Gail in Virginia

I prefer to have some basis for the FMV at date of death. If it was real estate, I have used tax assessment as long as I know that the locality assesses at 100% of FMV. In some cases, if an inventory was filed listing the asset and the FMV that can be used. For stocks, the date of death value is normally obtainable. If it is something where the FMV is not readily available, or at least a close approximation, then I would say some kind of evaluation or appraisal would be in order.

@Roberts, it was my understanding that the only requirement for foreign income exclusion was that you had to meet the physical presence test OR the bona fide resident test. I don't remember any requirement to pay income taxes to that country. If you work for a US company that has offices overseas, such as an oil company or financial company, and you spend the required amount of time in a foreign country, the US company might issue you a W2 but you could still qualify for the exclusion. At least that is my understanding - here in rural Virginia, that isn't something I see much of.

The problem with amended returns going through is that even though a person looks at the return, they do not verify information on the return but rather assume for the moment that you are telling the truth. So if in filling out the Foreign Income exclusion they indicate that they were out of the country for 330 days during the year, the return will be processed as though they qualify. However, if they are "audited ," even by computer, and it turns out they never had a passport, and never left the country, they will have to repay those refunds, plus interest, and most likely penalties for unsubstantiated tax positions. I wouldn't touch this with a ten foot pole.

And having a business logo put on the truck does not make all the mileage deductible because advertising. I don't care what the barber told them.

This is the explanation I was given by someone who used to work in a call center, basically. We always wait at least two rings before answering, and this usually means someone else answers before we do and gets the sales pitch, while we get silence. The no one there calls are annoying and time wasting, but not as much as the ones where the salesperson is actually on the line. I like Catherine's solution too. I used to, before the do not call list, answer my phone at home with "we do not accept telephone solicitations at this number." I think the formal language threw them off stride, because quite often they just hung up after that.

I still wouldn't count on on getting much, if anything, back. And if we do get anything back, it will be taxable in most cases.

Even if the ruling stands, I figure my PTIN fees since 2010 have amounted to about $400 (roughly, I did not go back and look.) This was brought as a class action suit. So does the IRS pay the attorneys who brought the suit, they take 1/3 plus costs off the top and then divide the rest between those preparers who elect to be part of the class? So of the $400 I have spent, would I get maybe $200? Or less?

I am not thinking about retirement this year. Or even next. But I do think about changing the way I work. I would love to not be responsible for everything. And I am sure that if I do decide to change, I could keep a few bookkeeping clients and prepare taxes for another firm. But it is hard to change to doing things the way another person wants when I have been used to doing it my way for so long. Not that my way is perfect; I just like getting to decide what changes to make each year. And I get really tired of the attitude I perceive from the IRS. If anything drives me out of this business, that will be it.

I cannot give out information about the client's return without signed permission from the client. And if they are going to get the client to give me permission, why not just ask the client what he paid me last year? There are legitimate reasons to ask - as Rich said, they might be deducting it on schedule A. Or maybe applying a portion of the fee to a schedule C, E or F as a deduction. But why don't they just ask the client if they need to know?

The people that don't hang around in the off-season don't know what they miss in educational opportunities on this board. I am getting really interested in this topic, and the one about donating the LLC interest. These are not things that I see everyday in my little rural practice.

It isn't just the DIY software that people buy - I recall reading about one "preparer" who used the IRS free-file site for all her clients. She only did returns where people's income was low enough to qualify, and I am sure that almost all, if not all, of her clients got EITC. Her prices were very low, because she had no overhead. But regulating preparers will not stop people like her who don't sign returns as preparer.

It is my understanding that if they can claim the children as dependents, they count for the purpose of determining affordability. Even though they may not pay for their insurance, they are paying all of the other bills (one assumes) and providing more than 50% of support since they are claiming the exemption. Therefore, they count for purposes of calculating income in relation to the poverty level.

I like the free beer on Fridays. I hope everyone that sees this goes to H&R on Friday next year and asks for a beer.

Impressive, Lynn!

I got a copy of the letter, and my client was actually savvy enough to go to the IRS website and check it out. It is a 4883c letter, and apparently legit.

I have asked her to send me a copy of the letter. If it doesn't look completely kosher, I was thinking of going the POA route. But usually scammers don't like to leave call back numbers. I have not heard of this as a scam or as legitimate.

A client called me today and said she had received a letter from the IRS requesting that she have her 2016 and 2015 tax returns in front of her and call them to verify that she was the taxpayer and was entitled to the refund shown on her 2016 return. Has anyone else seen this? I am concerned that this might be a scam, or that i tell her that and it will turn out to be legitimate.

If I am ever driving through Tennessee and see your sign, I am going to definitely stop in.

Main reason that sellers pay closing costs rather than cutting the price has always seemed to me to be because the real estate agents convince them that it is a good idea. They like it because their commission is calculated on a higher number. Maybe that isn't it, but that was what always struck me.

Wow! I used DuckDuckGo and you are right - one of my comments on this board was on the first page of results.

I use Square. We used to use QuickBooks, but the fee they charged monthly even when we did not accept any credit cards was unacceptable. They were not supposed to be charging a fee, but after the first twelve months they were and I could not get them to stop the fee so I stopped the service and that was the end of that. With Square, no monthly fees, just the deduction from each card swiped. I had been using my phone with the reader, but that meant getting interrupted any time someone paid by card so I replaced my iPad and brought the old one to the office to use just for taking cards.

Every word that he said is so true! For the past several years, I have seriously wondered about getting into another line of work. I love what I do, some of the time. But the constant change to becoming an auditor for the IRS rather than an advocate for my clients, and the clients who don't understand why I don;'t finish their return the day they drop it off, and then call to check on their return and waste more of my time. Trying to hire people to help, and getting no one who can actually think for themselves, of if they do think for themselves they decide they don't need to do things the way I told them to cause they know a better way. But then along about November, when the classes are going on and I am learning new stuff, and I get to order new office supplies, I start thinking I would not do anything else. (I love office supplies, by the way.) Obviously, I am seasonally bi-polar.

It can be frustrating trying to help clients when they get in this predicament. And we don't always know the whole story. But sometimes it seems that wealthy clients have family in the wings who can't wait to get their hands on the money. I've seen clients that have lost the ability to handle their own affairs get totally ripped off by family. And family that turns on each other as soon as there is an estate to divide. Makes me so sad, and mad. I wish sometimes that I could hug as well as Rita.

I'm glad your mom is some better. I did not realize she was out of state - for me, that would add to the stress of the situation. I hope she is not too far away, and that you are able to communicate with her frequently. Taking care of aging parents is never easy. I will continue to hold your family in my prayers.