Cajun Sue

Client had a stocked fresh water fish pond...over a thousand fish purchased to stock it..bass and brim. Hurricane Ike came in with a flood and wiped the pond out with sea salt water. He drained the pond and found only dead fish..seems that fresh water fish don't like salt water. He wants to claim this as a disaster. He is not in business of selling fish. This was a personal recreational pond for his family and friends. Can we do this? Thanks and hoping all are well and not too stressed.... Sue

Have tried to create return which has in it the Form 4684 which links to Standard Deduction instead of Sch A. Error says I cannot create or efile this. Has there been any word as to the time frame of when we can efile this type of return? Thanks...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Married Too Long? My wife sat down on the couch next to me as I was flipping the channels. She asked, 'What's on TV?' I said, 'Dust.' And then the fight started... ==================================================================== My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary. She said, 'I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 200 in about 3 Seconds.' I bought her a scale. And then the fight started... ==================================================================== When I got home last night, my wife demanded that I take her someplace Expensive - so I took her to a gas station... And then the fight started.... ==================================================================== My wife and I were sitting at a table at my high school reunion,and I kept Staring at a drunken lady swigging her drink as she sat alone at a nearby Table. My wife asked, 'Do you know her?' 'Yes,' I sighed, 'She's my old girlfriend.. I understand she took to Drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and I hear she Hasn't been sober since.' 'My God!' says my wife, 'who would think a person could go on celebrating That long?' And then the fight started... =========================================================== After retiring, I went to the Social Security office to apply for Social Security. The woman behind the counter asked me for my driver's license to Verify my age. I looked in my pockets and realized I had left my wallet at Home. I told the woman that I was very sorry, but I would have to go home And come back later. The woman said, 'Unbutton your shirt'. So I opened my shirt revealing my curly silver hair. She said, 'That Silver hair on your chest is proof enough for me' and she processed my Social Security application. When I got home, I excitedly told my wife about my experience at the Social Security office. She said, 'You should have dropped your pants. You might Have gotten disability, too' And then the fight started..... ==================================================================== A woman is standing nude, looking in the bedroom mirror. She is not happy With what she sees and says to her husband, 'I feel horrible; I look old, Fat and ugly. I really need you to pay me a compliment.' The husband replies, 'Your eyesight's damn near perfect.' And then the fight started. ==================================================================== I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some reason, took my order First."I'll have the strip steak, medium rare, please." He said, "Aren't you Worried about the mad cow?" "Nah, she can order for herself." And then the fight started.....

By Yvonne Olson Tax season already? Sometimes the obvious hits us between the eyes, but all too often it just sneaks up on us. Here are 10 Ways to Recognize Tax Season: You can't finish a thought without: the phone ringing, another file being placed on your desk, a client walking in, or another tax return being added to your to do list. You re-heat your first cup of coffee ten times in 2 hours, and still haven't finished it yet! The office puppy leaves a present on the carpet by your desk because you ignored the bell she rang (often, over 3 hours) to go outside. You come in at 7 a.m., blink, and it's 5 p.m. Your stomach growls around 3 p.m. to remind you that your lunch is waaaay overdue. You have lots of copies to make and your copier is sabotaging the process. You can't find your desk. You wear "senior underwear" because you don't have time to run to the bathroom. You have 3 or more band aids on your fingers from paper cuts. You have clients calling in January to set up an appointment for April 14th.

Hello mcb...Agent 39 wasn't it? LOL...I haven't had an opportunity to read ALL the posts yet, so I am behind in the news of everyone. Hope all are well and have had a wonderful summer. This website is known for its knowledge and the wonderful heartfelt concern for its members. Look forward to "seeing" all of you this tax season.

Hello everyone...Hoping this time I can access the website and maybe contribute some useful information. Been a rough year for some of us Cajuns..but all have survived and doing fine. Hope all went well with you. I watched a video online on EIC Due Diligence last week. The agent strongly suggested asking all types of questions and keeping on file all information concerning EIC. Guess this is ATX's way of helping us do so. www.irstaxforumsonline.com/holland.php

Please read instructions for line 6c in the 1040 instruction booklet..Page 16...Definitions and Special Rules--Children of divorced or separated parents... There it says that a child does NOT have to live with the parent (non-custodial) for him/her to be able to claim the CTC, if he claims the child as a dependent using the rules of divorced parents.. The Non custodial parent cannot claim Child Care , EIC or Head of Household, however. Only the custodial parent may do that. Also, on this page are the rules for Filing with the 8332 form or the divorce degree.

http://www.irs.gov/irb/2008-02_IRB/ar14.html this Revenue Bulletin will help decide if anyone can claim a child as a qualifying child or relative.. For purposes of section 152(d)(1)(D), an individual is not a qualifying child of “any other taxpayer” if the individual’s parent (or other person with respect to whom the individual is defined as a qualifying child) is not required by section 6012 to file an income tax return and (i) does not file an income tax return, or (ii) files an income tax return solely to obtain a refund of withheld income taxes. Notice this.... This notice applies to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2004 Boy was I too strict. I may need to examine some of my client's returns!!

