elfling

That is a good example, transfer of or change in a business structure, of when it may come in handy. For years we got along well enough without the Asset History or even the ATX Asset Entry page (which took a bit of getting used to.) For those of us in this business long enough we kept paper records in journals. Entries were made directly on form 4562 both then and in the early years of software programs. Going back to the original post by SunTaxMan, I agree with his thoughts about this change possibly being a CCH marketing strategy. Sorry, I won't be taking that bait. The history was interesting to have but not at all vital. Elfling

Interesting that word "need" . . . I'm not SunTaxMan but can answer that question from my own point of view. The Asset History truly wasn't needed, but I did find it occassionally useful for the client who was having a hard time understanding the concept/dynamics of depreciation. By printing just the Asset History page for the item they were asking about, they had a clearer picture of how much would be deducted year-by-year for that asset on the schedule being used in their return. It made them a happy customer on that point and happy customers make my life easier. Granted, we can also show that to a limited degree with the depreciation report printable from the 4562 tabs. I believe it will be easy enough to replicate the Asset History on an ordinary spreadsheet using a Windows Works, Excel, or Office program. Going to set it up when I have a few extra minutes. Yeah, right!!! Elfling

Correct!! I had no question of that fact. My observation was that one need not receive benefits for all of year 2009. A person who no longer receives benefits part way through 2009 whether it be by reason of death, illness recovery to the point of returning to the workforce, or some other fluke, may have received the $250. The opposite situation exists, no payment, if eligibity was determied too late of if tp died prior to the distribution of the benefit payment. That may or may not impact a final return on behalf of a decedent. I believe the snagging within this thread is coming from a quirky mixture of 2008 vs. 2009 dates. The guidelines set to be eligible were determined using Nov & Dec 2008 and Jan 2009. Necessary, but it opens up gaps in several scenarios. Elfling

>>Therefore if they have been receiving their benefits ALL YEAR (2009) they received the 250.00.<< The above statement is FALSE. One of my dearest clients DID in fact receive the $250 in May 2009. I know this because she used my services to balance her checkbook, write out her checks, pay her bills, etc. So it was me who entered that deposit into her check register directly from the bank statment. However, since she died November 12, 2009, she certainly did not receive benefits ALL YEAR. A December SS benefit payment was never issued.

I agree that there is tons of sensitive information worth stealing on a tax return transmission. Encrypting helps protect from the regular guy getting at things. But realistically, anyone who has the know-how to hack into someone's email most likely has the know-how to break the encryption, too. A tax season does not go by without a tp or two asking how safe e-file is. We have 3 clients who insist on mailing their returns and we print the docs for them to do so. Personally, I don't consider the US mail any safer but they seem to think so. It's just a weird world. Early man may have clonked your neighbor with a rock to steal his handful of berries. Thousands of years later the rock comes through an electronic back door and can wipe out anyone's financial identity. Overall, humanity hasn't learned much about "playing nice".

I was disappointed to read that yesterday, too. But I can see gov'ts point. There seems to be a large amount of fraud going on with that program. With the 5405 alone there was no quick way to verify that a home was even bought. Any schmoe could send it in. I am wondering how much IRS may frown on efiling the 1040 et al, waiting a few weeks for that refund, and following up with 1040X, 5405, & documents. No way to know if there would be any speed to the credit $ being processed but at least tp would already have regular refund quickly. Elfling

In the past (none this year so far), I have emailed tax returns using pdf files. When you are ready to print the return, in the Print Manager window select PDF. A new file will be created. I believe the first time I did it (it's been a few years) the program asked where I wanted to put that file; always goes there since. Set up your email message to the client and use the "attach" option for your email provider. If you can, you may want to try sending yourself the email to check how it comes through. Elfling

Is this transmitter fee new? I used fee collect for 2007 & 2008 returns and I was charged nothing over the $15 Fee Collect fee. Elfling

