Lynn EA USTCP in Louisiana

KC, I received the same notice, and it made my eyes burn just reading it. I wanted to respond to tell those ...... that they were about 2 weeks late in sending that out. Never received an invitation to that prior to this email. This does NOT give me warm and fuzzy feelings about TRX Alliance. Hope they improve in the future. Lynn Jacobs, EA, NP Enrolled Agent Notary Public Kenner, LA

Average of previous three years Lynn Jacobs, EA Notary Public Kenner, La

My interpretation is exactly opposite of yours. Despite the fact that you only prepared 2 NY state returns in 2009. IF you intend to file ONE NY state tax return in 2010 (for the 2009 filing season) you will be required to register but NOT to pay the tax, since the number prepared in 2009 were less than 10. Lynn Jacobs, EA Enrolled Agent Notary Public Kenner, LA

Thank you, Taxbilly, for the birthday greetings. This will be a great day, the beginning of another great year. I'll be at my desk, then will have dinner with friends and family. Lynn Lynn Jacobs, EA, NP Kenner, LA

IRS has a lease value chart - starts with the FMV of the vehicle when purchased - vehicles valued over $50,000 are calculated differently. Determine personal use % x the lease value and add in cents per mile for personal use. Lynn Jacobs, EA Kenner, LA

Even though the program files migrated and it appeared that the data files had not, the 'restore' function did not solve my problem. Luckily I had the archive discs, original discs and installation codes for the years I wanted to restore. Once the programs were loaded from those discs, voila', the database showed up automatically. Thanks all for your suggestions, Lynn Jacobs, EA

I (well my IT guy) just set up a new computer, with XP Professional. We used Laplink PC Mover to migrate the prgrams and files from the old to the new. The ATX program opens, no problem, but no clients show up. The e-file says 0 of 424 e-files. What do I do now to get my client lists to show up in ATX? Thanks so much, for any and all assistance. Lynn Jacobs, EA Kenner, LA

If they kill PayCycle you might investigate Medlin Payroll - very affordable and very user friendly. Lynn Jacobs, EA Kenner, LA

I have a new client - retail clothing sales. Right now she's using peachtree software to keep track of her inventory but is finding it not very user friendly. Do you know of any other inventory software programs that would track inventory AND be user friendly? Thanks, Lynn Jacobs, EA Kenner, LA :scratch_head:

to KC and others on the Kleinrock TaxTalk listservice - last time I checked messages there was Friday and they had a long thread regarding the TRX Alliance offer of ATX TTO. Tried to view messages there yesterday (and again this morning) and that listserve appears to be out of service. Is it just me? Or has anyone else attempted to login at Kleinrock's TaxTalk listserve and experienced the same 'unable to find' message, or something similar? Thanks, Lynn Jacobs, EA Kenner, LA :scratch_head:

The only form I can think of is '843 - Claim for Refund" Lynn Jacobs, EA Kenner, LA

Another item - for prior years, the state would accept the federal extension. Did the preparer file a federal extension for that couple? If so, then you could send a copy of the federal extension to the state, along with their dunning notice, and ask that the penalties be abated and refunded. And, yes, there's a special form for penalty abatement requests, too, if the penalty amounts are over $100. I don't remember the number off-hand (R-10618 ? ) but it's on the LA Dept of Revenue's website too. The clients will have to sign this form. Lynn Jacobs, EA Kenner, LA

Beware - the 7% homeowners insurance credit is ONLY ON THE 2008 return. For the prior years (2006 and 2007) the only insurance related credits pertain to the Louisiana Citizens surcharges, of which there could be 1, 2, or 3 items, depending on what time of year the policy renewed. And yes, I do know about the requirement to file a Louisiana extension for 2008 tax returns. But thanks for the reminder. Lynn Jacobs, EA Kenner,

There is a separate form to be used to recoup the LA Citizens surcharges in prior years. Go to the LA Revenue Dept website and it's a fillable form. LA R540INS, a separate form for each year. Also for 2008, did you see the Homeowners Insurance Credit? It's 7% of the homeowners insurance, not including the LA Citizens surcharges. If you have any trouble with this, don't hesitate to call me - 504-469-1025 Lynn Jacobs, EA Kenner, LA

