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Since this is considered an ATX Community, and I am an ATX user, I will answer the original poster with that POV. That said, *If* I was to leave my ATX software, I would move to Drake. I have 4-5 staff members trained in how to use ATX, and I know all the shortcuts and "how do you do THAT!" figured out. Moving to another software would cost me a lot of training dollars and possible client disruptions. And, I like the price point. With about 550 returns of various types, I end up with a cost of about $3 a return for software. With UT or Lacerte, it would be north of $20 to $30 a return. Drake's pricing is similar to ATX's. As for PDF copies of the returns, client data, engagements and 8879's, I do all that using Adobe Acrobat, similar the Abby. I just have a directory by client name, that *I* control. I do not want to lose access to my data because I used a proprietary software solution. For a larger firm, with multiple offices, maybe a FC solution would be easier to implement. But *I* am not losing access to *MY* data. I was surprised at the access fee that UT is charging before you prepare your *first* return. And to retain access to prior year info. Blech. But, As recommended, it can help the transition to the new software. Not all the returns need to be in UT, and that decision can be made on a client by client basis, and as you get more comfortable with the new software, fewer and fewer clients will be in UT. Rich

Page 22 "Liquidating Distributions" section should answer your questions. Each time you read "stock" replace that with "mutual fund". You are dealing with basis of the mutual fund, not individual holdings held by the fund. Liquidating distributions are treated as a return of capital on SCH D each year, and if your son truly has an overall loss in this liquidation, the loss will ultimately be in the year he receives the final liquidating payment. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p550.pdf

Yes, $500k is allowed as long as the other requirements are met and they file a joint return, only one of them needs to own the residence. See 121(b )(2)(A)(i)

I came to the exact opposite conclusion with respect to the no-brainer side of the equation. Especially since input speed is only a part of the efficiency equation. Incredibly fast speed of backups, speed of updates, rapid startup - all run circles around ATX or any competition in this price range. The ability to write macros in Drake is an incredible time saver, but a novice Drake evaluator wouldn't even know what I'm talking about. Nothing touches Drake in all these areas. But, as Judy pointed out, to each his own. That's why each company is still in business. And anyone contemplating a change would do themselves a disservice not to do a through evaluation of each software package as well as the company backing it up.

Received a subpoena today! Some guy is suing my client over some profit sharing thing over this one construction job. I have to submit (by mail) to the plaintiff's attorney the financials, my invoices to the client, and some job costing work papers. I sent a copy of the subpoena to my client and yelled at him over the phone that I did not appreciate being hauled into his mess. On the advice of my attorney, I told him if he wanted to object to the subpoena then he would have to pay his lawyer to do that. Otherwise I would be complying and sending off the requested documents. I also spoke to the plaintiff attorney and asked why he wanted my invoices. He said to see how much of my fees were allocated to that job. None. He was pretty nice and assured me that I wasn't under any threat. My attorney assured me of same. I am just livid.

I haven't had any speed issues with the software this year, but in the past the anti-virus program I used (McAfee??, I don't recall), would occasionally cause my system to slow to a crawl.

It really is, unfortunately, down to just those two, maybe three if you count TaxWise. I remember when we had many more viable options, but there's been a lot of consolidation.

Been meaning to share this for awhile. I downloaded AutoHotkey and with a lot of help from the internet, was able to create a useful (to me anyway) set of scripts (attached). The auto-execution section is just something I was told is good form. I have no idea what it does. The volume controls section turns your Scroll Lock and Pause keys into volume up and volume down. Ctrl+Print Screen = mute. (I can never remember that one!) CapsLock delay prevents accidentally pressing CapsLock. You have to press CapsLock twice in less than half a second to toggle it on or off. The CapsLock Smart Shift is the main reason I downloaded AutoHotkey. iT pREVENTS tYPING lIKE tHIS. I work in all caps in ATX and when I need to write an email (or post here) I want to work in mixed case. If CapsLock is on and you press Shift and any letter key, it turns CapsLock off and types the capital letter you wanted. I know my script is inelegant, brute force programming, but it works, and that's all that matters to me. The last section is all my keystroke saving scripts. I chose the equal sign (=) as my trigger key. So if I type irs= I get Internal Revenue Service. no= November, sa= Saturday, ssn= Social Security number, etc. Anything I type frequently goes here. You can add whatever you need here. My favorite one that we use the heck out of in ATX on form 8949, is V= (It's capital V because I work in Caps in ATX). It types VARIOUS in the purchase date column and 123115 in the sold date column and moves me to the next column. It works anywhere you encounter those two columns. I say 'column' because I work in the Detail screen only. IMPORTANT: Put a shortcut to the AutoHotkey program in your Startup folder so it will start with windows. ("C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup"). I keep a shortcut to the Startup folder on my desktop for programs that don't have that option. Then save the file below to My Documents (not in any subfolder). Happy scripting! And don't say I never gave you anything! AutoHotkey.ahk

Nice.

Thanks Abby! I really have missed being able to just type 'V' in the field and have it fill in VARIOUS

This is why anyone thinking of changing vendors should get trial versions and prepare some returns with each one. No program is one-size-fits-all.

I did actual side by side comparison of Drake and ATX in 2013. It was a no-brainer to stay with ATX. Input speed is NOT the only thing to consider when choosing software.

Actually, you can choose ANY drive to install/save to. Tech support will walk you through it beautifully if you have any trepidation. I installed the document manager file location to our networked data drive, and both my assistant and I have access to all files at all times, and can save any file at any time to the same place.

I agree with Abby and John that you should download and test the products. Since it was brought up about document management being a concern, and for what it's worth, Drake's document manager has a folder on the C drive that can be accessed directly for file management, and if I left Drake, I would still have access to all of those files. It can be launched from within the tax program, from a return, or entirely on its own. The tax software's print function integrates with the doc manager for saving anything the tax software will print. From within it, it allows scanning, naming, and storing of documents, and it also allows any other document to be stored there such as files from Word, Excel, from email attachments, or from documents scanned with the scanner software outside of the document manager functions. Best of all, Drake's document manager is included in the price of the software, there aren't any gimmicks with any of Drake's pricing during the early renewal or otherwise, and the customer does not need a dedicated sales rep. ANY of Drake's reps can and will help that customer! Everyone knows what is included and everyone knows what the price will be, not all the BS some on here have complained about with CCHSFS's marketing and pricing.

Good suggestion. I predict that anyone who actually does a valid side-by-side comparison will conclude that Drake wins hands-down, simply on the basis of speed at all levels of operation (preparation, production, organization, backup, and updating). Since time is money, saving time means greater productivity and more money on the bottom line. But the problem is that a true comparison requires abandoning the notion that direct forms entry is all that important, and many people just can't break that dependency. Additionally, Drake's customer service and overall business practices leave everybody else in this price range in the dust. I readily admit that I'm a biased Drake user, but I will add that my bias is a result of long-time experience with both ATX and Drake (as well as with Ultra Tax prior to switching over several years ago).