TAXBILLY

Thanx to all for the kind words. taxbilly

From the IRS PTIN page: **The IRS Online PTIN Sign-Up System will be unavailable beginning approximately 8:00 a.m. EDT Saturday, October 9, 2010 until approximately 8:00 a.m. EDT Monday, October 11, 2010 due to system maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience.

From the IRS: Sampling. You can keep an adequate record for parts of a tax year and use that record to prove the amount of business or investment use for the entire year. You must demonstrate by other evidence that the periods for which an adequate record is kept are representative of the use throughout the tax year. Example. You use your car to visit the offices of clients, meet with suppliers and other subcontractors, and pick up and deliver items to clients. There is no other business use of the car, but you and your family use the car for personal purposes. You keep adequate records during the first week of each month that show that 75% of the use of the car is for business. Invoices and bills show that your business use continues at the same rate during the later weeks of each month. Your weekly records are representative of the use of the car each month and are sufficient evidence to support the percentage of business use for the year. taxbilly

Toll-free: 877-613-PTIN (7846) taxbilly

Don't understand that approach. You have a client that uses one vehicle 80% of the time for business. The fact that it is used in two Schedule Cs doesn't make the vehicle one which is over 50% and one under 50%. Unless there is a distinct advantage to using the actual method, I usually use the mileage rate the first year so that in future years I still have the option of switching. taxbilly

Pages 15-23: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p463.pdf taxbilly

May you have many more! taxbilly

W-12 is now in the ATX program. taxbilly

I wonder how lucrative the contract is between the IRS and the provider who evidently cannot handle this simple task. taxbilly

IRS again put the W-12 out as an official form: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw12.pdf taxbilly

I'm in no rush to apply. You'll have to renew a year later which means if you apply today next September 28th you'll be sending them another check. I'll wait until December and then won't have to reup until a year from then. The key is to make sure you apply prior to December 31st because the testing requirement for those who are not attorneys, CPAs or EAs would not be required until January 1, 2013. NSA is suggesting not to apply yet because the IRS has not decided on how to handle the 15HR CPE requirement which also starts from the day you apply. They say it is unclear if you take CPE now whether it would be approved for that purpose. The IRS evidently is having second thoughts about a few things since they pulled the W-12 off their website. Some people have already been surprised today when they were assigned a new PTIN number instead of their old one because of something simple such as a change of address. taxbilly

May you have many more! taxbilly

Now I'm confused. Are you saying he was the one preparing the 1065 in previous years and he now has most of the information and he is still a partner? A slippery slope here. THE IRS would probably regard him as the tax matters partner and for him to claim he all of a sudden isn't would be a problem. The other partners will probably say your client is the one to contact if the IRS comes a'callin. taxbilly

I think they pulled the form because people were trying to register on the website but the website is not ready yet. taxbilly

Definitely include form 8275 which would also protect you. taxbilly

Rental expense reporting starting in 2011: http://blogs.forbes.com/janetnovack/2010/09/20/landlord-alert-more-tax-paperwork-on-the-way/?partner=contextstory taxbilly

May you have many more! taxbilly

May you have many more! taxbilly

Not strange at all. They have your name and social security number, they'll look it up in their system and officially assign your old number. taxbilly

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw12.pdf taxbilly

May you have many more! taxbilly

The following are guidelines that IRS uses. They may be applied, when clearly established, to any situation where penalties are not to be asserted or are to be eliminated because of reasonable cause. Death or serious illness of the taxpayer or a member of his or her family. Unavoidable absence of the taxpayer. Destruction by fire or other casualty of the taxpayer's residence, place of business or records. The taxpayer is unable to obtain records necessary to determine the amount of tax due for reasons beyond his or her control. The taxpayer mailed his or her return in time to reach the appropriate IRS office but, due to no fault of the taxpayer, it was received timely. The taxpayer did not file his or her return or pay the tax after receiving erroneous information from an IRS employee or competent tax advisor. Any other explanation that establishes that the taxpayer exercised ordinary business care and prudence but was, nevertheless, unable to comply within the prescribed time. If the taxpayer is a corporation, the guidelines apply to the individuals within the corporation who have authority for attending to tax obligations. Events that occur after the last date prescribed for payment—this is normally the tax return due date—are not relevant in making a determination that reasonable cause for waiving the penalties exists. In the case of penalty for failure to pay timely, a taxpayer is bound by regulations to set aside funds for payment of tax due as the liability accrues. Lack of funds or generally poor business conditions are not acceptable reasons for failure to make timely payment of taxes, particularly withholding taxes collected from others. Taxpayers must be able to demonstrate that no funds were available to pay the tax due despite their best efforts. An example of this would be lack of “cash in the bank” to pay tax resulting from a "paper gain." Making a business decision to pay other bills you felt were more pressing, including later payrolls in a business, when there was not enough money to pay all the bills will not be considered a reasonable cause for failing to give priority to the tax liability. The penalty for failure to make estimated tax payments is mandatory and cannot, except in very limited circumstances that are rarely present, be waived on claims of reasonable cause. This penalty may be reduced or eliminated if the taxpayer meets one or more of the exceptions provided for by regulations. The penalty is computed using IRS Forms 2210, 2210F or 2220. The penalty for failure to make deposits of employment taxes is based on when deposits are due and when they are paid. IRS applies deposits to the oldest deposit period, something that does not necessarily reflect the taxpayer’s intent. This can result in an increased penalty because all subsequent deposits are treated as being late. Even if reasonable cause does not exist, it may be possible to dramatically reduce any penalty assessed by a change in how the deposits are allocated. Interest is due from the due date of the return without regard for extensions of time to file and can be waived only if the IRS has failed in carrying out its ministerial duties. “Ministerial duty” is a routine task that does not involve the exercise of judgment. A good resource is the Internal Revenue Manual. Go to the IRS website and look at Part 20 of the IRM. In particular, §20.1.1.3 discusses relief from penalties. Reg 301.6724-1 gives great direction on how to make a reasonable cause argument. The penalty is waived if the failure is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect. To show "reasonable cause," filer must demonstrate that there were either (a)significant mitigating factors with respect to the failure, or ( that the failure was due to circumstances beyond the filer's control, AND that the filer acted in a responsible manner both before and after the failure was discovered. taxbilly

May you have many more! taxbilly

May you have many more! taxbilly

May you have many more! taxbilly