Gail in Virginia

I like the meme except he has a paddle. Most of the time I don't feel like I do.

Prayers, Lion! What a terrible time for such terrible news!

This does not, however, necessarily mean the IRS will get it right. I have had letters go to clients who properly filed 2014 K-1's on their 2015 returns due to the fiscal year, who then received letters from IRS adding that income to their 2014 return. So far when that has happened, a simple letter and copy of the K-1 has resolved the issue. It is annoying, and apparently not handled completely by computer. I had a 1041 with 2 beneficiaries who received K-1s - one got a letter and the other didn't. Go figure.

What happened when the father took the custodial parent to court - did the judge say the mother had to sign the 8332?

Is that your fault? Did you cause the information to file the returns on extension to come in late? And with some of my clients, a deadline is merely a suggestion - even if I sat here until October 17 waiting on their information, prepared to knock myself out to file it, they might not bring it in until the first of November.

Why should the clients worry? They know they are doing it the way "everybody" does because their barber (or neighbor, or local person in same business) told them so.

I have not actually had anyone able to take the credit because of the minimum wage portion of the provision, BUT it is my understanding that the carry-back/carry-forward rules only come into play if there is no income tax in the current year. In other words, the credit applies first to 2015 and is not refundable; so if it is not used up you would carry any remaining credit back one year and any left after that may be carried forward for twenty years. IRS has informational sheet at IRS page. You might find that helpful.

I understand why you are questioning this - it is almost NEVER this straightforward.

I am curious about the 360deg camera when driving. Does it record? How is it mounted? I have often thought it might be helpful in the event of an accident to have a record to back up your statement, but I have not seen technology advertised for this purpose.

I thought that there was a difference in how you became a registered vs licensed CPA.

Paranoia seems to be an appropriate response to internet technology these days.

NCPE offers workshops for fiduciary and estate returns. Beanna Whitlock is the instructor for those, I believe, and she is an excellent and knowledgeable speaker. Unfortunately, they only offer about three per year. You can check out their website at www.ncpeseminars.com/

This has been an interesting topic. I try to know my limitations, and not to ask questions that two minutes of research will answer, but sometimes in the heat of tax season, my brain gets a little fried and I can barely remember my name. I actually had another preparer in our small town refer a client to me on April 14 because the other preparer was not comfortable doing foreign returns. The return was a New Mexico return. And as far as Pacun's comment about people who have been preparing returns for years not being able to pass the EA exam, I can understand that. Some people just don't test well - they have the knowledge but in a testing situation they cannot communicate that knowledge. But thanks to everyone for being here and putting up with me when I lose my mind.

I agree. I wish I could get the contract to process all the PTIN renewals at $17 each - I think I could quit doing tax returns. And actually come close to only working a few months a year, which everyone thinks is what I do anyway. Ha. Ha. /s

The user fee is reduced to $33 but when added to the fee from the third party vendor who collects the fee, we pay $50. So from my point of view, I am not sure it really changed.

Margaret, I did this for my church several years ago, and I did not have to submit a determination letter. However, I don't remember exactly what I did submit. It might have been our letter issuing our EIN, and maybe something from the United Methodist denomination. Or about the UMC. Good luck!

My gut reaction is that a cash basis taxpayer reports income in the year in which it is received unless to do so would result in a material difference. I don't know how much money we are talking about for two weeks - in some resort areas that could be really material.

Do the same definitions apply here as for EITC? Publication 15 just refers to child. That generally includes foster child, if the child is placed with you by a state or federal agency. Does he plan to adopt the child? An adopted child is always treated as your own child, and if he is in the process of adopting that would probably qualify. I don't have a definitive answer. I hope someone can find one for you - this is an interesting question. And if the child qualifies for purposes of the FICA rules, I would think it would also affect unemployment. Good luck.

But is it taxable? It was written by the director and published by the agency - does it further the exempt purpose of the organization? Does the director receive any remuneration for writing the book? Do the people selling the book get paid or is it all volunteer labor? Selling items to raise funds is not always a taxable activity to a non-profit. It all depends on facts and circuses, as Jerry Mealer used to say.

I would not ask too many questions of Rita. She has this really large back yard....

I am not an expert on annuities (or any insurance product, for that matter) but I thought that there were two different types of annuities. If he invested $400,000 from life insurance proceeds at one whack, I would not think that this is the type of annuity that behaves like an IRA/qualified plan. In which case, I would have thought that he could recover his investment without tax penalty although there might be penalty from the insurance company for early withdrawal. But I am quite willing to be corrected on that since I really don't know much about how annuities are structured.

Just wondering - if you are not employed, can you receive tips? If you were self-employed, they would not really be tips, just additional income you earned. If you work for an employer, you report your tips to your employer to be included on your W-2. So ir you are not self-employed, and you are not working for someone, is what you receive actually a tip within the definition of the tax code? Are tips defined somewhere? I did not see a definition in Pub 531, and did not take the time to look elsewhere. Of course, even if they are not technically tips, they would still be income since anything not specifically excluded is considered taxable income....

According to the IRS website, if they don't file a 990 they should notify the IRS by letter or fax, with a copy of the change to the articles of incorporation and proof of filing with the state, at Customer Account Services. The information is found at https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/change-of-name-exempt-organizations

Assuming that the non-resident spouse is not a US citizen, she can file as MFS or HoH, depending on whether she provides a household for a dependent she can claim on her taxes, and only report her income. She can elect to file MFJ and report their worldwide income. But if her husband has no nexus with the US causing him to file a return, it is up to them whether to file together and include his income or file separately and only report her income in the US. At least that is my understanding of the election to file jointly and report world-wide income.

I faxed a 2553 to the IRS on June 1, and the client has so far not received a letter from the IRS regarding his election to be treated as an S Corp. This is a new corporation that was incorporated effective 5/12/16, and I want to be sure the election goes through. Should I be concerned yet that he has not received the notice accepting or denying his election? IRS does still send out letters regarding this, don't they?