Absolutely no excessive lifestyle for Bill. He was widowed many years back and never went back into the dating world. Lives very simply and very plainly. Chooses not to have a telephone. Owns neither a tv nor a computer; no cable service up in the mountains anyway. He loves to read and garden. Recylces/reuses anything he can. It is not surprising to me that he has managed to live off savings for so long. Still stops by to see his mother nearly every day and helps her care for his neice and nephew who live with her. He feels that's both excitement and entertainment enough. As for an audit, no problem. Bill has provided all the proper documents and I've scanned them into my files for easy reference. On that note, just heard back from the auditor I worked with on behalf of another client (Sch C, pool installer) and everything is clear with no changes. Great! Only one item the auditor asked for last Thursday had to be located. We turned it over on Saturday morning. So it took only a few days for the final determination to come. Cool beans!!! Elfling

Woohoo! Exactly what I was looking for. I echo Marilyn's "thanks" to MAS!!! I, too, thought I read something somewhere but just couldn't come across it now that I needed it. Thanks again! > Elfling <

Well, mcb39 & Booger . . . that's what I think, too, but am unable to find a rule to assure I'm on the right track. Can someone come up with a cite or definitive answer? Elfling

A former client contacted me today to ask a question. Not having an immediate answer, I assured him I would research it. But I'm not finding the answer just yet. Bill has not worked in several years. He was injured on a job site, collected workman's comp for a time, and eventually accepted a settlement. Since then he has gotten by on savings which does not garner enough interest to warrant filing an income tax return. On 6/2/09, using money he had in savings, Bill bought a home at a rather low price of $57K. It is in a somewhat depressed area of the PA coal region and needs work. This is now Bill's primary home. He has not owned a home in more than 20 years having lived with his mother during that time. So, can one receive the First Time Home Buyer's credit if there is no income to show on Form 1040? Websites seem to address nearly every quetion but this. Curious, I asked Bill what he plans to live on in the future, especially now that he has expenses as a home owner. Turns out he has bonds that were purchased by both himself and his father many years back that he will cash when needed plus he is not too far from reaching SS retirement age. (Tried, but was denied SS disability. Details unknown to me.) Elfling

Catherine, I love that analogy. May I use the it in the future as an example? I tutor local high school students taking business classes during fall semester. Elfling

Click the Preparer Manager tab. On the Preparers tab there is a Print Signature check box, third space from the far right provided you did not reorder those columns. Elfling

One would think so. However, the PA state Congress shot down a proposal by the governor to require all jurisdictions and collection agencies to accept a very suitable PA-1 form. Too much danged push from the lobbyist representing those entities claiming it would cost too much. Thankfully, many did consent to release versions of the forms used to software providers such as ATX. That has helped as we can print most local returns along with the federal and state. Centax assigning different offices for varied municipalities is a new, annoying wrinkle. Elfling

Central Tax Bureau of PA (Centax) is the collection agent for several municipalities within our region. Just 3 miles north of our location the forms submit to the office in Aston and 3 miles south they submit to Berwick. For years, everything went to Berwick and we would customize the master with that address so as not to have to type it for each return. So with now needing 2 different addresses, does anyone know if it is possible to duplicate a master form? Having 2 marked in some way with each customized addy would be helpful. ~ Warning: If you say "yes, there is a way" I may need your help to walk me through the process. ~ Elfing

Interesting that I posed a similar question to an IRS auditor just yesterday. [some may feel uncomfortable having input from such a source but I have no reason to doubt this man's word.] My client's situation was a little different: mother's brother (his granduncle) died; uncle left a house to his own son (my client's cousin); cousin did not want/need another house so he sold it to my client. No matter what IRS source I searched I was unable to get a specific listing of who is or is not either an ancestor or a lineal decendant. The auditor explained that in the case of the Home Buyers Credit the persons who would exclude one from the credit are specifically these: TPs ancestors being mother, father, grandparent, great grandparent, etc. going backward in history. TPs lineal decendents being child, grandchild, great grandchild, etc. going forward in history. And TPs immediate siblings, i.e. brother, sister, half-brother, or half-sister. In my client's situation it was clear that the exclusion did not apply. Neither the uncle nor the cousin counts. In regards to the trust in this post, I would steer clear as it was a grandmother's. Regardless of what steps it took along the way, the house has gone from grandmother to grandchild. Gaining the $8K just to have to pay it back when/if IRS says it was not allowed could get nasty. Elfling

