jklcpa

7 hours ago, Lee B said:

SSA gets notified of deaths fairly quickly. It may get rejected.

Maybe so, but I'd still try file as it stands first before contacting the widow. It's my understanding that in most cases it is the funeral home that notifies the SSA of death, so TP's account may not yet be locked.  If the return does get rejected, it is only then to add the DOD and indicate that spouse's signature is as surviving spouse on their joint return. That 8879 doesn't go anywhere but in the preparer's file anyway, and this rejection is easily explained and corrected if necessary.

See what others say, but I think you can file it. TP signed it before his death with intention that it should be filed. If TP had still been alive, signed it, and dropped it in the mail to you and you just received it, you would file the returns when you have the signed form in your possession.

The "Donate" function will provide Eric's address during the checkout process after adding the donation amount to the cart and selecting the method of payment by check instead of plastic.

1 hour ago, Lee B said:

temporary until they can be replaced.

This annoys me.

It has been the same thing for my rare uses of e-services. Each time I'd try to access it, it was starting over with a new process. This last time I finally gave up. I got in and could never get to what I needed and kept getting a message that I wasn't authorized to access the report for that-whatever-it-was that I needed. Useless.

I won't delete Tom's post, but for those of you mentioning security for paying taxes, this isn't that.

This is to more secure our financial information that is stored there including banking information, SSNs, EINs, and payment history. Thieves could used all of that in a variety of ways.

I was on around the 3rd or 4th of this month and didn't see any notice either.

1 hour ago, Terry D EA said:

In this case a retired CPA who should have known the rules of the game.

Terry, even though we know the rules, we are still required to prepare the return with the transactions and fact pattern that occurred. If there was no salary and only draws, then that is the return to file whether or not it violates "reasonable compensation."  In these cases, what we should try to do is educate the client and correct these problems going forward, or choose to terminate the relationship.   

As someone already said above, report what actually happened, not what we wish had happened.

That goes for CPAs, EAs, and any other paid preparer for that matter.

I'm so sorry for your loss. No matter how long they are with us, our pets leave us much too soon.

2 hours ago, Jalissa092 said:

I wanted to know how this played out for you please

The person you are addressing has not revisited this site since the post was made more than 14 months ago. I approved your post, but I doubt you'll receive a reply.

2 minutes ago, JohnH said:

Even if you don’t get the green card back, the tracking can be downloaded from USPS. (Although recently I had one that the tracking did not reflect delivery but I got the green card back). Belt and suspenders - Maybe one or the other will work. 

Maybe, or you could just as easily get an agent that told me this years ago: "It only proves that an envelope was mailed and received, not its contents."

Are there links or only a mention of logging into your official account?

I don't like this because people may receive similar looking scam emails and could innocently go to a website ending in .com or .net instead of the official .gov site. 

Boiled down from the article:

• The taxpayer's check goes to a lockbox of IRS-contracted banks that converts it to an ACH payment by means of electronic image and data file.
• IRS proper doesn’t receive the paper tax returns or the payment checks.
• The taxpayer's bank also settles electronically using only routing and account numbers, so the taxpayer's bank never receives a digital or physical copy of the check.
• There is no canceled check to use as evidence.

None of the loans mentioned would create debt basis for an s corp shareholder. Debt basis comes from the shareholder loaning money to the s corp.

Another excellent article on the subject with a discussion of rules for those that also holdings as limited partners where rental income from the limited partnerships are less than 10% of the total.

https://www.thetaxadviser.com/issues/2017/mar/navigating-real-estate-professional-rules.html#:~:text=The election may be made,it in a subsequent year.
 

Within the article, use Crtl-F to find "limited" and you will see this paragraph:

Quote

If the election is made and at least one interest in rental real estate is held by the qualifying real estate professional in a limited partnership interest, the combined rental real estate activity will be treated as a limited partnership interest for purposes of determining material participation. Accordingly, the taxpayer will not materially participate in the combined rental real estate activity unless the taxpayer satisfies the first, fifth, or sixth tests above in Step 2. (Ref 54)  If, however, the taxpayer's share of gross rental income from all of the taxpayer's limited partnership interests in rental real estate is less than 10% of the taxpayer's share of gross rental income from all of the taxpayer's interests in rental real estate for the tax year, this rule does not apply, and the taxpayer may determine material participation under any of the tests listed in Step 2 that apply to rental real estate activities.55

This article and the one posted by cbslee have the code references for the rules mentioned within each article.

