Ringers

I just had a client tell me about his "advisor" that told hi8m to issue quit claim deeds for his personal residence and a vacation home to his son to transfer the property now before he dies and it is forced into probate. Nothing was mentioned about step up in bassis upon death if put into T/P estate or a Grantor Trust that would be lost if deeded to son before T/P death. I told him to get a new advisor!!

I enter it on the 8283 as: Name: Goodwill, Salvation Army and others (17 pickups) Address: various, zip code = same as in T/P address Date of Donation: 12/31/16 Then put in the date of purchase (varioius), cost , FMV = Total, method = thrift shop pricing. The only wrinkle is when the total FMV exceeds $5000, then you need to report as multiple donations to avoid the "appraisal" of used clothing and household items.

Christian, Sometimes the "free filing" can be our best friend. Just take a look at some of the outlandish questions that Turbo Tax users ask at the Turbo Tax Answer exchange. They want to inlcude their child's W-2 on their own return to "save him the trouble of having to file himself." They want to know where to put the 1099-MISC income they received on the Free File 1040 EZ. They want to subtract their gambling losses directly from their winnings on line 21. They want to know if having cancer insurance constitutes "being insured for the whole year." Ane then, after they file, they want to know what to do with the other W-2 that just came in. The level of frustration among the "free filers" is rising and they are beginning to respect what people such as you and I can do for them in terms of filing a complete and legal return. Don't be too anxious to "pack it in." I think the Millenials will need us more than any other generation in history. IMHO.

Terry, There is no penalty for filing a gift tax return late if no amount is owed with the return itself. You are correct in stating that he should file the return, even though it is late, and that the gift will not trigger any immediate tax, it will just reduce his lifetime unified credit on the $5.45M of taxable estate exclusion.

14 seconds to get from my bedroom to my office downstairs. I used to do it in 9 seconds, but I am getting older now.

I got the same e-mail earlier in the year and an e-mail reminder that I had not yet responded and they still needed a preparer in my city to "recommend." Not exactly a scam, but sort of like "Angie's List" where one of my business clients gets top billing every month by paying the list a fee of $913.00 per month.

But would you like them in a group Maybe with some chicken soup? Or would you like them one by one, Maybe that would be some fun. Would you let them on your screen If they helped to keep it clean? Would you like them if they spoke Or perhaps told a funny joke? If none of these can ring your bell Then perhaps the blue triangles can go to .... !

Jack, I am using Windows 10, but I am also using ProSeries rather than ATX. With ProSeries Professional, I do not have a problem using MouseJiggle in the regular mode. It works for me in both standard mode and zen mode . Has anyone using ATX or Drake got it to work with their software?

Margaret, After you check th e"enable" box, do not close the information box--just leave it open on your desktop. If you close the box using the "x" you will close the program. The open box will just stay on your desktop and not be visible when other programs are opened.

Margaret, Ater downloading the program, click on it in the taskbar and you will see a small window open on your desktop with a checkbox option to "enable jiggle." Click on the checkbox and you will see the cursor begin to move. The program will stay on until you either resatart the computer or uncheck the box.

Here is what I have used in the past ot determine whether to expense or capitalize the pre-productive expenses. https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/farmers-atg-chapter-four-expenses-1

Since she transferred to NY, and I assume the company did not reimburse her living expenses while in NY becasue it was a transfer and not short-term employment at the request of the company, I would still treat her as a part-year resident in both states. If the company had sent her to NY for a peeriod of time, then I think NY non-resident filing would be appropriate and CA full year resident.

I would file her as part year resident in each state. If she were working for one company and had earnings from both states, she would be a CA resident and a NY non-resident, which would mean that CA would allow her a credit for NY taxes paid but charge her CA tax on entire income. Since she was working for two different employers and physically lived for part of the year in NY, I don't think there is any way she could be classified as a non-resident for tax purposes. As a part-year resident, she will ony pay NY tax on her NY earnings and CA tax on her CA earnings, which may turn out to be a benefit.

I downloaded the free program callled MouseJiggle (56KB size on computer after installation) in December and have been using it to defeat the annoying 30 minute log-off rule that IRS has imposed on all tax software distributors. It works great and has no adverse effects on startup time, computer stability, etc. What it does is constantly move the mouse pointer about 1/16 inch back and forth on a 45 degree diagonal, which does not greatly affect mouse usage even if the program is left on 24/7. Last night I left my 2016 tax program (ProSeries) open with a client loaded and left MouseJiggle open also. This morning the tax return was still open and I had not been logged off. I assume it will also work in all of the other tax software. I won't be running the program 24/7, but I do intend to run it during the hours I would be working on returns and not have to worry about breaking for meals, tc and getting shut down.

