Abby Normal

Intuit's arrogance and stupidity stopped amazing me a long time ago. I've come to expect it. But I was surprised by their grey on grey depressing default color scheme for QB2015. Looks like it was designed by a depressed, alcoholic, Russian poet.

There must be some real boondocks places dragging those average prices down.

They will cherish the memories forever. Fortunately the weather was great in Chicago today.

We were all Cubs fans this year... except, maybe, Cleveland fans. Now it's their turn to win one.

If we want the IRS to compare early filed returns to the W2s, then we need the earlier filing date. If payroll is computerized, there's no reason we can't start processing W2s after the final payroll in December.

That seems to be changing with the computers released by both Microsoft and Apple. The Surface PC looks amazing while the latest Mac is disappointing.

Do not use Form 56 if you are notifying the IRS that you are the authorized representative of the taxpayer. Instead, use Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative. A fiduciary is treated by the IRS as if he or she is actually the taxpayer. Upon appointment, the fiduciary automatically has both the right and the responsibility to undertake all actions the taxpayer is required to perform. For example, the fiduciary must file returns and pay any taxes due on behalf of the taxpayer. An authorized representative is treated by the IRS as the agent of the taxpayer. He or she can only perform the duties authorized by the taxpayer, as indicated on Form 2848. An authorized representative is not required nor permitted to do anything other than the actions explicitly authorized by the taxpayer https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i56/ch01.html#d0e41

Pub 523 line 7 does not say you get the full 250K exclusion. After you determine your gain, you need to use the worksheet on pages 15 & 16 to see how much is taxable.

Nothing special. Just hang on to your calcs. Most of the people who do this do it because one IRA has investments with better returns that they don't want to sell.

Are you using the fair market value of the mortgage balance as the sales proceeds? I just did one and in this case we determined we should use the mortgage balance, which resulted in a gain but it was all in the 0% bracket. Is this a rental or their residence?

Sounds like you have a combo modem/router. You may need to open some ports on the new router. The 2015 ports are: 60626 60627 60628

So many movies, so little time.

Dogma is another favorite. It' related to Clerks.

One of the funniest movies ever! I used Young Frankenstein and Clerks as a test for potential mates after my divorce. If they were offended or didn't laugh their ass off at these two movies, I knew it would never last.

Assuming you're talking about an NOL, the pubs says that the election to forego the carryback must be file by the extended due date. https://www.irs.gov/publications/p536/ar02.html#en_US_2015_publink1000177379 But I'm pretty sure the refund limitation increases to 5 or 6 years when an NOL is involved, so all may not be lost. And you will have to file 1040X because 1045 must be file within 1 year of year of the loss. Here you go: 25.6.1.10.2.8.1 (04-01-2007) Net Operating Loss (NOL) Carryback or Capital Loss Carryback A claim for credit or refund based on the carryback of an NOL under IRC Section 172 or a Capital Loss under IRC Section 1212 may be filed within the three year period from the due date of the return ( for the taxable year of the NOL or Capital Loss which results in such carryback) plus the period granted for any extension of time to file for the year in which the NOL or Capital Loss is incurred. See IRC Section 6511(d)(2). Note: The three year period runs from the extended return due date regardless of when the return is actually filed. The three year period may be extended through a consent to extend the period of limitations on assessment. See IRC Section 6511(c).

You shouldn't fear an audit if the rest of your return is fine and you have all the documents for the donations.

I just use Foxit PDF viewer's typewriter feature to paste tapes into my PDFs. Free Acrobat reader has a tool to add text too but you can't right align it to make your tapes look right.

Thanks for that. That's a whole lot better than the one I've been using.

They've tried this twice(?) before and stopped both times because it cost more than it earned and made the public hate the IRS even more. Aggressive commission based collectors who actually phone taxpayers will be confused with the phone scams that are happening. I don't see how this can't be an even bigger disaster than the last time it was tried.

Abacus consumes no energy or paper and requires no ribbon. <mind blown>

Here's a link to the Facebook group, if you want to join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1424243784534391/

In the User Guide it says the Admin can edit or remove a return password: 1. In the Return Manager, select the return whose password you need to reset. 2. Click the Options menu and expand the Administration fly- out menu; then, select Edit Password for Selected Return. 3. To set a new password, enter the new password in the Enter a new password field. 4. Repeat the password in the Re-enter new password field. 5. Click Save. To remove a password from a return: 1. Follow steps 1 and 2 for editing a password, above. 2. Leave the Enter a new password and Re-enter a new password fields blank. 3. Click Save.

In ATX? Yikes. I've never done that. I'd guess that ATX has a password removal tool. Call support.

From the Tax & Accounting Practice Group on Facebook: This post by popular demand. LOL. I'll preface by saying that although I really love my system now, that it's really up to the individual to find what works in their own office. I'm a solo practitioner and found many of the products out there are really aimed at teams making them bloated for what an individual needs. I'll also say that I've looked at and done trials and betas for 6 - 8 Workflow management solutions and found reasons for why each didn't work for me. Not least of which is the price tag. When you are a one-person office you have to weigh how much you can afford. The app I'm using does have an affiliate referral program, but I'm honestly so thrilled to have something that works for me that I don't even care about making a commission on the recommendation. It's called www.gqueues.com it's a Google product and the paid subscription price is only $25 per year. That's right just over $2 a month. It has the ability to put in due dates and make them recurring. Frankly that feature alone has me excited for payroll now. But it's given me the ability to list all my jobs and it lines them up for me. Now I just work through the list and don't have the distraction of all the other work on my desk.