J. Ron

Thanks for the suggestion, Terry. I went ahead and confirmed with Drake for a couple of reasons. I am tired of re-sellers and I don't want to be with a company that is going to sell out and create all those issues. I also have a friend whose wife works for Drake who has encouraged me to consider them for a few years. Now, if Drake doesn't disappoint me and sell out I should be with them for awhile. I notice you are from NC. What area of the state are you in? I am in the southeast portion.

I checked the NCDOR website and they do not have anything from TRX, TaxExact or any other names they may be using as even being evaluated. I have cut my losses and gone to Drake.

I am unable to enter SS income. Am I missing something?

My practice is somewhat small and I do not have the pressure of getting any returns out yet. At first I was leery of the new program, but from my observation Doug and his staff are working hard to get the problems resolved. From my perspective I just want to say "Thanks" for all your efforts. I am looking forward to the tax season.

Sorry to hear of his passing. Our prayers are with you.

I took a look, but found for my purposes it was so incomplete that it was useless to me. For instance, I work largely with clergy who are considered self-employed for SS and Medicare, but are considered employees for income tax. The program would not even allow me to enter the W-2 without calculating the SS and Medicare. It did not have the clergy forms. I am sure that these issues will be corrected, but I was not able to evaluate it properly.

In defense of TRX, I have used the Redgear program for two years and, although it has taken an adjustment to learn the program after 15 years with ATX, I have not had problems at all with the program or support. I will probably take a look at their in house product soon, but I have renewed with them for the coming year.

Thanks for expressing our sentiments.

It really needs to be done through a corrected W-2. To file it as it is is definitely not correct, but I do not know of anyway to file correctly if they refuse to correct it. I am copying a quote from B.J. Worth's book, Income Tax Guide For Ministers. "• Two Ways To Handle The Corrections 1. When the employer is willing to count their matching portion as extra salary for the minister: a. Prepare 941c and an amended 941 to reflect the changes made. You will not be requesting a refund on the 941c. b. Prepare W-2c and W-3c showing matching portion added to “Wages, tips, other compensation” as additional salary. c. Include total amount of social security withheld and matched as income tax withheld in “federal income tax withheld.” d. Prepare an amended return for the minister. The minister will have credit on his 1040X for the total social security amount withheld and matched. Depending on the level of his total income, he may have a small refund or owe a small amount of additional tax, plus interest on the balance. 2. When the employer wishes to keep their matching portion: a. Prepare 941c and an amended 941 to refl ect the changes made and claim a credit on the next quarter’s 941 or fi le Form 843 to claim a refund for the employer’s matching portion. b. Prepare W-2c and W-3c showing original salary in “Wages, tips, other compensation.” c. Include amount of social security withheld as income tax withholding in “federal income tax withheld.” d. Prepare an amended return for the minister. The minister will have partial credit on his 1040X for social security computed on Schedule SE and will incur interest on the balance owed." This is the only source I have found that gives specific instructions on corrections. If the employing church will cooperate it can be done correctly.

Praying!

Congratulations to you Kea. It looks like we were some of the few who decided to test early. I am glad that's behind me. Have my continuing ed already done.

I received my RTRP certificate today.

Being a pastor I came into this industry because of the ignorance concerning clergy tax matters about 30 years ago. It was not my intent to ever prepare tax returns, but to be able to help churches and ministers with tax issues. I learned the the law and the code in this area, and soon was being called upon to assist in correcting mistakes that had been made, often by reputable chains and accountants who did not find clergy tax issues a matter to be concerned with. ( I remember sitting in a class offered by one of the large chains where the instructor stated "Some clergy come in with a 1099, others come with a W-2 and some just have a number on a piece of paper. We don't know why there is so much difference. We just try to prepare the return with the information we have." She, knowing that i was a pastor, asked me, "Rev. H., do you understand this." I tried to explain and was given about 30 minutes of class time to help them to understand.) Since I was being called on to do so many corrections I eventually began to assist with clergy tax returns. I have never tried to make this a business, but have assisted many people through the years. I have tried to keep up with the changes and be prepared to do a quality level or work for those I serve. That's my background. I do not mind being tested, in fact I welcome it. I do not mind the continuing education, because I need to be on top of my game. I do find a problem finding continuing education in my niche area of work. I have my CEU credits already done, but I did not feel that what I received in CEU was worth the amount it cost me. I have passed my test already. Except for a few specific Clergy Tax Seminars I never hear clergy taxes mentioned in most CEU classes. In the area in which I work I have to stay on top of the issues through much self-study for which I receive no credit. I want to be the best I can be and do the best work that I can do. So I welcome the testing. I do not welcome all the additional costs, but I know that there has to be a cost.

Congratulations, Kea. To those who are asking about the test and whether to go for the EA I would recommend going for the EA.

The test was much more difficult than I had anticipated. The questions covered all the recommended study materials with a number on ethics issues. I would recommend that you be thoroughly familiar with all the study materials. One thing that I discovered was that in recent years I have begun to depend on my tax program too much. Even though I passed the test it has prompted me to go back and re-study the basic issues.

Most clergy are dual status for tax purposes. They are subject to income tax on their salaries, but are self-employed for SS and Medicare purposes. Enter the salary on the W-2 and the withheld taxes in their proper place. Then go to the special clergy worksheets and enter the other information in their proper places. The housing, utilities, etc. will calculate on those forms and flow through to the Schedule SE. I am using TRX this year and our figures flow a little differently from ATX. If you follow the form everything should flow through correctly.

I received notice today that I passed the RTRP test. Now as soon as a compliance check is done I will qualify for the designation.

I took the test last week and found it more challenging than I had expected. Two hours is more than an adequate amount of time for the test and it gave me a chance to research some of the questions I had problems with. Anyone taking the test should really research the study materials and be prepared.

501c simply refers to the IRS code section for non-profits. This is the first year that this has been requested on the W-3 and I don't know the reason for that. My work is primarily with churches and ministers. I have no problem with checking the box. A church is 501©3. Other entities that would fit the 501© are nonprofit civic organizations, social clubs that are non-profit, fraternal societies, etc.

A minister will need a program that has a form SE unless they filed a timely 4361 to opt out of SS. That usually requires a program for self-employed.

Churches are 501c3 organizations.