Medlin Software, Dennis

DD never took hold. IIRC is not required for those with <250 employees. Not sure about 250 or more. 

A rare bird sighting. A client who is questioning a deduction!

See if both are using the same banking info (assuming direct deposit of refund). If they pay retainer by check, are both names on the check? There may be some non invasive ways to make your determination. Sans some sort of divorce or separation papers, it is likely best to start with "prove you are not one household".

2 minutes ago, Lee B said:

ATX has had memory leaks ever since the program was rewritten with a shareware database called "Raven" back in 2011,

sometimes referred to as the "2012 Debacle".

 

Interesting. As likely the longest tenured and last of the original shareware authors/entities, I can agree, some things marketed as "shareware" are good, some are not.

26 minutes ago, mcb39 said:

Mine is turned off every day.  You assume incorrectly.  His instructions are to boot up in the morning.  Then hit restart so it closes and then reopens.  I have no issues with the program shutting down during the day.  As the season progresses, we might even do a restart after lunch.

I have never come across anyone saying the way to keep the computer clear is to boot in the morning AND restart after booting.  I am not sure what is gained from the restart that the overnight power off provided. Maybe something new or that I am not aware of?

Requiring a mid day restart certainly points to a "leaky" program. Sounds like there are known memory leaks/issues, for many years.

1 hour ago, mcb39 said:

FYI:  My IT person has advised me to prevent issues like this by restarting my computer every day as soon as I turn it on.  So far, so good!

I am assuming you are not implying Turing it on, off, then on again, but just Turing it off and on daily.

If there are memory leaks (not freeing up any self managed memory, or an app poorly coded, not doing proper clean up) with something you use, then yes.

i find memory management in a cfg file even more old school than me. Windows manages memory well these days. It is rare when an app needs to manipulate something manually, unless it is doing other hand coded memory “things”.

For me, my main stays on all the time unless forced to restart by my own testing or a windows update. But, starting in a few months, I will be able to turn it off as I rework my software license process to be self healing (and not require me to send an email). I’ll likely still leave it on unless we are traveling.

Sounds like a win win service.  As I still believe once or twice a year revisit of W4 and withheld amounts would be. When I read about large returns or balance due, I read it as missed opportunity to provide a profitable service. Not only on its face, but to likely improve/ensure retention. Unless the customer believes a refund is favorable to them.

1 hour ago, Christian said:

He is out of employment for some time and needs the money. I was a bit skittish about using the "Where's My Refund" function to obtain refund info on a client.

If they pay for your time, maybe write out the steps they can use themselves, versus you acting for them. If they cannot pay for your time, or you do not want to charge for the advice, make sure your standard rate includes enough to give some level of advice, if you want to be in the non tax prep advice business.

I get similar questions all the time.  But, I do not want to act as my customer's payroll processor, manage their funds, check their payment status, balances, etc., since I have zero interest of getting looped in their liability chain.  I do not try to teach how to use the web sites of others, such as how to use SSA BSO, or EFTPS, as the entities which run those sites provide fairly well done documentation.

But, to be balanced, this year, with more than ever having to efile W2 data, I may look at being a transmitter (for a fee) since many neglected the advice to register with SSA BSO in a timely fashion.

Something else to ponder. If the emails are truly targeting users of a specific software, then that software vendor is likely selling your email address. Ties back to always using an individual email address for each subscription/software/newsletter/etc. so you can see who does what. There are many ways, an example is the gmail "plus" method. Your email provider can tell you how.

If the email reading software allowed such an easy click through, then that is item one to resolve. Make it so links cannot be clicked through without some sort of safety process. Text based readers, at least for the first run through are great.  I used MailWasher before. Email software should have the ability to show messages in the text version (not html) by default, which will make it impossible for a novice (such as an employee) to easily open a link.

When viewing a message as plain text, the links are shown fully, not something like "Click here, I won't steal anything". That is where something like mail washer comes in, as nothing (IIRC) is clickable.

Is there an opportunity to charge for reviewing and adjusting withholding/deposits to avoid a refund large enough to “need”?

10 minutes ago, DANRVAN said:

 

Your second statement contradicts the first.

I was trying to leave open the possibility of the incorrect reporting requiring the preparers time/expertise/research. Maybe you would not charge extra for asking what to do, or taking on the liability for the add/reverse being questioned / preparing a sign off absolving liability for the add/reverse, proposing options, etc.

I no longer prepare for others, so I no longer have to account directly for my minutes. I (maybe incorrectly?) thought preparers, like JD's, bill  in some time increment for research/discussion (in addition to likely per form, flat fee, or combination).

16 minutes ago, DANRVAN said:

Easy for you to say.

I have been able to help some, but on others spent hours trying to resolve cases that have gotten nowhere.  

 

 

Why spend hours?  Either the employee does not want to make waves, so the report and reverse method, the employee wants to try getting a correction, so the employee tries to get a correction, or the employee wants correction and does not get it, so the SS-8. Where do hours of preparer time come in? Am I missing something? Why would a preparer get involved with their client's employer?

The most similar in my work is when an employee gripes about their WH, either too much, too little, or wonders why they did not get a big refund.  The employer say something like "I used the correct calculations based on the direction you gave (W4)". No discussion, no telling the employee what to do. No teaching the employee how WH works. The employer does not have to defend their proper actions, the burden is on the employee (like the burden is on the client to decide how to handle, and if desired, fix, the issue in this thread).

A church should be the ONE employer who is likely to fix their mistake in a timely fashion. It is on the TP to get fixed, or pay the preparer to push for fix. If I were the employee, and it cost me anything for the error, even to pay a preparer to get the fix done (extra time to report.back out, or push for proper W2), I would be billing my employer.

