jasdlm

First efile this year . . . says my EFIN is not registered for my client number, although I called last week, held forever, and verified that everything was 'all set' because I had this same problem last year. AAAAARGH!

Jacksorh -- what is the fiscal year of the estate? Did your client receive a k1? I've read the facts several times, and it sounds like your client didn't sell the property until 2008. What, if anything, did your client report related to the death of his parent on his 2007 return?

Thanks so much. I didn't realize I had a 15 letter password. Were they ever going to send it to me, I wonder? I'll call tomorrow. Thanks again, Taxbilly!

Any hints? I continue to be told that my account is locked and I need to contact customer service. I might as well put in a call to the man in the moon. I am incredibly grouchy. (I do, however, realize that this is ultimately my fault for signing up with ATX yet again.) Thanks in advance to anyone who can give me a hint. I've typed in my client ID and ADMIN for the UserID. Maybe they reset my password since I never was able to log on last year? Aaargh! Thanks again.

Hi, Julie. I don't think I understand your question. Employees can defer 100% of salary up to the annual limit. Employer matches either the employee's salary reduction contributions or 3 percent of the employee's compensation for the calendar year, whichever is less. There are some cases where employers can match at less than 3%, but I don't think that is what you're asking. Since you posted this morning and have no responses, I'm wondering if I'm not the only one who isn't quite sure what you're asking.

Navigators do this also (you send money to the Navigators to support a person who is working for the Navigators). It seems questionable to me, but perhaps they insist the money goes to the general fund and the support of the individual just happens to be in the same amount. I'll be eager to hear what Jainen, JohnH, KC, etc. say.

I know that a company cannot have a 401(k) plan and a SIMPLE plan at the same time. However, the third party administrator for one of my clients says they cannot run in the same calendar year, even if you terminate the SIMPLE and adopt the 401(k) after the SIMPLE termination date. I have confidence in this TPA, so the information is probably accurate, but I'm having trouble finding source material to back it up. I checked section 408 of the code, and I definitely didn't get this out of it, but there is some convoluted language that I could be misreading. I also did a search on the IRS website but only came up with the fact that they can't both operate at the same time, which I already knew. Does anyone have any insight? Thanks.

Thanks so much to both of you. Joel, you are correct, I am the attorney for the estate and not doing the 1041. I guess this is treated the same way as a short year in a business that terminates, etc? I guess you use previous year forms (as Randall noted) and hope the 1099s match?

Thanks for posting, Bart. The CPA is saying that in its final year, the estate fiscal year ends the day of the closing (even though it was previously a calendar year estate), and therefore the earlier (possibly) due date. Does this seem correct? Thanks so much.

I closed an estate in January of this year. I thought the final 1041 would be due 15 April of 2009. (There will be a 1099 from one company.) The CPA doing the 1041 indicated to me that the return is past due because the final 1041 (even though the estate is on a calendar year) is due 3 1/2 months after the closing of the estate. I feel like a complete idiot. I need to explain to my client that I screwed up, but I need to find the 'rule' first. The CPA faxed me something from the tax book, page 21-13, that says 'Trusts and estates terminate when the period actually required to perform the ordinary duties of administration ends. The administration cannot be unduly prolonged. An estate or trust is considered terminated for income tax purposes when all assets have been distributed except for a reasonable amount set aside in good faith to pay unascertained or contingent liabilities.' Does this somehow mean that the return is due in 3 1/2 months? How am I misinterpreting this? I actually have an executor's handbook for lawyers that gives an example of an estate terminating 31 March 2008 and the final return being due 15 April 2009, but I know lawyers are not the final say on tax matters. Thanks so much.

I have seen the bank accept an erroneous deposit more than once. There is a reference on the IRS website addressing this problem under Stimulus FAQs. Bottom line, it gives a number to call and try to stop deposit.

I also have an HP laserjet 1100. I agree with everything John says; however, I feel that printing is very slow . . . especially from ATX. I am thinking about replacing it this summer with something that prints more quickly. It's hard to give up, however, because it is so reliable, inexpensive, and the actual print quality is great.

Thanks so much, Old Jack. Would you mind telling me where I can find this instruction? I want to make sure I'm not missing anything else. I tried searching the IRS website but was not successful. Thanks!

