ETax847

I use office 2010 but havent found a reason to switch off of it.

Illinois still has not released their 1040 yet. Does anyone have any idea on the timeline for this? Stay warm!

Team, let's just focus on helping each other get through tax season and keep it positive.

ATX definitely could have made this worksheet more user friendly.

Just a heads up on 2 important areas for the Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction in new code section 199A. The IRS published final regs last week. The first is rental real estate. There was substantial debate over rental real estate, and whether it ros eto a "trade or business" eligible for the QBI deduction. Trade or business is still a facts-and-circumstances determination, but the IRS created a safe harbor that basically requires 250 hours of work a year on each set of rental real estate activities for it to qualify. The work may be performed by the owner or agent(s), but a log must be maintained for years starting in 2019. More info is at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-19-07.pdf The second is a clarification for the self-employed that has caught some of us by surprise. Many professionals and most software packages used a starting point of net Schedule C income for QBI. The IRS clarified that the QBI deduction is done after the deductions for SE health insurance, SE DC pensions, and 1/2 the SE tax: "Thus, for purposes of section 199A, deductions such as the deductible portion of the tax on self-employment income under section 164(f), the self-employed health insurance deduction under section 162(l), and the deduction for contributions to qualified retirement plans under section 404 are considered attributable to a trade or business to the extent that the individual's gross income from the trade or business is taken into account in calculating the allowable deduction, on a proportionate basis." The net is that the after-tax value of contributing to an SEP or solo 401(k) declines by at least a few percentage points; I'm still calculating scenarios. For example, with $100k of SE income, and a $10,000 SEP contribution, the 20% QBI deduction is calculated on $100,000 - $10,000 SEP - $7650 SE tax = $82,350 x 20% = a $16,470 deduction. Not $20,000.

Anyone else think ATX should hire Jack as a customer service rep? He is much more timely with his responses and much more helpful.

BullDog Tom, thanks for clarifying! I felt silly asking, but I do appreciate you taking time to answer.

In the worksheet it is asking us to check boxes for a Qualified Business and Service Business. What are the definitions of each?

The Wall Street Journal just published this article that should clear up some QBI confusion: https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-administration-sets-final-rules-for-new-business-tax-deduction-11547839824 Hope this helps!

As a result of the tax law changes, I have had a huge uptick in people reaching out to me for my services. Is anyone else experiencing this? Uncertainty seems to be creating opportunity for us tax preparers.

I'm still waiting for my first tax return to get my hands on. So far not one client has received their W-2 yet. #PatientlyWaiting

Talk about one confusing topic! I think I changed my mind multiple times after reading through this thread. Ugh.

Holy moly! Thanks for all the info! I appreciate all of the guidance.

I did some research online but read conflicting things. Ugh

while it may be more work, i think that means fees will be much higher to hopefully make it worth the extra headaches. Is anyone charging a fee for schedules 1-6?

Client is a US citizen but his wife is a Canadian citizen. Can he still file MFJ, if his wife does not have a social security number yet? If so, how is this done in the software? Thanks!

I agree with a comment above regarding needing to lean on each other for help and guidance. I'm a solo practitioner, so being able to bounce ideas off you folks and get my questions answered in a timely manner has provided tremendous value to me over the years.

With the addition of new schedules and forms, there will be more paper consumed this tax season. As a result, will anyone be printing out their tax returns double sided?

I'm sending out my Tax Organizers today! Happy New Year everyone

For some reason when I try to batch print the tax organizers from the 2017 software it will not work. The "print" button is greyed out when trying to print batch style. Anyone else experiencing this or know of a solution. I tried calling ATX customer service and we all know how that goes. Thanks and Happy Holidays.

This year, I'm also not filing a return until payment is received. Tired of chasing people down to collect their prep fees.

Granted we all have different fees, but in terms of a fee hike, I was thinking of raising my fees by 25% in light of the new tax law changes. Anyone doing the same or more?

I'm thinking of bringing DocuSign into my practice to allow clients to e-sign their E-File authorization forms. Any one have any experience doing this and anything I should know prior to rolling it out this coming tax season? Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.

he means 2 factor authentication. No worries

it is still form based. The 1040 changed and ATX reflects that change.