mdmcfarland

I attended a Drake seminar last year, but did not switch until this year. I plan on going to another seminar later this year.

I was lucky. The seminar I attended was put on by two people who also do taxes themselves. The seminar was very small so we could get personal help with parts of the program and tax items that apply to the kind of taxes we do in our particular offices.

I was very happy with the two that were doing our training. They have been able to answer any questions I have or could get an immediate answer for me.

I think you have that wrong. Drake does have a toll free number to call for support.

While Drake is very good I really miss the forms based approach and the availability of about any form you can imagine.

I can also say that ATX does a better job in many areas than Drake. ChrisCPA

ChrisCPA,

You mentioned the forms base (which I understand) and you also mentioned about any form you can imagine. What forms do you mean that ATX has and Drake does not.

Also, what other areas does ATX do a better job?

Ihaven't received any Acks either. I have several validated returns waiting there. Sure would be nice to get the Acks. I even tired to synchronize and that didn't help.

Last minute client (daughter-in-law) had Schedule C in prior years (Mary Kay). She had no sales and no purchases in 2007 and won't in the future. She had an ending balance in 2006 of $397. What inventory she had, was either switched to her own use or discarded as outdated.

How do I show her final Schedule C and not show the loss?

I don't remember exactly what the error message was. It had something to do with name or number of some kind. I tried all I could think of to correct this and never could. Decided it was easier to paper file. No big deal, but it would have been handier if I could have efiled.

I update daily. I tried efiling a 1065 return. It would check out okay when I created the efile, but I always got an error message the next day. I finally gave up also and simply mailed the return.

You can use section 179 on used property. This comes from the 2007 Tax Year Depreciation Quickfinder Handbook

To qualify for the Section 179 deduction, property (new or used) must meet all the following requirements:

1. It must be eligible property

2. More than 50% of the property's use in the year placed in service must be in an active trade or business.

3. It must have been acquired by purchase from an unrelated party.

The check box is at the top of the 1040A Filers Info tab. If checked, it puts the requested "Stimulus Payment" at the top of the 1040A

Thanks, I have prepared a couple of these returns and never saw the box - the program did it on it's own.

I have a few clients that have enough interest to use the Sch. 1 of the 1040 and also some retirement funds. None of these are enough to give them taxable income, but they cannot be efiled using the "stimulus payment" option that allows you to enter bank info for direct deposit on the stimulus payment.

This whole thing is getting to be a big pain in the a--!!!

You can send the direct deposit information with a balance due return, but it will have to be mailed. Efiling it WOULD confuse the system. And if there's a balance due, be sure to uncheck the "Stimulus Payment" box if it's been checked.

Where do you find this "Stimulus Payment" box?

Happy Birthday!! Have a great day! Celebrate it with someone special.

You share your birthday with a very special person in my life - my husband!!!

Do you give them 2 frickin bananas if it is a married couple? And what if they have a litter of kids - do you give them the whole "bunch"?

I will get Pub 527 for a detailed discussion of the requirements for a real estate professional. That is basically what I wanted to know. I know about the hours, I know about the greater than 50% of time spent in the activity. I was not referring to her sex in regard to the 700 hours. Nobody has answered my original question and I know that this subject has been discussed in the past. Just cannot find the thread and have no more time to look. Her time in the taxidermy is minimal. His time in the rental is minimal. She would like to wrap these rental units into a LLC and I will welcome any input as to how to go about putting ________ ________ LLC on the top of the Schedule E. Thanks for all who read the posts even if you had nothing to input.

If she puts the rental units into an LLC, the LLC prepares a return and she would receive a K-1 wouldn't she?

I have a tax client with a Schedule C showing a net income of $40,797. Taxpayer is 73 and spouse is 66. Spouse is employee. The information he has given us says that they made a SIMPLE IRA contribution of $13,000 for himself and $11,000 for his spouse.

Wife's W2 income is $11,049. Her W2 income all goes toward her SIMPLE IRA.

Are these limits okay? And how is all of it reported on the tax return? He is our only client that does this and when we try to research it, we don't seem to come up with the answer.

Are you using section 179 on any of the assets on depreciation? You cannot cause a loss with section 179 property. You have to use standard depreciation only and then the loss is not limited by the farm income.

Has anyone successfully efiled a 1065 this year? Have you done that in the past? I didn't know if all filers were getting this error or if only new filers were getting the error.

Thanks for the response - - sorry for the delay - -major snow storm here - -

I am ATTEMPTING to file a 1065 that only has rental activity - -

I am STILL getting the rejection code MEFUSR0000-905 seq 0 - -

NO response from ATX - -no surprise - -I am giving it one more day here on the community - -then I have no choice but to print & get it to the client so HE can get it out by the 15th!

I am trying to efile a 1065 for the first time. I have gotten that same error messages twice. Can't figure out what to do to correct the error. I'll probably do like the others and paper file. I thought I was going to take the easy way out and efile - so much for that!!

Just tell her it is good for her. If she is like a kid, that will be enough to make her stop.

Congratulations! I wish you the very best for a long future together!

Thanks, I think that will work best.

I would like to email a pdf file of a return to a tax client and would like to print the signature on Form 8879. Would I use these same steps? I did try it and it appears to be floating above the line and then looks like the top bit of the signature is cut off. Is there an adjustment for this?

Is it necessary for a preparer signature or could it just be signed once it is sent back to the office?

Thanks, I'll get back once I get into the return. Still waiting for one bit of info.

I need help with a CA return. I have a client that moved to CA in the fall of 2007. Most of her income was derived from NE, but she did work a bit in CA and has a W2 with some CA withholding. She lives in LA.

I have never done a CA return and am not sure what forms I need. I plan on filing her as a CA resident and NE part year resident. She was a student (age 21) and I think she is still going to school. I'm not positive at this time if her parents are claiming her on their NE return or if she is claiming herself.

If someone could please let me know what forms I need I would appreciate it. You can either answer me here or in personal email.

Denise [email protected]

Thanks. I will use the 8879-PE. I do have to attach a copy of the 1065 to the 1065N since I don't see that the 1065N can be e-filed.

I have never e-filed a 1065. I would like to this year because the return in question is over 30 pages.

Do I e-file the 1065 and mail in the 1065N?