Our system is similar to that of mlinder42. Each client has a manila folder which typically rests in the main office file cabinet. Those files are pulled when the client comes in or drops off return information. We have a set of racks, each a different color and labeled, on a shelf on one of the office walls. Files move, in alphabetical order, to the proper rack as we go. Depending on the situation, a folder may have rested at various times in one, two, or even all three racks during a filing season. "Ready to go" is where returns that are complete and packaged wait for clients to pick up. Client gets a phone call as the folder hits that rack. "Unsigned" is the station where files wait for 8879s to come in regardless of how they are coming ~ email, fax, snail mail, or drop off. "Transmitted" holds those that have been efiled (which only happens once the 8879s are here!) awaiting an accepted designation. That group becomes the most crucial. By pulling those files each morning and each evening we track which are complete and which are not. Completed files are given a check mark in the efile manager and the folder goes back to the file cabinet. So far this methodology has not resulted any returns being missed. As I type this it becomes obvious that our folders are handled quite a few times during a tax season , but the system works.

From our end, our partnership sees a potential snagging point on the testing ~ that of "specialization". This is the 25th year of being in business as accountants & tax preparers. Our clientele has steadily grown in that time. We carry payrolls and basic bookkeeping all year long but the main revenue does come from tax returns. Several years back we made the decision to limit the types of returns we prepare based primarily on who was typically walking in the door. We prepare returns from the simplest students requiring only 1040EZ, to folks with complicated schedule A's, investments, and multiple rentals, to sole proprietorships, partnnerships, and LLCs, as well as a few non-profits. But we chose to no longer take on full-blow corporations. Corps require study time beyond what we could manage with a growing family. Neither of us has attempted the EA exam partly because we have not found the opportunity to study the corporate side of it. So how will the new testing play out for us? We feel very confident about passing testing on the returns we typically study, prepare, and take update classes on. But what of those less familiar to our practice? We wonder if we are unusual or somewhat the norm. Are there others of you out there like us? Elfling & Elvenprincess (Linda & Jolene)

Monday morning emails typically hold more snags and issues. But now and then one of my kooky friends sends something that makes me smirk, giggle, or outright laugh. Received one of those this morning that I suspect many of you will get a kick out of. ~ Elfling Virus alert!!!!!!!!!! CDC has reported the Weekly Overload Recreational Killer (WORK) virus is wreaking havoc nationwide. There are two known remedies: Work Isolating Neutralizer Extract (WINE) or Bothersome Employer Element Remover (BEER). Take either remedy repeatedly until WORK has been completely eradicated from the inflicted consciousness.

Can't wait to get back to the NHRA tracks! We're spectators only. TV's great, but what a blast getting up close to the drivers and dragsters. Taking our 6-year-old grandson for the first time this year. He's excited!

We have a teacher couple who moved from Cleveland to Palmerton PA last August. The PA & OH state part-year resident returns are fine. But we'd like to find someone familiar with the CCA-Municipal form willing to check this one. After following the instructions for the 2008 form, we either haven't prepared it correctly or the 2007 one may be done incorrectly or the laws have changed a bit. Anyone? You can send an email direct to [email protected] Elfling

Ray, Go to this website: http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en Part-way down the left hand side, go to Address Search Enter a street address to find Census 2000 data The info box that pops up is quite helpful. Elfling

Anyone run into the following? ~ "modification of BackDoor .generic.789" Our anti-virus software has quarantined it and states that it is related to ~ c:\program files\atx2008\atxmlw2.exe Crashed our one computer multiple times when attempting to print a return. Any input would be appreciated.

I ran into the same problem yesterday with a Sch F. Horse breeding and boarding ranch owned and operated jointly by spouses but checkbox is missing from top of that form also. I did not find a way around except to override wherever necessary. Crazy-looking pink boxes but at least the return is complete and in the same pattern as years past. Elfling