Lee B

It also applies to Bed & Breakfasts and potentially could apply to STRs depending on the additional services provided.

I finally got it set up so that I can call directly using my computer's microphone and speaker. Took me awhile to figure it out. Pretty neat

Tom, this happened when you replied to the address in the FTB Notice received by your client? You could call the Tax Practitioner Hotline or have your client set up a MyFTB account and reply via your client's MyFTB account.

When did your clients find out?

Yes per mile is a loser, but I have never had a client who could do a decent job of keeping track of actual expenses

Sounds like she did have employees previously, so the bill may in fact be legitimate? Time to ask questions. Ask for copies of payroll quarterlies and W 2s?

That solution assumes the first SSN was legitimate. What if the second SSN was the only legitimate number?

That scenario would end in out of control inflation like in Argentina! Unfortunately, our representatives are more concerned about getting reelected than doing what's best for the country

I did some years ago and I just reported the employee's w-2 wages for the year with the new SSN. In the back of my mind, I wondered whether the first number was legitimate?

The TCJA increased our National Debt by over $7 Trillion Dollars. I think dealing with QBI and PTET is more complicated than itemizing. I do agree that the 2106 was abused. Tax rates are going to have to go back up or our National Debt will go completely out of control!

Abby, do you use Google Business Voice or the free Google Personal Voice or both?

I would appreciate some feedback from anyone who uses Google Voice - Pros and Cons. Please be specific Thanks in Advance Lee

I do live payroll and handle Workers Compensation Audits for my clients but I am in Oregon and coverage rules vary from state to state. Link to the New York Workers Compensation Board: https://www.wcb.ny.gov/content/main/coverage-requirements-wc/for-profit-business.jsp These bills could be related to earlier years when she did have other employees? The bills also could be related to work related injuries to employees when she did not have the WC coverage required by New York law? If you don't have experience in this area, you may want to tell your client that you don't have the expertise to deal with Workers Compensation.

See Section C - Instructions for Form 8853 https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i8853#en_US_2023_publink24188ld0e1652

Neither site requires your SSN The first site ask for First and Last Name plus your zip code. The second site asks for you First and Last Name plus your State and the year you were born. I did check 2 of of my 3 kids. One pops up and one did not.

Huge Data Breach at National Public Data according to CNET: "According to an August statement from National Public Data -- a data broker that sells personal information to private investigators, consumer public record sites, human resources and staffing agencies -- "a third-party bad actor" hacked into the data and leaked the stolen information on the dark web. National Public Data obtained the information by scraping nonpublic sources without consent, according to a proposed class action lawsuit. " "Two online security companies have put up websites that let you check for free if your Social Security number is part of the stolen store of personal information: One is https://www.npdbreach.com/ from the online privacy company Atlas Privacy; the second is https://npd.pentester.com/ by the Pentester cybersecurity company. " According to these two websites, both my wife and my personal information were exposed in this hack. After the Oregon DMV was hacked back on June 1, 2023, I am really glad we froze our credit. Of course this hack is just now being announced when it happened 4 months ago!

I looked it up, the amount in box 5 is the total mortgage insurance premiums for the life of the reverse mortgage.. The deduction of mortgage insurance premiums ended in tax year 2020.

On a SS W-4V, you can elect to deduct 7, 10, 12, or 22 %

I disagree, most reverse mortgage are used as income replacement which does not qualify as deductible interest, unless the proceeds were used to improve the property. The amount in box 5 may be reverse mortgage origination fees?

In 2021 The IRS signed a 2 year contract with ID.me for $86 Million, which has now expired. I cannot find any publicly available information about the current financial arrangement between the IRS and ID.me. As a side note, the GSA, home of login.gov, will not consider using facial identification and for some unknown reason the required improvements to login.gov are happening slowly.

"The agency described that solution as “short-term” but has still not presented a roadmap for how it plans to transition away from only using ID.me. The IRS did not respond to multiple requests for comment about its transition to Login.gov or its use of ID.me."

I have privacy concerns about ID.me. They started as a direct competitor of Groupon and can be currently used to access retailer discounts. The IRS's official position is that ID.me is a temporary solution to be replaced at some point in the future, possibly by login.gov when login.gov is improved. I am not going to try to use them again!

I had no problems getting set up and using loin.gov However I am apparently too stupid to navigate my way through getting set up with ID.me What an incredible frustrating experience

Yes, I have certainly had a few clients in the past who wanted me to push the envelope as far as I would let them. When the chances of getting audited fell below 1 %, many people stopped thinking that the risk was real. Many big corporations and wealthy individuals who can afford high priced tax and legal advice and are encouraged to use every tax loophole that can be exploited definitely consider it a legitimate game. Our legal and tax systems have never been fair and balanced. Wealthy people and business entities have always received much better outcomes because they can afford much better advice and assistance.

Based on what I remember filling out at the end of last year, this is definitely more detailed and complicated !