Carolbeck

You can always hope that the return will be rejected. Then you can send the right one. I had this happen to when the name was very long and spouse's name was hyphenated. I usually see the Copy (1), but sometimes not

I was going to suggest using One Write Plus for MAC just for the check writing piece, but Sage Software does not offer that software anymore. Quicken Essentials $29.99 for MAC would probably work and then export the data via csv. It is critical to have you set this up as having anyone that does not understand basic accounting (can I say my Farm Clients, "no Loan pmts are NOT repairs or equipment purchases""No you do not enter the Net Milk Check"), it is not worth the aggravation of having to redo, reclass, JE adjustments, or recreate in QBs. It takes a lot more time!

I do the same thing for FAFSA for my girls! You have a lot of time to update, correct or fix for financial aid.

Or from a Farm Return where all the records have been sitting in the cow barn. Funny dark stains on the calf sales statements.. But I agree the worst is the cigarette smell. It becomes an instant Asthma Attack for me. I usually have to put the Bag O Receipts out on the deck to air out. I feel your pain!

IRS Commissioner Sees Further Appeals on Tax Preparer Lawsuit as Unlikely Washington, D.C. (February 20, 2014) By Michael Cohn Internal Revenue Service commissioner John Koskinen said the IRS is still looking at various options after losing an appeal on its authority to regulate tax preparers, but now sees a further appeal as unlikely. John Koskinen In an interview with Accounting Today on Wednesday, Koskinen acknowledged that the IRS is still looking at options such as further appeals, pursuing legislative remedy in Congress, and offering voluntary credential for tax preparers. “We're obviously looking at all three of those,” he said. “We're disappointed with the decision, although the decision is fairly final in the sense that the only appeal would be to apply for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court. And getting a writ granted by the Supreme Court is unlikely in most cases, and probably unlikely in this one as well.” Earlier this month, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with rulings last year by U.S. District Court judge James Boasberg that the IRS lacked the statutory authority to require testing and continuing education of tax preparers (see Tax Preparers Defeat IRS in Appeals Court Ruling on Licensing Scheme). Getting Started on the CPA/PFS Credential Pathway Understanding the Net Investment Income Tax Leverage AICPA Financial Planning Resources Now The value of an AICPA PFP Section Membership The CPA's Guide to Financial and Estate Planning Koskinen pointed out that there wasn't any disagreement between different circuit courts on which to base the appeal. “We don't have controversy between different circuits, so I'm not sure,” he said Wednesday. “We just had a meeting yesterday talking about it. So we're reviewing it, but it would be a long shot as we go.” He also admitted that going to Congress to give it the statutory authority to impose tax preparer regulation was also a long shot. “A legislative fix, obviously, would help, so we're also taking a look at trying to figure out how to get that pulled together,” said Koskinen. “We've had some indications of support in the Congress, although I recognize that in today's political climate, getting legislation to give the IRS authority to do anything is probably a bit of a stretch.” Koskinen sees voluntary certification as the most likely route, as he indicated during a recent press conference (see IRS's New Commissioner Favors Voluntary Tax Preparer Certification). “So it may well be that our best approach, and we are looking at that as well, is whether, as I've said in the past, some sort of voluntary program would be productive,” he said in the interview. “It would be a way of offering educational support for preparers. The people who are going to be cutting corners are probably not appropriate and are unlikely to accept a volunteer offer. But my sense is we would get a reasonable percentage of people who would be delighted to take the course or courses over time, get a certification from the IRS that they're not an Enrolled Agent, but on the other hand a certification that they've met sort of minimum standards that they might be able to market, or that people might be more comfortable going to them for.” Koskinen disputed comments he has seen from preparers that the Registered Tax Return Preparer regulation program was aimed at favoring large tax prep chains. “There have been some people saying, 'Well, the whole thing was an attempt to drive small preparers out of business so everybody would go to large preparers.' That is clearly not the intention,” he told Accounting Today. “We are just concerned that we have a responsibility to make sure that those holding themselves out to be preparers have some minimum experience and qualifications for taxpayers. As somebody noted in one of the responses, hairdressers are regulated in all 50 states, and yet if you're getting your tax return prepared you can go to almost anybody operating out of the back room or his car. And in most states you can do that. It just seems to us that we ought to do something.” However, Koskinen does foresee some issues with offering a voluntary certification program. “When it was going to be a mandatory program with our contractor, we could predict pretty well what the volume was going to be and organize it appropriately, including structuring the fees,” he said. “If it's a voluntary one, it gets a little more difficult to project, but I do think that we ought to at least take a hard look at that.”

I have been attending many webinars regarding this at work. A few where an all day session! I work at a very large global corporation that these regulations will play a large part of. Still trying to work my brain around all the analysis that will be needed. The changes from "Temporary" to "Proposed" to "Some What Final" to "Final"! I like this article, concise, and not so overwhelming as the IRS publications. Thank you for sharing!

