Margaret CPA in OH

Have the magnolias on Comm Ave bloomed yet? I used to live at Beacon and Fairfield and was in awe the first year I saw them. Simply gorgeous!

That spring is not isolated in New England. Here in Cincinnati, after weekend temps of 80, we have a lovely dusting of snow on the ground and all the flowering trees and bushes. High of 40 today. I really hope it stays above freezing by the time I return from my dive trip. We bought new glass double doors in January which are still waiting to be installed as it hasn't been warm enough to be without doors for a couple of hours. I am hoping they will be as lovely as I recall!

Well, I think I will just tell him to be sure to take it to IRS. There is no change except to correct the cap loss carryover reducing it significantly. Corrected 1041 K-1 arrived this morning. We shall see what happens down the road. He actually does not recall the exact date it was filed and not likely the 15, sooooooo.... If a nastygram arrives, I will deal with it. Thanks, Lion. I sort of kind of recalled 'received' being operative, too, but the instructions don't say that, at least not that I can find.

I can't find in the instructions for 1040X but have a nagging suspicion that it must be received by IRS by 4.15. Anyone know for certain? Yeah a last minute and he can carry to IRS. Grrrr...

If the client is retired clergy and the church established a retirement account, a 403 ( b )(7) or (9) plan, some or all of the account distribution can be designated as a housing allowance and excludable so long as the requirements for a valid housing allowance are met. The designation must be made before payment is made. Pages 528-529, 2014 Church and Clergy Tax Guide. There is much more and IRS is still mulling over some of this but I have taken it for retired Methodist ministers.

Too many people who are employed and earning more than a living wage are living above those means. The constant bombardment of advertising for the must have latest technology, clothes, cars, you name it, feeds into a mindset that says they 'need' whatever. That and gambling which has become ubiquitous. It is very sad, indeed. Pensions may have been a drain on some businesses but, as you point out, there may now be a class that will have nothing left but the remaining taxpayers. My family has always lived pretty well below our means sometimes to the dismay of our son as a youngster wearing clothes from K-Mart instead of name labels. He is now grateful and lives much the same actually in a better position with his retirement than we were at his age.

Thank you! I never would have imagined... Now I wonder why the E-file Manager doesn't deserve it, too. There are more than twice as many records. Oh, well, the 'thought lost' have been found and I can rest easier now. Whew!

So I was scrolling down my list of completed returns to check on one down the alphabet. It seems that only through most of R are shown. I can Find the others by typing the name in the box and they all appear in the completed list of the E-file Manager but where did they go in the Return Manager? And I can't find where they are backed up on my drive although I looked at where I thought they should be. It's a mystery...

It is truly wonderful that this community has remained so strong, thanks primarily to Eric and KC, for so long. It is also wonderful that so many of us go back even further, maybe as far as 1997 when I joined ATX users, and still remain a family, colleagues always ready to help each other and welcome new folks all the time. I know my practice would not be what it is without my virtual office here at this community. Thanks to all for keeping on!

Thanks so much, Eric. Beautiful, indeed. As a diver I can certainly vouch for the beautiful colors when seen with a light shone on the corals. It's amazing the first time one dives to any depth and sees the colors pop out with a bright light. Otherwise things look pretty dull but they are not. Cayman Brac next Saturday WOO HOO! Chuuk Lagoon and Palau in July WOOOOOO HOOOOOO!

At this point in time, I would suggest, no, insist on an extension for 2013 and tackle them all later. Good for client to finally try to get back on track, though, at least before getting nailed. I kinda doubt repayment can be made through payroll deductions but don't know for sure. I am only familiar with direct debit or mailed checks. It may be possible, given time, for client to scrounge up legit deductions that could mitigate the initially obvious tax balance. All the transcripts show is income. What about state tax liability? I'm sure others will chime in. Best of luck to both of you!

JJStephens gave you the whole scoop. I didn't want to scare you will all that detail until/unless you found out whether your client was even in a taxing school district. It is TMI, as he says, but does serve to provoke additional sympathy for those of us in Ohio. All states have issues: CA and NY come to mind. But we got some issues here, too! Let us know whether you have to deal with this. As you can see, help is available!

Ah, but I rarely print the same thing for two clients. I looked at those early on but not for me. Most of my clients are printed only to pdf to email encrypted. It is rare that I print to actual printer which is why I didn't think to check that the box was still checked. If anything I would assume that it would uncheck after printing. I will see if that is an option. But I do know what happens when one assumes....

