Margaret CPA in OH

Okay, it seems a fair amount of interest but no replies yet. I thought there were some folks here with more experience than I have with foreign issues. Still think so. Feel free to chime in! A related issue is the cost to move the spouse's belongings from Germany. I'm thinking no from the perspective of moving for a new job but maybe a deduction on his Schedule C as he relocated his entire work place and equipment. Any thoughts?

Speaking of vertical monitors - I bought one last month and successfully installed it but it was a Dell and my other one is HP. For some reason they don't play well with the mouse going from one to the other. After a couple of hours, if that long, of frustration trying to find the mouse, I gave up until after the season. Any suggestions so we can all get along?

New client from Germany is professor at local university, third year in US. She is paid in part from German grant, in part from local school so received W-2 and 1042-S plus money from German government. She provided monthly payment vouchers from Germany and I have partial translation. Germany is not on calendar year for tax. She married German in 2013, bought a house in neighboring state but is also traveling back to Germany to seek other employment and spend summers there while not teaching. Spouse is self-employed artist with no income in US in 2013 but bought lots of equipment to work and uses one room as home office. This is her third year here so she qualifies as resident alien. First 2 years school filed 1040 NR. Any particulars to look out for here? I am aware of much but don't want gotchas popping up. Thanks

Remember Form 8938, too. I provide the links to clients but that's it. Finally, a 'not my job' form. If 8938 applies, I want a completed form which I then input from their data.

Form 5695 Line 19D

Pub. 590, page 8 When Can a Traditional IRA Be Opened? You can open a traditional IRA at any time. However, the time for making contributions for any year is limited

I think only employer plans have a deadline the prior year. http://www.irs.gov/publications/p590/ch01.html#en_US_2013_publink1000230424

So even though only one property is an installment sale, the gain is prorated for both? Wonder why.

Is he a partner with someone or is this a smllc? Were these rental properties? What is the relationship between the living trust and the llc? Any besides his involvement in both?

I have MAX with all entities and all states and have never, outside the initial update after installation, had anywhere near 859 forms downloaded. I do downloads daily, if any are available by the red indicator or on opening the program. I don't recall even a number approaching 100 after that first update. It's usually been in the 10-30 range. YMMV

I have version 92 and my calculations seem to be okay but I had only 1250 property on part III and tracing back all the calculations for that section, line 31 was zero. On mine, lines 30 and 32 are the same with line 31 as zero. Wouldn't it be great to see the formulas for some of these things?

Once again I am missing something. I create returns; get 8879 signed; efile; once accepted, print 9325 and client letters to mail or email. Client letters, for me anyway, always say efiled if they were efiled. I also edited the letter to say something about retaining for their records the second electronic copy (that folks have received to review their returns before signing the 8879). I only have to change the efile part for the local returns which cannot be efiled. Am I just lucky that my letters change and reflect what took place? Time to play the lottery?

I really dislike how RITA lumps everything together. I have a client with rentals in 3 different munis and 2 have net income, one has a loss. So I have to keep a separate record of this and finagle tax due or not. And it changes sometimes. The also don't have the same tax rate so estimated payments are a challenge.

Was that security update with Microsoft Security Essentials?

That was amazing! I've never seen dogs or many people so well conditioned to wait their turn.

So maybe the son vicariously can sign for mom and as POA sign for dad? He is in AZ, parents are in OH. Efile would just be easier, if possible.

Thanks, Judy, but how could you have efiled? Wife signed a statement that you kept in your file or sent with 8453?

Client, 96, in nursing home, wife in late stages of Alzheimer's. Son has durable POA for father/client but not for wife. Father/client had that but now is also incapacitated. This will be paper filed but who signs? In the past I have sent copy of wife's POA to husband as he signed for her. Thanks

Clicked through on Upworthiest the other day and enjoyed it then, too. Smiles!

Maybe open in 2012 to see if any updates apply then try rollover. I've not had that problem (knock, knock!), 3 rollovers are fine.

Oooohhh, does it ever! I have had 2 clients with them and warned them over a couple of years of what I saw happening. Losses mounted on losses with churning and little to no understanding by the clients. One finally transferred to another broker after interviewing a couple, Edward Jones, I think. The other one stopped coming to me without explanation.

Maybe offer her the number of the local hotline for abused women. At least she could have someone to talk with to ponder options. Is she foreign? A 'bought' bride? I think she sounds like an 'economic slave.' But it seems as if she has resources (she has a job so has some skill set) and could make it on her own with a little help from agencies. It's sad when one sees situations that are detrimental and ongoing. Sometimes, though, the involved person hasn't yet reached their bottom so won't make the decision to change the course of their lives. Just keep being a supportive person, JB, within your professional limits. It seems she has few folks in her corner.

I may be missing something here (not unlikely!) but the date printed should not matter so long as it was in the donor's hands prior to filing the return and included the required information, i.e., date, type and amount of donation(s) and disclaimer, donor info and recipient info. Many organizations do not send out acknowledgements for a given year until January of the following year. My church is one and so far in February and March I have received acks from recipient organizations myself.

From Accounting Today http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/irs-revises-guidance-on-electronic-signatures-69976-1.html?utm_campaign=tax%20practice-mar%2013%202014&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter I need to get some of these definitions. Mine are either hand written signatures here or same but faxed. I think those don't fall under this guidance but now not sure.

I guess I don't understand this. Both are spouses. Why is the determining factor the one who chooses to itemize even if not the first to file? I admit I've done no research on this but what if they were physically separated and had no contact? Does that still hold? Why isn't the second to file 'audited' with a nasty gram and told to take standard deduction as did the spouse first to file?