Lee B

Well, My client's data is already on the ATX servers ,the IRS servers and your state Dept of Revenue's servers plus it's being transmitted over the internet multiple times. In addition, unless you use cash exclusively, everyones data is on multiple servers i.e. banks, insurance companies. brokerage firms, Amazon, your state DMV, and I'm just getting started. Your most valid observation is, what if I decide to change software providers ? Also, if you or any other practitioner uses the same computer or network that contains their tax software to access the internet for other reasons, how safe is your client's data on your computer.???

TaxCPANY, i'm also planning to demo Intuit Tax Online next month. I would like to hear any conclusions that you come to.

I sat in on a 1 Hour Webinar about their current CWU, which also contains Payroll about a month ago. Their current CWU is clearly a DOS program that was migrated upward to run on Windows back in 2006. I was told that they are releasing a beta version of a totally rewritten CWU and Payroll this summer. I was also told that in the future the new CWU and Payroll will not be included for free with the Tax Software. In other words, the new CWU and Payroll software will be separate and will cost extra $. Their current deal with it being included for free with the Tax Software will probably stop after the coming tax season.

This last year I have split my CPE between live if it's local, The TAX Book and NAEA.

According to The Progressive Accountant, CCH's CEO is retiring and ATX has hired a new CFO and a new Chief Technology Officer. Perhaps things will get fixed eventually ???

Having rental real estate property in a corporation is not generally a very good idea. The first step I would take is to review the whole incorporation process, the purchase of the property, the issuance of the mortgage etc etc to see whether it meets all the requirements for being a corporation. If it doesn't, consider your options. If it does, then deal with it as best you can.

It's amazing that it's taken this long ??? Here is the full blog post: "ATX software change reduces hard drive memory use and improves performance. You have told us about the issues you had this tax season with our software and our support. We’ve listened, and we’ve learned. Our commitment is to improve, and we have already taken steps to deliver improved software and support performance next tax season. We know that you need more than words to believe that we will deliver ATX software you can rely on next tax season. You need action and proof. We are going to keep you up to date on the improvements that we are making. Each week from now until the end of the year, we will be posting information on this blog about the improvements we are making to your 2013 ATX software. This week, our topic is a problem you may have experienced: ATX 2012 used more your computer’s hard drive memory than prior versions did. This may have caused you slower performance and a great deal of frustration. During tax season, we began working on ways to reduce hard drive memory usage. At the end of May, we released ATX update 12.17. That update reduced the amount of long-term hard drive memory used by ATX and increased the use of short-term memory capacity, also known as RAM. What does this mean for you? It means improved performance. It means that you can rely on ATX to run, and run faster. That will save you time, increase your productivity, and reduce your frustration. This improvement in how memory is used is just one step taken towards an improved ATX. We will continue to build upon this step – and others -- to improve ATX 2103 performance. In the weeks and months to come, we will keep you informed of other improvements we are making. Our goal is to deliver ATX software you can rely on and earn back your trust, one step at a time. Posted by Kim Manuel at 1:42 PM"

If he took a reasonable salary in prior years, I wouldn't have a problem with taking him off payroll.

This just the same script with different characters: Politicians pass poorly crafted "feel good"leglislation and pat themselves on the back Politicians cut Agency xyz budget citing government waste. Agency lay offs employees and cuts services to balance budget. Everyone complains loudly about cutbacks, screwups etc etc Politicians hold hearing about poor services, screwups etc etc expressing their righteous indignation. Let's keep doing the same thing over and over and keep expecting a different result!!!

Jainen, I agree with you.

Since individual taxpayers are required to report cancellation of business debt as follows: Sole Proprietorship (nonfarm) - Schedule C Rental of Real Property - Schedule E Sole Proprietorship (Farm) - Schedule F I think you're on the right track. No insovency exemption.

