TaxCPANY

Umm, Marie, IF you're trying to move ATX from a Windows XP to a Windows 7 system, and if you haven't used Windows Easy Transfer, already, DON'T! Lookup Jack from Ohio's advice, instead. WET hosed my Win7 machine so bad, I had to restore it to "factory settings;" lost *major* hours re-starting everything. Best o' luck, TaxCPANY

bert73, I *will* check that out. I've kept putting-off calling Merchants' Choice and Reliance Merchant Services, since those seemed good via e-research, but, now that all my 1099's & W-2's & 940's & 941's & MTA-x's are filed, I really must nail an e-payment scheme before the next tide of this Tax Season. (Anyone here worked w/ MC or RMS?)

Awful news! Dear KC, you've shed such well-informed, well-intentioned, kindly-phrased & *frequent* light upon this forum, that I rue your remove. I can't help but write selfishly of how much I will miss your participation -- but acknowledge that "til death do us part" requires it. Your homage to your life-partner is a great thing.

I'm with jainen, for those *few* clients who still insist upon paper copies of their returns (thank you, USPS, for "Forever" stamps). I've persuaded all my other clients to accept encrypted pdf's up/downloaded via YouSendIt.com. As to Yardley's original question, I supply the complete "File Copy" output by ATX, plus the Comparison, Tax Planner, and, if pertinent, MFJ vs. MFS worksheets; the Client Instruction Letter is the first page of the pdf 'package.' (Have *never* used ATX's other Letters; too verbose and font too tiny.) Each jurisdiction's return (and next-year's estimated-tax vouchers) and worksheet(s) is bookmarked in the package. Finally, I add my invoice as the final page of the package -- bookmarked, of course. By now, even my 80/90-year-old clients have printers and know, or have family who know, how to print out the few pages required for signing-off or as vouchers -- or even return them with digital signatures. It helps to have a toll-free, 24/7 MyFax.com number. I do not release depreciation schedules unless requested to do so. Those *few* clients who send me originals -- instead of copies, as I modified both the Tax Organizer and Engagement Letter to request, in boldface type -- get them back, once I've scanned them, via Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation. Have no truck -- never needed to -- with CD's, DVD's, folders, Tyvek envelopes, stickers. In fact, my biggest problem now is finding the most economical means of getting paid by clients who use only their smart-phones -- i.e., never cheques -- to transact anything, anymore. VTY, TaxCPANY

Thank you VERY much, Pacun If I do need your assistance, it not only would be right to compensate you but also essential to give you confidential information about my client. That's why I feel we should discuss this further via PM -- IF & when I've failed to "get satisfaction" on my own. VTY, TaxCPANY

It indeed is deplorable that revenue agencies in more jurisdictions than ever are being squeezed -- in a Grover Norquist-inspired vendetta -- Jainen. But the bean-counter in me must pipe up: I have the digital Cert Mail receipt that shows a DC OTR staffer's signature for my November package; so it's not the USPS's problem (unless USPS has a surreal capability of faking signatures & stamped dates -- but I really don't want to go there). Please note, too, that I have had to deal with the NYC Dept. of Finance for 30 years, which, until this incident, I would have called "the worst" (or, perhaps, equally as bad as the Los Angeles Office of Finance). Thank you for identifying a seasonality to protest-processing that I hadn't suspected. Really; it makes sense. Collegially yours, TaxCPANY

Thank you, Pacun, Looks like I'm in for a hard one. If I get no satisfaction with the agent I spoke to/re-sent the protest to, would you consider collaborating with me in seeking redress -- i.e., bringing my client's case along with those you next bring to OTR? (No way I could get to DC, myself.) Please PM me, if so, and I would lay it all out for you, propose a formal engagement if it seems worth both our whiles. Hopefully yours, TaxCPANY

November 26, 2011, I certified-mailed a formal protest to the District of Columbia Office of Tax & Revenue of penalties & interest assessed against a client. This past Tuesday I called-in, having heard nothing since. The agent I reached stated that no such protest had been recorded! I since have certified-mailed a "duplicate original" of that protest -- to the ATTN of the agent I spoke with -- that included a copy of the Track & Confirm webpage from USPS.com showing the original trace. Even if my client achieves the abatement I seek, I feel I should alert both some kind of DC OTR ombudsman *and* 'someone' representing us practitioners in DC to this really-extraordinary misfeasance. Does anyone here in the 'community' have such contacts whom I should notify? Really, in over 30 years of practice, this is the *first* time I've seen a Cert-Mailed document 'lost,' not just mis-timed. Most truly yours, TaxCPANY

