Medlin Software, Dennis

AFAIK, you can hold CC info, OTHER THAN the security code.  The security code is not needed for a merchant to try a card, but some card issuers may decline without the security code.  Less publicized is a security code of all zeroes was how one used to say a card did not have a security code, it was illegible, or it was not provided, so if you have a code of all zeroes on an actual card, it is USELESS...

Also, my preference has rubbed off on our kids.  One just moved to a three minute walk from his office (he can see it from his apartment) because the 2 hours a day on a nearly free bus was wasted time for him, and the one is about ten minutes from his place of work.

My parents had more than an hour each way for most of my youth... latch key was not something I wanted to continue.

Breakfast can be a mess... Sometimes the dogs head out the same time I step across the hall.  If there is a jam in the hallway, I work remotely from bed until it clears.  My lovely wife of 31 years delivers breakfast, after the dogs are fed..

With some tax agencies requiring unmasked ID numbers (MT recently put out a bulletin reminding they must have fill numbers), if one believes their SSN is secure or wants to try to keep it unknown, they should obtain an EIN or other allowable ID to use for tax forms.

Personally, while I do not want my information in the wild, the number of things requiring divulging a SSN make it impossible to consider secure.  For instance, anyone volunteering with a youth sports group has to divulge their SSN for an annual background check.  The person who can see your SSN (assuming they follow the rules) is another volunteer who is NOT required to pass any background checks...  (One of many reasons I no longer volunteer with such groups.)

Requiring frequent pwd changes defeats the purpose.  With frequent changes, many fall back to sticky notes...  A proper password should not have to be changed, unless the data has been compromised.

If you are reading this topic, you probably have a backup system in place.

Remember, your backup very well could be worthless unless you try it and prove it can be restored from...

(Just had two customers, within minutes say they cannot find data and asked if we had a copy to send them... One was relying on some sort of network backup some long ago IT person setup for them, which apparently failed or was not setup properly, the other assumed all programs sent backups somewhere on the cloud "for them".)

General Delivery at a zip code still works.  Has to be to a post office which processes it (I think if there is more than one office in a certain area, one is designated for GD).  I also remember something about a postmaster being able to refuse GD.

I have at least two customers who use GD.  I remember speaking to one several years back.  IIRC, they use GD instead of paying for a box.  The other, I am not sure, since they have a street address listed online.

The IRS published it 1/9/17, if that helps you out.

Sounds like a profitable client.

Careful, my SWMBO would object.  Just because she does not have taxable earnings does not mean she works or earns less than I do

Back in the last century, when SWMBO was getting taxable pay, we set her to withhold nothing.  It was for appearance, as it irritated her to get such a small net check for her part time gig.  I raised my WH to make up the difference.

I hear often the employee says their (insert name here, could be tax person, friend, neighbor, person next to them on the bus) said to withhold a flat %.  Makes me cringe, since there is no proper way for the employer to comply, so it puts the employee, employer, and advice giver at odds, and sometimes involves a fourth party (me!).  IMO the flat % advice is worthless as the employee has to translate the flat % to some allowable combination on a W4.  My suggestion would be to calculate an actual liability amount for the year, plus some % cushion over, plus let the client choose their hoped for refund.  With the projected liability, and cushion amount, the chances of being at under withhold penalty are nil.  Divide that amount by their pay frequency, and give them that number as the amount to watch for.  Then they have something they can compare apples to apples on their stub, and can adjust easily, via W4.  Have them check in 1/2 way and 3/4 through the year by sending an image of their current stubs.  Seconds to review and suggest changes.

The employer has several ways to pay a bonus (Per Pub 15).  Some are easier for the employer (adding it to the next regular check, what most will do) and some are more accurate for the employee.  Sounds like the employer did what most do, and the employee did not recognize the consequences.  Employer did nothing wrong.  Employee has to be aware that the proper deposit amount through the year (via withholding or other means) is their personal responsibility.  The calculation which is likely best for the employee is too complicated for most to figure out... and employees HATE it when they get a bonus with any withholding...  Get many who ask how to give a bonus with no withholding.  This means employers will always take the easy way, and not use the annual; method, or the maximum method.

Your situation is something I hear OFTEN from employers.  They get a complaint form an employee that the employer did not withhold enough.  I have to point out the employer has a simple (but complicated) requirement, and it is not to make sure the employee does not owe, or get a refund...

