jainen

>>will ask that of the agent in the morning<< Don't forget to ask the mailman and the grocery clerk. In my opinion they are just as likely to have heard all the best rumors. Or, why not ask the IRS? "Co-purchasers who are not married may allocate the credit using a reasonable method. A reasonable method is any method that does not allocate any portion of the credit to a taxpayer who is not eligible for that portion of the credit." http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=206293,00.html [cut & paste entire link]

>>Television tax credit<< Yes, this actually exists, but it is not a federal tax credit. It is offered by a number of states and cities to encourage production of television shows. And this time it's not just my opinion--I learned it by putting the title of this thread into Google!

>>there are times under GAAP when things like this just never get amortized<< In my observation the tax code generally does NOT follow Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, which is why corporate returns have a Schedule M to reconcile the dual sets of books. You provide little information about "the portion of the purchase price that was considered intangible "business" purchase - the agency's clients." In my opinion a customer list or set of work files might constitute a Section 197 intangible if it was identified and valued as such in the transaction. However, if for some reason the previous tax preparer did not do so, the taxpayer presumably has already established an accounting method in respect to that item. In my opinion you can not change it now without IRS permission using Form 3115.

>>worshipers at Sunday services will give casino chips<< Not just Catholics. Baptists get those chips too, but since they are opposed to gambling they just grind them up instead of going back to the casinos. They are finishing a new rec hall with chip board.

>>Client went on the road performing in late 2008, completely giving up his NYC apartment, and changing his residency to Ohio. He's still on the road,<< If you fully understand the client to be an Ohio resident, file the way you want to. I would guess New York won't give it a thought--but don't assume anything about this. Document your position in case you have to defend it later. In my opinion it sounds like he may not have established a domicile in Ohio, which under New York law probably still leaves him as a resident of New York. Remember, Ohio and New York have separate laws, so it is entirely possible to be a resident of BOTH states at the same time!

>>Support is not an issue for claiming EIC<< You might assume even jainen could not possibly disagree with this statement, but it's what I do. In the original post, the disabled individual definitely has more income than his brother. In my opinion, Mister $8K won't qualify for EIC if HE is a dependent of the disabled brother. In other words, paying 50% of SUPPORT is indeed a very big issue for claiming EIC.

>>print up an envelope that matches each time. << I print a stack of mailing labels at the beginning of the year, and just grab and slap. In my opinion, it is appropriate for the state government to efficiently shift some of the administrative burden to the users.

>>my wife will start nagging me to actually USE the treadmill << Just tell her that you are using the toaster instead, and people on your tax forum say that's no different. Even the pastor agrees.

>>rent could on go sch f as other income and expense the total rent<< In my opinion that's a reasonable approach if the house rent does not represent a major part of the total revenue or profit. But it could result in paying SE tax on rental income, which in my opinion may not be in the client's best interest.

>>the zip code on form 3582 is different<< Been that way for years. Even on paper Form 540, there are different zip codes depending on what you are mailing and even whether or not you used a computer. Different too for ES, extension payments, other entities, collection matters, general complaints... more than a dozen different 9-digit zips, all starting with 94257.

>>clear it up for us<< No need--I am convinced by your reasoning that as long as the total housing expenditures don't exceed the fair rental value, it does not matter which costs come up. In my opinion, it could be mortgage, capital improvements, furnishings or whatever, and they can be excluded if otherwise qualifying. But now let me ask you: Would you still say a toaster is no different, that is, a great place to hang coats, jackets, and store shoes?

>>I will give her a quick call to reiterate.<< Don't forget to offer to amend the joint return to add the other exemptions, while getting the big kid his refund. I would say something like, "Apparently you weren't comfortable with your other tax preparer's explanations, so I would be happy to review your whole return for free." Your review, of course, would include pricing it out as well below the competitor, and a reasonable quote for doing the new work.

>>The parents want to take the remaining 2 kids and include them on the oldest son's return<< I suspect they have seen this procedure in some financial magazine. Explain to them that it used to be possible to do that, but Congress tightened the rules for this year. Don't be shy--undoubtedly their other tax preparer told them the same thing.

>>it was $52 per day<< Careful, Janitor Bob! That rate is LESS than the rate for many cities, so in my opinion you should only use it if the travel is to areas with a different rate on each day. Also remember that even the standard rate is still subject to specific substantiation of time, place, and business purpose, sometimes a tough rule for non-filers. Furthermore, only 50% is deductible, same as other meal expenses. (Or you can deduct 80% if your client can benefit from trucking industry lobbyists who have scored a special tax break for inter-state haulers subject to D.O.T. regs.) Check out Pub 463 for details.

>>No different than a toaster<< That is correct, no different. And a toaster is not separately allowable, because Section 107 says [emphasis added], "the fair rental value of the home, INCLUDING FURNISHINGS and appurtenances such as a garage, plus the cost of utilities." You don't get to count EVERY thing just because it takes place in the house, and in any case the actual cost is irrelevant. A treadmill is not going to change the fair rental value of the home, so it will have no effect on what can be excluded as housing allowance.

>>does he get any other benefits from getting the house<< Depending on the details, if he lives there he might be eligible for the Family Home Tax Credit. One of the details would be the effective date of such legislation, which has not been proposed yet. (I just made it up.) **** >>I had to ask being with all the new changes in the housing arena.<< I know what you mean--that update class was tough. (I just made that up too.)

>>SS and Medicare needs to be paid<< True enough, but employment taxes on W-2 wages are paid with Form 941, which is filed by the EMPLOYER. If they didn't collect from the worker, that's their problem.

>>TP purchases other half of home << Do you mean he purchased, like, the East Sitting Room with attached guest suites, or was it a 50% interest in the whole thing? And is he only going to live in the purchased half as his principal residence, so the other property that just by coincidence happens to be in exactly the same place, that's his second home instead of his principal residence? And in what way is your scenario different (in terms of claiming this credit) from a taxpayer who inherits a small house and builds a second story on it?

>>can the taxpayer get tax relief on the COD and get the $6500 homebuyer credit? On the same return?<< Ain't America great!

>>Are they allowed to claim the education credits based on the amount in Box 2? << According to the instructions to Form 1098-T (at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1098et.pdf in case anyone besides me cares to actually read the instructions), "Eligible educational institutions may choose to report payments received, or amounts billed."

>>Jainen is a proud 'contrarian' << If so, I contrarianed myself. May I point out that my first post in this thread fully supported Partner A taking the entire $5000 as a current investment loss? Our honored visitor made no objection to THAT.

>>people like you make us look like jerks<< So it seems.

>>It's an active and ordinary loss. Thanks for your help everyone, I have the answers that I need. << That's somewhat non-responsive to the issues I raised, but I understand. I get that a lot.

>>2,500 50% Loss deduction from form 1065 deducted on 1040 Sch-E, page 2<< What information suggests that "Partnership invested $5,000 in business venture" means an ordinary loss? What information suggests that "promotional event that never occurred" means a non-passive loss? nctx has already posted four times in this thread, and I don't see any facts yet to support such assumptions.

>>is there a website that we can check<< The client can check with Social Security Administration or his bank accounts for May and June. I never heard of any problems, so if you or the client know he received Social Security in November, December, or January and there is no evidence to the contrary, in my opinion it is appropriate to treat it in the way best supported by those facts.