Abby Normal

They need to implement several different phone numbers so all the people calling about when they'll get their refund can tie up the main number, but those with actual tax or account problems can call different numbers. Just like with software support, there are those that call at the drop of a hat about things that could be better handled by email and people who actually need immediate support are left to wait on hold.

I've often heard that a partnership is just a collection of sole proprietors, so I don't think the IRS would have a problem with the mortgage not being in the LLC name, but I'd want the property to be in the LLC's name. And I'd just record the mortgage payments on the LLC's books as a credit to partner capital and debits to interest expense and mortgage payable. When the building was added to the books, it would have been a credit to partners capital so setting up the mortgage liability would a debit to partners capital.

https://www.irs.gov/filing/where-to-file-addresses-for-taxpayers-and-tax-professionals-filing-form-1040v

When we set up the server, we learned that you don't need QB on the computer that stores the QB data files. That was a pleasant surprise. I was afraid QB needed some server software like ATX does.

The reason it's needed is to calculate the gain or loss on sale or trade of the vehicle. You see, a portion of the mileage rate is depreciation (about 26 cents per mile), and ATX will calculate and accumulate the depreciation/mile for you, but only if you put in the actual cost (or other basis) of the vehicle. So if you just use a down and dirty method for mileage, then when the vehicle is traded you have to go back and manually calculate all of the depreciation claimed. I suspect the IRS noticed that the gains on many sch C vehicles were being totally ignored by taxpayers and the government was losing out on some tax. If you're going to depreciate an asset, including the depreciation of cents per mile, then one day you may have to pay the piper... or in a case I had recently, the sch C taxpayer had a substantial loss on trading in the vehicle. So you may be screwing your client out of a deductible loss, too.

I always take for both spouses in cases like this.

Out "server" is just a regular computer that no one uses (it's in a closet) because we didn't want to mess with a special server version of windows. We just put one main data folder on the server and shared that folder. Underneath that folder are client name folders with myriad subfolders so everything for that client is in one place. The server gets backed up constantly using backblaze just as every other computer in the office does. There are always going to be some files kept on each workstation like emails or CPE materials, etc. The server also gets cloned every night when no one is working and we keep the last 4 versions of the clone. We haven't figured a way to send it offsite because our upload internet speed is too low for such a large file.

The biggest problem with buying off the shelf is all the crapware that comes preinstalled, and is set to run automatically at startup. Back when new computers came with a Windows disc, I would reformat the hard drive and reinstall just windows to make sure all that crap was gone. But you can use a good uninstaller to get rid of all traces of those Dell or HP (or whatever brand) programs they install. Dell is the most famous for crapware that impacts performance, security and causes other problems.

There are several place in Windows that you can see some of the auto start programs (not services). One of them is the Task Manager Startup tab, but you won't ATX Services there, but you may find some other things to disable. And there are plenty of 3rd party apps for autostart management. The best one I've found is called Autoruns which you can find on Microsoft's site here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autoruns. In Autoruns you can find the services under Sfs.server..., but I don't recommend do this. For services like the ATX servers, you'll want to go to Windows Services. Probably the easiest way to get there is to start with Task Manager, click on the Services tab then click on the Open Services link at the bottom. Once in the Services manager, sort by name, if not already sorted. The services all start with ATX followed the year then 'Service' (e.g., ATX 2013 Service) Right click each one and choose properties. Change Automatic to Manual so you can start them if you ever need to. Just starting ATX should start the service, or you can run the Admin Tool for that year. or manually start them in Services if all else fails. While you're in services, right click again on each one you don't want running and choose Stop. Next time you reboot your computer, bring up task manager and make sure the services aren't running. Easy peasy.

Always suspect your security software first. Turn it all off and see if the problem persists. Some security software is hard to turn off but they usually have a pause feature. Or you can try killing the tasks in Task Manager. Have you tried (or even heard of) the ATX Database Repair batch files? https://support.cch.com/kb/solution/000048310/15000 https://support.cch.com/sfs/solution/000041746/000041746

You probably could have just turned off the auto-started ATX server services, because just having programs on your drive won't normally cause problems, unless your problem is drive space. But, computers are mysterious sometimes.

ATX could use a bulk disposition report. Have you ever made the suggestion to ATX in their Enhancement Forum?

While, as a man, I've had that thought many times in my life, some things are best not spoken aloud in public.

Yeah, I checked that box in customize master forms, but still. Although I'm not sure it really makes much difference, after seeing tax documents and other records.

And the fact that your DL# NEVER CHANGES. At least not in MD. I've had the same license # since I was a teenager.

You're a cookie, Rita.

Taking screen shots with the computer, using the Print Screen button, or Windows Snipping Tool or the new snipping tool in Win10 is a basic computer skill everyone should learn. I see blurry photos of screens in the ATX facebook group all the time and I just shake my head and scrool on by.

Is this a warning message in ATX when you create the efile?

There can be security on PDF files that prevents things like printing and editing, but I've never seen one that blackout the whole page. (That'll put a dent in your toner!) We only view PDFs on screen anyway and would never want to print a client document out. One way I get around security on these protected PDFs (so I can add notes to the document) is to print the PDF to another PDF.

And 8283 isn't bad if you customize it extensively.

I used to have one with 3 kids. I believe I developed a spreadsheet to get the numbers I needed. I could usually have two or maybe even all 3 kids returns open at once, since they have very few forms in them.

There is zero doubt that this is ordinary income. It is not rental income, so box 1 is correct. The two related questions are is this passive or active (definitely passive) and does SE tax apply. I've successfully argued with the IRS that a passive LLC member taxed as a partnership did not have to pay SE tax, but I've never done it with a regular partnership. This is mostly due to the fact that I've had zero regular partnerships since the mid-90s when LLCs came into existence.

Is this partnership not planning on being profitable? Are the losses due to lots of 100% bonus depreciation? He can only deduct passive losses against passive income. So he has to wait until the partnership has a profitable year or until he sells his share.

You might want to split it into two portions, one that was reasonable compensation for work performed and the other....?? Gift??

Yeah, MD was always a flat 13% but they've been lowering it gradually over the past few years. Not sure how low it's actually going, but it's still too high.