Abby Normal

I'd say the links that I try to do work about 95% of the time, but then I have a lot of links.

It's a huge system and none of us has seen every page of every form.

Go to ATX's return query page and rehang it.

Plus this gets complained about every year, and I had recently suggested just keeping a note, so you could copy/paste the license number into ATX. Then last night, it just hit me. Enter it somewhere else in ATX that will rollover and link it. I was having a rough day where nothing went right, so I had a shower, drank a beer and it hit me. Besides linking fields in ATX is one of the best features and also one of the most underutilized features. I'd bet that the majority of users don't even know it's there.

My mind works 24/7. I have some of my best ideas in the shower. I've considered billing clients for my shower time, when I come up with a solution for their problem. But seriously, this year, I'm only part time because I am done as of the 18th. Although I'm sure I'll get calls for at least a year from those wanting to pick my brain.

Add the Permanent File form and on the Data 2 tab, enter the license number, issue date and expiration date on 3 separate lines. Then link those lines to the Main Info form. This will need to be tested to see if causes any efile rejections, but the Permanent File form will rollover and the links will be there.

In 2020 or 2021? If you edit the letter, just add the variable "amended/ -blank-" and save for future returns. State letters have a similar variable.

We desperately need a tax law that indexes EVERY amount in the tax code to inflation. I swear the $25 business gift limit has been that way since the 1960s or earlier.

Yes. This has always been the case. When foreign tax is below the $300 single, $600 joint limits that allow you to not include the 1116, you were still supposed to complete the 1116 to do the calculations, but you could check the box to not send the form to the IRS. I think most of us just skipped the 1116 most of the time, to save time.

I don't understand this process. If you change anything in the return, you have to save it, and saving cancels any existing efiles.

We make the preparer create the efile as the final step to make sure it can be created. Also, the 'included efile forms' page doesn't populate until you create the efile, and I use that to determine which forms I'm required to print for the client. We use the efile manager to see which 8879s we're waiting on. If you try to use return manager to see this, it will be muddled up with all the in progress returns, which is a lot less useful. And, if recreating the efile causes changes in a return, we can alert other preparers that forms have changed and to be aware. But, to each his own!

How often is "sometimes?"

We went through this last year and, especially as some state forms were updated, some returns changed, so I had to open the PDF of the return to locate the differences. So far this year, no returns have changed, so fingers crossed. But, yes it does add hours to the process. ATX needs to give us an automated way to recreate efiles, and if neither the federal or state balances due/refunds have changed, then a lot of time will be saved. I'd like to be able to mark all the returns in the Efile Center that have expired and batch create new efiles.

I haven't heard anything, but I remember when eservices went more secure about 5-10 years ago. The nice thing is I haven't had to change my eservices password in years. Used to have to change it once a year, I think.

There were bound to be hiccups, but it should be a better way, once they work it out. Please open a case so ATX can have a look.

To me it sounds like they realized they made a bad choice trying to create a new authentication scheme, when the login.gov site was working for other government agencies. This is why I always sign up early for any new site. I like to be 'grandfathered' in on these things. I've had an irs.gov personal account for so long, I don't even need a login.gov account.

Yay! ATX listened. It's been a pain the past few years, when you filtered by accepted and these returns would not show.

I've never used a mailing slip. It seems like a waste of paper. And now I'm glad I've never used them. I like to use priority mail. They give you free envelopes and you print the label from your computer. It also gives you tracking.

Did you open a case so ATX knows about this?

QB COGS = BI + Purch - EI To get purchases each year, which you obviously need for the tax return, I enter the EI on the tax return first, and note the difference from the BI (which should already be there). If the diff is negative, I add it to the QB P&L COGS amount. If the difference is positive, I subtract.

The bar codes is just so the post office doesn't have to scan the address and add their own barcode. It's not required to mail something.

Put the drivers license number in a note where you can copy and paste it in every year. We used to keep our notes in ATX, and occasionally still do, but mostly they're in an Excel spreadsheet that we copy forward each year.

I can't believe anyone's having a hard time logging into ATX's support site. Most of the sites, you don't need to be logged in, but when I go to one that does require a login, my ID, name and password are already there, and I just have to click that I'm not a robot (would it really be so bad if I was a robot?), then click login. But I don't clear my cookies or site preferences when I close my browser, which makes using the internet much easier.

The numbers of crooks that show up when you yell 'free money!' is always mind boggling. It's a way of life for too many. I could never do it. I couldn't live with it.

Binary just means electronic, ones and zeros. Must have been a really old person who wrote that. They may have done that because it's possible in the future that they'll accept other kinds of attachments besides PDF, but who knows. Regardless, the message simply means you need an 8962 or an attachment explaining why you aren't including the 8962. Why these messages can't be more plain language and less jargon is beyond me. The IT department needs a non-IT person to help with writing these messages.