I would take his actual expenses (gas, depreciatoin, repairs, insurance, licenses, stickers, washes, etc.) multiplied by his business use of the vehicle (not counting commuting and any other personal use) and then subtract the reimbursement he receives from this total. Both the expenses and reimbursement would be shown on a 2106 as long as he is a W-2 employee, Schedule C if 1099 subcontractor. This is what I have always done in the past when I encountered similar situations.

Are any of you ProSeries users currently using or contemplating using the Intuit Link program which since the 2015 program has been bundled into the tax program at no additional charge? In case you are not familiar with it, it is a secure portal that can be used to get information from your clients via e-mail and automatically keeps records of what was requested and what has been received. I tired it out using my own personal return with some test questions and organizers, and it seems to work pretty well at gathering information via password protected e-mails and even has an invite program for the taxpayer directly from Homebase in the program. I just don't want to invest a lot of time learning the program and training my clients in its use only to have Intuit turn around and charge for the program in later years, much like ATX is now doing for their payroll program filings. What do you think?

What a pain!!! I got the letter Saturday and tried twice to call them yesterday. Each time, after being on hold for over 1 hour, the phone line went to a "fast busy" signal and I was forced to hang up. I am now into 45 minutes hold time trying again. I have to do the verification by phone since my cell phone is in my son's name. How is this verification different from the one that Intuit ProSeries had me do last month when I had to go online and access my E-file application summary?

Hi Naveen, Did you try turning off the automatically installed Windows Defender program before trying to install ATX? The message you are getting is the one generated by that program. You can turn it off by going into Windows settings, then security, and then accessing the Windows Defender program. Hope this helps.

Is there any truth to the rumor that we get 5 CEU's if we can prove we saw it?

Come on now people!!! Let's cut this ship and get back to work!!!

I just got another call from "IRS" on my cell phone. Left a message about the "arrest warrant" so I called them back on a land line and said it was my wife's cell that they called on and she was out. I gave them a phony name and SS# and then played the game with them for 37 minutes and 14 seconds. They verified that the phony name and phony SS# did actually owe $9780 for "willful mistakes" made over the past 4 years. I told them that I take a standard deduction and only have 1 W-2 form, but they were "certain" that I had purposely made a false calculation and the warrant for my arrest, 5 years in prison, and a $95000 fine was coming my way! BUT, if I cooperated today with them, they would eliminate the big fine and jail time--all I had to do was pay the $9780. I told them i never have seen that amount of money at one time and that I only had about $200 in the bank. They asked about credit cards and I told them I thought I had about $2000 left on my only credit card. They kept transferring me to other agents and collection officers and I was put on hold many times. Finally the collection officer, a heavily accented "Patricia Wilson" said that she would work with me on a payment plan as long as I got them the $2000 today. She told me to drive over to Walgreens with my cell phone and purchase four $500 I-tunes cards. She gave me a tip--"don't tell Walgreens that the cards are for the IRS or they will charge you $50 more for each one." I thanked her for saving me the $200 and she said "You are welcome--at IRS we are dedicated to helping out the taxpayers." I told her that it was my wife's cellphone and I did not have a cell, so she told me to put the call I made to her on hold, drive to Walgreens and buy the cards, and then come back for further instructions. When I hit the 37 minute mark, I told "Miss Wilson" that I had just one more item to mention and then told her I ws an accountant and really enjoyed wasting her and her associates time this evening. I ended with "Have a nice day and perhaps get a real job." She ended with "(Bleep) you for wasting my time." And here I thought she was dedicated to helping out the taxpayer. Her number, if you care to have some fun, was a DC number 929-294-1482