I'm with Kea. I've been using MyFax's 'basic' for a few years; luv it! For only $10/month, I can prod my clients to take full advantage of 'my' "toll-free, 24/7" capability -- i.e., you're assigned a *toll-free* number for your clients to use. Another BIG plus: MyFax still offers non-outsourced tech-help that not only answers the phone quickly but also solves almost all problems quickly -- e.g., they have full, real-time access to error-messages generated by both the sender & recipient, and they really know whassup, technically. Overall, MyFax has been much cheaper (a third the cost) & better than the dedicated land-line and fax-machine or fax-modem setup I'd used for over a decade. I really had a lot more, technical problems with that arrangement -- and NO ONE to diagnose those, at no cost, as MyFax offers. Only one caveat (that hasn't prevented me from *relying* upon MyFax for over three years): The IRS formally is prohibited from using Internet-based fax services -- but there're not too few agents who know this (;-)) A nod to Lion: I've lately read in the TaxTalk forum in Yahoo Groups that "eFax" offers encrypted service -- for an escalated fee -- that I simply am't sure is offered by MyFax. Hope this helps, TaxCPANY

Monitoring my clients' fixed assets -- including those with over 50 assets (upto hundreds, in upto a dozen jurisdictions) -- costs me nothing but time, for which I've always been paid in full. Back before 1993, the last year for which I have paper copies of IRS Pub. 534, I devised Excel worksheets (using Pub. 534's tables) to calc & monitor my clients' fixed assets -- e.g., each topmost row an asset, each column a year; some rows down, each asset's AMT depreciation -- subtotaled AND the *difference* captured -- in just one row -- then, further rows down, both the ordinary A/D then the AMT A/D. (N.B. Have a new tab for each differently-lived asset -- 3 vs. 5 vs. 7 vs. 15 years, etc.) It's so *obvious,* in Excel, that you could prove to ATX's Asset History -- until CCH killed that. More importantly, it's so obvious that I've *never* had an auditor -- whether it's the IRS or a state/locality investigating compliance with 'simple' tax regs or even Federal Acquisition Requlations (as state & locality agencies also insist upon) -- reject the PDF snapshot of the pertinent section of the worksheet I've submitted in any client's defense. I.e., use a comprehensive Excel workbook for clients' FA, and you won't have to 'subscribe' to any other vendor's propriety format and excess fees. VTY, TaxCPANY P.S. Would anyone like me to post an example of my FA workbook?

At a minimum, Pacun, I do NOT "suggest" - i.e., *advocate* (a synonym for attorney) - any form of entity to a client- as I've got only a CPA & MBA. CYA. But, I DO give them a 15-30 minute 'tour' of the plus/minus of partnerships (general or limited), corporations (S or C), and LLC's (disregarded or not). It MUST be the client's choice! If he/she opts for a single-shareholder C corp, I instruct how to FIRST incorporate a unique name with the pertinent Secretary of State's office - and I wait for a copy of both the Articles of Incorporation and the SoS' formal receipt. Given those, I instruct how to file SS-4 for an EIN (and bring the IRS ack to a credit union, preferably, or client's commercial bank, to open an account for the biz - MUST install that 'firewall'). Given that, I instruct how to register with the state Dept. of Labor in which they'll incorporate, take 'em by the hand through unemployment insurance & workers' comp in the jurisdiction. And, yes; I do advise them to open not only an EFTPS account but also the charter-state's digital-filing/payment account as well. If the client's already thinking about qualified retirement plans, I energetically steer him/her toward a CFA/P I trust - as, again, that's really outside my own "certified" expertise. I relate 'anecdotes' &'common-sense' about SEP-IRA's, Single-Participant 401(k)'s, defined-contribution versus defined-benefit qualified plans; but, again, advising someone which is 'best' would jeopardize my license. Last question of yours I can 'answer,' tonight, only with another question: why would anyone deliberately begin as a C corp if he/she intends to end up as an S corp? Very truly yours, TaxCPANY

