Terry D EA

You might want to talk to ATX on this to see if their conversion software may help. I highly doubt it though.

Tom and Jainen, I haven't done military for a long time either and besides, I am in NC so CA is definitely strange to me. There is no need to apologize and it is nice to know that you guys are there so we can pick each others brains when we need to. I had another strange one come in today. Client has questions regarding taxes due on withdrawals from a 401K if he moves to another country and maintains a US mailing address. He is over sixty so no early penalty but I think taxes are due but need to do alot of research. So, we always come across these things that test our memory and abilities.

Thanks Jainen and MaMalody, I do agree with both of you but am still questioning the use of the CA540 instead of the 540 NR. My reasoning is the Pub I mentioned earlier stated to use the 540 NR for this client's scenario. The military stuff for CA is as I said earlier, confusing. The input question is my confusion with TRXPro. I have tried to see where to input 1/2 of the military pay. The total income is correct and it appears that the figures are flowing to their respective columns. I will give this thing one final review later this evening before I transmit it. I am going to look further into the form usage to be sure I am using the correct form. I am being extremely careful here as Liberty Tax caused this couple some grief with CA last year for filing it wrong. Thanks for all the help.

Tom, I don't mean to question your knowledge on this subject but it is confusing at best. Here is a statment for military personel from CA PUB 1032. I am still leaning to my original post as the Pub also states the spouse as a CA resident is taxed on one half of the husbands military pay. I am trying to be sure the amounts I have entered on the forms are correct. Thanks. Stationed Outside California – California military servicemembers who leave under PCS orders become nonresidents of California for income tax purposesAll income received or earned prior to departure is subject to tax by CaliforniaAfter departure, only income from California sources is subject to tax by CaliforniaNonresidents are generally not taxed by California on income from intangibles, such as dividends from stocks or interest from bonds or bank accounts. • California military servicemembers who leave California

The military person is domiciled in CA. He jointly owns a home in CA with his spouse but has been stationed in FL for the entire year per military orders. Spouse was a resident of CA.

I posted this on the General Chat as well. If there are any CA preparers using TRX Pro, please help I have a new client who is in the military and has moved to NC the last week of December. Here is the situation, he has been living in Florida for the last year, all income was from Florida. Spouse was a resident of CA. If I am understanding correctly, he is Domiciled in CA and considered a non-resident. CA form 540NR. Because the spouse is a resident of CA and CA is a community property state, one half of the taxpayers income is adjusted as a military pay adjustement correct? This is a little confusing and I am using TRX Pro and it doesn't appear the amounts are either flowing correctly or I have entered them incorrectly. I don't see one half of the military pay in column B of Sch CA line 7. Nor do I see the letters MPA beside column A. I do see the proper amounts in the other columns. What am I missing here? Working off of an input form is a PITA in this situation. When I hover over the adjustments box on line 7 of the input form it tells me generally an input here is not needed and if the person in the military is Domiciled in one of the other community property states then they are entitled/qualified for the adjustment and the proper MPA will be entered next to column A. Any help is appreciated.

I have a new client who is in the military and has moved to NC the last week of December. Here is the situation, he has been living in Florida for the last year, all income was from Florida. Spouse was a resident of CA. If I am understanding correctly, he is Domiciled in CA and considered a non-resident. CA form 540NR. Because the spouse is a resident of CA and CA is a community property state, one half of the taxpayers income is adjusted as a military pay adjustement correct? This is a little confusing and I am using TRX Pro and it doesn't appear the amounts are either flowing correctly or I have entered them incorrectly. I don't see one half of the military pay in column B of Sch CA line 7. Nor do I see the letters MPA beside column A. I do see the proper amounts in the other columns. What am I missing here? Working off of an input form is a PITA in this situation. When I hover over the adjustments box on line 7 of the input form it tells me generally an input here is not needed and if the person in the military is Domiciled in one of the other community property states then they are entitled/qualified for the adjustment and the proper MPA will be entered next to column A. Any help is appreciated.

I experienced the same problem with a CA return last evening. Support had me opt out of the MEF but blamed it on CA. There has been a few things with this program this year that are really beginning to bug me. Anyone else experiencing anything? I know support this year isn't very helpful and I think they must have hired some new folks. I asked last evening how to change the print order of the forms as I knew I did this last year and forgot how I did it.. A second level tech said you can't. Well.... you can. Under the advanced tab by the printer ICON is where you organize the print sets.

