TaxmannEA

We have a number of clients that pay this way. We've never had any significant problems with the federal, but have had some with the state in past years. This year it seems to be working OK.

Does anyone know if a 2020 return can still be filed to claim the stimulus payment ? Just had that question, and I have no clue.

You might want to check with the PA agency that has custody. Several years ago I handled an adoption where the child had been in DCFS custody. A lady with the agency told me that they classified all children with no legal parents to be special needs as they needed a family structure. 

I just acquired a new client who has been having an ongoing problem with her W-2 filing for her business in 2016. She has 10 employees.  She mailed the W-3 and W-2s to the SSA in January of 2016. In 2019 she received a letter claiming that the W-2s had not been received, so she sent them in again. She later sent a copy by certified mail with a return receipt to the agent handling the case. 

In 2020 she received another penalty notice stating that they still didn't have the W-2s and assessing a $10,000 penalty for non-filing. This was in her mail while she was in another state with her husband who was hospitalized and eventually died. By the time she got back home, the response time was over and they tell her the only option is a Collection Due Process Hearing. She tried the Taxpayer Advocates Office, but was told that they were too busy to help at that time.

Any suggestions on how to tell the IRS that the problem is that they don't open their mail ? I've never been through a due process hearing, so any suggestions would be much appreciated.  

I'm trying to advise an S-Corp with a long term problem. The corp was acquired in 2011 by the current owner. Returns were filed for 2011 and 2012 electronically and were accepted.  In 2014, the E-file system rejected the return with an error code that indicated the wrong status for the corporation. We called IRS and they told us that this was indeed listed as an S-Corp and to mail in the return, which we did for several years. No notices were received after that until 2020. The return was mailed back to the client due to the company using a fiscal year instead of a calendar year. We have finally discovered that the first 2 years which had been accepted and processed were "un-Filed" by the IRS. 

Bear in mind that the client had not received any notices about the fiscal year issue or that the returns were not being processed until 2021 after the first contact years earlier. Client had called IRS and was told that he has to re-do his books and file all of the back returns on a calendar year basis. The owner has reported all K-1 info and paid taxes on his own return. 

I would like to get the corp. on the fiscal year if possible, or make a short- year adjustment in the current periods. Re-doing 10 years of returns and the matching 1040s seems to be unduly extreme as there would be no significant differences in the long term. I also think that there should be some consideration to the fact that IRS didn't notify the client of the real problem for 10 years. Any advice?

When I applied as an E.A. in 1984, we didn't need the fingerprints. I think that all of us "old timers" were grandfathered in when the started fingerprinting later on. They did do a background check though.

I've got my returns back to 1970. I also have my father's returns and record pages back into the 1940's. I must be one of the ______ retentive people.

We've had an issue in our area with ID theft involving 16 year old dependents.  Several of our clients' children have had rejects due to a prior return being filed using their SS#. None of these dependents had filed a return ever and they are all 16 years old. My theory is some kind of hack into the Secretary of State's database of new drivers, but that is just an educated guess. Has anyone else noticed this or is it just my paranoia?

The check was mailed just 3 days ago. I doubt that IRS has even open the envelope yet.

A client just called me and reported that their bank statement showed a pending electronic withdrawal from their account for the balance due on their return.  The problem is that I did not set the transaction up on the return. They have already sent a check and voucher as payment. The amount shown on the statement is correct. I don't even have their account information on file. How would this be possible? I'm at a loss on this one.

The qualification for farming is the production  for food or fiber. Cats would only qualify if you are making kitty wool sweaters or supplying a weird BBQ joint.  

I just checked 4 returns that were waiting on this and they were ready to file. I think that Drake got it on the update this morning.  I haven't tried ATX yet.

She's still his step-daughter. The only relationship that ends at divorce is between the spouses. You're even still related to your in-laws. ( I had a student get depressed when I told a class that fact !)

This isn't just transposing numbers. The SS# on the W-2 is nowhere near the TP,s or his late wife.

He came to us for tax prep. He had filed on his own for 2019 when his wife died. The file wasn't available for roll over, so the preparer used the information from the W-2. He hadn't noticed the SS# in the W-2 until the latter came from Austin. The address, DOB, etc are all accurate. Just the SS# is wrong. We filed the return and it was accepted immediately.  

I've advised the client to contact the employer. They are out of state, so don't know how that will go. 

This is one that I haven't dealt with for a long time. Client filed 2020 return using the SS# from a W-2 that he had. The return was e-filed and accepted by IRS. He just received an identity verification letter which I have instructed him to respond toby phone at once. 

I have 2 questions about this. First, as the SS# used on the return was not even remotely close to his number, why did IRS accept the return ? Usually this would cause a reject on filing, but it didn't. This makes me nervous about the possibility of TP using 2 different numbers, or someone using his info to get a number.

Second, do I file a 1040X to zero out the original return and then file under the correct number, or is there another way to deal with this ? 

I'm having a problem with the ATX 2020 tax program. If i try to check the "news" button for new messages, I get the "this program has encountered an error and needs to Close" message. It then closes no matter what i do. This only happens on one computer and the other years have no problem. Any ideas?

The business was open and available in March. It had to close down due to the Covid shutdowns. They deal with parties and other gatherings which did not happen in 2020. They are doing some business this year.

Thanks Lynn. I had a mental block on this.

I've just been given a partnership return for a new business that started in 2020. Because of Covid, they were unable to do any business in 2020. They have expenses such as rent and utilities, but no revenue. They do have revenue in 2021. 

Do i need to file a return for 2020, or should I write off the expenses as start-up costs and amortize starting in 2021 ? I've not encountered this situation before. 

No. Drake tells me to mail the signed form, but also says it can be e-filed with the return.  Confusing. 

I have a 1041 that will need a Form 8855 . Can that form be e-filed with the 1041, or will we need to mail? I've never used this form before.

I found the problem! I was having problems with the Drake program not starting when I clicked the desktop icons. Evidently when that happened DStart would start running and not stop. After several attempts, the apps would run the CPU up to 100% and slow everything down. I ended the DStart apps and re- installed the desktop icons for the 2 years of Drake that were the problem. Everything is running up to speed now.

Thanks Abby for your suggestion. That got the ball rolling for me.

I see that I have 4 DStart processes running at 24% of CPU each.  The CPU is evidently running at 100% overall. Is that it?

This machine has 16 GB RAM. The problem affects resident programs, internet and network based programs. This is a rebuilt machine with Windows 10 Pro installed and has been quite good until today. I've re-booted several times.

When i tried to access Task Manager I got a message that no apps were running at this time.

Is it time to get a big hammer?