Margaret CPA in OH

I just checked on MyATX. Feb. 13 is estimated date. I, too, am waiting....

Thanks, Medlin and Pacun, for unsticking my brain! I can see clearly now...

The Passing Of An Icon Dear Friends: It is with the saddest heart I pass on the following. Please join me in remembering a great icon the veteran Pillsbury spokesman, the Pillsbury Doughboy. He died yesterday of a yeast infection and complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71. Doughboy was buried in a lightly-greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies and Captain Crunch. The gravesite was piled high with flours as longtime friend, Aunt Jemima, delivered the eulogy describing Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very "smart" cookie, wasting much of his dough on half baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times, as a crusty old man he was considered a roll model for millions. Toward the end it was thought he would rise again, but alas, he was no tart. Doughboy is survived by his wife, Play Dough, two children, John Dough and Jane Dough, plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart. The funeral was held at 3:50 for about twenty minutes.

I think I would input on line 21 then, with explanation, deduct on line 21. I guess the 1099 was issued because the provider would not know whether there was a tax effect. At least if you report it somewhere, it will be matched and hopefully avoid a notice.

Thanks for the input. I was wondering if I had to add in the amount annually instead of amortizing as a deduction :wacko:

I would ask the client to contact the school for a more detailed listing of the account. Many schools now even have that available online accessible to the student. (Disclosure: my husband designed the student information system for 2 local universities.) The 1098T's from one school here even lists which term the billing is for. The school should be able to list the billing and payments applied.

SMH? Another term I don't know but think I need this one, too! And you are correct - we really don't get the respect we deserve for all the knowledge and education we must have with constant updates. No, we don't and can't know it all at any given time but, unlike the generic program, we can know our client's situations and how to answer the questions narrowly and broadly as they apply individually. Marilyn, I do hope that $30 return wasn't really worth more than about 10 minutes of your time. I wish the TT users would begin to wise up about the add-on and hidden costs of dyi and "xxx not included." I hope this young person does learn the lesson. Grandma is wise in that but maybe should not be subsidizing his fees. My guess is she won't any longer.

Anyone out there with experience with this? Comments? Jokes?

Ahh, perspective...I lived in Back Bay, 351 Beacon Street, in '78 ('76-'79)then Brighton until 1988 when we moved to Cincinnati. It was wonderful to experience the silence and walk through those snow walls. We had moved there from Switzerland and had enjoyed many ski trips to the Alps where the silence was such a treat. Now my mind is wandering and I really need to focus!

You could use one of the columns in Return Manager to indicate. I use the Client# column (I don't use client numbers) and have a code E=efiled, EP=efiled and printed (if needed), P=paper return, etc. I think you may be able to rename and/or add a column and you can move around the order, too.

First time I've seen this - client refinanced property, 45% rental, 55% personal residence. On the settlement sheet, line 802 is "Your credit or charge (points) for specific interest rate chosen ($3124.55)" The origination charge, line 801, is $1455.00. So line 803, Your adjusted origination charges, is ($1669.55). Now how is that amortized (the rental portion) over the life of this loan? My brain hurts already...

Catherine, that was just great! I laughed out loud and will be happy to share this with the client, giving all due credit of course. After your recently posted pictures of your 'lawn' I imagine that your imagination got a bit carried away. And I understand that the rain and sleet that we are now receiving will be more snow for a change for you. At least it's February, can spring be far behind?

I'm thinking 7 years as a general purpose tool, machinery or equipment. Any other possibilities? The cost was $1560.

Catherine, I love the idea of a "complete re-evaluation of our fee structure." What a great phrase! I will definitely use that next year as I decided, somewhat reluctantly, to hold the line this year again. It IS time for a complete re-evaluation! I doubt 25% will be the amount but it may very well be darn close! And I love the idea of losing half the clients at double the price leaving half the work for the same income. I think, if I really, really tried, that I could honestly live with that result.

