Gail in Virginia

There is no college requirement to become an EA. When I became an EA, the test was administered by the IRS with paper and pencil (no calculator allowed!). It is now administered by THomson and is computerized, which allows more flexibility in when to take it. You can also become an EA by working for the IRS in an area that deals with compliance for so many years, then when you leave you can apply to be an EA. You must reapply every 3 years, showing that you have met at least the minimum requirements for CPE in each year, including the new ethics requirement. (72 hours during the three years, with at least 16 hours each year including at least 2 hours of ethics each year.) Professional organizations such as NAEA and NATP and others can be a big help in meeting your CPE requirements, but NAEA requires even more education to maintain your status as a member. To become a CPA in VA, you have to have a Bachelor's in Accounting and at least 150 hours of college credit (this is designed to encourage you to get your master's degree, but it does not require it - yet.) Then you have to pass the test and have so many hours of experience, but as David1980 pointed out, tax preparation is considered experience. One advantage to being an EA is that you can represent clients on tax returns that you did not prepare, so this can open up an area of business doing representation work. I personally have not had much of that come my way, but I know some EA's who more or less specialize in that area. As far as how I got into taxes, my mother owned an H&R Block franchise and I began working for her checking returns when I was 13 years old, and preparing them when I was 14. She sold the Block franchises, and became town treasurer for a few years, doing only a few tax returns for customers that insisted on her. She left the town and opened her own office about the time that I was laid off from my job at Signet Trust Co. (I was offered a job in another city, but chose not to take it because my husband and I were ready to start a family and I did not want to move, or even work for a few years.) By the time I was ready to go back to work, she needed more help and I ended up taking the EA exam and working for her again. I am now working towards my CPA, and planning to take over the business in the next couple of years. Does that answer your question, Kyle? Maybe not typical, but that's my story, at least the short version. ^_^

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I like socks. They help my feet stay warm :)

My question about this is that I have clients who live in mobile homes. IN this area, if they don't own their land but do own their mobile home, the mobile home is taxed as personal property tax. Does that mean they do not get to add the tax on their home to their standard deduction because it is classed as personal property tax rather than real estate tax? That is the way I am reading it, but I wonder if someone else has any information to the contrary.

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I wasn't going to ask, but I just have to know - was your client's foot in the shoe at the time? :wacko:

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That's the form. There is such a narrow range between having to file at all and making too much to benefit from this credit, that I don't think in 30 years of doing taxes I have ever had anyone actually be able to use it.

But you have to make that choice, if I am not mistaken the default is to save in the 2007 version.

Compatibility is another issue with Office 2007. Files created with it cannot be opened by earlier versions unless you download a patch to allow you to open those files. Until you mentioned it, I did not think about that issue

I still like Office 2003 because it is almost just like Office 2000, and I did not have to re-learn how to use it. Office 2007 works the same in many ways, but has a very different look and anything that I am used to using on the toolbar seems to me to be in a different place and I have to hunt for it. That said, my son loves Office 2007. One feature that he showed me, that I have to admit is great for a student, is that it will now format footnotes and works cited using any of a number of standard methods, such as MLA. However, I have not found much use for that in my practice. There may be other upgrades that I am not aware of because I am still sticking with my 2003 until I upgrade computers.

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We use a 2015n at my office with no problems with ATX. The n just means it can hook directly into the network rather than having to be hooked to a computer. Paper capacity is about 250 sheets in the tray, it has an auxiliary feed for envelopes or forms, and it has been very quiet and trouble free for us. We used it all last tax season, and so far this year so I don't think compatibility will be a problem.

If he provided you the correct address last year, and it was your error that you did not change the address on the tax return, I would probably offer to write a letter to the mortgage company on my letterhead explaining that. I would think that they would take this as an explanation for the discrepancy, and move on to other ways of checking that this is actually his primary residence. I would also file the 2008 return as early as possible to correct the address with both federal and state taxing authorities, assuming you are in a state with an income tax. Other than this, I don't think there is much you can do, unless you follow RoyDaleOne's advice and file the change of address notice with IRS and provide a copy of that to the mortgage company.

You can use an ink jet printer, a typewriter, or a laser printer with the pre-printed forms like you buy from Staples. SSA will accept them. They will even accept handwritten forms as long as they are the pre-printed type, but they sure do look suspicious to most people any more.

Not to mention that if you begin doing the balance sheet the very first year, then if you have to start doing balance sheets you have good beginning balances to work from.

It would depend on whether the dependency is subject to the Gross Income Test. If they are a dependent child under age 18, or under age 24 and a full time student, then the fact that they drew unemployment might not matter. For other dependent questions, normally if gross income is greater than $3000, you cannot claim the person as a dependent. There are exceptions, such as for your dependent child who is disabled.

I don't recall getting a user's manual last year. Most of the time this forum is more help that any manual anyway, so I could be mistaken.

Considering the "work" history of most politicians, they only know how to throw bricks, not lay them and probably aren't sure which end of a pitchfork to use :lol:

I had never noticed those particular buttons, but right under the last post in the section are the words <<Next Oldest Website Discussion Next Newest >> and if you click on the forum title in that group it brings you back to the list of topics. So apparently there are lots of ways to navigate these pages. Thanks ERC ;)