jklcpa

Right click on the video in KC's post and then chick on the words "copy video URL". You will then be able to paste a link to the video into an email message or post it on social media sites and on forums that allow these type of posts.

How many months was this person married, had a HDHP with the same family coverage? If the answer is 12 months AND this married couple agrees to split the contribution so that your client is reporting the entire contribution of $5700, then the amount on line 3 should be $6450. It sounds like you haven't filled in the worksheets properly. Are you using ATX or some other software. I'm not using ATX any more, but in prior years, there were worksheets that the preparer had to check the boxes that would indicate either the taxpayer had coverage for the entire year, or would have to check the boxes for each/all of the months that there was coverage if it was less than 12.

To answer the question you asked, if there are excess contributions, those are not deductible and are subject to a 6% excise tax for each year that the excess funds remain in the account. The excess is reported on form 5329.

If this person has a high deductible plan with family coverage for every month of the year and is under 55, the limitation would be $6450 split equally , but they can agree to split it in another manner. It could be 50-50 to each, or it could be all to one of them and zero to the other. If they can't agree, it would be split 50-50. See the instructions for form 8889, and pub 969 for all of the rules to determine the limitation to enter on line 3 of Form 8889. Here's an excerpt from pub 969 - Rules for married people. If either spouse has family HDHP coverage, both spouses are treated as having family HDHP coverage. If each spouse has family coverage under a separate plan, the contribution limit for 2013 is $6,450. You must reduce the limit on contributions, before taking into account any additional contributions, by the amount contributed to both spouses' Archer MSAs. After that reduction, the contribution limit is split equally between the spouses unless you agree on a different division. The rules for married people apply only if both spouses are eligible individuals. If both spouses are 55 or older and not enrolled in Medicare, each spouse's contribution limit is increased by the additional contribution. If both spouses meet the age requirement, the total contributions under family coverage cannot be more than $8,450. Each spouse must make the additional contribution to his or her own HSA. Example. For 2013, Mr. Auburn and his wife are both eligible individuals. They each have family coverage under separate HDHPs. Mr. Auburn is 58 years old and Mrs. Auburn is 53. Mr. and Mrs. Auburn can split the family contribution limit ($6,450) equally or they can agree on a different division. If they split it equally, Mr. Auburn can contribute $4,225 to an HSA (one-half the maximum contribution for family coverage ($3,225) + $1,000 additional contribution) and Mrs. Auburn can contribute $3,225 to an HSA.

I don't show the rush fee separately; only one total number on the bill.

Sounds like he was grossly overcharged to me. Your fee might be light because it included the partnership returns too, but it sounds like there wasn't much bookkeeping involved. I have a similar return where the husband and wife own a shopping center in an LLC taxed as a partnership. I spend a little more than a day on his LLC work because I have to summarize all of the shopping center data, reconcile bank accounts, tenant billing, and I give him a complete set of books for the LLC. His personal return is fairly quick with 2 W-2s, a couple entries each for interest and dividends, sometimes a cap gain transaction (usually a mutual fund), and itemized deductions. Higher income return, always with AMT and underpayment penalty because he sometimes doesn't pay the estimates. He also has 2 meetings for the return, and his bill is usually around $1200 for the LLC with all of that and maybe $200-300 for the personal depending on what's on it. This year will be a little more as I've raised my rates this year and he will be subject to the additional medicare tax and the tax on net investment income. I have different rates for different functions since I am one person doing all. Top rate is $120/hr for accounting and tax prep, lesser rates for bookkeeping, clerical type work, assembly, stapling, filing. Even at that rate I know my fees are light compared to what others around here are charging. One thing you said that I disagree with is that you said you have no overhead. While you don't have rent expense for office space, you do have all the other expenses that go with providing the product to your clients for paper supplies, insurances, licensing and permits, CPE, cost of tax and other software, the added utility costs of running your equipment in your home, etc.

From the tree, right click on the main folder and then "properties" and you will see the details in the box that appears.

Did you realize that you answered a post that is 3 years old?

I've done it both ways, depending on whether I had the assets entered in ATX or in the other depreciation program I use. If using the depreciation program outside of ATX, it produces the 4562, 4797 and generates the schedules that would be in the return that I could enter data from, so that isn't much different than your excel worksheet. I take it this wasn't a bulk disposition that could speed up your input?

I have Alt-P set up to fill in the PIN screen with all of the data needed for the 8879.

I think schirallicpa was asking about payers in the drop-down menus for inputting interest, dividends, retirement income, etc.

Bottle feeding lambs in the kitchen, a juvie BC and also a BC pup, all during tax season...you are a brave woman.

Does this mean that you've changed your routine with your computers and are now turning them off and rebooting a couple of times a day for your own computers and those at the firm? Or are those computers not using programs that use "real computing power"? I ask because back in November you said this, albeit on a slightly different topic :

Jack, don't twist around what I said. I never said that people running ATX shouldn't reboot, if that's what it takes to run the chosen program. You made a statement that people didn't have that many programs running. Well, you were wrong there so you chose to go on the attack and try to insult me by saying that those programs don't have any computing power. That just shows that you don't have a valid point to make if that's what you have to resort to. I don't really care what you say about these programs because they are all typical of programs that many of us might be using, and I did have all of those programs running all at the same time. You also tried to twist around my statement about leaving the computer on all of the time. I never said that leaving the computer on would make anything more productive, only that I was able to do it and having all of those programs running without ever having to reboot, and never having a low resource problem. I do recall many people, probably those with lesser memory, having to reboot during the day though. You can bang your head all you like, and in fact, you probably are doing just that every day as problems continue to crop up with your beloved ATX. ATX has always uses a lot of memory, and it got much worse starting last year, and it has some serious problems again this year. I guess you don't think filling up user's hard drives is any problem at all either. You simply cannot admit that there is anything at all wrong with ATX. Is that against the NDA too?