Sounds like a good way to increase off season business, offer a mid or 3/4 year withholding review.  Roll it into the prior year fee so it appears "free" the next year?

Not too far back, the withholding tables were overly :"heavy".  Employees who claimed the obvious would get relatively large refunds every year.  One of the Bush presidents took advantage, and lowered the withholding to something close to accurate (at least for single earning households), and called it tax relief.  I remember having to claim double dependents to get close to even, then having to claim one less than actual to get even.  (Now I self manage, and withhold zero until December, but not many have that option.)

<Payroll hat> PUB 15 is what employers MUST follow, for the last valid W4 the employee provides.  Whether or not it meets the needs of the employee is up to the employee to determine.  Employers have enough to worry about and have no business delving into or discussing whether or not the withheld amount will accomplish what the employee is hoping to accomplish. </Payroll hat>

If someone ends up owing, the preparer likely can offer advice as to the estimated total liability based on estimated earnings for the next year.  If the person is not making any other tax deposits besides withholding, it is easy to divide liability by paydays per year.  That amount, if not what is withheld already, can be achieved by creating and submitting a new valid W4, with an amount in the additional withholding area.

While not proper, many will set their W4 as married and a high number of allowances, and try to get their employer to essentially withhold a fixed amount via the "additional" withholding field on the W4.

Some will use a W4 which results in zero withholding, and make regular deposits on their own.

Some will do a combination, where they check their liability before the end of year, and make a deposit just before end of year (me) if needed.  (I am not fond of loaning money to anyone for free, so I seek no refund, and want to owe just below the under withholding threshold.)

For me, it is soon to be 24 years...  Still have not seen or heard "it all".  Learned plenty though.  Some I can share.  Oldest son has a job installing/repairing a certain thing.  When installed/repaired, they tell their clients not to do a certain SIMPLE thing.  They do not listen, and have to pay for late night and holiday repairs.  Son said something about people not listening.  I pointed out those people had money they want to give to him, so smile, give the advice again, and cash the checks (and get those checks up front).  Happy customer, happy wallet for son, win-win.

Making sense... good one.  I actually get grief for making sense and giving accurate information.  Some only want me to give them the answer they want, which I just cannot find it within me to do.  Such is life.  Thank goodness my greyhounds don't care!  Coincidence.  One today was from an owner/employee who was asking how not to give themselves a paycheck, yet they wanted a W2.  Needs a report like an employee, is an employee, needs to get a paycheck for all time worked, at least minimum wage, at least as often as required by their state, and if an owner, must be what the IRS will accept as a "reasonable" wage.  I got a nasty gram back for not answering how to do what they want to do.

17 minutes ago, BHoffman said:

No W2.  They gave the guy a regular check for the one day, around $200 and did not include it in payroll.    The advance was $2500.

I might be free for one day at $2700... and I will do the best job I can, so no need to bother firing me after.

If the amount was for moving expenses, it was for an employee.  I can see no way to say the person was not en employee, as it makes no sense to pay an IC's moving expenses.  How the company treated the employee, such as paying by "regular" check does not change the facts as presented in the OP.

Probably was not a loan for a "business reason", unless it was a documented (terms, interest, etc.) item done outside of payroll.  The key, to me, is no terms and no interest, then it is taxable wages.

Also in 535 "If the employee doesn't repay the loan, treat it as income to the employee."  To which I say income to an employee is W2, not 1099.

I OFTEN get asked how an employer should handle an advance.  I say don't.  (Note, some localities do not allow an employer to deduct items, even an advance, even if the employee agrees.)

Separation is one issue.  Legally collecting even while employed is another.  In most cases, unless there is interest and repayment terms, it is simply pay, and needs to be taxed at time of disbursement.  (Tag agencies frown on money going out untaxed, caused, facilitated, or because of employment.)

I would not suggest an employer 1099 it.  It was because of employment, it is wages.  The employer needs to pay their part of the taxes, and issue a proper W2 (and amend the quarterlies probably).

Agreed.  My most trusted ones get my cell phone and can call any time, not only during testing, but year 'round.

And see if their county offers IHHS... as it is no cost to the client if approved.

Complicated for all sides.  Neither the provider nor the customer (at least none I have run into) wants to pay or can afford to have enough techs to never have a busy signal or hold.

