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Medlin Software, Dennis

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Everything posted by Medlin Software, Dennis

  1. Legally placed in home is the likely criteria. Piratically speaking, the change to guard means the former FP's no longer have to ask for permission for certain things, such as medical decisions. It is a big deal for the family, to be celebrated. Also gives them a leg up if they want to adopt. For us, we had to create a new legal standing (defacto parents) in the late 80's, to get through an adoption. Had to submit to all sorts of testing, as the county was claiming we were not actually mixed race parents. Yes indeed, it was a political issue based on race.
  2. As a male of the species, I have no say in the matter. As a 2x adoptive parent and several decade foster parent, I have an opinion. As the soon to be parent of an MD, I have an opinion. Easy audit though, if claimed one year, and no new SSN child the next year, they audit. Will be extra awful for those who suffer some sort of issue resulting in loss of the child/embryo/whatever term GA uses. Don't forget amended returns for those who filed before realizing they qualified.
  3. It must be the use of solar power for operation, likely with some sort of small batt, is the key.
  4. https://cdn.intelligencebank.com/us/share/M7y7/ObeE/Ledy/original/XUS-20306-Manufacturers-Certification-Flyer-0123 This one is a solar powered skylight, with the manuf certification. I learned something new for sure.
  5. "Could" is the key. Means it is fluff, unless the purchaser or their reps can find the method of eligible credit. I "could" win the lottery - but I never play.
  6. Escheat is never clean. I am trying to clean up some from a few years back. (Royalties from oil/gas via tribal rights.) The one thing I have learned is planning is poor, and those who may get left with the clean up need to be proactive, in advance, and those who do not have an estate plan are doing a HUGE disservice to their heirs. Likely just an asset with a balance, more money for the bank account, is the most reasonable, unless this is the miracle case where there are documents (not likely, hence the escheat).
  7. While holding down Alt, type 0162 to get ¢. Interesting topic. My maybe future DIL likely gets a stipend for services performed for her PhD advisor. They travel to and stay at an out of state location several months of the year for the research work. But, I don't ask about her finances for safety's sake.
  8. Create the data to be backed up yourself. meaning gather, compress, and encrypt on your end (and test it!), then have the resulting file(s) backed up online. DO NOT rely on any backup service to "gather" and store all needed files "for" you. For instance, one I tried defaulted to some common data folders in Windows, but missed, and did not even suggest, including other locations. Then there is the issue of user level controls on your computer, and the backup not being able to get data from every user. So use some tool locally to gather, compress, and encrypt. Then try restoring. Once you have that working, send the created files to your storage locations. I use Cobian Reflector, and have for years. It allows me to compile the data I want to backup (multiple jobs if desired) and to send the results to nearly anywhere I wish.
  9. A veteran IT person would have also said "are you sure you can restore from any source, have you ever tried?" Looking at my mess of a desk, I have 4 local backups of various timings. SD, USB, portable drive, and on a second computer. Those handle the day to day issues, like stupid human actions. Two of the locals are triggered every half hour, and the other two are daily. While I don't like doing the same work twice, I can live with half hour of rework. For remote, I use two commercial locations, in separate areas of the country. I use two locations of my own control, also in separate locations of the country. I worry zip about compromise. I encrypt before saving in any manner, and the commercial services encrypt again. For most here, something similar to what I do is not out of line, since you also have data which must be kept secure, and must be able to be recovered from scratch. My sad fav backup story is someone who paid someone to setup an overnight backup for their system (server). All was coded correctly, other than no one paid attention to the storage location being turned off every day at closing, so there was never a backup made. Lousy power setup had the storage decive in a light switch. The Paul Harvey was the main data was lost when someone hit an on the floor cheap power strip.
  10. A legal question likely. Could even get into a where did the funds come from, community property, etc. I recently had to pay a debt from 1971, which should not have been in place anyway, to get a home sold in estate. The amount was simply too small to hold up the estate, so for the OP, maybe the tax is small enough it is just best to report/pay.
  11. There are legit entities which help. They negotiate for the debtor and arrange to disburse the "monthly" amount, sometimes/usually getting a fee from the holder of the debts. They don't usually advertise - meaning the ones on TV are likely less than desirable.
  12. I have no direct knowledge, but I doubt the people responsible for publishing the calcs do so without direction from the higher ups. In the case of 2020, we had a POTUS who was in the news saying what he had done to increase net pay. 2020 was not the first time the calcs were slimmed, but it was the first time there was, and remains, a significant percent - who use only the base options on the W4 - will be under withheld. Indeed, I am an oddball, as I have been managing my WH since my very first $2.35 an hour job. I had some inane understanding that getting a refund meant I was loaning money for free, and how WH stuffed into Dec is considered timely.
  13. At this point, for me, this type if stuff (being asked to setup or detail something clearly incorrect) is the bane of my customer interactions. Starts with the "nobody will know", to "none of your business you ^&(^(&, tell me how to do what I want". I usually reply with something like "based on what you have shared, I am uncomfortable with assisting as your description does not sound like an allowable method/option/choice". The most recent is someone who wanted help with something not allowed. I was told to keep my opinions to myself and to only answer the asked questions. Rather than just firing them, I am replying with links to the documentation, with zero comments. I got a message asking for more detail, and I replied with a snip from their "shut up" message.
  14. For the OP, it sounds like the FP is on the ball, as well as the preparer. I have received W2 for IHHS amounts, which were not taxable because of the facts (before they cleaned up their W2 process). I have seen W2 received by a group foster setup, essentially a private group home, as it should be since it was a business enterprise. I have seen many messes with cross county payments/reporting (where the county is responsible for the management of the foster child, and found an out of county placement). I cannot grasp having to house foster kids in a motel/hotel, but I can certainly see why. It must be somehow cheaper/faster than building a group facility. There is always the NIMBY issues as well.
