JimTaxes

ahhh. that's it.. i knew something but had a fog.. the tax credit for 2018 it sounds like.. thank you.

does this fit this:

.https://www.irs.com/articles/rules-deducting-student-loan-interest

maybe i should pass this one but giving this a shot.. facts

• taxpayer moved to canada in august 2018 but not canadian citizen until mid 2019
• taxpayer has one u.s. w-2 for 2018
• taxpayer also has some canadian proof of income for her new job for late 2018 work
• taxpayer told me they are having someone do their canadian return and can i do her u.s. return
• i do not think she qualifies for 2555 exclusion. does anyone know the steps to do this u..s. return as far as the canadian income goes. rule is worldwide income,, right? but not sure how the  move or the 2555 fits in. thank you.

I was i walmart several days ago.. walking down an isle and saw these banners and some sort of fabric divider.. some lady behind the curtain set up to do income taxes..did a double take and even walked back around a couple times.. cannot believe anyone would get their taxes done behind a curtain next to housewares, or whatever department it was set up in

I have been using Medlin payroll for about 25 years.  

Hey Dennis.. any chance of having the option for 2019 >2% Shareholder health insurance reporting the same as the past?  Ohio has never said a thing about the way we have been handling it. 

neither mentions for commercial rental having to be active.. new rules. am i reading this right?

correct.

hi.. mutli member LLC.. the rental part is active participation.

asking here even though i use ProSeries. hope that is ok... asking from a tax standpoint, not a program standpoint

i have a client that has a 1065 LLC

I go back a while. started doing returns manually in the 80s.. went to a great little program, Parsons Personal Tax Edge, with ATX for business returns, never personal returns with ATX, from Parsons to Intuit ProSeries from 1997 forward.. my question is this.. ever since doing returns manually, to Parsons, To ProSeries, I always went down the 1040 and then tunneling down, quick zooming to the back up schedules, A, B, C, D, etc.

I know the 1040 is very different this year.  In ProSeries, I cannot navigate the old 1040 as I used to be able to do. I can pick from forms and schedules or follow the worksheets in ProSeries but the old 1040 is gone.  I know the old 1040 will not print out that way but I was hoping to in the program to navigate the old 1040 that way, a logical way I always found.

Has ATX removed the old 1040 from the 2018 program.. What do those that have taken a look at 2018 ATX think of the navigation of the 2018 return?  

I use this, W2 Mate

https://www.realtaxtools.com/

thanks.. I don't use ATX anymore but I like this board.

started to read that story again. got bogged down in it.. 

another source

https://www.thetaxadviser.com/issues/2018/apr/understanding-sec-199A-business-income-deduction.html

W-2 test does not apply if taxable income under the thresholds

I learned a lot from this one

https://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonynitti/2017/12/26/tax-geek-tuesday-making-sense-of-the-new-20-qualified-business-income-deduction/#17c84ccd44fd

depreciation on leasehold improvements to non-residential rental or commercial property.. can I bounce this off of someone - 2018 rules

what ever happened to that effort?

Everyone, thank you for your comments.  Every tax season I go through this but this year has been worse.  Even before tax season ended, I felt this coming on, this time around April 10th as I knew what was going to happen. 

I wish it was as simple as taking on other tasks, taking a break, going on vacation, making plans, etc.  There is more involved.  I wish it was that simple.  There are some other issues that go  beyond accounting, payroll, taxes, and work load that I have to deal with, fight against.  I deal with some pretty painful OCD and anxiety issues.  In tax season those other issues do not go away but somehow I can push them aside, or at least press on in spite of them. 