If some or all of those loans created debt basis, and if that basis is less than the amount owed...

then the repayment of debt during the year will be cap gain if the debt is evidenced in writing. If not formalized, then the resulting taxable amount would be ordinary income. 

Could that be what is happening?

45 minutes ago, Randall said:

Are they open to renew yet?

No, it should start sometime later this month.  This was approved on Sept 25th and the effective date is Oct 19, 2023.  Right now the PTIN renewal page says it is still processing for 2023 new apps and renewals. 

I got this info from the National Archives Daily Journal of the Federal Register here: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/10/04/2023-22103/preparer-tax-identification-number-ptin-user-fee-update

see sec 179(b) on this page  and then more specifically further down same page at 179(b)(6)A) where it says :

Quote

(6)Dollar limitation of controlled groupFor purposes of subsection (b) of this section—

(A)

all component members of a controlled group shall be treated as one taxpayer, and

and then be sure to see this page for sec 1.179-2(b)(7) under the heading "Component members of a controlled group" about allocating among the members and the statement needed to be attached to the return

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/26/1.179-2

12 hours ago, Max W said:

Basis at BOY was $6K. So, client is entitled to a $6K loss. 

Not necessarily. Ordering rules come into play in calculating shareholder s corp basis to determine if any loss is allowed. 

I agree with cbslee that we need information about distributions. 

Website is updated for current year including registration. Use link in above post. 

https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/charitable-contributions-quid-pro-quo-contributions

https://www.nolo.com/legal-update/irs-changes-thank-you-gift-rules-35445.html

48 minutes ago, Lion EA said:

I take a LOT of courses that do NOT earn me CEs to retain my EA.

I never suggested that you don't.

What I said was:

1 hour ago, jklcpa said:

...maybe some other readers here may want or need to expand knowledge in areas that may or may not involve earning the credits....

12 minutes ago, Lion EA said:

Well, it has to be IRS-approved CE. EAs must look for the square IRS logo that IRS-approved CE providers use and the IRS-provided course number. Only federal tax law qualifies, including ethics and updates. No state tax topics and no tax-adjacent topics, such as SS, Medicare, office management, technology, (although, IRS has now approved security-related topics).

Lion, I do know that about the credits and logo.  It's great to maximize credits for the money expended, but maybe some other readers here may want or need to expand knowledge in areas that may or may not involve earning the credits in order to better serve clients or for their own benefit.

Schirallicpa had asked for courses, and as a CPA she would be able to earn credits with either Surgent or Checkpoint. Both companies have courses on the subject. 

1 minute ago, kathyc2 said:

So CE is what it's called for enrolled agents?  If something qualifies for CPE is doesn't automatically count for EA's?  

Surgent's detailed course descriptions include a breakdown of the potential credits for CPAs and EAs who will recognize those (NASBA, IRS...)

Fwiw, I've taken the SS course by Bob Lickwar and found it helpful and informative but certainly not enough for me to want to create various complex scenarios for my clients.

Is this more of a substance over form though?  Individual owning the vacation points receives nothing in the transaction. Church has no guarantee of payment but indirectly benefits by the possibility of increase in pledges. 

It seems to me that this transaction merely sidesteps the individual's donation to the church of the item being raffled.

ETA - OH gaming is regulated by state's AG. Here's the portion about raffles.

4 hours ago, Sara EA said:

Anyone remember how the IRS functioned during the last shutdown?  We have several audit submissions awaiting IRS reply.  Will these deadlines be extended?  The return extension deadline is approaching.  Will Oct 15 returns be processed?

Final question:  Is it time to donate to this site again?

The e-file system still operates, so file as much electronically as possible. Postmarks for returns mailed should be honored as usual although possibly no one will be at IRS to process paper returns. Statutory deadlines still must be met, so plan for your clients to make all payments by normal due dates.

IRS hasn't finalized the contingency plan yet, but I'd assume that there will be no one to issue refunds unless automated, and definitely assume no one will be there in customer service areas to answer the phones or answer questions. In prior shutdowns, somewhere around 88% of IRS employees were furloughed, and there was a catch up period when it reopened. In one year, the start of tax season was delayed because of the extended shutdown that occurred.

https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2023/sep/irs-developing-contingency-plan-as-government-shutdown-looms.html

If you have audits with deadlines after the possible shutdown date, contact the auditor to be sure that the deadline for materials submission will be extended or meetings rescheduled. 

Although this page was updated this year, this IRS page has details related to the shutdown and reopening from the 2019 shutdown:

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-activities-following-the-shutdown

Donations to this site are appreciated any time of the year.