MJG CPA

I tried to get set up to use it last year, but couldn't get it to work, so gave up on it. If I do use it, I will probably be selective if I pass on the fee or not. There are certain clients that have been slow-paying in the past, that I would probably eat the fee just to be able to collect up front.

We also found the ATX vendor (Nelco) to be high-priced. There are many other, less expensive vendors out there. Check out Tenenz, Inc. (www.taxaid-inc.com). The uni-form paper is item 82-6010. They also have decent tax folders for use with ATX. We received some deep discounts early on, so not sure what's available now.

Where is the bargain if he's claiming a sale at the full mortgage price. I guess where I'm getting hung up is that the only "profit" made came from the bank via the mortgage which all has to be repaid. Assume the house cost the corp. $200,000 to build and the mortgage taken on the transfer to the individual was $250,000. One assumes that if a bank will lend you $250,000, then the house must be worth that, but I'm not so sure. I've seen the house, and it won't sell for $250,000, even when the market was good. If it would have, then he would have sold it. Also, the assessed valuation per the tax assessor is only $220,000 and tax assessments in this area are typically at the high end of market. Does it necessarily follow that the sale price should be established at the $250,000 mortgage price, or maybe I'm over-reading your meaning? To me, it seems like the mortgage represents two transactions condensed into one: An initial mortgage for whatever the true market value of the house is and a secondary home equity loan. Just because he got a bank to lend him top dollar on the home, doesn't mean the house is worth $250,000. People take "equity" out of their homes all the time and end up "upside-down" on their mortgages, which I'm sure this guy is. That's why I'm hesitant to use the mortgage value of $250,000 as FMV for purposes of establishing the sale. How would this be different than any other Joe who goes to the bank and gets a home equity loan or a mortgage refinance to pull equity out of their home? That doesn't constitute a taxable event, so why is his $50,000 loan proceeds considered profit? This is making my head hurt.

Help me understand why FMV should be used. Why should client pay corp tax on a sale to himself? Can't client simply assume carryover basis and pay tax on gain when sold? The corp received no proceeds from sale, so has no wherewithal to pay tax. Doesn't the tax usually follow the money?

Sole shareholder c-corp home builder built a spec house before real estate market went bust. Can't sell house; can't pay off construction loan, so moves into home in order to get a mortgage as individual. Builder is now on hook personally to pay for the house. House still listed for sale, but real estate market flooded in our area and no takers. My question is how to treat this ownership transfer for the corp tax return? House would have been inventory to the corp prior to transfer out. Do I simply convert this to a personal asset and show it as if the house were sold by corp to the shareholder at cost? Does it matter that the mortgage was taken for more than the cost of the construction. Any ideas??? :blink:

QUOTE(Richcpaman @ Oct 25 2007, 06:51 AM) Question: Can you if using your computer as the server, also set up another account, on the same computer? So I can have two ATX returns open on my computer? Anyone? Rich I'm posting this again in case you don't see my reply buried in the original topic. You can install the ATX program to your hard drive and then do a network install (but the hard drive install has to happen first). You can check with Tech Support, but I believe you will have to uninstall the network version from your workstation before you can do the hard drive install. This will allow you to open a tax return on your hard drive and a different return off the network in the same tax year. This is useful, especially for a laptop that you want to be able to take out of the office (away from the network server) from time to time. So you install the ATX software to the hard drive of the laptop for use out of the office but connect to the network version when you are in the office. (You can have both versions open at the same time, also.)

You can install the ATX program to your hard drive and then do a network install (but the hard drive install has to happen first). You can check with Tech Support, but I believe you will have to uninstall the network version from your workstation before you can do the hard drive install. This will allow you to open a tax return on your hard drive and a different return off the network in the same tax year.