Vityaba does have a point. Yes, on a regular basis I would have 6 or more programs open at once and for many hours a day: 2 years of ATX, Quickbooks, Thomson Creative Solutions Fixed Assets (the Ultra Tax deprec module), Word, and Excel, plus Adobe Reader or Acrobat. Then you can add in the internet and the background programs that are running like the anti-virus, and the updaters for the deprec and Quickbooks programs that were running. On top of all of that, there would be the PPC research library that I'd open too, or the Roxio photo editor that I'd open a few times a week. I used to never shut the computer down at night either, so the only time it was shut off or rebooted was when a program update required it. I've never ever had a low resource warning, never. This current computer is on from about 6am until 2am the following morning, and I don't ever have to reboot, and still have much of that running during the day except now it is Drake. ATX has always been a memory hog and has gotten dramatically worse in the last two years, and it apparently still has some other big issues too.

The extent of my mini break involved an hour of shoveling snow this morning. I've now collapsed back into the office chair for a few minutes.

I agree with Jack IF the client didn't have any additional cash outlay to obtain the shares. Where did your basis figure of $165K come from? Was the additional $8K due to client having to pay for the difference (the increase) in value from the grant date to the exercise date?

I have one in the system now too that has both the From 8960 and 8959. Drake isn't saying anything about the forms being held up, and it looks like everything is calculating correctly. This client had additional medicare tax withheld on his W-2, and that figure is reconciled on the bottom of Form 8959. It's will be confusing to the taxpayers because the total of the federal withholding and the additional medicare tax withholding all flowing to line 62 of the 1040. Drake isn't showing the additional medicare withholding on the summary of W-2s, and it isn't producing any other worksheet that shows where the total wihholding on line 62 is coming from. Is ATX producing a statement that including all of the withholdings comprising the total amount shown on line 62 of the 1040?

Catherine, that was perfect. Thousands on a degree, no time to use the bathroom or shower. ROFL

The 8-digit # that is used to pay sales tax is different than the corp id # (also called "box" number). PA previously used a 7 digit # , but moved to10-digit numbers, looks like ~ 2 years ago. Your client should have been notified. According to the PA website from a Q&A in March, 2012: Where can I find my Corporate Tax Account ID#? As the department continues to transition into an integrated tax system, a 10-digit Revenue ID will be assigned and communicated to each taxpayer. A corporation's seven-digit PA Tax Account ID will continue to be accepted by the department on tax forms and schedules, but upon assignment of a 10-digit Revenue ID to a taxpayer, the department will begin using the 10-digit Revenue ID on outbound correspondence in lieu of referencing the seven-digit Tax Account ID. Check correspondence or prior notices from the Bureau of Corporation Taxes. You can also contact the PA Department of Revenue, Bureau of Corporation Taxes, by calling either 717-783-6031 or 717-705-6225, option 4 then option 2,

Jack, they are additional rules imposed by a state that regulates tax preparers. If an OR preparer is regulated by her state that says that she isn't allowed to use her address on taxpayer's returns, or a preparer from one of the other states that regulates preparers, why do you question that? Why was the comment not accepted as being what is required for preparers in that state, even if it is different than for you? The State of NY has banking rules about when a preparer is allowed to charge the client fees for bank products that are dependent on the form the client's refund is received that preparers must abide by. We've also had discussions about some states having very specific rules regarding tax preparers transmitting documents to clients electronically where state has stricter rules about encryption to protect the clients' data. Those are 2 very good examples of where states may have additional rules on the preparers beyond what the IRS requires. As preparers, we are working with rules established by more than just the IRS. I have IRS rules, state board of accountancy rules, AICPA rules, ethical rules, banking rules, rules for rules....

Border collie trying to get a statue of a man to throw a stick. The dog even tries to put it in his hand:

I should have deleted the first post about Oregon and the responses that follow because we are now off topic once again. This was not to be a debate of ethics rules for preparers.

If a state regulates preparers and has rules that say some acts are forbidden, or unethical, or has rules that are more stringent than the IRS, then that preparer must follow those rules in addition to the ones by IRS. If grandmabee is from OR and says this is so, why do you have to question it and argue? Why can't you take grandmabee at her word and accept that this might be true, even though the rules for you as a tax preparer from OH are different than hers? In addition to the IRS rules, I also have to comply with the rules and regulations of my state board of accountancy and those of the AICPA, and because of that, I may have do some things that some others of you don't have to, or may be limited by not being allowed to do some others. My records retention requirements might be longer than the unregulated preparers too. JB, sorry for the slight hijack of your topic. You can use whichever address makes the most sense for your client. I would probably make the primary taxpayer the person that is actually living at the address on the return and make the other person the spouse. After the return is processed, the spouse then would file form 8822 to change her address in the IRS system for going forward. Be careful if you change the primary from what was used last year if you were their preparer and you are rolling over the return data.

I report both.