RitaB

Yes, I had two this year that did it all by themselves upon the advice of somebody at a seminar. It took forever to figure out what they had done. Actually had one a couple of years ago, had a Lawyer/CPA set it up, and they got the letter saying file 1065. They were SMLLC, too. I made him let the professional straighten it out. I sent him the directions for SS-4. Kinda mean of me, I know.

Wow. Now this is the way it's supposed to work. Lots of helpful info, and no showing off. I have noticed this forum has a good "atmosphere" and you can really see it in this thread. Thanks to all. I am glad you asked about this, Eli, as this is an area I need to learn more about. Also, AMT. Ive not had to deal with it yet, but I know it's coming. I have sent the second amendment before, with success, but others may have better info for you. For sure try to direct it to someone who is privy to the situation. I have also answered the CP2000 with a 1040-X quite a few times without problem. I know it says not to, but sometimes you notice other things that need to be fixed. (For me, it's usually Turbo Taxers where this happens.)

Amen, Joan! You are soooo right. This guy that I dealt with moaned and groaned about it, said savings bonds are the worst investment, blah, blah, blah. Bottom line was he got $38,000 in interest income (no principal cause these were HH bonds, and the initial investment from Dad was accrued interest from EE bonds) for doing absolutely nothing. Dad was good to him. Hey, nobody had paid tax on that income, I told him. Do you really think IRS is gonna let that go?

You are not wrong. Probably client heard the report incorrectly; just heard what they wanted to hear or something. (Imagine that!) The interest accrued through the DOD may be reported on the decendent's final return. Not sure the election number. You are way ahead of me on that. (Hope this is for 2007, or decedent has an extension for 2006.) Another thought: Possibly, the deceased paid the accrued interest every year, but I doubt it. Wouldn't hurt to check, though. Earnings after the DOD belong to the one inheriting the bonds and will be reported in the year the bonds are cashed. I went through this with a guy whose 2004 preparer told him there was no tax on the interest when he cashed his deceased father's bonds. Preparer said not to worry about it, inheritances aren't taxable. Son found out the hard way that some are! Mean letters from IRS. Really didn't trust what I was telling him at first, but I did a search online for "Inherited Savings Bonds" and found a butt load of articles that were in layman's terms. I also copied sections of Pub 559, too.

Well, I guess I got paid for not being ugly. The lady just came in with her three W-2's. That's it. Three W-2's. Cool!

I'll be playing catch up, too. In fact, I thought I was staying home today, but I remembered I have to do payroll checks for a little S-Corp today. I do year round bookkeeping, payrolls, etc., but I am going to relax a little and play hookie a few days. It has been pretty quiet today. In fact, my only call has been from a Turbo Tax user: "I was doing my tax return last night on TT, and I realized I didn't have a W-2. I called the employer... (ten minutes of explanation)...I won't get my W-2 till... Will I still be able to file on TT?" I tried to be nice. (It was difficult.) I started to ask her if she knew where my office was when she gets her correspondence from IRS saying something's wrong, but I refrained. Yes, I agree that erc deserves to be blessed by us users. I still want to cry over all those archives that are gone, but this forum has already blessed me! May God bless you, too, as you serve him and go through this valley with your wife's dad. Good thing it's just a shadow of death...

I don't think the Ack's should be immediate should they? At least I hope not, cause all mine still say "transmitted to agency," too. And I just checked on the ATX e-file place. I actually had to e-file four more - three of mine couldn't pick up their returns (I called them and they were like, "oh, yeah, that's today, isn't it? Well, duh!), and I literally ran into another one just dropping off his stuff as I was trying to get out the door. If they get acknowledged ok, I will have to say that's the way I'll try to do it in the future. Although I did not like deleting the PIN numbers - I use last five digits of SSN, so it'll be a little trouble re-entering them, but not near as much trouble as going to the Post Office. (I seem to remember someone saying they use the same PIN number for everybody; maybe I'll relax a little and just do that.) Course, I'll still have to mail the extensions for those who send checks, but that's not so bad...

Oops. I double-posted. Sorry. See below.

Well, I got my chance when I remembered one that I forgot to mail. (Dear Lord, I hope that's the only one...) I transmitted the 4868 without any problem. Pretty sweet!

The "forever" stamps are 41 cents, right? So we shouldn't use them till May 14 or we'll be paying 2 cents too much. At least that is the way I understand it.

Do you guys e-file extension requests or mail them? I have never e-filed an extension request; I figured I don't want to learn something else. I am taking about 75 requests to the good ole Post Office tomorrow to mail. Would I wish I had e-filed them if I only knew what you guys know? I know it got pretty old printing those extension requests, and our PO is the worst run business in the history of this town...