I am so sick of snow. I know I live in a "lake effect" area, but this year I can't wait for spring! We put 4 snow tires on each of our vehicles. 2 vehicles carry my 2 college student daughters to campus everyday. My car 8 yrs and the only manual transmission is great in the snow, but I worry every day with them driving. Please see picture from our back yard this AM. I wish they would let me hand deliver the Hawaii Corporate Tax Return at work... Snow is thigh high in the driveway.. And this mornings Temperature (02/17/2014) was -15 degrees - I can't wait for winter to be over! Thank you Catherine for the heads up attaching a picture, Brain was not working last night..

I am so sick of snow. I know I live in a "lake effect" area, but this year I can't wait for spring! We put 4 snow tires on each of our vehicles. 2 vehicles carry my 2 college student daughters to campus everyday. My car 8 yrs and the only manual transmission is great in the snow, but I worry every day with them driving. Please see picture from our back yard this AM. I wish they would let me hand deliver the Hawaii Corporate Tax Return at work... How do attach a picture??? Snow is thigh high in the driveway..

Have to get rid of those dust bunnies some how.

Thanks Jack, I will try it! You always try to help and have good ideas. btw: ATX is much better this year - Not sure if it is because my I7 proc vs I3 or Windows 7 Pro vs Windows 7 Home, 8G Ram vs 4G. I can actually open more than one return at a time. I have a complicated MFS vs MFJ and it worked like a charm.

I was being facitious about putting my laptop in the Dishwasher. I am a "Gear Head" as my co-worker calls me at work. I do use a wireless mouse and keyboard at work and a wireless mouse in my home office. However, since my Laptop is a 17" I7 with a separate numeric pad, it is much easier using just the that. Especially if I am not at my desk, and using my laptop in my lap and or other location. That number "3" just wants to be sticky. Guess that is what happens when you allow your college student to use your PC to take her Calculus Exam on it. Too much Mountain Dew!

Isn't it kind of hard to throw your laptop in the dishwasher just to clean the keyboard My #3 button on the Keypad keeps sticking and I have to make sure every time I enter info that contains a "3" that it actually gets entered! I have used the Keyboard cleaner in a can, but not much luck. Must be the German Shepherd fur is tougher stuff.

I agree that Tax Preparation should include licensing and testing of minimum requirements. I have seen some of the returns prepared by people that do not have a clue! What I did not like about the IRS heavy hand regarding the CPE was that you had to use one of their "Sanctioned" providers. I work full time during the day at a large global company in the Tax Department and prepare Large Corporation Federal and State Tax Returns. I have worked here for over 13 years, I have access to and use many other sources for my Tax education during the year that are far better than the "Sanctioned" ones. Deloitte, KPMG, EY, Thomson Reuters, etc. I also have my own Tax Prep Business that I have done since 1984 out of my home in the evenings and weekends. I always have attended annual seminars and webinars to keep up on current tax law, but last year having to pay twice for the same CPE just really annoyed me. And the education was so simplified it was an insult.