So I printed client copies for clients to review while here. They signed 8879 went away, efiled. Now I want to print originals of local returns to pick up in a couple of days to save me postage and print 9325 and letters saying efile is successful, you getcher refund, blah blah Yup, press print, walk away, come back to half a ream of client copies - again. This season cannot end too soon.

Thanks, Lion and Judy. I think it's out. Extension is also out as she always owes quite a bit and does a payment plan every single year. Hmmm, this may be the last year for her for me....Thinking, thinking....

Client has severe allergies and had, at doc's recommendation, house inspected for mold. She had some in the basement area (whitish, not the deadly black) and had it removed. Deductible for medical? (yep, same client but she gave in on the Alexander) Also HEPA filters? I had to show her that OTC meds were not deductible just because her doctor recommended Aleve. I couldn't find anything on point about the mold, though.

You need to know the county. All school districts do not have tax, either. Check here page 43 http://www.tax.ohio.gov/portals/0/forms/ohio_individual/individual/2013/PIT_IT1040_Booklet.pdf Check with the client to see which county and whether they live in a taxing school district. Many employers do not withhold for school district anyway so if there is nothing on the W-2 there is no entry on the input. That does not mean the client is not liable for school district tax.

I provide one copy with the pdf I send for client review. They don't get a second copy unless, of course, they print two. I had to edit my email instructions with the pdf to state, in bold, in capital letters to send ONLY Form 88879 (and sometimes another check box). I am so weary of the bank info page coming back or printed page 2 of 1040 (with CLIENT COPY plastered all over it) signed and dated. Only a week, only a week, only a week.....

I did see that the improvements depreciation added to the building depreciation. Took a while to get to that, too, but finally found it. I guess so long as the details are in FA and tied to Home Office, all is good. Just threw me for a loop and not at a good time.

Hah! It seems all I needed to do was shut it down. This morning when I opened the return, all was right with the world. I guess sometimes the calcs need time to simmer. Yes, I did have everything marked as home office. The red warnings took me there. Thanks!

Finally doing my own return. I have qualified home office. This year, depreciation disappeared although data fields are there but locked. So I try to follow the instructions and enter on Fixed Assets. The calcs on the Home Office Exp sheet are wrong. If I enter the full value (minus land), line 38 shows it and line 39 shows the business basis, 6.25%, but the calculation for depreciation, 2.564%, looks to the total basis. If I input the 6.45% amount on fixed assets, line 38 shows that but 39 shows the basis as $615 but then the depreciation calculation is correct at $252, same as last year and other years. Guess I need to call tech support. I hesitate to file with the wrong basis even though I know the depreciation is correct. Thoughts? My first big glitch and I am not thrilled. At least it's my own return.

Client sent me ahead of her appointment list of deductions. On medical, she lists chiropractor, acupuncture and Alexander. I called to ask about Alexander. She assures me it is a medically deductible procedure. I assured her that I did not see it listed anywhere but I would do research. One place I looked included it with Pilates which I doubt is deductible. I think I will stand by my insistence that she must have a physician's prescription before I would consider and then maybe. She will be here in about 45 minutes. I don't relish this as she is constantly trying to deduct everything possible. New LLC in 2012. 2013 - Income, $342. Expenses, $2076. Oh, and that's before the crucial OIH, of course. So Alexander? Anyone?

Client last year missed one as she changed custodians. They messed up. She is 83 and had never missed one until this change in custodians. Her mistake was that she would take it in December so she didn't really notice with year end stuff. She now has it to be distributed in September. IRS waived penalty.

Like at least some, I have had near zero issues this year. But I am right with you, Tom, on the education credit stuff and also the HSA input. I constantly find myself going in circles with each of these. I really miss that neat ed optimizer chart in the past. And I am annoyed that the General City return for Ohio is so crappy. But that is mostly an Ohio issue and ATX was way generous for so many years providing the variety of forms they did. Guess there will always be something to complain about but I haven't yet gotten to complain about the cost for the package, for my business any way.

Client just replied to my near snarky replies to his queries. Thank you for your answers, you will see a few comments below but they are just meant to be responses to your reply which I found to be humorous on what are minor matters. Sorry for wasting your time at this time of year. We will get the paperwork back to you this evening. I feel a little bit better now...