Thanks, Sam. This family moved here, and all of them have been a PITA. They went LLC crazy, so now I have two 1065's to do, two TN FAE, and then this last girl who just got to TN with the SMLLC. Their record keeping is atrocious. Like so many - I'm sure you've seen them too - that want to run everything through their personal accounts then let me figure out whether it was a business expense. I'm going to have to give them the big lecture - I can hardly wait to dig in to these...

Looks like she'll have to use GA 500. That's what we're going with, anyhow. Wow, I'm talking to myself, aren't I?

I am in TN, and LLC's here file Franchise & Excise Tax. Is there an income tax return for SMLLC's in GA? I have looked at GA Dept of Rev, but don't find what, if anything, my new client (yippee) needs to file. She will of course get an extension, but I am not sure how to proceed with GA. Thanks in advance!

HaHaHa! Great to see you here, JohnH! A very nice client this morning said, "This is why I pay you to do this. I don't have time to learn this stuff." I told him, "That's exactly right; and I don't try to figure out how to change my own oil or pull my own teeth." (He got a kick out of the pulling my own teeth.)

Speaking of credits, just had a guy call me and suddenly remember that his child really did live with him more that 1/2 the year. Previous conversation went something like this: Him: Well, the guy last year let me have EIC. Me: Yes sir, I don't doubt that he did. Many preparers don't ask, and some just don't mind doing it incorrectly. You may pick up your forms and take them to him if you wish. I will keep my tax return, and you won't owe me a dime. Speaking of "I can do them myself": I actually had one call me (a few times actually) with questions about her partnership (?!?) return. She said it was just a matter of pride and she wanted to see if she could do it herself. (It was the $350 fee.) The last time she called she asked about getting a worksheet for NOL on her personal return; I told her Turbo Tax would have it. She said she gave up on Turbo Tax and was downloading all the forms from the IRS website. I bet she wound up going to somebody else. Good riddance, I say! You know, I just noticed on my original post, that somehow I put a face instead of a "b." I bet everybody thought I really was losing it! That made no sense at all! Janitor Bob, hope you are doing well. I've been praying for you. ---Rita

Eric, is there a suggested amount? Of course, I know it depends on how many donate and all...

You are very welcome, Deb, I wish I knew more, and I'm sure I'm going to have to do a lot of studying on my 1041, but I do know a little about the savings bond issue from something I dealt with earlier in the season. Yes, when ATX pulled the plug on the forum, I couldn't believe it! I was about to do a search for info on what we're talking about now. There was a wealth of information in the archives. It almost makes me sick to think that all that is lost. Oh well, I'll just drag out Pubs and books...

Sounds pretty bad, and I think you're correct to check it out. If they are cheating, there's no telling how much cash never made it to the bank, either. Let us know what you find out. I really, really hate it when I have to go through the "receipts and crap" for the ones I suspect of cheating. I'm working on one right now, and he's gonna whine about having to pay and ask me if I was "very careful" and "are you sure you didn't miss anything" and "I can't believe we made that much money..."

Deb, unless I am missing something, the dad will have to file personal returns for both 2006 and 2007, and since he's not available to sign, I think you are correct to put date of death on top of both, and the personal rep or "person in charge of decedent's property" will then be able to sign. You might check to see if he had savings bonds, because he can elect to report the accrued interest through the date of death on the final 1040. Might really save someone some money. The estate, if even necessary (because of income received on probate assets after death), starts "at the moment of death", which is in 2007. I don't think you'll need to worry about that one. This is really interesting, and I hope others will add to this. I wish I knew more about it myself. I'm about to do a 1041 for a lawyer who died without a will. (?!!?) Has (had) about 35 investment accounts with no beneficiaries named on any of the accounts. I am looking at The Tax Book section 21, and I think Pub 559 will help you, too. Sorry this is all I know at the moment. (Except that I am tired and grouchy.)

Just had a slacker drop off their stuff and tell me: a) I don't know why we just didn't do this ourselves; it is so easy. We don't want to pay any more taxes than we have to. OK - does this guy think that I went "Ohhhhh, I see. Their stuff will now go in the stack for people whose returns need to come out with refunds. Also, note to self: Don't charge them; after all, they could have done it themselves. Arghhhhh!!!!!

OK - sorry, I didn't answer the second question. Yes, the loss on the deer farm will offset the SE on the income from the profitable LLC. I am losing it here!

I would say yes it's all subject to SE since they are obviously working for the LLC. However, somebody has probably told them they don't owe SE on the ordinary income, so you may have to convince them. If you have The Tax Book, p. 5-23 has a good explanation. Here is a quote: "The IRS wants SE tax under most conditions if the LLC member works for the LLC..." But then, it goes on to give the author's comment that in court cases, IRS has caved on this and just required SE on the equivalent of a "reasonable wage" (like S- Corps). I personally make it all subject to SE when they are working for the LLC. (Hey, I pay SE on all of my income as a sole proprietor. I hate dealing with LLC's.) You might also consult Publication 541 and instructions to Form 1065 as well as the section on LLC's in The Tax Book. Hope this helps!