Hahn1040

Perhaps we need to try home visits and interrogation! We all know that when you walk in a house, you can tell if children live there! Look each child in the eye and ask: where did you sleep last night, last week, last month..... so what if she is 8 months old... read what her eyes are saying!

my daughter is going to graduate school in France. It is an eligible institution. It has the magic code from Dept of Education. anyone want to wager the chances of her getting a 1098-T at all! (figured I would give everyone a good laugh!)

Catherine, Indeed that is the key: to answer the question that they are asking not the question that I think they are asking! I recognize that I must slow down and read every word...

Thanks Rita. I won't clutter up my brain with the fine points. I figured that they would be testing on things we need to know now to do accurate returns. Not details about a long outdated subject matter. Isn't is amazing how many years ago that credit was!! Feeling very old these days...

Thanks to each of you for the suggestions and links. I really appreciate it. If I can only get straight in my mind all of the "all but..." "except" and double negatives in the questions! are there really so many questions about the First Time Home buyers credit? This package I am using has a million of them. Goodness, we aren't doing any returns that they are now receiving it. The ones that received the 2009 $8,000 have long since passed the required 36 months. So the only possibility that we will run into are the ones with the 2008 credit that they are paying back. Most of my clients are military or other such transient... so they have long ago left that residence and the pay back of the credit was resolved. Certainly there are some that are paying it back and we have to know who /what/ and how AND most of all remember to ask.

I am studying for the SEE. My plan is to complete two of the tests and all of my necessary CE by mid-Dec. I have a good start on it... I am using the Fast Forward Academy package. ... so far so good... any pearls of wisdom from any of you who have recently passed the test? thanks so much!

thank you so much! I appreciate your input! I agree it is definitely not personal residence. she had not lived in it since 2011. (above I had put 2012 in error) the tenants moved out at the end of march. T/P did not move back in and made no attempt to rent it again. By then she was almost a year behind on the mortgage payments, so the bank started to foreclose. the 1099-C shows it is recourse. However, I am wondering if that is accurate. It was a VA loan. Seems like that would be non-recourse? Isn't that the whole point of the VA loan is that the VA comes in and takes it off the lenders hands? there is actually a $9,000 loss. My understanding is that the loss is used to reduce tax attributes and is thus zeroed out for the return. Then again, the more I read the more confused I get about it all. In ATX how do I "reduce the capital loss"? perhaps a separate entry on the 4797 showing an offset? Again thanks!

I have spent several hours reading various threads about COD but none that address EIC. here is my client: She got the house in the divorce. Lived in it for a couple of years with the son. In 2012, she decided she needed to find herself and gave the son to his dad and rented out the house and she went to try out city life and moved to DC She spent most of 2014 in Southeast Asia at a Yoga place. ... at first she used the rent to pay the mortgage, but midway through 2014 she stopped making the mortgage payment. when the tenants moved out in April 2015 she let the bank take the house. COD is $38,000 she had rid herself of her worldly possessions so her assets were about $1,500 and credit card debt about $18,000... and the mortgage was $38,000 more than the FMV of the house. so she was definitely insolvent. In 2015, she had moved to Charleston,SC and did a couple of odd jobs ($11,000 wages) before going to another Yoga retreat place in December. the net on the rental is positive (because she did not make any mortgage payments) but less than the $3,400 EIC limit for investment income. AGI $13,000. SO she qualifies for EIC!!! I can't find anything that disqualifies her. But it seems to me that having $38,000 income excluded would disqualify her from EIC. ....perhaps I am being uncharitable.... have any of you come across this before? thanks for any thoughts!

I told her that she needed to get an attorney. I could not tell her if she could refuse to sign it or not. She did not get an attorney. Apparently the judge sided with the father: she told me that she signed it. And wrote on the page that she "signed it under duress."

We all know that for a divorce in 2012, the divorce decree cannot stipulate that a certain parent is entitled to take the exemption for a specific child. the custodial parent trumps the divorce degree. I have one that the divorce decree requires the custodial parent to sign the 8332 for two out of the four children. I just found out about this part of the divorce degree this past summer when the father took the custodial parent to court to force her to sign the 8332 for one of the children for 2015. It was well past April 15 and my client's returns had been filed. It is further complicated that mother and her five children live with her mother who provides pretty much all of the support for all. The grandmother (also my client) has been claiming this child. The grandmother has been filling HH with two of the children and the mother Single with the other 3. Grandmother's income is $100,000+ ; mother is about $20,000. Grandmother owns the house. MY questions: can the divorce degree require that the custodial parent sign the 8332? I have never seen this addressed. should I amend the grandmother's return to remove the child for 2015? or wait and see if she gets a letter from the IRS? thanks so much for your thoughts on this. Laura

Client moved his elderly mother to assisted living in fall of 2010 transferred deed of her house to himself December 2010 (he is the only child) she died 5/2011. in 2015 he writes: . I transferred the SC house to my cousin. …For love and $5. I paid the real estate agent and lawyer the $2000 for the work, and it cost $175 for the transfer fees with the county clerk. He never did anything with the house during the years he owned it. Just deducted the Real Estate tax. I'm thinking it was a gift to the cousin and he cannot claim any loss thanks for your thoughts, Laura

Thanks so much for looking at this for me. This is what the client said to describe the blog: "The blog is multi-purpose - serving as my online portfolio for displaying my design work for which I have gotten jobs from and also a research platform I hope to develop further into a business one day." it is strictly pictures. Frankly, i can't see where she is displaying her design work. But probably I just don't recognize it... one can "shop" . She displays items with prices and when you click on them it takes you to the website of the vendor. None of her income seemed to be a percentage from the sales. She does make money based on number of views, However, her income from that this year is just pennies. My understanding is that when a blog has gained popularity, it will generate significant income. here is the link: http://caradisegno.com/ ... if you are interest in looking again...thanks for the help

Thank you so much for this information! IT is a tremendous help!