For the sake of discussion and education, I would like to examine this situation a bit more closely primarily because I have had to deal with a resident caretaker at my church. When looking at the criteria on the IRS website, it seems to indicate that the living quarters must be at the business site. For example, an apartment on a university campus or within the church premises. I was just wondering if, in this case, the living quarters were on the business property or simply nearby and conveniently located. I didn't immediately find anything that indicated that living quarters off site met the criteria. My personal belief is that it should not be included in income as a condition of employment but is that the case as presented here? What if the employee lived, in fact, quite nearby? Would it be required (not just provided) as a condition of employment to reside in that place? I appreciate that I digress somewhat but do want to broaden the discussion and education about this issue.

Thanks, KC. I don't think it is realistic to get a corrected W-2 so I will look at the 4852. We'll see how that plays out. I didn't recall that it could be used for an incorrect W-2. Thanks again.

My niece just called. She was a census worker last year and drove many miles. She was required to submit her mileage for reimbursement at 50 cents per. Now her W-2 shows not only her wages but all the reimbursed mileage money in Box 1. Of course her withholdings did not cover this additional income as it wasn't supposed to be taxed. It is, after all, an accountable plan. Form 2106 is not helpful because the total is subject to the 2% haircut. And of course the office is closed and the contact is the Commerce Department. Any ideas out there? Thanks!

From IRS website: New regulations require all paid tax return preparers (including attorneys, CPAs, and enrolled agents) to apply for a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) — even if you already have one — before preparing any federal tax returns in 2011. The preparer does not need an EFIN if not efiling. The P is preparer, the E is electronic, not the same thing.

I think I like Tom very much and am making plans to move in. Here in Cincinnati the snow isn't quite up to Boston standards but is more than we usually have. Kinda tough to run the miles I need for the April marathon. Catherine, that is a great picture of Gwen and the snow! The snow! Now might be the time to consider doing more electronically. I see maybe 2 or 3 of my clients and many are out of state. Email, postal mail and fax are my friends. Yeah, it can get a tad bit lonely but that's why I have this board on my second monitor all the time. Be careful out there all of you struggling in the snow and the few in the excess sunshine!

Thanks, KC. I did file 0 941's but not the 940. I will do that! Things are already looking much better for him this year. I hope so, anyway.

Me, too...so to everyone who has one this year!

At least she seems to realize that, just because there are still checks in the check book, she can't simply write checks without some concept of cash in the bank! Hope you made it time to get yours!

Are you serious that MA prevents a preparer from giving a client a copy of their own tax return with their ssn's? If they are mailing a return, is it allowable to have the ssn's on it (she asked almost facetiously)? I have one client in MA so I guess I better brush up on this, uh, sensible regulation. I hope it is readily found on the MA website.

I haven't seen it yet not having actually prepared any returns for real people so far but thanks for the heads up. Maybe it should be reported to support. Probably an email would suffice. At least there is a temporary, though time consuming, interim work around.

Did you inherit the father's assets (not sure if the father was your husband)? If so, you had basis step up at that time on those assets and that would carry through. Only assets in your own name from whenever would still have original basis as when you acquired. Whatever you do to organize will be a wonderful gift. The man I mentioned earlier, along with his wife, had assets of over $5 million in 2000 without an estate plan other than a simple will. When asked if I could look over their tax return, I was taken aback when digging to find basis for a stock split for proper reporting. Very fortunately, although 88 by then, the man had kept scrupulous records of the basis of everything he and his wife acquired by inheritance from their families and all stock acquired since then. He had Procter and Gamble stock with basis of less than a penny by that time. He was a retired chemist hired in 1937. Even with all this data, it took months to get everything organized, get a plan, establish trusts, split the estates (prudent then), and transfer a boatload of stock certificates from the safe deposit box into Schwab accounts. My fee was reasonable but it cost them a lot of money to do this. Your executor will bless you many times over!