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Client has an email stating 'your housing allowance for 2021 was $25,000'. No W2. The organization said 'we don't do W2s'. Is this a thing? I do about a dozen clergy returns, but I haven't ever done one without a W2. Thanks so much!

Client insists her GP income should be flagged on the partnership return I prepared as QBI eligible. Says her account is saying she's losing money over this. I even found the section on the IRS website that says 'No GPs', but I'm feeling like I'm missing something. Just need a little hand-holding/reassurance or a swift kick in the back side. Thanks.

Ignore me. I deserve it. I figured out what's going on. Geez.

I'm fighting with the software and losing. I have $150k in guaranteed payments that are correctly flowing through to the appropriate K1s and showing as an expense on line 10. However, ATX is also subtracting the GP from the partner capital account even though it is already calculated in Net Income. Any idea what I might have entered incorrectly/toggled on/off that's causing this? Thanks.

I'm an estate planning attorney, and I draft wills/trusts regularly. As Sara points out, individual state laws are important. From a federal standpoint, I agree with Dennis. There isn't a federal estate tax (or income tax, of course) benefit for most people given the size of the current exemption. (The tax savings that used to come from having a bypass trust when the exemption amount was $600,000 and there wasn't portability.) IMHO, attorneys overuse trusts now because the fee for drafting a trust is usually 3 to 4 times the fee for a will. That said, there are some reasons people choose to have trusts including ease of asset management if the grantor is incapacitated, avoiding probate (the value of this is different by State; I don't think it's worth much here in Kansas where attorneys are not allowed to charge a percentage but rather must bill for time spent), and protecting privacy since probate is a 'public' process. There's also the ability to protect children from themselves (through extended trust durations and specified disbursements, although this can also be done through a testamentary trust in a will) or from predators, a bad marriage, etc. What really irritates me is that I'll see a new client come in with a Revocable Living Trust that he/she paid $3,000 for, and all of the assets the client owns (except the house) are pre-tax assets. Makes me grouchy every.single.time.

Hi, Gail. You understand perfectly, and I truly appreciate your response. I apologize. I'm not trying to ask a question inappropriate to the forum. It seemed like a tax issue to me, but perhaps it's more of an HR issue? I like your idea, and there are written elections for the health insurance. I just couldn't find anything regarding whether there was any type of 'beg for forgiveness' or 'amnesty' type approach to right previous years. I'm grateful to all who responded!

An in-house bookkeeper.

Right. They employer has been erroneously exempting the employee deferral from tax. My questions is whether anyone knows if the IRS offers any type of amnesty or fix other than going back and amending/paying all of the back taxes, penalty, and interest. It would be an incredible mess with employees having to amend prior year returns,etc. I think this goes back at least 15 years.

Yes...that's what I'm asking about. Thank you!

They have been treating the employee side of the premiums as tax free (Fed/state/SS/Medicare).

Sorry. Third Party Administrator. They do not use their FSA accounts to pay their Health Insurance Premiums. The company treats the HI like there was a premium only 125 plan and files the W2s according. I wish I could spell amnesty :(. I just noticed my typo.

Does anyone have experience with organizations that are offering pre-tax HI but don't have a Section 125 plan? Company has been offering pre-tax HI (which the company pays 90% of premium for employee and 70% of premium for spouse/dependent/family) but just found out the 125 plan they have had for 20 years (provided by a TPA) only covers their FSA. I've read the plan and don't find any way to argue that it covers the HI Premium. Should I just recommend a Premium Only 125 for the HI? Is their best bet to fix it going forward and hope no one ever asks? I have spent 3 or 4 hours searching/reading and cannot find any on-point guidance. Thanks!

I think I'm being dense. Does the 990 exemption only apply to 990 PF and 990 T? This is how I'm reading the information. I have two clients who fell behind (board disorganization during the pandemic), but straight 990s are due (and have now been completed). Thanks for your thoughts!

I am truly sad to say that I have no memory at all of getting my EFIN or PTIN. I have them, and I renew my PTIN every year, but I don't remember the process of getting either of them. Scary.