Tax Preparers Defeat IRS in Appeals Court Ruling on Licensing Scheme Washington, D.C. (February 11, 2014) By Michael Cohn The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that the IRS had no legal authority to impose a nationwide licensing scheme on tax return preparers that would have required testing and continuing education as Registered Tax Return Preparers. The decision affirms a January 2013 ruling by U.S. District Court Judge James E. Boasberg, which struck down the IRS’s new regulations as unlawful (see Court Rules IRS Doesn’t Have the Authority to Regulate Tax Preparers). In the case, known as Loving v. IRS, both courts rejected the IRS’s claim that tax-preparer licensure was authorized by an obscure 1884 statute governing the representatives of Civil War soldiers seeking compensation for dead horses. “This is a major victory for tax preparers—and taxpayers—nationwide,” said Dan Alban of the Institute for Justice, the lead attorney for the three independent tax preparers who filed the suit. “The court found that Congress never gave the IRS the power to license tax preparers, and the IRS cannot give itself that authority.” The appeals court held, “If we were to accept the IRS’s interpretation of [the statute], the IRS would be empowered for the first time to regulate hundreds of thousands of individuals in the multi-billion dollar tax-preparation industry. Yet nothing in the statute’s text or the legislative record contemplates that vast expansion of the IRS’s authority.” More than 350,000 tax-return preparers would have been subject to the regulations. The attorneys for the preparers argued that the regulations would have put tens of thousands of mom-and-pop preparers out of business and increased the cost of tax-return preparation for millions of taxpayers. “My customers—not the IRS—should be the ones who get to choose who prepares their taxes,” said Sabina Loving, an independent tax preparer from Chicago and the lead plaintiff in the case. “I have a right to earn an honest living without getting permission from the IRS.” The court ruled that “[t]he IRS may not unilaterally expand its authority through such an expansive, atextual, and ahistorical reading of [the statute].” “We think it’s a major victory for both independent tax preparers and taxpayers,” Institute for Justice senior attorney Scott Bullock said in an interview. “The three-judge panel unanimously affirmed all the fundamental points of the District Court’s opinion and held that the IRS does not have the authority to regulate tax preparers under the statute and under the legislative history of the law. The IRS simply cannot assume that authority to license tax preparers. They need to go to Congress to get that authority. That's what the D.C. Circuit held. They gave six separate reasons for affirming the District Court opinion and just really affirmed it across the board.” Bullock hopes the IRS decides not to pursue further appeals in the case. “It has now been rejected by four judges, both the District Court and by three D.C. Circuit judges,” he said. "They do have the right to petition the entire D.C. Circuit. I believe they have 45 days to do so. The federal government has a little bit longer than most folks. Then the court will decide that relatively quickly. Then, after that, the next step for them would be to go before the Supreme Court and they would have 90 days. If they decide not to petition the entire D.C. Circuit, it would be 90 days from today. If they do decide to petition the entire D.C. Circuit and they reject that, it would be 90 days from whenever that order rejecting the en banc petition came though.” When Judge Boasberg clarified his original decision last year, he ruled that the IRS can continue to require tax preparers to register for Preparer Tax Identification Numbers, or PTINs, and the latest ruling should not affect that. However, it should also bring some relief to tax professionals. “It was a big relief to many of the independent tax preparers when the decision was first handed down,” said Bullock. “Hopefully this will end the matter once and for all and they would not be subjected these new licensing requirements, but it’s up to the IRS if they decide to continue to appeal.” The IRS was noncommittal on whether it plans future appeals. “The IRS is currently reviewing the decision,” the IRS said in a statement. “The IRS continues to believe that it’s critical for taxpayers to be able to rely on quality work from tax preparers.” Bullock believes the IRS should provide refunds to tax preparers who paid to take the tests and continuing education courses before the RTRP regime was invalidated by the courts. “I believe they would probably be required to do that, and they [the tax preparers] would have the right if they so choose not to be subjected to these licensing requirements.” “Administrative agency overreach threatens the economic liberty rights of entrepreneurs,” said Institute president and general counsel William Mellor in a statement. “This precedent ensures that agencies must follow the law and cannot exceed the power given to them by Congress.” As the Court noted, “‘fox-in-the-henhouse syndrome is to be avoided . . . by taking seriously, and applying rigorously, in all cases, statutory limits on agencies’ authority.’” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen has indicated he would be open to offering the certification on a voluntary basis to tax preparers if the IRS loses the appeal. “If you can’t require it, offer it, and if you complete the information, you get a certificate that says, ‘I have completed the IRS preparer course.’ I think that could be over time very valuable to preparers, and consumers could ask preparers, ‘Have you gone through the IRS training?’” said Koskinen during a press conference last month after he was sworn in as commissioner (see IRS’s New Commissioner Favors Voluntary Tax Preparer Certification). “Whatever happens with the court case, we ought to be able to move forward on that and provide taxpayers with as much assurance as we can that the preparers they are dealing with have met some kind of minimum standards.” Bullock indicated the Institute for Justice would have no problem with a voluntary certification scheme. “We made that very clear in our statements because they [the IRS] had asked the D.C. Circuit to stay the ruling, and they had stated they had no power to even do this on a voluntary basis,” said Bullock. “And we had said, ‘That’s not true. You can offer this, but you can’t require licensure. But if you want to do this on a voluntary basis, you’re free to do so.’ And the district court judge made it clear that the IRS was free to do this on a voluntary basis, but they could not legally require it, it. If they did that, that of course would end the legal dispute.” H&R Block Slams Decision H&R Block, which was one of the main proponents of the RTRP tax preparer regulation regime, reacted with dismay to the Appeals Court decision. Block said that in a country where all 50 states regulate hair dressers, the tax prep chain found it “stunning” that tax preparers, with extensive access to the personal financial history and identities of their clients, are not required to meet minimum competency standards. “It is outrageous that all consumers don’t enjoy basic protections with such a significant financial transaction as tax preparation,” said H&R Block president and CEO Bill Cobb in a statement. “Something is out of whack when you are better protected when getting your haircut than when sitting across the desk from a tax preparer. All consumers should have access to the protection that our clients receive when working with our highly trained tax professionals.” H&R Block noted that it has long supported efforts to better serve and protect consumers through minimum standards for, and oversight of all tax return preparers. Block pointed out that it already trains and has continuing education requirements for all of its tax preparers and added that it looks forward to working with Congress and the Treasury Department on “any legislation that may be necessary to implement minimum tax preparer standards as a formidable tool in the fight against fraud.” One tax attorney pointed out that the IRS will still be able to check up on errant tax preparers, even after the latest ruling. “The IRS’s ability to require previously unregistered tax preparers to meet certain education and testing requirements, while perhaps now temporarily set back a step, will inevitably come to pass because of the important role preparers play in tax system administration,” said G. Michelle Ferreira, tax attorney and managing shareholder of the San Francisco office of international law firm Greenberg Traurig. “I believe law makers will recognize the need to make explicit that the IRS should be able to set basic standards for individuals who prepare tax returns so that we can be sure such returns are correct and in compliance.” Because the Loving decision does not disturb the rules requiring all paid preparers to obtain a PTIN, those individuals must still register with the IRS, Ferreira said, “which still gives the IRS the ability to check up on preparers where evidence points to problems.” CPA Reactions While attorneys and CPAs would have been exempt from the proposed rules, several CPAs from the New York State Society of CPAs reacted strongly to the news of the court’s decision Tuesday. “The potential impact is that the storefront tax preparer will thrive on the ignorant and the fraud will continue,” said Vincent Cosenza, CPA and tax manager at Shanolt, Glassman, Klein and Kramer PC in New York City. “Much of what the IRS was looking for is already being done by most CPA firms,” said David Young, CPA, owner of Young & Company CPAs LLC in Rochester, N.Y. “Having a strong system of quality control for tax return preparation and continuing professional education is in part what differentiates a CPA firm from H&R Block and other non-CPA firms. The taxpayer is ultimately responsible for what is on his or her income tax return. “When choosing a tax preparer, the taxpayer should consider the possible negative ramifications of choosing an unregulated and unlicensed tax return preparer,” Young advised. “It would be wise for the taxpayer to ask about the tax preparer’s qualifications, continuing professional education, and the firm’s quality control as it relates to tax returns.” “I am a little upset that unlicensed tax preparers don’t have to deal with taking CPE and keeping themselves up to date with new legislation, as CPA are required to do annually,” said Johnpaul Crocenzi, CPA, a tax manager at Raich Ende Malter & Co. LLP in New York. “Having the IRS regulate tax preparers will actually protect the consumer from having a tax return done by someone that doesn’t know or understand the Tax Code.” Although the IRS proposed regulation of tax return preparers did not directly affect CPAs, there is always a concern about regulations that can creep into other areas, according to Kevin McCoy, CPA, director of Marvin and Company near Albany, N.Y. But “until the IRS is granted the authority by Congress, it appears the unlicensed tax return preparers are free to continue to operate as before,” he said.