I know what Sputnik was/is....but what is a stove? ;)

Cathy is right Donnie... We are up and running for this year. Now lets see how fast we get our ACKS back this year. Last year, if I remember correctly, they were slow as molasses in winter. Also, see my posts, and others, in answer to another poster......lots of "new" info...

You would think she could start paying me since she is really not my "mother-in-law" any longer....Yeah, right Bob, don't you remember? IRS says (in Pub 17 page 30 second column-6 lines down) the reason she doesn't start paying you as non-M-I-L.

MG... You are absolutely right! I tried to efile a LA state today. ATX REQUIRES the LA efile info sheet and the LA 8453 to efile...NOT La. So we will have to wait on ATX. Sorry for any misrepresentation of facts. Sue

MG... We can efile LA piggyback, by itself, even an amended return. According to a Ms. Kathleen Dixon, to whom I talked yesterday, we do still need to keep an electronic version of the LA8453 on file with the return...in case of audit of files. But to actually efile, it is not needed for the piggy-backed return.... IF....we use the IRS PIN. It is needed for the stand alone (not piggy-backed with 1040), amended, or non resident returns we send in. http://www.rev.state.la.us/sections/eservices/default.aspx Hope this helps.. Sue

Baton Rouge, LA- The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced changes to the upcoming filing season. As a result of the Alternative Minimum Tax Bill, which was signed into law Wednesday, December 26, 2007 by President Bush, many taxpayers will be eligible to file on the usual schedule, but some will not. The IRS will process ALL returns beginning January 14, 2008 -- EXCEPT those that contain any of 5 forms that are related to AMT calculations. About 125 million federal taxpayers will be eligible to file on the usual schedule, while 13 million federal taxpayers who use any of the 5 affected forms will not be accepted for processing until February 11, 2008. The five affected forms are as follows: Form 8863, Education Credits Form 5695, Residential Energy Credits Schedule 2 (Form 1040A), Child and Dependent Care Expenses for Form 1040A Filers Form 8396, Mortgage Interest Credit Form 8859, District of Columbia First-Time Homebuyer Credit The Federal-State e-file system will open for all taxpayers not filing any of those 5 forms as scheduled on January 11, 2008, and the IRS or Federal deadline for all taxpayers remains April 15, 2008. An automatic six-month extension has been granted by the IRS and remains available. “Although the delay will affect many of our taxpayers who use one of the five affected forms, the Department of Revenue will be ready to process all other Louisiana individual income tax returns as expeditiously as possible,” says Cynthia Bridges, Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Revenue. The Louisiana Department of Revenue will begin accepting returns on January 14, 2008, and will begin processing returns on January 30, 2008. ================================================================ What forms do I maintain on file? The state copies of the Forms W-2, W-2G, 1099R, and all supporting documentation required for state return line items as defined in the instruction booklet should also be maintained with the signature form. The tax preparer should retain the IRS e-file Signature Authorization, Form 8879, which will be accepted as the taxpayer’s state signature document as well. The forms must be retained for three years from the return due date or the IRS received date, whichever is later. The forms may be retained electronically in accordance with the recordkeeping guidelines in Rev. Proc. 97-22. If the tax preparer is filing a Louisiana state only return or a Louisiana state amended return for a taxpayer, the tax preparer must maintain the LA Tax Declaration for Electronic Filing Form R-8453, for three years from the return due date or the Department of Revenue received date, whichever is later. ================================================================= What if there is a change on the return after IRS accepts the transmission? Electronically filed returns may not be changed after the IRS accepts the transmission. If the returns are submitted and rejected by the IRS for federal or state reasons, the returns can be corrected and retransmitted. If the tax preparer or taxpayer needs to make changes after the IRS has accepted the returns, the taxpayer may file a separate electronic amended return for the state, but must file a paper amended federal return mailed to the IRS because the IRS does not accept electronic amended federal returns. ================================================================ My business is located outside of Louisiana. Am I still subject to the electronic filing mandate? Yes. If you meet the requirements in the law, you are subject to the electronic filing mandate even though you are located outside the state of Louisiana. ================================================================ Who do I contact if I have questions or problems with regard to the transmission of the state return or acknowledgements? Tax preparers should contact the electronic filing help desk (225) 219-2490 or 219-2492. This number is for tax practitioners and transmitters only. ================================================================ From this news item and other FAQ's posted on La website, I get the impression that we can file LA State returns on January 11. They will accept them on Jan 14 and start processing on the 30th of January. Also, I believe, (not certain...have a call into the Department as I type) we can efile without LA 8453 if using IRS PIN, UNLESS we are filing an amended State return or one that is a state only return(not piggybacked with a Federal return).