Richcpaman

I can imagine several things, one being the AOC, but... do I think the numbers are made up? Yep. Rich

So... Today's banner ad at the top of Yahoo, for me, was from TurboTax. It has a picture of a W2, from "Coffee Shop" that has Box 1 & 2 with amounts in it. Covering up the rest of the W2 is a TurboTax box with "GREAT REFUND" "Thumbs UP!" and $3,052 as the federal refund. So... Of Course, I have to test it. Open up a new client 1040 in ATX, input the gross wages of $24,128, and Fed WH of $4,088. Single, Standard Deduction, claim your exemption... I mean this is a millennial working in a coffee shop, right? The ATX refund is only $2,495. Where do YOU think the difference of $557 is? IT would not be that TurboTax is lying, would it? Rich

I could bring Crabcakes. First... Abby. Rich

JK: I told several clients: "Send me the Info Once. All at the Same time. Put it in a file folder and send it to me at that time. If you Piecemeal it to me, I charge you EVERYTIME I have to go look for your file." That usually stops them. Rich

I have a free weekend at the Homestead in West Virginia, and We were going to swing thru Tennessee, so stopping in Kentucky, and making it a CPE trip is SWEET! Rich

Please keep looking into this. I don't believe AmeriTrade would say that. Your client would and so would mine.. Employee's can use the 401K max Deferral into either a tax deferred 401k or a Roth 401K that is NOT tax deferred. After that, you can do up to the 25% Profit Sharing Match. However.... I do not believe that you can 25% Profit Match into the ROTH. Your matching would have to go into a regular 401K for that. And you have to do the elective deferral into the 401K or ROTH 401k to be eligible for the match. No Deferral, No Match. (This is the part that the clients "miss" during the conversation") Rich

Wicked Smart, That Abby! Rich

My answer: "As much as I possibly can!". Really, that has been my go to line. And if they balk at that, then I don't want them as clients. A blank 1040 starts at $200 and goes from there. My average fee past year for all 1040's was about $420. I want to move it to $500. I got golf to pay for. Rich

Edsel: Sure, why not try that strategy? Posting it as a refund carried forward to the next year, maybe, just maybe, something gets resolved. Not much else works. And yes, the IRS and other taxing authorities are clearly processing paperwork for balance dues instead of for refunds. And if those refunds are applied to later years, the problems start to snowball. I have started to NOT apply refunds forward for many clients that make estimated payments, because of IRS's and others ability to process a refund correctly, because once there is a problem, it takes 2 years to fix and blows up other years. Rich

WHY????? Every time I open the stupid program, it runs an Update. Why doesn't the Update post the most recent interest rates when they are announced? Another annoyance of this program. Rich

Edsel: You and me and a little bit of software can set up a "bitcoin" like site. Then one day, we decide to "cash out". We convert others Bitcoin to other legal tender, and leave everyone else to fight amongst themselves for whatever is left. It has already happened a number of times.... I would call that a Ponzi like scheme. The US Dollar may be "funny" money, but it isn't nearly a humorous as these blockchain "currencies". Rich

Max: You stated this: "One more thing - if the case is assigned to an RO, the RO will decide if you can file an OIC, or not. " Not true. I had an RO on a employment tax case, 90k+ that I thought had been resolved to $17k in trust fund that the client was paying monthly. Then the RO showed up two years later and asked for the original $90 to be paid. I told her quite bluntly that I will do an OIC for the entire balance. She said I could not do that, she would not approve it. I told her it was out of your hands, and I filed two OIC's, one for the TF portion, and one for the 941 taxes. It took over a year, but both were approved and the client makes the final payment this month. Do not presume that the RO is speaking any truth. Rich

RIngers: I just want to follow this... Was there only two partners? Since the deceased partner's estate was paid, why are you booking anything into the partnership? The remaining partner (s) may have an amortizable asset... Or its an adjustment to each partners returns and not reflected on the partnership. I want to follow this to see what everyone else has to say. Rich

I like that $100,000 limit. Keeps most of us out of the game... Rich

IF the judges order only extended to normal everyday IRS's coorespondence. Getting any answer to ANYTHING within 45 days would be amazing. Rich.

No Biz or Farm activity? No rental to others to graze their cattle? (Is he lying about that income?) Why build fences on property that has no animals on it? Then you get reimbursed by the DofA for building these fences Cool. The government does not reimburse me when I put up fences, so why does it reimburse him? The quick answer is he filed the application and made statements to the DofA that got him approved for the money. Get a copy of the grant application. Then your client lied to you about receiving the money. "He Forgot" that is why it is on the Transcript, and I presume you are dealing with a CP-2000 issue. I like Edsel's answer above. When he starts a farm, Biz or Rental, then he can depreciate his basis. Until then, he has to pay tax on the grant. He can't use it to reduce his basis in the property, because he isn't using the property for Farm, Biz or Rental, and it wasn't an easement, he didn't give anything up. He got something. Rich

This is always the problem with personal property being the "win" What is it really worth? The state says $1,300. But, that may be a MSRP, and not what you CAN buy it for. It might be $400. Take a deduction for the FMV difference. It is a real problem on the game shows. The MSRP on the HI vacation is $15,000. But you can book it the same week for $7,500.....

Naveen: 1. Don't use the business address anymore for ANYONE. 2. Get a PO Box so that any info goes to the PO Box. 3. If you use your address, make sure it always says "In Care Of" 4. If he was audited, use your POA and tell the Auditor to FIX it. Give the Auditor the correct address. 5. Get another big check from your client.... RIch

Your client was probably a victim of ID Theft. Rich

AH: I agree with you completely. The print capabilities of the ATX Software has not in any way shape or form kept up with the technology that is available out there. And if you are new to ATX, then you don't know how bad it used to be.... Every one of us preparer's puts their returns together differently. And we can not sort all the forms into the order we want, we are stuck with the order they give us. I adjust the client letters to add my letterhead and other changes to make them unique. It used to be a real PITA but at least is carries over that formatting each year now. I wish I could fill in the selections on the Print Screen for all 4 columns, SAVE IT, and then let my staff print the PDF's and paper returns later. Rich

Check the Schedule A. Rich

Randall: If the original owner did the 1031, and then died, the step up happens, and the 2 year look back closes. And there is no amendment to the original filed return of the deceased, because the proper use did not continue for 2 years. That time period closed due to the death. Rich

Congress should require that every tax return that is efiled has a marker back to the original box S/N, and a requirement that the S/N is registered somehow. So that the "shake the box" bad guys can be tracked down. Even bogus registration info is still attached to a taxpayer that can be quizzed. I do not care if there is more preparer regulation, I am a CPA and past all that. All the regulation in the world does not make a difference to those that are outside the rules and stay there.... Rich

You are selling to someone who operates from their house? Were they expanding prior to this, or contracting? Since they used to have an office elsewhere, it seems they are not growing. Can they pay you? Are you going to do some transitional work to insure that the clients go with the new preparer? Will you negotiate a rate for this? Are you moving out of town, and leaving it all behind? Different scenarios can create different answers. Rich

Yes, it does... and affects "all" the partners.... I would still get the qualified written appraisal. Rich