I have a new client who is a fashion blogger. she tells me it is to further her primary occupation as an architect. (huh!) She asked about deducing for her "uniform". She has to buy clothes for her blog.... has to look the part... etc etc... I told her, in no uncertain terms, that clothes are not deductible.... everyone has to wear clothes to work... I'm sure that many would agree that the twenty somethings indeed wear a "uniform" but it is in no way deductible....:) thought, don't you think that those of us who work from home should be able to deduct our fuzzy slippers? we have to keep our feet warm! I am confident about how to handle the uniform, but not so sure about the $2,500 expense for the web site development.. she does have about $1,000 income from the blog. Does anyone have a resource for info on such things? I would greatly appreciate any suggestions.

t/p received corrected 1099 for the portfolio for her trust return. one of the changes was to the cost basis of one of the transactions on form 8949. the changes net a savings of about $150 so, of course, t/p wants to amend. the original return was e-filed but of course have to mail the amended return. the form 8949 has 62 pages. I am seeking people's input on mailing all of these pages with the amended return. I am leaning towards printing them 4 on a page with the one page that has the changed transaction full size. what do you all think???

T/P works for State Dept was moving back from post in Brussels, wife didn't want to fly coach, so paid $4,000 for first class ticket to DC. Government did not reimburse any of it, I feel it was not a necessary expense, Govt would have bought her ticket, It was T/P choice to pay out of pocket Thoughts??? thanks

it is also limited by the number of days in your qualifying period that are in the calendar year. It doesn't matter that all of the income is earned during those days. For 365 days you get the max exclusion for 145 days your get 145/365 of the max.

Client's wife was in a rush to file before end of Feb so she could submit the FAFSA. (yes I told them that they can submit estimated figures and then update once filed. But she wanted it filed!) They owe $105,000. waiting until April 18 to pay. ORIG return had 2210 with $1,300 penalty This week they sent new info that reduces the tax. Since I have so much time these days, I worked on the 2210 to reduce the penalty about $400 because he had gotten a large distribution in December. BUT the 1040X form doesn't want the 2210. can i just put in the figure in the explanation section and add it to the balance due? I know that if they just send the tax, then they will get a bill for the penalty. Then they could send the 2210 with that. but this is the kind of guy who wants it all done at once. When he gets the bill, he would contact me and say,"Hey! what is this! I thought I paid the tax" even though I had warned him to expect a bill. so far haven't heard back from them to know how much financial aid they received with $1,211,000 income.... and with $1,300,000 in their checking account.. BUT they have twins that are going at the same time.

perhaps I am reading something incorrectly here ...but if grandaughter is 19 unless she is a full-time student she is a qualifying relative not a qualifying child and the gross income test for qualifying relative is $4,000

You know that those values are up there on your office ceiling- right next to their business miles.... etc...

my client was the executor for his mother's estate. Assets consisted of investments in a brokerage account. he paid himself a fiduciary fee and then distributed the balance of the account to the four heirs. Two months AFTER he had distributed all of the assets, he had to pay a court fee for probate. Since he had already distributed all of the assets, he paid the fee from his own funds. Can I net the court fee from his taxable fiduciary fee- thus report a reduced amount for the fee he received? thanks so much for your thoughts...

hmmm does this change anything: all of the LLC documentation refers to one member: John Doe and Jane Doe, HUSBAND AND WIFE, IN A TENANCY BY THE ENTIRETY in the operating agreement it says: Federal Tax Treatment: For federal income tax purposes, at all times when one person or entity owns all of the membership interests of the Company, the Company will be characterized as a "disregarded entity", unless the Member elects otherwise. the LLC was formed and the rental property is in Florida the taxpayer works for the State Department and is posted in Vietnam the house cost $21,000!!! I'm pretty sure it is a house not a condo...either way, I'd say for most of us to see a home for $21,000 in this day and age is amazing! I live in the DC area. You can't buy a parking place for that! thank you so much to all who have contributed opinions and insight. I really appreciate it!

is there any provision that an LLC with two members that are spouses can be considered a disregarded entity? the LLC is for a rental property that they purchased of course the difference is having to do the partnership return vs. just sticking the rental on the schedule E on the joint return. I'm sure that when they were buying the rental, someone told them "you'd better form an LLC" for liability purposes, but didn't tell them the part that it makes their tax returns more complicated!

No you can't bring that last piece of info (that I have been waiting for for ten days) when you come to pick it up! You don't mind waiting for me to finish it once you get here : BUT I DO! I am not going to put it in , print and assemble "while you wait" send it AT LEAST an hour before you plan to be here.... and I hope you get stuck in traffic

also take into consideration that 1099Q money (529s etc) can be used for room and board of course those are not qualifying education expenses for the AO credit, but one can use 1099Q $$ for room and board and save tuition for the credits the 1098-T does not include any room and board because they are not qualified expenses for AO or LL or deduction but you CAN use 1099Q $$ for room and board of course, there is no real way of reporting what you did with the 1099Q $$ so I tell my clients to put all of their receipts/records/documentation in the file NOW so that in 18 months when they get the letter form IRS asking about the 1099Q $$$ they have all of the support ready to send to IRS