My front desk staff logs each return when it is dropped off by entering it into a spreadsheet that automatically dates the drop off. I use this so that I can process returns in the order they are dropped off. A 'tax cover sheet' that is a lot like Sara's is added to the paper bits. Every step (logged, scanned, worked, reviewed, 8879 out, efiled, accepted) is tracked. Staff then scans all of the 'bits' (as we call them - documentation) into OneDrive. The files are then placed in alphabetical order in banker boxes in a locked file room, and I retrieve them and work through them in the spreadsheet order, for the most part. It is not uncommon (and fairly depressing at times) for there to be over 250 returns in the queue. Once the return is picked up by the client, the cover sheet goes into a notebook until the 8879 is signed/returned and the efile is accepted. The cover sheet is then moved to the 'done' notebook and the 8879 filed away. A question I have is what is your turnaround time from drop off to pick up? I try for 2 weeks, but toward the end of the season, it is getting closer to 3 weeks. I feel really inadequate when people call 'just checking' on their return, but I logged my hours this past season, and I worked 110 hours/week for almost 10 weeks. I'm trying to figure out a better system before January rolls around. I do about 700 ish returns (about 550 during the season and 150 on extension but at least 1/2 of the 150 worked and waiting on 1 item, k1, etc.)). I'm the only preparer. I have one person who does some data entry, and on any where I do the data entry, that same person proofs my entries for finger flubs/number reversals. I don't do any of the scanning, efiling, etc. I would love to hear better ways to streamline the system. I take almost no client meetings from late February through 15 April. I have trained most of my clients to drop off; I'll let them know if I have questions. Suggestions? I know there is someone (at least there used to be) on this board (Jim, I think?) who did 1,000 returns per season by himself. I stand in awe. I would really love a discussion on productivity/streamlined processes if others are game. I've got 5 1/2 months to figure it out.

I had this happen to a client with is 2019 return; it rejected because he was 'dead'. Fun phone call to tell him about it! He had to go to SS, prove his identity, and complete a form (I'm not at the office now and can't remember the name or number of the form) saying that he wasn't dead and paper file his return with the same.

Where are you in MO? I'm in Lawrence, Kansas.

Is there a slick way (that I'm not seeing) to go from Fixed Assets to the 8283, or do I need to choose 'Disposition', 'Do not calculate gain or loss', and then enter in the 8283 and adjust for the depreciation recap/ordinary income (from FMV)? Thanks!

Green columnar pads are one of my absolute favorite things. The more columns, the better.

Oh goodness. Prayers of gratitude for the safety of Beth's daughter, Carol's daughter, and Catherine's daughter. I can't even imagine. Doni

I'm trying to remember that we've got this ... it's hard when I start the day with an email from a client saying he doesn't believe me OR the IRS information I sent him (re: he can't take a medical deduction for someone coming to his house and doing his laundry); he is going to do further research, perhaps contact the ADA or the VA, and get back with me. He's a lovely person, but this is not how I wanted to start my day.

I just got baked potato with sour cream all over a client's 1099-SSA. Sorry, Carol. Hopefully she'll never pull it out of the nice packet I make for her.

I am blown away by the people who have a W-2 or 2 and maybe a 1099 INT and can't get their act together until April. Unfortunately, I only have a small handful of these super-simple clients, but why can't they get here before 12 April? Maybe the same reason they don't free-file their own returns. Hmmm.

I have an antique fainting couch in my office that my husband bought me several years ago so I could nap periodically and save drooling on my keyboard.

Or, like the one I got yesterday ... a 1099 Misc on page 9 with $9k in oil royalties! Why don't they put that close to the front!!! I do look at every page, but when something like that happens, I get a little anxiety attack thinking about how I could have missed it. For some reason, the same thing happens to me every time there's a number in Box 10 (dependent care) of the W2. I missed one in my early days of practicing and Client got a notice of tax due, of course. I paid the interest/penalty, client paid the tax, I apologized, and I still do that client's return (kids are long grown), but I've been anxious about that box every since ;). Sometimes it slides over to the far left of the W2 and is easy for tired eyes to miss. For a few years, I made myself initial every box 10 on every W2 (even for people with no or grown kids) just so I could sleep ;).