over yet as IRS won't send him/her the NYS payment even if it was made out to the NYS Department of Revenue....so you are not through with the client of the MIA tax preparer! Or just be sure to tell the person to have his preparer include the NYS payment in his estimated payment figure he uses on his return....which should have earned you an additional fee for that knowledge. Cathy

had this situation a couple years ago. yes- ATX handles well. Remember - the losses may still be suspended for a while, depending on income.

"The preparer who dealt with Schirallicpa's client likely chose a paper extension because a payment was being made and s/he didn't have the bank info to electronically pay (or the client didn't have the money in the account at the moment) " That was not the case - which makes it even more annoying. The client's info is on file with the preparer, and he's a large enough client that he would have the money in his account. Regardless of having to make a payment or not, the extension should have been filed electronically. This is our job - to take care of crap for clients. When I get my oil changed in my car, I expect the service station to perform the entire job for me, and I do not want to have to do anything but pay them. Same concept for us, we take care of this for them. I sent in a 1040-V with his payment, and am hopeful that the preparer does not wait til Oct 15 to get the return done.

Too bad the IRS doesn't fall for cuteness because this little guy is adorable. Looks like he's extending an olive branch asking for first time penalty forgiveness.

I think this could be handled by entering 100% of the transactions as reported on 1099-B on the husband's returns and then entering code "N" in col f to back out the portion of gain or loss attributable to the ex-wife. Include an explanation to accompany the return that includes a statement of why this was done, the ex-wife's name and SSN, and the amount of gain or loss she is including on her return. On ex-wife's return, report her share of the #s from the 1099B. She won't have a matching issue so this shouldn't generate an IRS letter. Attach a similar explanation to her return stating that amounts attributable to her were reported on the 1099B to the ex-husband, and be sure to include his name and SSN in that explanation. I could live with the suggestion made by Abby Normal and Danrvan also.

The absolute worst days to call are after a 3-day weekend.

You could add a line on the 8949 for half the proceeds with equal basis for zero gain and call it "50% Proceeds to spouse". That will having to deal with a matching letter on the proceeds. Not sure if IRS is able to match basis yet, but in any event, will be easy to explain to IRS if they do inquire. On a side note, I hate joint investment accounts!

We use SUMo to check for updates on other software and have Flash, Java and most other programs checking for updates automatically. We don't wifi anything in our office. The thought of data being broadcast into the ether makes me nervous. We don't even allow wireless keyboards for the same reason. An IT guy I used to work with would drive around to various offices and connect to their open wifi, then go inside and show the owners how vulnerable their private data was. He got a lot of work that way.

I'd be afraid the IRS would send both the extension and the check back if you used an extension form. Honestly, I'd have the client come in and use IRS Direct Pay. It will save them penalties and interest because it will post sooner.

I would use the extension vouchers, but I don't think it would make a bit of difference. Who knows? Maybe the one who handles it hasn't slept all week and says, "Eh, automatic extension granted. Let me get back to Rita's new client asking me to resend notices cause he left them in Scotland and has been trying to get her to give him advice without a notice." I am joking, of course, but I don't see how it would matter what you send with the check as long as the tax year is clear.

I agree with you both and am aware that this will all be taxed at the regular corporate rates. I realize that the covenant isn't part of this corporate sale, but I included in in the detail of my post so that Tom could see that it wasn't part of the figures I was discussing. I also included the details of goodwill to show that it realistically can't be attributed to the owners and will be part of the sale within the C corp. Inventory will be determined at the close of business immediately before settlement for the sale and will be plugged in to the final breakdown so that, because the sales price will not be increased for inventory and the class V asset allocations will have been decided on, the effect will be that using the residual method will cause the goodwill to be reduced by the amount of the inventory value. They're working on revising the figures for the class V assets after I sent the owner an email about F&F being allocated too high, and too low on improvements. I was just there this morning explaining all of this to the owner, and then came back to the office to find an email from the corp's attorney asking about the same issue.