Do you already have clients who are a 'magnet' for others? My practice blossomed quickly due to referrals from a charismatic musical-instrument repairer -- musicians, agents, aspiring folks who founded music labels; an ever-ambitious attorney -- biz startups & those in trouble; an ever-hustling architect -- subcontractors & those needing compiled financial statements (OT? I'm also a CPA); and a gregarious professor of interior design at a local college -- I'm invited each school year-end to 'warn' her Seniors what awaits them as taxpayers, whether employees or independent-contractors or partners, etc. I salt every meeting with my business card. I also bring my cards to every family gathering -- also a rich source of referrals, as long as you don't make the mistake of failing to charge for such 'blood' engagements. It simply wouldn't be fair to the rest of your clients to not charge family/relatives your going rate -- and any of those with a brain understand this. The few attempts I made at 'broadcasting,' via handouts, posters, a weekly free-sheet, didn't work. Outside referrals, it helps most to 'let slip' how much expertise you've acquired/how *good* you are at what you do -- i.e., low-key but sly, too. Hope this helps, TaxCPANY

I've relied on PaperPort since version 6, now have v.14. It can read and produce every file format I've ever needed it to (and so doesn't lock me into a proprietary format); allows me to manipulate every pixel of a document -- e.g., clean up the scruffiest, stained paper a client comes up with. As the Windows Explorer tree structure feels so natural to me, I've never had a different way to arrange client data -- Data Partition\Client Name\Year\Particular Matter(s) &/or sub-folder(s) as needed -- and Paperport displays the Folders tree or document thumbnails in its left pane, the docs or page detail in its right pane. My assistant prefers its PDF 'viewer' to Adobe Acrobat.

Touche, Jack! The date of one $ 1,400 payment was "10/27/201", and that somehow resulted in a total $ 1,200 less than the proper amount. Thanks, too, for ack'ing my PM. I hope to tackle that migration first thing, next week. Happy Holidays!

Wish I could have aborted this post; one of those totally-stupid moments when one hits Enter too early. OF COURSE, one gets this result *outside* of an Excel cell formatted to two decimal places! I actually have a *real* problem: 2010 ATX totaling $1,200 less than aggregate, state estimated taxes. But I'm still trying to determine whether that's unique to my XP machine or carried-over from a corrupt file -- so not ready for "prime time." My apologies to ALL who've paid any attention to my gaffe. VTY, TaxCPANY

Is "270.914" the result anyone else gets when inputting 73.22 x 3.7 on the calculator in 2010 ATX? Where is that .004 coming from? (On my old WinXP Pro machine.) Is this a new glitch, or have I been placing too much reliance for too long on ATX's calculator?

Wow, Don, thanks for the headsup! I hadn't a clue, and won't be attending an overall update seminar til next month -- just 'niche' entities & industries in the meantime, and none mentioning Form 8949, yet. Btw, Catherine, if it's your water-heater that's just begun to leak a gallon/hour, as mine, I not just sympathize but also empathize.

NO, MAS; no 'merit badge' should be awarded to those of us who donate to Eric's site. That would conflate a hideous perversion of our professional collegiality with merely mercenary measures. I for one don't post here for the deduction -- tho, of course, I claim it; but, rather, I do it to 'pay forward' the nuggets of wisdom which I harvest here and, perhaps-too-rarely, contribute to the rest of you. I would like to continue seeing this unique site remain as welcoming to piss-poor, first-year students & practitioners as to its mega-earning gurus. Eric is welcome to inferentially 'shame' my lapses by requesting contributions to his endeavor, whenever his budget bodes woe; but, in all cases, those of us who kick-in only should take comfort implicitly/out of a sense of duty or something synonymous with what *drives* us to serve our clients. None of us should need further recognition for solving our clients' tax problems than our solutions -- and the checks we get each time we 'do right.' Our chat-group truly is real, but it is not a 'reality-show' by which our performances should be 'rated' by *anyone* except our fellows -- as has been happening for years before your suggestion. Most expansively, philosophically, & truly yours, TaxCPANY.

