Pacun

"Those rebates are going to cost taxpayers over $350 million!" Not really. It is coming from taxpayers to taxpayers. Imagine that you have $350 million on your right pocket, and you move them to your left pocket. It doesn't make any difference if you have both hands and both pockets are big enough.

Did you ask him if he was a U.S. Citizen? "he came to the US from Puerto Rico in June", means nothing. Was he born in Puerto Rico? If he said he is a U.S. citizen, I don't see any problems except that you will have to file part year in Puerto Rico and part year in.... (I don't know what state since you didn't update your profile).

As long as you have income of more than $3000 and file a return you will qualify. If you collect social security and you have retired to Jamaica, you would qualify. I don't see any difference.

I am not that paranoid. I would not renew my driver's license because I didn't lose my driver's license. Without the password for the ATM, you cannot take money out even if you have the account number. So, I wouldn't close the account because he didn't lose his password or checks. I would eventually do it but not right away. I wonder if you can file a police report because you lost your copies of your taxes, you haven't lost anything in its original form. I know you can do it when you lose your drivers license. You cannot also assume that someone took the information because the losser doesn't know for sure. Maybe someone will just return the whole package that he left on the bench where he was sitting after doing his taxes and was planning what he was going to do with the refund he was getting.

It depends if the other business uses Schedule E.

I think they are referring to NIT. Numero de Identidad Tributaria. I am from El Salvador and we have NITs. They are similar to the social security card numbers.

I like to emphasize that we need to calculate the basis because just the 1099-A is not enough. That's the reason for the extra capitals. As you know you need to consider many factors on the basis. To mention a few, improvements, insurance payment for damages, bequests, etc. On the 1099-A the bank is only saying, I am buying back this house from this guy. I am paying the amount on box 4 and he owes me the amoung on box 2. They also say yes or no to "personally liable on question 5. That's all it says.

CORRECTTTTTTTT You need to know the basis of the house. These people refinanced many times in the past. isn't editing great!!!!

Let's say you make $200K yearly and then you have an accident on December 31. Your company has short term dissability benefits and they pay you 2 weeks from Sick days. I think you would qualify for EIC.

Imagine that your client just sold the property for $252,000. Calculate your basis and (since this is an investment property) file gain or loss.

Right.

Exactly... you should NOT care about what HRB did because situations change from year to year. Maybe last year he qualified to claim them and this year he doesn't. When you review returns prepared by someone else the following year, you glance at the return. If within 2 minutes you determine that there is a big mistake on the return, then you let the client know and suggest to amend if necessary. You do not pull out your dependent support sheet and ask them all the questions about the already-filed-year and try to find out why HRB claimed them as dependents. Tax payers hired you to prepare this years return NOT to audit HRB work. As I said, I see the returns and if I do not see anything completely abnormal, I continue to do the work I was hired for.

Are you switching your questions now? Based on what you have said... HRB might be right.

Even if he supports all of them 100% and claims them on his return, he CANNOT file as HH.

1099-A means a sale. If you made a profit on the sale, you have to report it. If you have a loss on rental or investment you take, if not.... It means nothing, except that for matching porpuses you have to file Sch-D if appropriated.

Let me put it this way. Banks have not forgiven most of the debts yet. 1099A means nothing at this point. Banks do not know how much they will forgive and how much they will collect from some of these people. As a matter of fact they don't know how much they will forgive for two reason 1.- They do not know if these people have other assets. 2.- They do not know how much of the debt they will collect back when they sell the house again. When the bank issues a 1099-A, the bank is only saying, "I am buying this house back from the greedy run-away home onwer. Later this year, next year or whenever I sell this property and I know how much I will forgive this looser, I will issue him a 1099-C." On August 2007, a bank gave a client of mine a 1099-A purchasing the house back for $355K, the debt was $380K. The house is on the market right now for $280K. I told my client to expect a 1099-C for at least $100K this or next year. Rental and personal second home owners that just lost 2 or more houses will have headakes next filing season if a court didn't declare them bankcrupted.

Oops, I thought he said no income.

I think most banks have not forgiven any debt yet. I think form 982 will be very useful next year.

I only keep 8879 with supporting documents and original signature. I also keep the state form. What I do, I pring a copy of all the forms and I grab only the two that I need and I give them the rest.

Why are you guys trying to fight the system... states are forcing tax preparers to efile. I do not tell people that the forms are not ready because I simply efile. It is easier, more convinient and secured.

If the employer has the wrong zip code on the W-2, go to http://maps.google.com and enter the correct zip code.

I think you are right because no one has mentioned the 11K floor when calculating the credit for the children. So any dependent kid related by blood under 17 will get $300. Thanks for your reply.

Also, kids means, kids that qualify for the child tax credit or additional child tax credit. So a couple that makes only $6000 and 3 kids under 17 would get only $600. Am I correct?

I am waiting for peer review but you should also check the tax treaty between the US and the other country.