Thanks for the feedback on Drake's Depreciation Module. I attended one of Drake's Seminars about two weeks ago.The Drake Sales Rep, Cameron Holland kept telling us he was a Sales Guy and that he didn't know that much about Taxes. After he showed us the Depreciation Entry Screen and went over it in some depth, I asked him to show us the Depreciation Reports Screen and the Depreciation Reports. He just acted dumb and shrugged his shoulders and acted like he didn't know what I was talking about. Several other issues came up, which from reading a lot posts I knew were not Drake's strengths, and he just avoided them. Looking back, I now realize he just showed us the good stuff and avoided showing us any of their weaknesses. I'm just saying that I will take my time and do an in depth review, entering at least 6 to 8 different returns in their demo.program before I make any decisions

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I took the time to backtrack it to worksheet 7 on page 2 of Form 8582. It was a bit annoying because the ATX program links took me to a dead end.

Ok, I've looked at the Form 4797 Instructions, The Tax Book, J K Lasser Pro Edition and The Master Tax Guide. I've also done a Google search. I've read about PAL Adjustments in two IRS Auidt Guides, but they were about two different Passive Loss situations. So my question is, Is my ATX software correct in making this adjustment or ???

I'm working on a fairly complicated 1040. Client owns some vacation rental property, which was generating passive losses, which were deducted. Last spring 2012, they sold a half interest in the property, which generated a Long Term Capital Loss of $ -23,764 which shows up on line 2 of Part I of Form 4797. Below that also on Line 2 is an entry "PAL Adjustment" $15,397, which reduces the Capital Loss to $ -8,367. I don't see anything specific about this in the 4797 instructions, so I need some feedback from anyone that can explain what this is and why the capital loss is being reduced. Thanks, Lee Barckert

A poster on the ATX board, who just updated to 12.17, reports that he is unable to add and open any new forms. He was able to get thru to Tech Suport and was told that they are aware of the problem, but they weren't able to help him. "Hope is not a strategy."

Eric, I really appreciate that you are being proactive on this. Thanks, Lee Barckert

There have been 2 more posts on the ATX board. One user has crashed and can't open the program. A second user (standalone) is not having any problems and can open 3 returns at once for the first time.

I copied these posts from the ATX board about 12.17: Different strokes for different folks. "Updated this morning and no problems encountered. Print manager still slow to open. Program doesn't seem as sluggish as prior versions. Windows 2000 Domain Server Workstations WinXP, SP3, 2GB ram" "I updated this morning. I see no change. It seems to be worse. It took almost 5 minutes to open a return. Navigating between forms as a time lag. I think the program is getting slower. Version 12.13 seemed to be the best one." "My program was not responding and then crashed 2x this am so I thought ok - bite the bullet and update.. WRONG_O_ ssssooo slow! waiting for anything to happen, opening a return, waiting for it to change between forms I am so sorry I updated! I do not have time for this!"

I am in the midst of evaluating Drake. I have seen 3 different posts this last week of users who switched who were unhappy with the Depreciation Module and the reports. They weren't complaining about the conversion or accuracy but seemed to feel that functionality was less than desired. I would appreciate any other feedback on this issue ???

Michael, You've hit the nail on the head! It's their lack of communication and their attitude when they do communicate!

According to Form 1120 instructions, all corporate tax payments must be made by EFTPS or by direct debit, otherwise penalties may be applied. There are no details as to what the penalties might be. I've used direct debit before and it worked fine.

Politics has become a "tool" for all the different interest groups to achieve their goals, whatever they might be We're getting further from being a representative democracy every day.

I copied this post from the ATX board. Since i'm still on 12.13, I now know not to call ATX ! "Just got off the phone with customer support. Apparently anyone who is still having issues with ATX has problems with their system set up! It is not a problem with ATX! I wish I would have know that yesterday! They are completely oblivious to the situation they/we are in. Also, it doesn't become a tech support issue until you have installed version 16 and are having problems. Version 13 is not supported through tech support. I have used ATX beginning in 1999. They don't believe that there is a problem. They don't get it. I suppose it is one of those isolated incidents.... OK....rant over.....no I don't feel better... Rich"

I plan on staying at 12.13 until I'm forced to update. It's working OK with minimal problems.