So far I have received about 5 of these calls and for 3 of them I had some time so I played with them. On the most recent one, two weeks ago, I was very helpful! When he identified himself as from the "IRS" I faked a panic attack and asked him if his call was about "the letter I received three weeks ago about owing $4231.25 on my 2012 taxes." (totally fabricated) His response was "yes, that is exactly what I am calling about." I could almost see him smiling and drooling. I told him that there was no way I could come up with that kind of cash right now, and that I was going to try to get a payment plan. He said he couldn't give me a payment plan, but if I could come up with just $3500 on a credit card right then, the whole thing would get cleaned up. I told him times were very tough and all my credit cards were maxxed out. We went back and forth for about 10 minutes with his offers getting lower and lower. He kept putting me on hold to "talk to his supervisor" but I think it was just to get high fives from the others in the call center. Finally I told him that the only credit card I have left had only $750 left on it, and that was why I wanted a payment plan. He said if I authorize the $750 right then, he would "close the file." I asked him if the entire $4231.25 would be marked paid and he assurred me it would. With a sigh of relief, I began to give him my credit card number. "46 (silence) 8 (silence) 2403 ex(silence) ation 3(silence) teen Cs (silence) 5. Bat (silence) going bad (silence) ca (silence) back! He tried to call me back 6 times and each time I would answer and then hang up. On his 7th try I answered and said "Now don't you wish you had gotten an honest job? I never heard an "IRS" agent use such foul language!!! Enjoyed myself immensely!!! On a similar note, I also have been getting calls about my computer and viruses. I play along with these also, when I get a chance. The last one assurred me that my computer could transmit a virus to my neighbors computer even if both of our computers were turned off! I pretended to be horrified and asked what I could possible do to stop the virus from spreading (much like the flu or Zika). He told me he could help me out right away--what a guy!!!! I kept him going for about 10 minutes playing absolutely dumb about computers, operating systems, and keys on the keyboard. I could almost see his frustration as I said "I have two keys that have "ctrl" on them, which one should I press?" Finally, just before I told him i was going to accept his invite to take control of my computer, I asked if he was Microsoft certified. I could tell he was not expecting the question and he answered "No, but I I'm CISCO certified." I told him that I was PANCHO certified and that if did not laugh hysterically at that he should google Cisco and Pancho. Then I said that I enjoyed wasting his time and building up his hopes of infecting another computer and then "fixing" it. Believe me CISCO never used language like that on TV when I watched.

As Eric said, IE 11 and Chrome both work perfectly in Win 10. Edge has some nice features with being able to set up reading panes for unruly websites and being able to "mark up" internet pages with virtual markers to underline important parts and save them. Edge has some problems with loading some extensions, however, so I do not use it yet but rather defer to IE 11. All of my programs,including ProSeries from 1998 through 2015 and ATX from 1997 through 2012 (my last year with them) all function as perfectly under Win 10 as they did under Win 7 and Win XPS. I run two high-end stand-alone computers in my business as the only employee preparing approximately 400 tax returns and handling the books, payroll filings, and financials for 35 small companies.

WHOA! Extinguish the torches and stop storming the castle! I just offered an alternative for those who want to take advantage of the free offer and still have Win 7 on their computer. It does not have to be an "either-or." With backups of all drives and data, there is very little risk in exploring the options if you take your time. Partitioning hard drives is much easier than, for instance, filling out a 3115 form and can be much more rewarding. I did not mean to offend, just to offer an alternative.

An Alternative to "Never 10" I'll admit I have always been a technophile and always wanted the latest thing out there, but I also exercise extreme caution. Here is what I did regarding Win 10. I have Windows & Ultimate installed on my main hard drive. All programs are installed on a different hard drive. 1. On my operating system hard drive, I made two additional partitions which could accept operating systems. 2. On one of the new partitions, I reinstalled Win 7 ultimate from the installation drive and then restored my latest win 7 backup to it, thus creating two identical win 7 systems. 3. I let one of those two clones update to win 10. 4. After updating partition 2 to win 10, I was able to download a clean install of win 10 on a flash drive. 5. I put the win 10 clean install on the third partition. Because it was a clean install, I had to reinstall all of my programs, but I now had three different versions of windows available on the same computer with no data in jeopardy. In both the upgraded OS and the clean install, I was abler to install ATX from 2000 through 2012 (my last year with them) and Pro Series from 1998 through 2016, all with no problems whatsoever. The only drivers I needed to find were for two of my seven printers, but that was no problem. All of my tax software, scanner software, Office 2007, Adobe, etc. have all worked without a hitch. Win 10 for me was like Win 7 on steroids; everything worked and it seemed much faster. Booting was extremely quick. I bought as new Origin computer in December with Win 10 installed on it, and it has worked flawlessly so far with all of my programs. I figured that if MS was giving win 10 away for free and I could have it and WIN 7 at the same time, that there was no downside. I still use the WIN 7and two WIN 10 installations computer as a backup for my new computer. If your computer has at least two hard drives and you have enough room on your OS drive for an additional OS to be loaded, why not get Win 10 and see it for yourself. You don't have to rely on MS to revert it back for you if you don't like it; you still have your WIN & system available qas a dual boot. You have some time now to play with your computer before tax season starts up again, so why not explore? Your next computer will have Win 10 (or maybe even Win 11) so why not be able to hit the ground running when it is time to change? Just sayin.......