MAMalody - my issue re clergy (I have 2 clergy clients - both cantors) is that the congregations will NOT issue the proper tax reporting documents. One congregation issues a 1099-MISC with the full amount shown in box 7, no reduction thereof for the allocated housing allowance. Here, the payroll is done by a volunteer treasurer. The other congregation issues a W2 will all (Fed WH, SS and Medicare) withholdings. And NOTHING notated in box 14 for the allocated housing allowance. This congregation uses a national payroll service, which in my experience does a poor job of reporting variances in W2 reporting (clergy, S corp SH health ins, or personal use of company vehicles). For the second, when I do the SE calculation I 'back out' the W2 wages for which SS and Medicare have already been deducted - is there a better way to do this? No amount of 'education' on my part will get them to change the way they report the income. Not really asking for advice or suggestions, though any and all are greatly accepted. Just venting. Lynn Jacobs, EA Kenner, LA

Margaret, since this is a leased vehicle, try entering the vehicle information on the schedule C vehicle information tab, and NOT on the 4562 vehicle information tab. A leased vehicle will not be depreciated so it makes no sense to me that the information for it would be entered on the 4562 tab. Let us know if that makes a difference. Lynn Jacobs, EA Kenner, LA

At ML, RRA refers to ROTH IRA. Lynn Jacobs, EA Kenner, LA

My clients' (brother and sister) 85 y/o father has lived in PR for several years. He is unable to manage his own affairs, and moved to a nursing home facility in the fall of 2008. They (the brother and sister) now have a POA over his affairs, including tax matters, and have asked me to file his return. He has a US Pension and Social Security. Do I file JUST the PR return? Or both the US 1040 and the PR return? Any and ALL guidance gratefully accepted. Thank you, Lynn Jacobs, EA Kenner, LA

Meals will come into play only if as a requirement of their job the police officer is required to eat meals in a public restaurant adjacent to a roadway whenever practical, report by radio when they eat, and advise the telephone number or the code number of the restaurant where they are eating. The restaurant must be open to the public and may not serve liquor. The police officer is prohibted from eating meals at home during working hours and may not bring meals from home and eat in the patrol car. The requirements must also detail the time at which the office may eat, the time allowed for the meal and the number of officers who may eat together. The above is from a Tax Court case, Christey v. United States, KTC 1988-79 (8th Cir. 1988). Lynn Jacobs, EA Kenner, LA

I saw that the IRA worksheet was 'not yet approved' for e=filing. But I went ahead and e-filed a return with the IRA. Lo and behold, that return was NOT rejected; it was ACCEPTED. Lynn Jacobs, EA Kenner, LA

Nothing came up in when I did a 'search'. I tried doing a 'batch create' for the 2008 tax organizers. That was a mistake - froze the program. (In other programs I've used I would create about 10 at a time to avoid that problem.) So now I'm back to creating the tax organizers on a return-by-return basis. I see there's a 'batch print' for the tax organizers. Questions: 1) is it wise to do several batch prints, of perhaps 10 organizers at a time, to avoid the program freezing? 2) with the batch print, will it print only to paper? Or will it also batch print to a .pdf file? Many thanks, Lynn Jacobs, EA Kenner, LA

This is for my 'own' tax return. In the 2008 program I did a projection and find that my 4th quarter estimated payment will be unnecessary; expect to have a refund even without it. When I completed my 2007 return I set up within the ATX program for the federal estimated payments to be automatically deducted from my checking account. I checked the EFTPS system and it wasn't processed through them. Is there a way to cancel the 1/15/2009 estimated payment when the instructions were sent from within the tax program when the return was e-filed? I'll call or e-mail Tech Support if I have to but thought I'd start here. Call or e-mail directly if necessary. Thanks. Lynn Jacobs, EA Kenner, LA 504-469-1025 [email protected]

Gail, I've been using Howell Client Writeup for 15+ years for writeup clients. It's a VERY easy program to use, reasonably priced and excellent customer support. Mention my name as a referral - see www.howellsoftware.com . They have a demo of the writeup program as well as stand-alone fixed asset manager, payroll and bank reconciliation. Their writeup program includes an after-the-fact payroll function which includes all quarterly/year end reports, W2, W3, 1099 and 1096. Lynn Jacobs, EA Kenner LA

My client with the largest asset list had HUNDREDS of assets. Every year before I started working on the income section of the return I reviewed their assets, to see which were disposed of and if any new ones were purchased. I don't know about any shortcuts as I always listed each and every asset. Maybe some others with more ATX experience than I will be more helpful with this. Lynn Jacobs, EA Kenner, La

According to my sources on other webboards, the CAF centers are running at a week backlog instead of the usual 2 - 3 days. Lynn Jacobs, EA Kenner, LA