But, I an hugely jaded after 40+ years of payroll, and an employer who cannot do their duty should be held to task.

1 minute ago, gfizer said:

In my situation, they are going to issue a 1099-NEC for the total amount paid, showing both the salary portion AND the housing portion as non-employee comp.

That stinks. Sadly many people make mistakes. More common when there are .volunteers. Likely no one in the church office knows the proper method (as no one with proper knowledge is reviewing/preparing), so I would start with the person who is in charge of finances, or better yet, the paid accountant/tax preparer for the church. If there is more than one clergy person, get together and speak as a group. Don't delay, as the HA incorrectly reported will me major $ if not corrected.

The church can send what they want. The employee has no concern with 941 issues. Of course, HA should be reported to the clergy person on letterhead, usually showing the amount for the year ended, and the pre auth (required) for the upcoming year. There is zero requirement for HA to be on a W2 (and I am a stickler for not adding non required things to a W2).

A 941 is filed, as there were wages, even if not taxable. Another example is a seasonal business will often have to file a zero wage 941. Any ongoing entity with payroll during the year, and the IRS expects 4 941's or if allowed, a 944. Even the option to tell the IRS there are no more 941's for the year is not something I suggest as it is cleaner to have 4 per year.

I meant I have no liability for the customer sending me an email, or what they choose to send. Of course, I don't open unexpected things, and the things I open, I do so with proper security steps in place.

A customer sending me something bad because of contacting me for help?  Possible, but has not happened yet. I don't overly spend time on worrying about baddies. I prepare for any issue via multiple backups, spare machines, and using my grey matter to control my voice and finger commands.

Personally, I am not concerned about what a customer does, such as sending me data. I am careful what I do eith their data once I receive it, and spell out my process in my privacy notice.

Sometimes, when I let my inner gremlin (the gremlin who believes adults should adult) loose, I would not even resend. I would keep the returned item unopened, for the required time. If the employee/vendor asks, I would give them a copy, but still keep the returned one as proof it was sent.

Reporting the taxable income has not changed. What has/will change is the threshold for the electronic payment vendors to report 1099 data. A big for instance, I was able to get some Adele Las Vegas tix for the original dates. When she bailed at the last minute, we bailed as well, selling then for a HEFTY markup (paid for a fam trip to the Mouse). Just because I am not getting a 1099 does not mean the profit is "tax free".

Me?  Vendor address only issue? pffffft.  Mail a copy to the proper vendor address.

1 hour ago, DANRVAN said:

You really have to give the son credit for carrying out the "will" of his mother, even though it was not in her "will".  Otherwise he could have personally received a benefit as an heir to her estate.

Rare indeed, kudos! Likely as common as (what used to be) common sense.

To see if the address they sent to is real (no bounce) and most importantly, to troll for a reply/unsubscribe. The reply gives certain information to identify you, which is gold/platinum for hackers.

For instance, if you reply from a cell, and are not properly masking certain things, the recipient of your message/reply can geolocate you fairly well, and in some cases, within a few meters. If you reply from your desk, the same place you have data someone might want to get at, unless you do certain things, you can certainly be geolocated reasonably accurately, and more importantly, the route to your computer is decipherable.

I will not go deeper here, but this is stuff any script kiddie knows or can look up, let alone the "professional" hacker entities.

Like the security company who posts their head's SSN as proof of their protection, with proper security, it is not a big deal if someone knows your IP. BTW, long gone are the days when an ISP would actually change your IP often. It is easier for them, less support and all, to essentially give you a static IP, which only changes on certain rare events.

Even the bounce you received is likely a fake, as they don't want you to know they "got" you until they see what they can sell the information for, or until they get what they can.

Eerily calm now.  Since about 1pm pacific, few messages. I suppose all who are timely submitting W2 data have done so.  It has been a long four months, and I am ready for calm. Maybe the longest four months I have had (work) because of the repetitive issues with W2 efile questions, and a large number of new customers wondering why their low paid employees are incorrectly getting zero for their calculated FWH.

I am thankful for those who heeded my nags and gained access to SSA timely.

The one which is nagging me today, and it could not have been associated with anyone here, is a complaint (not a question, just asking why the calculations are wrong), as a customer's employee's accountant said 1% was deducted for FWH, when "it has to be at least 10%".  Like the decades old joke about "I cannot find the ANY key to press", I have yet to see any W4 setting or calculation for FWH to be a flat %.  Well, the exception is not a flat %, but the current form allows essentially turning off FWH calc, and selecting a flat dollar amount for the year. My client says the employee is raising a large stink, and is not listening to the employer telling them to pound sand, the amount is correct for the instructions FROM THE EMPLOYEE on their W4. The customer has gone quiet, after my last advice to ask the accountant to provide a signed valid W4 showing a flat % for FWH. Should have led with the last advice...

While writing this, received a good old annual "why is federal withholding less this month than last month, with no changes to earnings or W4? Does the software have an issue?".  A couple of clicks, and onto the next.

13 minutes ago, WITAXLADY said:

Thank you all..

I did read the Pubs - 15b, etc

This is a special rule to add back the 2% shareholder's health insurance to the box 1 wage.

Just trying to determine if it can be just $7,500 and that takes care of the IRA And the amount of HI..

Thx d

 

Not a special or new rule, the proper reporting of the shareholder insurance.  It started with IRS notice 2008-1. The rub, what most people do not figure out is 2008-1 was all about the W2 to prevent double dipping. The consequences, which I have not seen documented officially - and something I have been arguing for many years - is the amount it wages, and needs to be reported as constructively received.  Many accountant types believe adjusting the W2 is all that is needed, which may not cause issues, but as wages, it is not a once a year deal.