I do not think they can do this if your client officially filed for bankruptcy and the Credit Card company that sent this 1099-C as one of the Creditors within the bankruptcy. Depends on what chapter he filed. I believe if he filed under chapter 7(or Chapter 13 - Do not remember) he was scheduled to repay some of the debt, perhaps he did not keep his part of filing? If not, he needs to let the Credit Card Company know of this fact. A lot of banks and credit card companies changed ownership during the "Great Bailout", could be records were not recorded correctly. JPMorgan Chase took over quite a few and they received a lot of $$$ in Bailouts. Bank of America too. Sorry I could be of more help! Carol

Where I live in Upstate NY there is no Broadband or Cable (Very Rural). The only choice I have is Dial up, Satelite, or MiFi (3G). I use MiFI. I had to switch to AT&T from Verizon's MiFi as the connection from the Cell Tower kept getting worse & worse. AT&T costs twice as much with a Capped 10G Data, but at least I am not constantly seeing the "Circle" of never loading webpage. My laptop is 8G RAM, Win7Prof, i7 Processor. I run stand alone, but still very slow at times and I could not open two returns at the same time. The Efile upload takes forever. Do you think I will have a great deal of issues for the 2014 Tax Season?

Washington, D.C. (October 17, 2013) By Michael Cohn The Internal Revenue Service has delayed the 2014 season for renewing Preparer Tax Identification Numbers because of the government shutdown that ended last night. On a Web page that the IRS set up to provide updates on how the shutdown is affecting the agency, the IRS recently added the question, “What is the status of renewing Preparer Tax Identification Numbers (PTIN) for 2014?” In response, the IRS stated, “Due to the lapse in government funding, the 2014 PTIN renewal season is delayed. An email or letter will be sent to all current PTIN holders notifying you when the 2014 renewal season opens. The online PTIN system is still available for users to log in and view or change information or to secure a PTIN for 2013. Additional information will be provided on this site as it becomes available.” To access the page for renewing a PTIN for next tax season, click here,

I guess someone has gone on to greener pastures.... http://www.accountantsworld.com/newsletter/dailynews/ShowNews?NewsID=919250