Client (spouse died in April of 2006) received a letter from the IRS (I think . . . it doesn't look like anything from the IRS I've ever seen. The logo at the top left is fuzzy, etc.). The letter is from Internal Revenue Service, 3651 S. Interregional Highway, Austin, TX 73301. The left hand corner has fuzzy IRS logo, then U.S. Department of the Treasury, Austin Submission Processing Center. Under the IRS address it says: Refer Reply To: and gives a 5 digit number, then Stop: 6182 AUSC and Date: then date. Text: Dear Taxpayer: Our records indicate the Social Security Number you provided is that of your decedent spouse. We have corrected your return to reflect you as the Primary Taxpayer using your Social Security Number. Please use your Social Security Number on all future filings. If you have any questions, you may call the IRS telephone number listed in your local directory or 1-800-829-0922. An employee there may not be able to help you, but the office at the address shown at the top of this letter is most familiar with your case., If you prefer, you may write to us at the address shown on this letter. Whenever you write, please include this letter and, in the space below, give us your telephone number with the hours we can reach you. Keep a copy of this letter for your records. ***Place for phone # and Hours*** We apologize for any inconvenience, and thank you for your cooperation. Sincerely, yours, Jackie D. Reilly Document Perfection Operations Manager **** Client's SSN IS accurate on return, and was accurate in 2006 (and no 2006 notice was sent). There is no tax year referenced on the letter, nor is either my client's SSN or her deceased husband's SSN listed. If they have changed her SSN, I'm not sure what they changed it to, but I'm hesitant to call because I sort of smell a scam (although that seems a bit over the top). Thoughts?

Client just called and says someone at his wife's office says he can 'deduct' $5,000 in childcare expenses off his tax return (did not have flexible spending account). I've calculated the maximum credit (client has almost $400,000 in income) . . . what am I missing? Wife is insistent that I'm missing a $5,000 deduction. Thanks.

Wow. I've been using this software since the 2002 tax season, and I'm such a luddite (sp?) that I don't even know about these features. (I don't usually e-mail returns to clients.) You can bet I'll be all over figuring it out once tomorrow is over. Thanks for all the help.

Looks to me like line 16 is Overpayment, line 19 is how much you want refunded, line 20 is how much to credit forward, and line 26 is amount owed. Perhaps someone else will verify, because the return is Greek.

I am not having a good day. I e-mailed a client .pdfs of a 1041 for a trust for his deceased father and a 1040 for his deceased mother (who died end of 2007) for his review (per previous conversation). I left him a message to review the returns and let me know if he had any questions or comments before I put together the final. I called him this morning because I hadn't heard from him. He printed off the returns, signed them and sent them in. Aargh! I know there is a penalty when the preparer does not sign a return. Does anyone know how it works? Will I get the notice or will the client? Following this phone call, a client called who owes $12,000 because of a land sale (capital gain) . . . she thinks the entire liability is my fault. She called in late December and we talked about her selling stock (at a loss) to offset the gain. In the same conversation, she asked me what the capital gain rate was and I told her 15%. Well, she only sold stock to generate $10,000 in losses (approx. 15% of the sales price of the asset . . . and she asked me what the capital gain rate was). I'm not even sure what to do. I guess it is my error, in some convoluted way. I should have figured out what she meant. So I'm supposed to pay her tax bill because I told her the capital gain rate was 15% and she assumed that was how much loss she needed? Her comment to me was 'you didnt' give me good instructions'. Probably not. I'm still in shock from this one. I just got into the office because my 2 year old has strept throat (104 degree fever) and I had to take him to the Dr. and then find a sitter (yes, I left my sick child with a sitter . . . Mom of the year just goes with my unsigned returns and the cap gain I 'caused'.) I don't know about this business. Hope everyone else is having a better 14th. So . . . anyone familiar with the 'failure to sign' penalty? Thanks for listening.

Thank you so much, all of you! I am incredibly appreciative of all the help I receive on this Board. I guess I'll amend 04, 05, and 06. Thanks also for the heads up on the insurance issue.

Doing my first LA return (not by choice; parents of my best friend). She is retired from the State (1099R) and he is retired military. When I read the LA instructions (and other research material) it appears that both are exempt from LA tax. However, previous preparer, who is a LA preparer, didn't exclude either. Given that he does this all the time and this is my first, I figure I'm reading something incorrectly, but I can't figure out what. Any help from those experienced with LA returns would be greatly appreciated.

53 years???!!!

Thanks for responding! I finally figured it out. The k1 income, for some reason, was not flowing through to the AL Schedule E, so the % calculation was off. I entered it manually and it makes much more sense, now. Whew!

If she has cash, she could max her SEP . . . won't help with SE, but would let her keep more for herself.

Client has $15,601 in AL source income (schedule C - he went there) and $30,162 in SE tax. ATX is calculating a 'Federal Income Tax' deduction (line 7 of part IV) of $23,363 and coming up with a negative AL income so no tax owed. I have read the instructions, and it's not clear to me why client would be able to deduct a larger amount of SE income then what was actually attributable to the AL source income. Anyone with exerience, please help. Thanks.

2 Excedrin Migraine, 1 Diet Dr. Pepper w/ Caffeine, and 1 Snicker Bar. :)