Gail in Virginia

Happy Anniversary!

But it takes the new rascals a little time to catch on to how to be a REAL rascal. They start out as amateur rascals usually.

Perhaps we can print it on toilet paper, and we all know what to do with that.....

Can I answer E? There should be some depreciation.....

As Judy said, it really depends on the income. I have a client who lives in the US but is a Canadian citizen. Sorting his paperwork can be a real challenge. Some of his dividends come through an Edward Jones brokerage account in Canada, and get reported on an NR4 for Canada, AND on a 1099DIV for US. And some of the NR4s are in USD and some CAD. I don't think he understands how confusing this can be and why I charge him as much as I do. But he keeps sending his stuff to me because I am the first preparer that even asked if he had foreign accounts and started him doing his FBAR.

I hope none of my client's ever see that - I am sure they would think that is sufficient. They already think they did not take any income from the company because all they did was pay their bills.

I was, until the phone spammers learned to spoof actual numbers. I have had numbers come up on caller id, complete with name, as someone I know only to answer the phone and find that is not the person placing the call. Sometimes it will appear that a local business is calling but lo and behold it is not. I am to the point at home where I prefer to let the call go to voice mail and if someone is really there, I will call them back. But it is worse when I have client's return calls that we never made and I know that my number is being spoofed to annoy local people. Edsel is right - as long as there is money to be made with relatively no downside risk, this is only going to get worse.

My husband recorded the telephone company's statement "I'm sorry, but the number you have reached is no longer in service. If you feel that you have received this message in error, please hang up and dial" whatever it is. Now, whenever a number calls that he doesn't want to talk to he plays that recording for them, complete with tones, as soon as he answers. I don't know if we are actually getting fewer calls, but he is having a good time and thinks the calls are going down. And I am not going to interfere with his fun.

Sometimes my problem is that I learned something so thoroughly years ago, and I was unaware (or forgot!) that it changed. Always a good idea to check to make sure what you KNOW is actually correct.

And Jesus was a real cowboy - he rode an unbroken colt bareback through a cheering crowd without getting thrown off.

If the property is inherited with a step up in basis, I don't think that depreciation prior to the date of death will have any bearing on the calculation of gain or loss.

You know, that is an excellent point Catherine. I have been thinking that I want to sell my business and get out so I can work less hard. Maybe if I don't have much luck selling, I should just keep raising my fees until I am working less hard because people leave but I will still be making money on the ones that stay. Something to think about before the first of the year......

Congratulations! The young man doesn't have a friend in SW VA by any chance?

I have gotten a very similar letter if they payment was made after 8:00 p.m. ET on the day before the payment was due. In other words, if payment was due on 4/17, and I made the payment after 8:00 on 4/16 they send a letter saying that they are going to waive the penalty but I screwed up. I ignore it as long as they keep waiving the penalty.

An LLC is created at the state level. The only thing the IRS has is the application for an EIN. In my opinion, the fact that someone applied for an EIN and never filed a tax return is not that unusual,. They might have planned to start a business and changed their minds. They may have filled out the EIN application that it was only for banking purposes. I would not say the LLC does not exist, but as a disregarded entity it might not be required to file a tax return. I would report capital gains from installment sales on the 6252, interest on the Schedule B, and get with it.

I loved that show! My son was a baby about then, and the little dinosaur - "Gotta love me!" just seemed so perfect!

I get what you are saying, Edsel. But I would report the income and set up the asset because I would almost bet that any expenses associated with earning that $2,700 of income are going to be reported - such as parts used, or any labor, or overhead.

I think if your client could have claimed the dependency exemption except for the divorce, then they are still entitled to the HOH status and EIC because age is not the controlling factor - his being a student is in this particular case. It would be the same if the child were over 18 and permanently and totally disabled. I don't have a cite for this off the top of my head.

As long as we keep the conversation positive.

Thank you so much, Rita! We had wonderful food and fellowship, and I was reminded once again how special a breed most tax professionals are! I would love to meet more of you, and see those I have met again. Unfortunately, I am not as brave as Rita to open up my house to an undetermined number of people showing up! You are the best, Rita!

John and I spent the night in Gatlinburg and will head to Crossville later. I keep forgetting it is a different time zone!

And I plan to drive from Virginia to Gatlinburg TN tomorrow, and then on to Rita's on Saturday! Back to to Gatlinburg Saturday night, and back to Virginia Monday. Don't know what I was thinking - I am still so far behind! But this will be fun! (Except for all the riding around, and even that won't be too bad - might make up for some of the time I didn't see my husband during tax season to be trapped in a car with him now!)

I agree with you, John. I think that if I did a lot of EITC returns, or returns with itemized deductions being the main separation from a short form I would be very concerned. And even though I don't anticipate much impact on my business (at least not right away) I do suspect that if I want to sell my business and retire in a year or two, or four or five, this will probably impact the marketability of a tax firm in general. Time will tell - and it would be interesting to see if they anticipate growth in 2025 when the laws for individuals will revert back to their current status. I think it is 2025 - I don't plan to be in business that long.

I think that it depends on your niche in this business. Most of my clients are probably either already filing short form, or they have businesses/farms/rental property and that won't be any simpler. I do very few returns that have itemized deductions only. I may lose a few clients, but I don't think that it will substantially impact my business.

I am trying to get there. My husband and I will be staying in Gatlinburg, and that is farther from Rita than I thought it would be. And I have stayed farther behind than I thought I would - too many graduations and other events to attend. But if the good Lord is willing and the creek don't rise, we will be there. Please PM me directions. And refresh my memory. I seem to recall we needed to bring a chair; were we supposed to bring food? I know some were offering to bring specialties of their location, but I hate to cross state lines with moonshine so not sure what to bring.