1) ATX *please* give us the option to retain the Last View/arrangement of Return Manager and E-file Manager in which we were working. E.g., E-file Manager is most useful once I've sorted it from latest to first returns e-filed, but it always reverts to its default, Client Names in alphabetical order, when I re-visit that manager. Two extra clicks to get back to what works best for me . . . why?! Likewise, the later in the Season it gets, I usually want to see *only* Incomplete returns -- sometimes Individuals, sometimes Partnerships, etc. -- but I'm always forced to re-choose from the whole menu. Save Last View/Desktop would be a gawdsend, the way I work. 2) Sorry, but another worst thing about Print Manager is that it does not allow us to over-write a previously-PDF'd return (using ATX's native PDF printer). Try that, and you get just a zero-byte file. Why can't ATX just ask me, "Are you sure you want to over-write this file?" (as virtually all other applications ask), and in one click let me do that?! (As ii is, I have to pre-emptively re-name the file, via Explorer, then, back in ATX PDF mode, re-re-name my new file to its ATX-native nomenclature.) Always a hassle, and, doubly so, when you get a 'call' from another app in the midst of what simply should be an over-writing of an earlier-printed return. Hopefully yours, TaxCPANY

Thanks again, TAXBILLY. Your logic holds true; I've learnt from some practitioners in a different forum that it's a technical obstacle erected by the Service -- i.e., direct deposit is a current-offering only.

Hi, Catherine. It sounds like you're losing "Focus" to ATX, as I used to until I loaded "PowerToys for Windows XP," which gives you the option to prevent that. I haven't noticed that problem on my Win7 machines. Overall, HV Ken, ATX's programmers should be able to rein-in ATX's grabbiness. VTY, TaxCPANY

Umm, TAXBILLY, my point was that, absent such a prohibition in the 2009 form's instructions as appears *only* in the 2010 form's instructions, a 2009-year Form 8888 yet CAN be filed -- i.e., my client's 2009 return definitely will be filed before 12/31/2011. (I only *also* would prefer to base my advice upon a more-primary/statutory source than Form Instructions; but I have not found that, on my own.) Sorry to be so persnickety; but, if the Service rejects my client's Form 8888, I yet don't see that it would have a lawful reason to do so. Tenaciously yours, TaxCPANY

Hi, Taxbilly, The third bullet-point of the upperleftmost paragraph of this attached page of the 2010 Form 8888 instructions precludes the filing of the form after 12/21/2011. A similar prohibition is absent from the 2009 instructions, however -- as you saw. My quandary is whether to infer that the 2010 instructions apply retroactively to the 2009 form, or to advise my client (and his spouse's tax advisor) that he/we should exploit this apparent oversight. My initial search through such IRS 'primary sources' as Code, Regs, Notices, etc. has not revealed the statutory basis for this deadline -- and I'll always prefer to hang my hat on primary citations. Thanks much for your response. TaxCPANY 2010 Form 8888 p3.pdf

Does anyone here know whether my client could include a Form 8888 and expect it to 'take', in order merely to split a 2009 refund between him & his soon-to-be-ex-spouse in their Joint return for that as-yet-unfiled year? (NOT a question about buying "savings bonds" or funding an IRA.) Only the instructions for the 2010 Form 8888 preclude filing it late, as far as I can see. Neither Intelliconnect (the only research site I subscribe to) nor perhaps-inept Google searches of IRS.gov have led me to the IR Code or regs governing the validity of filing the Form for a prior year; so I'm posting this request, here. Thanks much in advance for your help. Kurt C. Wilner, CPA Huntington, NY

Hi, Diane, I just had to re-acquaint myself with Form 3115, after half a decade (after having done quite a few, before then), for exactly this reason. It might well require inputting only Parts I, II, Schedule A, Part I -- and, in my most recent case, Schedule B, Part II -- for only *one* of the Automatic Consent Procedures -- e.g., # 34 in my client's case. I.e., a *lot* of Form 3115 might be inapplicable. I've got a decent body of uptodate research to share. If you haven't knocked this off, yet, please feel free to contact me about it -- through the Members Contact ('direct message') area. VTY, TaxCPANY