Gail in Virginia

I like the coconut chocolate chip cookies my sister used to bake for me. She moved, and I don't get really good cookies any more.

BTW, I do not offer this as fact, but I read somewhere the other day that XP is only going to be available until June, then Microsoft is going to insist that computer sellers go to Vista. This might not affect your local computer seller, but probably will affect the biggies like Dell and HP. If you do have to go the Vista route, get as much RAM memory as you can - Vista is a hog when it comes to RAM.

It is not only a matter of whether you know enough to transfer your data, but how efficient it is for you to spend your time doing it. I am pretty geeky, but when it comes to the office computers I find it more efficient for me to do enough tax returns to pay the professionals to come in and do the grunt work on our network. They charge more per hour than I do, but they can troubleshoot and fix a problem faster than I can and any time I am working on hardware/software issues is time that I am not working on taxes and accounting - the things that I earn my living doing.

When I applied for exempt status for a couple of local PTO's I was told that box 12 was the more favorable status by the agent processing the applications, so I have continued to use that and to provide the support information. I think that I would go that route if I were you, but I would also try to get a look at which they checked when they initially applied for exempt status. I was under the impression from the agent I spoke to that organizations covered under box 13 might not necessarily be 501 (c ) 3, but might instead be covered under a slightly different code section resulting in contributions not being tax deductible. Not all organizations that are required to file 990 are charitable organizations.

Has this PTA applied for exempt status? Normally the answer to that question on schedule A should match whatever was put on the original application unless it has changed. And as a rule, I would use box 12 unless the organization could not show that the degree of support they get from the community qualified them for that category. This is a stronger argument for being a 501( c) 3, but does require you to complete the support schedule in the next section every year. I suspect that the organizations who are checking box 13 and putting the name of the school just don't want to be bothered with the more detailed information about where the money comes from that is required by box 12.

Just guessing, but were both children under 17? Was her total tax paid less than $600? If her tax was $453, and she got $300 each for the children, that would add up to $1053. I really have not studied stimulus payments and their interaction with EIC, etc enough to be sure of an answer to your question. You might try the IRS rebate calculator and FAQs for information.

You probably need to wait and see how the employer/stock broker reports everything. In my experience, which is something less than vast, the ordinary portion is usually in the W-2 and gets into ordinary income that way. The LTG portion is usually reported on a 1099B just like any other stock sale. The basis is what he paid fof the option initially plus the amount that he paid ordinary income tax on (the 15%.) But until he gets his paperwork, you cant' be sure how it will be reported.

Interesting. I had the same experience. I always save the activation code in case I need to reinstall the software, and yet it did not work when I tried to log on to ATX support. I wonder if they were all different? I also am leery of growing to depend on ATX's bulletin board after having it jerked out from under me so close to the end of the tax season. I have no reason to think that ERC would do that to me, and every reason to think that ATX might if it suited them to do so.

We used Drake one year, and I have to agree they have excellent support. They have the forms needed to do most income tax returns. However, they do not have the payroll forms (941, 940, W-2, 1099, etc.) and they do not have unusual forms like the treasury form for reporting interest in or authority over a foreign bank account. I have to say that I agree with ChrisCPA's attitude. I think that I will probably go ahead and renew before the deadline to get the discount. I have not seen anything that I like better, and even if Mel comes up with a program in time, I will probably run both programs the first year his is out.

It is the first year for the procedure for the IRS as well, and apparently the person you got did not know what they were doing. You should not need a new EIN, you just need to be set up on the system for the e-postcard. And you should not have to file for recognition if you are a 501 ( c) 13 because donations to it are not deductible anyway. Good luck with finding the right person to talk to - and if it should turn out that the IRS website is wrong about what to do, please keep us all posted! :dunno:

I found this information on the IRS website under frequently asked questions. Rather than be late with the filing, or pay the $300, I would call the number mentioned and speak to them about your requirement. The only cemeteries I am associated with are either directly connected with churches, which eliminates their need to file, or they are small and do not claim to be tax-deductible. You can be a non-profit entity, and exempt from paying taxes, without contributions being deductible. From FAQ on IRS site: If you are certain that your EIN was entered correctly, the IRS may not have your organization listed as a tax-exempt organization. To be exempt under Section 501©(3) as a charity, most organizations must go through the application process. If your application for tax-exemption is pending, you must contact Customer Account Services at 1-877-829-5500. If your organization claims to be exempt under some other Code section, such as 501©(4), an officer of the organization should call Customer Account Services at 1-877-829-5500 (a toll free number) and ask that the organization be set up to allow filing of the e-Postcard.

Anybody ever hear from Jerry Mealer? He knew all about the ring around that racoon's tail.

On a piggyback return, IRS cleared means the IRS has cleared the return for forwarding to the state. In Virginia, they only pick up the returns when they reach a certain number of them out there as a batch, so sometimes when volume is down it takes a while to change from IRS cleared to accepted.

If you want to go with choice two, look at the new officers as being what is new. Are they volunteers? Do they have any experience with non-profit taxes? Can you still plead ignorance because you have a new group of ignorant officers to replace the old group, who learned their lesson but forgot to pass it on? Especially for unpaid officers, I think you might stand a reasonable chance of pleading ignorance, especially if you can come up with some procedure for how you are going to make sure future new officers get schooled earlier.

After this tax season, I feel we all needed prayers, but KC will be especially in my prayers. And her husband, and all the rest of her family.

If the money was never in a foreign account that they had control over, then no, you don't need to file the TD F 90-22.1. And Maura is right about TANSTAAFL.

Also, if the money is left on deposit in the foreign country, they would need to complete the treasury form (I forget the number, but ATX has it) for persons who have a greater than $10,000 interest in a foreign bank account. In fact, I think they need to do that even if it is only in the foreign bank account for one day. There is always some paperwork somewhere - TANSTAAFL.

One advantage to not using pictures is that I can picture people the way I imagine them to be - and KC, I know you are beautiful!

I know they do it on Virginia - I almost got caught that way a couple of times early on.

I have not personally used it, but I have heard that CFS makes a module for payroll forms and 1099's. I use their tax tools module for loan amortizations and other miscellaneous forms. http://www.taxtools.com/Default.aspx

You might want to specify where you are -at least the state - so that if someone offers to help you, they will be helpful on the state returns you do the most of as well as federal.

Even if she did not live with him, and I don't think his "temporary absence" would really count against that, as custodial parent, if he (and the non-custodial parent) provided over half the support, and the non-custodial parent isn't going to claim the child (which they can't without the for surrendering the exemption since they are non-custodial) he should be able to claim dependency and all the goodies that go with it. ( I think - this has been the longest tax season ever and I am not sure of my name any more, much less basic tax law.)

This year, I think I am too tired to scream. :wacko:

Maybe its because we live in a throw-away society! :P

I really think it is a fiduciary return you are thinking about instead of an estate return, and if the income that would be moved to the 1041 is less than $600, I don't believe you need to file. It would include all income after her death that was in her name - interest, dividends, IRA distributions, etc.