Anthony

I guess I'm in the minority not minding the questions. If we're going to have a complicated tax system then someone needs to help people navigate it. The only way to really simplify W-4s would be to eliminate all deductions and all credits and all tax brackets and all filing statuses. Everyone would just pay a flat tax on their wages and couldn't write off anything against it. Maybe the government could even start running its welfare programs through the Department of Health and Human Services instead of through the IRS. Yeah, I know...

Thanks for the suggestions. These prices are a lot less than I thought I would have to pay, and mailing to recipients is a nice add-on.

Decided to make the leap from ATX MAX to Drake Unlimited. Any tips for what I should do to get a handful of 1099s (2-3 companies) prepared? Maybe I should have spent the extra $100 for Drake Accounting? I don't need accounting software, though, just to prepare a small number of 1099s. Does the IRS still accept paper 1099s/1096s? Office Depot for the red forms? Any free/cheap software that can print on them (don't have that typewriter any more!)? Bleh, I probably should have paid for Drake Accounting. Didn't realize it did 1099s. Maybe my best bet is to subcontract that handful of 1099s out to someone who has the software.

Seems better than the current forms to me. For people in the simple situations I'll probably just tell them how to fill out steps 1, 3, 5, and possibly check the box in step 2. For people in more complex situations, especially if they don't like their overly large refund or balance due, I'll have to get a feel for it but I'd say it'll only take about 10 minutes of billable time to fill it out after I've completed their prior year return. It would be nice if the W-4s could be even simpler, but I'm not sure how much better they can do without completely overhauling the tax law. So long as we still have graduated tax rates it's not going to be easy to calculate withholding when the filer(s) have multiple jobs.

Yep, I'm having the same issue. If anyone knows of a fix please let us know.

Is there any way to make a Section 645 election to treat a living trust as part of the estate on a timely efiled return? I'm getting an information statement that the election needs to be signed. Is this just signed and kept with the 8879? Does the signed copy have to be attached to the return? Do I have to mail something in? To make the election I've checked the box under "Elections"/"1041"

Thanks, Eric. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the impact of this decision. It might be more narrow than I initially suspected. There probably *are* a lot of taxpayers who filed single or HOH even though they were married, considering same-sex couples who filed before Obergefell. But I'm not sure this ruling changes anything for the majority of them.

Well, after reading Camara v Commissioner, it seems that the Tax Court disagrees with me that this is a 6013(b) situation. That strikes me as a convoluted ruling. Does anyone know if the IRS acquiesced to it? In Camara the ruling was in the taxpayer's favor, but in some other cases it might be to the taxpayer's detriment. In any case, the procedural response seems to be the same. "Mr. Camara and Ms. Jatta filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) a joint 2012 return."

Something else to consider is whether or not the HOH return was a valid filing status. If so, it might be more beneficial to just amend the Single to MFS. But from your description ("they feel like doing the right thing") it doesn't sound that way. I mention the part about not getting them off the hook for penalties, because I've come across filers who used to intentionally file this way to get a refund as a temporary loan of sorts. They got upset when I refused to file their (initial, fraudulent) returns for them after they told me that plan. I'd definitely let them know that even if they get away with it this time, they shouldn't do it again.

Sounds like an IRC 6013(b) situation. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/6013 I'd file a joint 1040, not an amendment, since that's what the code says to do. But that's probably me being pedantic. Either way will probably work, once the IRS employees start working again, especially since it sounds like they're offering to give the IRS money. Note IRC 6013(b)(5): Filing the joint return doesn't get them off the hook for penalties, including criminal penalties, if they filed the original returns negligently/fraudulently.

Been a few days. Still lists status as "Transmitted to EFC." Efile center shows EFile Status as "Awaiting ACK." No option is available under "Rehang ACK." Is this to be expected? Is anyone else experiencing these problems?