Mike, You hit it right on the head. After all the trouble support finally got the TaxExact working. However, all I see is the ability to create payroll ending period forms such as 940, 942 W-3, 1096. I cannot find how to create the W-2 or 1099 forms either. Not worth the time and effort that I put in to it. The support staff obviously does not know anything about payroll. I did explain what I wanted several times and still ended up with what I got. I guess when you think about it, completing 941. 940 and the other forms are definitely after the fact payroll. Big misconception on the sales end as well.

H & R fees usually are based on geographical area and are not the same in two places. The other companies seem to range as well. Here is what I know. My fees for individual returns are always less than any of the Corporate boys because mine are fair and resonable and do not include rip-off scams. On the other hand, fees for corp, estate;etc are something I don't compare as the service provided is not comparable. I understand the desire to be competative but if you give above the board service, the business will come. As a rule, the most expensive is not always the best and you don't have to be the cheapest to be the best at what you do or offer. You do have to determine what the market are you are in can withstand.

Mike, I downloaded the TaxExact package after I called TRX regarding the same issue. I have yet to get this program working correctly and talking with support right now is just plain ugly. They claim they are getting more bandwidth for their phones as they state they have changed over to an internet based phone. Quite honestly it is horrible. What program did you download and look at? I can't seem to get any direct answers or help with this and to say the least, it is frustrating.

I have used Cocard for the last three or four years. They are the most reasonable. I got involved with some research with a previous client of the different credit card processing companies to compare their services and costs. The client went with Cocard as well. Now for us seasonal folks, Cocard can offer you a seasonal account that you will only be billed for the months you actively use the service. Also, lets say you swipe a guys card in August (off season) Cocard will only bill you for that month. Also, they will prorate the PCI compliance. I found out all of this after I decided to close my merchant account with them because the PCI fees were billed each month during the inactive portion of the season. The representative informed me of all of the options and quite frankly, I couldn't refuse. You will have to purchase a machine to swipe the cards. I don't use a pin pad and run everything as credit inlcluding the debit transactions. Because I am now on the seasonal plan, this service more than pays for itself. I can give you contact information if you like.

Thanks Joan and I agree with you totally as I have utilized e-services in the past. Sometimes it has been a pain but overall it is better than trying to retreive the informaiton from the IRS agents. I wish our State had the same type of system. I am in NC and they do have a practicioner priority line and are generally helpful but I would like to be able to print off what they have for a client's tax account as well.

Don't know abouyt myfax. I have been using ring central for the last two years without a single problem. I think it costs about $79.00 per year. By far cheaper than a fax machine napping on an expensive phone line.

Okay, I with all of you who are skeptical as to whether the client is REALLY telling me the truth. I do agree there is the potential there for the client to act totally innocent and blame the preparer. It does strike me funny that they cannot retreive their paper work. I have instructed them what to do with filing a complaint against this preparer and do take the advice to not get involved. I never planned to get involved anyway. So, as Jainen pointed out, I will take care of them professionally and leave it at that. I have now completed the majority of the amendment because the IRS in this case is not 100% correct. They did disallow deductions for student loan interest that the clients "claim" they have the documentation for. If so, then they do not agree with all of the proposed changes. Now, I have given them an invoice for my services and if they are so grateful for getting them out of a jam they should have more than happy to pay me. Right???? We will see.

Thanks joanmcq. I did some research on my own and found the form as well. Pacun you are assuming alot here. There are honest people that make honest mistakes. These folks do not fall under your assumptions.

I am not overly concerned about the tax payer not paying back what they should. They have graciously agreed to do so but want to take action against the preparer. I agree Joanmcq that the third party box not being a flag but it does raise a little suspiscion. No, the preparer has not returned any original documents and insists she doesn't have them when in fact my clients said she does. They have asked for them on three different occasions. Do you know the name or number of the form you are talking about?