Nor can the provider cannot force the customer to take advantage of the self help, which for me, is 80 to 90% of all contacts (meaning something already covered either in the program help, or something where the answer is being shown as part of the error/warning message). The fact is, those who do use self help subsidize those that do not (assuming there is no extra cost for support, or that some sort of support is free).

If there is a complicated issue (meaning one for which there is no self help) then phone is less than ideal, and will likely be a negative for the provider.  More often than not, the customer does not have all the needed information, or is not even at the computer.  This means either waiting for the customer, or requiring a second call, neither of which the customer is happy about.  If it is complicated or new, it is going to require investigation, and possibly some written information back and forth, to figure out.

In my case, with the W2 due date change, my annual support rush is the last week of Dec and all January.  This is made up primarily of those who did not order and install sooner (we start a new version every September 1) and need something instantly.  Sometimes there is an issue with installation, 99% of the time, caused by not keeping their "security" software updated, and I promise you, is not something I have any control over...  Then the last two weeks of January, with some leftover did not order earlier issues, but mostly W2 questions (still have many who do not realize you can print W2 forms on plain paper from approved software), and some who believe voluntarily efiling saves them time or money (the time taken to call is longer than it takes to print the forms on plain paper and stuff them in an envelope).

I try to pre-solve these issues by sending out many emails this time of year, but some do not make it (full mailboxes, bad emails, etc.) and some think it is a sales pitch and ignore.

Professional tax software is certainly a more specialized user base than my customers, so there are differences, but the principles remain the same.

I hold my hand up to say I am not perfect, so software I create cannot be either.  The difference is I have no problem owning that as fact, and dealing with it as fast as I can.  Those who do test for me generally get their software for free, assuming they provide any feedback at all (most I never hear from).  Not something I promise or advertise, as some will sign up thinking it is free software... and I do not want to repeat that fiasco again.

Could depend.  For instance, CA IHHS "workers" can have tax free income, or it can be taxed.  The agency (county if IIRC) issues the W2, the client does not.  It is tax free (not reported as income) if the caregiver resides in the same place as the client, such as a parent caring for a child, or a child caring for a parent.

Software vendors have a vested interest in making sure their software works.  For assistance, unless the vendor is careful, you could choose an install or data folder which causes the software NOT to work.  (Such as trying to use one of the folders Windows protects.)  Default or required install and data folders are suggested//required for a reason... you will have less trouble operating the software and getting assistance if you use the defaults.

Same for backup.  If you trust a vendor enough to use their software for critical data, trust them to know the best way to backup said critical data.

If I had a PENNY for every customer who contacts me with an issue caused by someone (not always the customer, sometimes a computer "expert" who is helping them) thinking they made a backup of all important data, and did not actually do so...

Also, ALWAYS make your own backups before letting anyone service your computer.  The service folks will likely do some sort of image, then hand you a CD/DVD.  They are not likely going to actually restore anything, and in many cases, will not even give much instruction on how to undo whatever they are calling a "backup".

Very few [programs can be "restored" (generally only specialized utilities distributed as a single exe file).  Programs install files in more than one location, and some of those files have to go in specific locations, and be "registered" into Windows.  For instance, for us, we install a font, which has to go into the Windows font folder...  If you were to be wise enough to copy the program files you fins, you probably would not have thought about the font file.

Good programs save your settings/configuration in a manner which can be backed up as part of the data.  Programs which store settings in the windows registry may not offer that ability.

In addition to local, remote, removable, and commercial backups, I backup onto a reliable web server I control.  You can get a cheap shared web server for $5 a month.  Just don't use it for public hosting!  My backups are compressed (with password) and encrypted (more than once).  A program such as Cobian can upload backups automatically.

This place is good to balance out the crazy in life.  I check it to break away from crazy and be normal, with other normal folks.  KC is not gone...

This morning's crazy is someone asking how to deal with an employee where they issues about 15% of their checks as negative.  Low pay, plus commission, with a \large employee selected health plan contribution.  My answer is there is no such thing as a negative paycheck, they need to clean up the mess they created.  If they do not want to fix the old "payments", then they have caused even more "pain" as the negative amount becomes taxable "pay" to the employee, magnifying their issue.  Cannot be a loan, since there is no loan documents, repayment terms, or interest...

Or the one where someone has been playing charge card roulette, failing each time, and is complaining that I will not keep playing.