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Update on the friend's CA return. Friend's returns was one of 300 delivered to CA FTB that were sent by certified mail. Only the 1st return of that batch was acknowledged back to the post office as being received. The other 299 returns sent by certified mail weren't. The post office is saying a clerk at FTB is to blame for only scanning in the first one.

Yes, thanks for that update. You were on my mind as well. I'm glad the surgery was successful. Hope the other issues can be resolved for you to regain full health.

OldJack, my heart goes out to you and your family. I'm so sorry for your loss and the pain this has caused. My season: two blizzards in a week. That delayed some of the early birds, so a lot of work seemed to pile in all at once. Other than that, the program performed well for me and the season went smoothly. SALY.

Thank you all for the replies. Yes, e-filing would have avoided this problem, however her return had sec 179 from a partnership, so e-filing wasn't possible.

Deb, I did exactly that and emailed the teacher directly shortly after her first posting. I provided links to an IRS search for her to easily print out the 1040x, Schedule M and their instructions. I gave her the criteria needed for her to qualify for the gov't retiree credit. And I explained that all the numbers for the 1040X are coming directly from the 1040 with the exception of the $250 credit itself, if she truly qualifies. I also explained that the board was set up for the use of tax professionals, mostly using ATX software, and that she probably wouldn't receive a response. And lastly, I explained that her preparer was most likely taking a few days off. Perhaps a change in the forum's banner would discourage the infrequent posting such as the retired teacher made. It only seems to happen once or twice a season and doesn't seem like a big deal to me. I would like to think that we could spare a brief moment of our precious time to help someone in need. That was what I chose to do.

If her 2009 O/P was fully applied to the 1st estimate due for 2010, would the "MyFTB Account" at ftb.ca.gov show this information?

Edited: Just found out she had an overpayment and requested that it be applied to next year. So in that case, I don't think the refund status page will help her, and no check went with the return to check for its cancellation. Is there any other way to verify this return was received? Calling the CA FTB would be to be a joke at this point. I once had an IRS auditor tell me that certified or return receipt mailing only proves that an envelope was mailed to IRS, not what was inside it. He was such a smart@ss about everything that I wanted to reach across the table and smack him across the face.

Posting this for a friend. Taxpayer mailed their Fed and Cal returns by certified mail. Tracking by USPS website yielded no results so she called the post office 800 number for more info. The fed return to IRS Fresno was received there on 4/10. The issue now is the CA return. Post office's last record shows the return at Sacramento P.O. also on 4/10. No other information is available. She is not sure whether Franchise Tax Board ever received the state return. I'm not sure if she is getting a refund. From the ftb website, it looks like she could use that to see if the return is in processing. Is that right? Now if she had a balance due on this return, would that show up using the "MyFTB Account" function? I haven't done a CA return in years, so any guidance would be appreciated.

This person is not receiving social security and sounds like she gets a teacher's pension instead of SS. Is she eligible for the gov't retiree credit because of this? In this case, the teacher would have had to be employed by a state or local gov't where the wages weren't covered by SS, Is that right?

Happy Birthday, Many Happy Returns.

Happy belated birthday. Hope it was a good one.

Happy Birthday. I hope you had an enjoyable day.

I'm in the cautious camp here and agree with JohnH. I would enter known withholding and estimates. If I'd done tax planning during the year that would be incorporated in the process. In Catherine's case, I would have opened that client's envelope on hand and made some attempt at a tax projection and looked for the payments to enter. I would never just file an extension for someone that failed to contact me, and it wouldn't be all zeros unless I knew that it was someone who I believed would have no tax liability and had no w/h or ests.

Geez, we're lucky he didn't bite anyone. That might result in unfavorable OSL, Occupational Specific Legislation, against all tax preparers. (Similar to BSL, Breed Specific Legislation, banning certain breeds of dogs)

I do not file extensions for MIAs. I only had 4 that didn't come back this year. Two moved out of my area, one is a coworker of my husband's that is very responsible, and one procrastinator. I called the one, and he used his wife's preparer. For those of you that do file extensions for MIAs, what method do you use to arrive at the numbers if you haven't contacted them?

I wasn't getting the fatal error message earlier, but now I am. Right now we can't even log on to the ATX support page. I'm waiting for a couple of acks for state returns that aren't due until the 30th, so I'm not worried, but this situation with ATX really sucks big time. I feel for all of you that are trying to process anything today.

Acks are flowing again. Status of e-filed returns within the program now matches the ATX web based status.

I wa worried about SE too. Also, if the affected partners have investment interest expense on 4952, the investment interest income needs to flow there from the K-1.

Thanks. That was a nice little diversion.

It is still trading and not totally worthless. I told my client to sell the shares and get the small amount of proceeds. The loss still ended up on sch D, net of the of proceeds.

I'm trying to decide how long to wait before amending. Return showed a refund of $2,750. Without the credit, this couple would owe $3,750. At least they met an exception to the 2210 penalty. Is IRS sending the refunds on returns claiming this credit and later checking the credit documentation, or are they verifying that the TPs actually qualify for this credit before issuing the refunds?

Don, thanks for the reply. The sale of old and purchase of new were both in Dec 2009. The reason I'm saying they don't qualify is that husband = long term resident, wife = first time owner. Jainen posted a link earlier this season to the IRS Q & A on another scenario. I was rereading some of the older posts last night on the subject. Here is a portion from that Q & A :

Clients picked up return about a week ago. They most likely have mailed it already. I claimed the long time resident home buyer credit of $6,500. Husband purchased former home with first wife in the mid 80s, then divorced her mid 90s and married current wife. Current wife has lived in this home since their marriage, but she was never put on the deed. UGH! They purchased the new home together. They don't qualify for either credit, right? And MFS won't help either, right? If they haven't filed, I'll correct the return. If they have filed, how long to wait before sending the amended? Taking the credit off, they will owe about $3,750. This has been the worst year ever. I hate this kind of cr@p! TIA for any advice.

What else does the K-1 report? Any 179? Is the SE income shown in box 14? You can't assume that the partnership's ordinary income or loss is for SE taxable. As an example, a partnership's ordinary income can include gains on 4797 that are not SE income.

Golden Retriever + Old English Sheepdog = a Golden Oldie!