  15. I should have said in my first reply, pass along kudos from another foster family!
  16. We never received a W2 for foster or respite care. Nor from adoption assistance payments (for hard to adopt children, and/or those with extra needs). Some will want to report it as income (and deduct expenses) as the income may be needed to get other benefits.
  17. The calcs for 2020 or later W4 have implied allowances (to use the prior term). 4300 each, depending in the selected status. It is how the IRS handled the silly rules which prevented employees from submitting a new W4. Likely an employer lobby mandated item (to presumably "save" work for the employer, which we all found out was untrue). The issue I have is not with calculations, we can all do them. It is with giving unusable information, specifically telling a client they need a magic percentage withheld. I am not promoting a blind stab, I am suggesting let the employee fill out the W4 however they wish (as it has been proven, at least for this group, helping with the W4 form is not being offered/done). Then, using simple math of desired amount to withhold for the year, divided by paydays per year, give them the actual dollar amount they need to be aiming for - and let them adult. An actual dollar amount per check, which takes seconds to calculate and write down, is useful information, a flat % is not.
  18. As a long time FP, and failed twice, the payments are not taxable or reportable, unless you want to. This case sounds like one where the amount could actually lead to "profit", but still not reportable. I know of no case where the payments for full time in a home cover the actual costs. Not even the medically fragile (with a much higher payment). Coupled with the regulations, red tape, and danger (yes, birth people are not all kind and do make threats), it is no wonder few step up. We always used pseudo names for the kids, so we would never be heard in public using their BC name. For visitation, we never allowed at our home, and used a vehicle normally garaged. We avoided the birth person(s) and handed off through a worker. But, there is joy to be had as well, indescribable joy.
  19. Single with no other notations (there is no "allowance" count on the current form) is wise for the first month. Then, review, compare against the desired WH per paycheck, and if different, use a new Single W4, with any desired adjustments to deductions or additional income. For those who cannot or will not let go of the "allowance" settings/comparisons from the past, the "implied" allowances are 0 for two jobs, 3 for married joint, and 2 for all other selections. THIS is why so many under withhold. Anyone who used to claim lesser allowances for their status selection is likely to under withhold.
  20. "This is XX at YY my customer number is Customer ID ##. One of my employees are saying that the withholding is incorrect on your program. Her accountant is stating that there was not enough federal income tax taken out. They are stating there was only 1 percent taken out. They are stating is needs to be ten percent. I updated the last update and all the previous ones." This is a direct message I received, about a week ago (redacted to protect the identity), more than THREE years after the W4/withholding fiasco from 2020. The above is a fair example of the you know what an accountant, preparer, "someone told me" causes when they invoke the flat % nonsense. In the above, the "accountant" (I have no way to verify) is talking what must be effective liability, versus what an employer can use for WH. Of course, they could also be\ -, sadly - talking about "tax bracket", which is even farther removed from actual liability. Doubled down that the "accountant" is implying there is a flat % calculation anywhere in wage WH (exception for supplemental, which does not apply here). -- The result? The employer wants nothing to do with the issue, and wants to keep their employee happy, so they blame me for not WH accurately. Does not matter that I can prove the calculations I build in are perfect for any paycheck and employee parameters.
  21. The itch is for those who give W4 advice not to lazy out and give some unusable percentage of income. I get it, perspective, the pct is likely close, but yet, unusable by the employee. At a preparer, you likely cannot even be sure what method the employer uses (there is software which allows/requires the employer to maintain calculations, so one cannot assume employers are accurate). And even if you can prove the employer is not doing things correctly, as is the consensus here, every time, making waves with the employer is not something to suggest. So indeed, a flat % suggestion is a huge peeve of mine, and of every employer who deals with the employee who wants a flat rate. That is why it, assuming not wanting to get involved with actual W4 prep (which I asked here before, and the consensus was not to do it, as a tax preparer), it is cleaner and more helpful to give a number to meet, either through WH or direct deposits, and let the employee figure it out. If you want to be thoughtful, give a formula showing the amount divided paydays per year to compare against what their employer withholds.
  22. If you believe the employer's withholding obligation (15T) has ANYTHING to do with the employee's tax liability, I have a deal on a bridge for you.
  23. The calculation/tables are for the employer to meet their legal requirements. They have NOTHING to do with taxpayer liability, especially so since 2020. Really, it is to a point where the calculations/tables could go away, with a "no W4, 25%" type of deal, and let employees to withhold using a dollar amount or pct each pay period, or better yet, a dollar amount or pct for the year. --- I will share what I give as advice. It is easy to calculate what will avoid penalty. I go with 100% of the prior year. One could elect the other option(s), but this one is clean. Divide by paydays per year. Give that number as the minimum amount they should see on each check. If their check shows too little, add/increase the additional amount on their W4. These are things any employee can do. No need to alter anything on their W4 but the additional. If they want to let the IRS be their piggy bank, they can add whatever per paycheck amount they wish as additional. If they want to keep it closer, they can self monitor their estimated liability and leave me out of it.
  24. Agree. I will not agree a professional giving an unusable % is professional. Such advice costs the employee time/money to try to figure out, and likely costs the employee goodwill with their employer if they present the "professional" percent and demand the employer comply. I have had those arguments, and know how it works. "My preparer says to withhold this %, make it so, or I will raise a stink". Then, the employer contacts me, the software person, and asks how to get the employee off their back. Do you professionally believe a person, who is not capable of their own tax prep, and is not capable of filling in a W4, is capable of handling a flat % WITHOUT pissing off their employer?
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