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Everything posted by Abby Normal
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One thing really bad about bitlocker in Win10 is that there's no prompt for a password, so the encryption is useless if someone steals your computer, because it auto-decrypts when you turn it on. We found a way to add a PIN for bitlocker in Win10, but I can't believe MS made it so difficult and techie to do. https://www.howtogeek.com/262720/how-to-enable-a-pre-boot-bitlocker-pin-on-windows/ Otherwise, what's the point? The downside to having a bitlocker PIN or password is you can't remotely reboot unless someone is there to enter the PIN/password for you.
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I never use a TB. I much prefer a BS & PL because they give you totals that you need, and TB's do not give those totals.
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Go with zero basis. Tell the client what the tax is on the total gain, and let them decide if it's worth it. They might even be in the 0% federal bracket for LTCG.
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If income is low enough, you can do both an IRA and a SEP (or 401k, etc). I suppose whoever did the W2's still checked the retirement plan box? Not sure what the rule is on that if there are no contributions one year.
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inputting 1099-MISC with SS number
Abby Normal replied to Naveen Mohan from New York's topic in Drake
I don't enter 1099MISC unless there's withholding. Otherwise I just put the amount where it belongs. And, like 1099INT & DIV, you may not even need to enter and ID#. And formatting on screens is just for us humans. It doesn't matter one fig for the efile. -
The thing I liked least about Carbonite is that frequently changed files, like tax returns, QuickBooks, Excel, Word, etc. are only backed up once every 24 hours. That's a large window for our most precious data to be at risk, and it was totally unacceptable to me. The think I like best about CrashPlan is that it will back up open files and frequently changed files every hour (or 15 minutes or 2 hours per a preference you set). CrashPlan is $10/mo per computer, which can get expensive for a lot of computers. There are a ton of options out there: https://www.lifewire.com/online-backup-services-reviewed-2624712
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You need to know the partner's capital BASIS and debt basis. The capital may not equal the partner's outside basis. Did the K1 come with basis worksheets? If not, then ask for them, or reconstruct basis with your client.
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Having just the most recent version of a file is very risky. Many times, I've had to restore an older version of a file because the current one has errors or someone (usually me) really screwed up the file. When I close QB, I always create a backup locally and usually keep 10 backups. My backup software then backs up these files and keeps them even when I delete the 11th oldest backup. ATX keeps a backup of every time you close a return, which is why I like to open and close a newly rolled over return to create a backup before I start working.
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WARNING FOR CARBONITE USERS: It does not backup the ProgramData folder that ATX uses for it's data and backups, because they deem it to be a system folder. When I used Carbonite, I would copy the entire ATX data folder to another location every day so Carbonite would back it up.
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Acronis disk image once a day (at 3am) to 2nd internal drive. Hourly backups using CrashPlan to both external drive and cloud, but possibly looking to switch to EaseUS.
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The IRS gets W2 info from Social Security, not from the states. It was a foolish programming decision to not include it on the wage transcript.
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I wonder what percentage of those tips went into the Bank of Tom.
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I think I screwed this one up - Dependent no longer
Abby Normal replied to BulldogTom's topic in ACA
Colleges are pretty lenient about what makes you a "full time" student. Did she get a 1098T? Can she check with the college? -
Does anyone know where the name ATX originates?
Abby Normal replied to Abby Normal's topic in General Chat
I stay informed online, and every time I watch new or read newspapers, they're reporting things I learned about days or in some cases, weeks earlier. A lot of people do crossword puzzles an Sudoku electronically now. -
Does anyone know where the name ATX originates?
Abby Normal replied to Abby Normal's topic in General Chat
I can never find the right lighting to read a book, or be comfortable holding a book (hand cramp). I read ebooks on my regular sized cellphone with white letters on a black page, which is so great for my eyes. The glare from light shining on a white paper page bothers my eyes. And, if I fall asleep reading an ebook, I never lose my place. And there are no popups in my ebook reader, Google Play Books. If you get books from libraries, be wary of bedbugs. They had to fumigate our local library for bedbugs recently. eBooks don't have the HUGE carbon footprint that paper books do, cutting and hauling trees, processing paper, waste, transporting heavy books around, etc. Trees are essential for our climate, especially now. And a lot of smaller authors can create an ebook whereas they could never get a publisher to do a printing. We're all different, and books just don't work for me. -
Not needed. The IRS will not question it. This is what happens when you only know to enter 1099's and don't understand the implications.
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Does anyone know where the name ATX originates?
Abby Normal replied to Abby Normal's topic in General Chat
I was an early adopter of electronic/PDF tax research and, of course, there were those who still "preferred paper," even though you can't do a word search in paper, and you can't copy/paste into a letter or email. Still we have people who prefer paper newspapers and books, even though the e-versions are superior in every way. -
I trust the unemployment folks' computers to calculate the correct amount.
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I had a nice couple in my office a year ago and he was starting his own business. I was looking over their bookkeeping in QB and they could tell I was getting a little exasperated. They went out and bought me a bottle of Kirk and Sweeney 23 rum, that goes for about $60. I only recently finished it.
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Does anyone know where the name ATX originates?
Abby Normal replied to Abby Normal's topic in General Chat
First year doing taxes, 1979 tax season for 1978 tax year. Firm was top 10, just outside big 8. We used the IRS provided paper forms that were so flimsy, you ended up erasing holes in the paper, and had to use white tape to fill the holes. Reviewers used blue lead for tick marks because blue doesn't show on a photocopy. And, because I was the new guy, I got the 20 lbs adding machine. Smoking was common in the office. There was a blizzard that tax year. I lived 35 miles west of the office, and when I woke up, my tires were already buried, so I called and said I would not be in. It was a Monday and they always had a one hour staff meeting to start the week... in a windowless conference room. It was only flurries when the meeting started but when the meeting ended, there was so much snow, some people got stuck going home. -
Does anyone know where the name ATX originates?
Abby Normal replied to Abby Normal's topic in General Chat
In the ATX users Facebook page, there was a post about switching to TaxAct. Some really liked it. -
Changing Internet Providers - email issues?
Abby Normal replied to BulldogTom's topic in General Chat
My favorite music decade is the 70's, followed by the 90's and the 60's, not necessarily in that order. I also love music from the 30's and 40's, especially the reefer songs. -
Does anyone know where the name ATX originates?
Abby Normal replied to Abby Normal's topic in General Chat
As best I recall, in this order, Intuit Proseries, Dalton, TAASC, Drake, TaxWorks, ATX. That doesn't seem like enough. -
I never thought about it until today. Is it an abbreviation? Who originally wrote and sold ATX? Did they sell to Kleinrock, before it all got sold to CCH?
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Changing Internet Providers - email issues?
Abby Normal replied to BulldogTom's topic in General Chat
This is why Gmail was created. But I agree with getting your own domain. And I would have your domain email addresses just be set up as forwards to a Gmail address, because Gmail has great spam filters, and if you ever change who's hosting your domain, you don't have to worry about porting all of your emails to the new host. You can set up Gmail (under Accounts) to send using your domain email address (alias) so your clients never see your behind the scenes Gmail address. That way you can easily see your emails on your mobile device and reply to them as if you're at your computer. Gmail is a bit persnickety setting up alias email addresses. We were able to use smtp.gmail.com on some of our computers, but we had to use our local ISP's smtp on the rest of the computers. It works the same regardless of which smtp site you use.