Sorry for the long subjet line but it really covers my topic here. I have a new client that came to me with tax problems for 08, 09 & 10. Each tax year their "paid preparer" fraudulently entered 5k, 10k & 10k respectively for IRA contributions as well as inflated education expenses, student loan interest and property tax payments deductible on Schedule A. Also, on Sch A 2009 there has been claimed 9k in unreimbursed employee expenses reported on form 2106 that is not included in the transcript and 450.00 in non-cash chartible contributions reported on form 8233 that didn't need to be used at all. The bottom line is a seriously inflated refund for each year the tax payer was not entitled to and you guessed it, the IRS has caught up with this for 08 & 09. 2010 is probably on the radar as well. I do know the spouse in this situation quite well and they are of the trusting sort and like many, trusted their return preparer as well as the advice this preparer has given which has got them on the hot seat. I obtained transcripts from the IRS to see what was filed as their preparer does not have copies of their returns. They do not have copies as they gave their copies to the preparer to correct their returns and now the preparer claims she doesn't have any of their documentation and has told them not to worry as the IRS will take it out of their refund the next year. The document issue I know is a direct violation of Circular 230. Is their any recourse this client has against this preparer? I know they are responsible for every line on the tax return and at the very least this preparer should pay the penalities and interest charged. My clients agree they should have only received as a refund what they were allowed by law and do agree to pay back the over payment amounts. My question is how many other people has this person screwed up? Can they turn this person in to the IRS for fraudulenty preparing tax returns? This preparer knows she has done this and one of the red flags to me is the third party representative box has not been checked as indicated from the transcripts. I can't tell if the preparer signed the returns but I would guess not.

Me too! While I agree the George M on how the big boys are doing this. However, that one person who is signing the return is accepting a lot of responsibility in my opinion. The IRS needs to develope a plan that stops the big boys from hiring inexperienced people and allowing them to prepare the tax returns. After all, it would be a somewhat safe assumption that is where a lot of errors come from. Anyone can make a mistake no matter how much experience or credentials you have. If this is designed to ensure the general public that a compentent person is preparing their return, where is the competence in a new non-experienced preparer?

I too stopped renewing with Intuit last year due to the price increase as well as the lack of clients who use the software. I can't remember the last time I actually signed on a new client becasue of the exposure on Intuit's site and payroll is just not competative. If I do encounter a client wanting payroll services, I will probably go back to Medlin. I do have one potential client who is using QB 2011 which I have and the engagement has not been finalized. That in and of itself is not reason enough to renew. When I initially became a Pro-Advisory, I paid right aroung $300.00 and the fees have done nothing but increase every year. The last time I looked, I was the only one listed in my area but still have not attracted any business. Over the last 5 years, I think I have only gone on three support type calls. Not enough to keep going.

From what I have reviewed regarding the prep materials and some of the sample questions and content areas listed on the IRS bulletin, it would appear that if you have been preparing taxes for any number of years the test should not be that difficult. The bulletin stated that Pub 17 would be provided as a resource tool to use diuring the test. Knowing all facets of individual tax return prep is a plus but knowing circular 230 and ethics is equally important.

Hey Eli, Good to hear from you and see you back here. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

I agree with Jack. I have just dealt with a client who was asked by the IRS for documentation for the education credits claimed on his 2009 tax return. The client doesn't remember the expense and had further memory loss when I told him if he could not substantiate the expense he would have to pay back some of his refund plus interest and penalties. Naturally, he is questioning where I got the information from. You guess where. All he needs is the 1098-T form or receipt from the college. His wife lists all their expenses on a piece of paper when they come in. I follow the ususal protocol with substantiation and proof if asked. As accountants and preparers we certainly are not infalible. But too many times too often we are blamed for our client's lack of knowledge or failure to review thier returns. I know the IRS will stand strong on the fact that the tax payer is utilmately responsible for every line on the tax return. My clients are advised of this and every line is reviewed with them when their return is complete. I am with Jainen I don't believe the clients in that case either.

Just to update this thread a bit. Just got off the phone with an IRS agent from the practicioner priority line that advised me that you cannot amend a tax return any furhter back then three years. I didn't ask that question specifically nor was it the reason for me call. However, this agent was quick to tell me this when I explained I would be filing returns back to 2003.

I agree with Janien completely which is why I posted this question to see if someone else had any prior experience, lead me to a court case, ruling etc. I also agree with Catherine's position but still cannot find anything to support it. All I find is "lodging" applied as Janien has indicated. Anyway, after further questioning of the client, they gave me the wrong year they incurred the expenses. The year the expenses were actually incurred their tax liability resulted in a refund so it doesn't matter. I am working with their 2008 return and am looking for every possible deduction to reduce the amount of tax they owe. I might add, legally and legitimately. These folks can't come up with good records so I have advised them that it is what it is and without supporting documentation, I cannot include any expenses they cannot substantiate on the return. Now with that said, I do have an engagement agreement signed that does state that I am not doing an independent verification of their information and therefore any information they give me that they "say" they have the documents for they are required to present them if asked by the taxing authorities.