Tax season gives me a challenge, sort of like Sara said, preparing for and running a marathon.  I prepare for this marathon if you will starting in November and December.  I only mention the following comments  as these steps are part of my preparation, the marathon, and then what I am left with.  It all starts in late December really.   I know 1040 season starts late January and really heats up February.  For me to be ready for that onslaught I have to get everything else done by late January.  I do a lot of companies books, payroll, and taxes. sort of like controller or part time CPA for companies.. By end of January I need to have so much done.  1099s, W2s, 1065s, 1120Ss, 1120s.  The first thing I concentrate on is W-2s.  With the help of Medlin Payroll, which I have been a customer for approx. 25 years I can get most of my payroll clients W-2s done in December.. .. but even then it is much more than W-2s.. there are the 941s, state and local reports, unemployment returns. etc.. So I like to have all W-2s done by New years day and am working on these through Christmas and New years holidays.  1099s, I can get most of those done by early January as I have monthly Peachtree activity for my business clients.. After January 1, I concentrate on business returns.. I can prepare a 1065, 1120, 1120S before I can a 1040 as I have the data by doing monthly or quarterly accounting. For all of this to work I almost need perfection, from everything to scheduling clients not rescheduling, clients not missing data, etc. Even the weather.. a snow storm could lead to clients rescheduling.  In spite of my other struggles my clients really like me and my service.  Most don't know about the struggles I face.    I just tried here to give a little background on my preparation and what other issues I face, without going into details on those as a courtesy as I did start the topic and felt I owed a reply to those asking about me and how I am doing.  it is just not taking every ounce of strength to get through tax season  with the work load but with the  other issues that I have to deal with I feel like I ran more than a marathon and more like one of those ultra-marathoners.   I am trying to shift gears into post-tax season life now.  Though the tax season crunch may be over, other issues remain that never seem to go away and make post tax season in many ways more difficult than tax season.   

Thank you.. I am really struggling these last couple of days, but felt it coming on even before that, getting worse to the point of feeling hopeless.   

Personal in the sense that really impacting me.. kind of, meaning this is so tied up with the busy tax season and the interconnection between me as a person and the grind of tax season..

I work most days in tax season, backing out maybe an hour and a half for breaks, dinner, exercise, trying to unwind, from about 7:45 am to maybe 10:30 pm. Sunday i try and not do much work and saturday maybe from 8 am to about 4 pm and again about 10 pm for another hour or two after that.

This starts in late january though really heats up mid February.. but between 1099s, payroll, W-2s and payroll taxes, company accounting, business returns and then of course 1040 season it is a whirlwind.. during this process keeping my business clients going with their books.. I get really motivated for it and love the challenge and all the excitements..

That leads me to my question.. Is anyone else having some struggles now, after tax season.. I mean I feel really dejected.. I have never had such a good tax season.. over 1,000 returns including business returns, no major mixups, no files lost, no real snafus, clients love me, new referrals.. I felt it coming last week before the end.. anticipatory let down... last two days have been really tough for me.. really feeling so dejected, out of sorts, defeated even..  i have 60 returns on extension, business accounting to do, some classic cars for a hobby but I don't feel like doing any of those things. road are full of salt here so the cars cannot come out.. don't feel like doing anything.. am i alone in this quagmire sinking?  

oh yeah.. usually use mileage method.. for those with actual those are often work trucks with 100% business use, like electrician's work truck, total = business 

i enter total miles.. sometimes i estimate.. does not impact the actual tax deduction

1099-DIV from mutual funds.. most often do show foreign source income.. I can almost picture in my mind an American Fund with foreign and it did not show foreign source income.. I can picture an Edward Jones 1099 where it does show, wayyyyyyyyyy in back

Speaking of education credits and the 1098-T, I kind of remember reading how Box 1 would start to be used.. some other items

- Code V on W-2.. gains on stock options? right, requires Sch D. usually with about a break even on D, maybe small loss for fees, and for basis from 1099-B, the actual 1099-B often shows a big gain but later on in the 1099-B pages has adjusted basis!

Items so rare easy to miss:

• Withholding tax on 1099-INT or 1099-DIV
• Dependent Care benefits on W-2

Can be confusing

• 1099-OID and accrued interest on those items

Big pain, often so minuscule I don't bother with

• state exclusions of interest and dividends on back of 1099 INT/DIV

Things I learned this year, time savers

• 8379s supposedly faster if mailed in separately
• Long term care insurance flows through to front of 1040 for Self employed taxpayer (assuming sufficient profit)
• on Schedule D if a bunch of sales, I scan and attach pdf. if a small amount, I code ST or LT and basis reported or not but leave date fields blank
• Scottrade, pulled in sales from their website.. sorry to see Scottrade go.. now TD Ameritrade

Items I wish I knew more about

• stock options
• trust returns

Biggest concerns for 2018 tax season

• 20% business deduction
• Media claiming how simple returns are now and most people won't need a tax preparer

Biggest concern years down the road

• everything

I don't even use ATX.. used to years ago.. I read here those for general tips and have posted a couple of tax questions, not program related.