I attended the ATX training last week in Chicago and was extremely disappointed. In my opinion, it was a complete waste of time and money. There were no tips and tricks to be learned. It was an extreme beginners class which taught you how to put the install CD into the drive and watch the screen while the program loaded. I'm not even sure it would be all that valuable to a beginner. There were three new users in the group (of about 30 total) and everyone in the room, including the beginners, were bored out of their minds. Everyone was either surfing the Internet or playing computer games. As I indicated on my evaluation sheet, there was nothing taught in the class that I didn't figure out myself the very first session I ever used the ATX software. So, save yourself some time and money and skip this seminar. If they offer something more advanced in the future, I would be willing to look at it, but this was not worthwhile. <_<

Does anyone run ATX on Microsoft Windows Server 2003 operating system? Last year, we upgraded our server to Windows Server 2003 which we cleared with tech support before doing so. But that was before CCH buyout. Now, as I load disks like ATX Document Manager and Trial Balance, I get pop up windows that say "Microsoft Windows Server 2003 is not a recommended OS for running ATX Products" or "Windows Server 2003 is not a recommended OS for running UTS products." I'm just wondering what's going to happen when I load the 2007 tax program? Will it work or should I be thinking about putting my server back on Windows XP? I will call tech support, but sometimes the canned answers they give you don't jive with what users are actually experiencing. Does anyone have experience with this? Thanks for your input.

KC, I am sorry to hear your news. I will add you and your husband to my prayers.

I LOVE that analogy! Mind if I use it?!

Cool site! Thanks!

Thanks for the feedback - it's good to know.

I decided to call IRS on this issue & thought you may be interested in the response: As long as the LLC member is withholding social security and medicare on their wages and the proper payroll tax is being paid/reported, they do not care if the member is treated as an employee.

A husband and wife LLC (50/50) with one employee need one of them (wife) to be an employee in order to establish a group health insurance plan. [This is the only way husb & wife can get insurance.] The LLC currently files a partnership return. I know that a member is not supposed to be treated as an employee, but as long as they are not trying to avoid s/e tax and she also treats her pass-thru share of income as self-employment income, does anyone see this as a problem? Would it make a difference if wife only had a minority ownership such as 10% and drew a salary - would this be better or no difference? I don't want her to have 0% interest for continuity purposes. Appreciate any thoughts/comments.

Thank you both for your replies. You make good points.

I have been contacted by a new client who is a "new" sole proprietor that has never filed as a sole proprietor before. He has not filed a tax return in "several years" since he last held a W-2 job. In his words, he moved around a lot and just took odd jobs on the side (probably for cash). He now wants to settle down and grow his carpentry business and get caught up on past returns. My question is, how many years do you go back? He represents that there has been very little net income (don't they all), but is willing to provide me his records to file the prior three years. I told him there are no guarantees that IRS might not decide to look back further. What have any of you done in situations like this? I guess I'm thinking 3 years is better than nothing if it gets him back on the right track. Am I way off base?

Thanks, I'm checking into these options.

I am a CPA, but the training is not for me, but for a non-CPA staff member with no formal training.

I have been using a 2nd monitor with my laptop for about a year. It works great. I have my laptop plugged into a docking station and the 2nd monitor plugs into the docking station (although if I didn't have the docking station, the monitor would plug directly into my laptop). As I understand it, most laptops come with the port for an external monitor, as this is a common occurence. On the desktop settings, you just have to click the box to extend your desktop to the external monitor. When you're not at the office (plugged into the 2nd monitor), you sometimes have to uncheck this box or your programs will try to open to the 2nd screen and you won't be able to see them on your laptop screen. The 2nd monitor has been a great productivity booster as I can have last year's tax return open on one screen and the current year open on the other.

Can anyone recommend a good training program for new tax preparers with no formal prior training?

It appears you are right. Thanks for the tip.

Client's ex-employer has reimbursed him for realtor fees incurred in selling his house as part of a separation agreement. (He moved from IL to SD to take job, then they terminated his contract after 6? months, so he is moving back. Ouch!) They have withheld federal income tax and 7.65% FICA taxes so it appears they are treating it as wages. It seems like at most they should issue a 1099 to report this payment. Client has not cashed check yet. T he realtor fees go to the client's basis in the home, so if reimbursed, he just has less basis, correct? Should this reimbursement really be treated as wages? It seems incorrect to me and I would like to try to get it changed before he cashes the check. Any suggestions or a push in the right direction would be appreciated.