Margaret CPA in OH

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!

The Bush tax cuts were extended for 2 additional years but, as we know all too well, that can change any time. If the reason you are asking is for estate planning purposes, lots of luck! At least for 2010 and probably 2011 and 2012 deaths, there is a carve out for step up as noted in the IRS announcement. So I think it isn't a problem for surviving spouses or for others up to the limit. Personally, I don't have any clients or, sadly, family, that exceed those limits so I don't fret too much. I did have a client pass in July with about $2 million so am eager to have the 8939 approved for filing. We shall see...

Maybe check this on irs.gov http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=224515,00.html Form 8939, not yet approved, is Allocation of Increase in Basis for Property Received from a Decedent. I have a copy of the draft dated June 1, 2010, but there are no instructions.

Congratulations on passing! I'm a cpa but I know that the EA exam must be very tough, too. Keep up the good work and let us know how you do.

That's kinda why I have 3 older computers hanging around. They really don't take up much space but I know the programs are there even though I have 2000 forward on this one (XP). You just never know. When I completely retire, all those hard drives get smashed to smithereens! Hmmm, now that I think about it, with 10 years of programs and files on this one, I could probably risk destroying those older ones now. Sentimental, I guess, for when I want to hear that old Saber roar again.

Wow, that was scary. I would be upset, to put it mildly. Are you not able to update electronically? Knock on wood, your experience has never been mine but I do the web updates.

JB, the ONLY reason I click on the notices that a program update has arrived (because I manually update several times daily and always before efiling) is to see what happened to you when updating. I never have such excitement here so have to live vicariously through others... Thanks for sharing!

Contractor (tough year) took no wages as employee (sole sh of s-corp) because there was no money. Dad helped him out with living expenses until he sold his house. He used that money for cash flow for materials on the few jobs he had but has significant loss for the year. I reported no payroll on all 941's. Is it correct to assume that a zero W-2 is not to be filed? Never happened to me before.