kcjenkins

Or maybe Last Place, since he said he had a 'drawing disability'?

I must admit, I'd be very tempted, in such a case, where the parents are clearly entitled to claim the son, to file their return, before doing his, and, in fact, before even talking to the son. Then, I'd transmit the return, THEN turn to the son and prepare his as the dependent he clearly is. Then tell him he can not claim himself, because he has already been claimed. But when parents let their kids walk all over them, as this one's attitude makes clear he does, [a smart parent would pull the keys, I bet this one pays for the kid's gas, insurance, etc.] it's not our place to play family councilor. I agree with MAS that the kid SHOULD be willing to help his parents at a time of their need, given all they do for him, but no doubt they taught him to be the selfish oaf he is.

Hopefully it will make him appreciate you more in the future.

His checks to Verizon will show how much he actually paid, the statements support the business nature of the calls.

I don't consider it a glitch when the rules make it clear that not all of the additions are going to also be deductions. In that situation, it's OUR JOB to decide whether the item meets the test to be deductible.

Seems like that is what it now is, so yes, I'd consider it investment property now. Expenses to maintain it would be added to basis. Of course if they start using it personally, it could change back in a hurry. But minimal visits to inspect and manage repairs would not be personal use.

If he has a valid 4361 to opt out of SS taxes on file, then there is nothing to offset, now is there? You just check the box at the top of the Sch SE. If he does not have an approved 4361 then he can not avoid the SE tax, but he MIGHT be able to put the tithes on his Sch C or 2106, IF his denomination REQUIRES that he tithe in order to be employed as a minister, as some do, then he can deduct them as a business expense. In such cases, I put them on the line for 'Returns and Allowances'.

That is certainly a valid reason to shut down temporarily.

I never charged 'for the service' I charge for my time, and I pass on outside charges [the $15}.

No, there is no requirement to do so. We do not work for the IRS.

Don't always get a 'lunch' break, but sounds better than 'bathroom break' and surely we all get those, even in tax season?

Yes, but such "instructions" tend to be so general that you should never rely on them too heavily. The code sections, however, are THE LAW and you can rely on those cites. That's why I gave you the cite that the instruction is based on. "Sporadic' is not a clear line that you can measure, unfortunately.

I let mine update automatically on startup, then whenever I take a lunch break I start a manual update just before leaving the computer. Just an easy routine and it works well for me.

Smart parents. Just hope the kids know the penalties if they decide to pull it out early, once they move out on their own.

Pub 15, page 33 Non-cash payments, agricultural labor is Exempt from SS and Medicare and FUTA The issue is not whether he's an employee or not, clearly, for whatever time he worked for the FIL he WAS an employee who was paid for that labor. The significant issue is that when a farmer pays for labor with produce rather than cash, there is a special exemption in the code for the payroll taxes, which give both the farmer and the worker a break. §31.3121(a)(8)-1 Payments for agricultural labor (b ) Payments other than in cash. The term “wages” does not include remuneration paid in any medium other than cash for agricultural labor.

I'd add them to the appeal.

The best way is whichever way saves you time, WHILE STILL LEAVING YOU FEELING COMFORTABLE ABOUT THE PROCESS. Most do just go on to the next line, which clearly is one less step, but some feel better when they click 'next' because they feel certain that 'closes' the previous entry.

From the instructions for KY Sch M: Line 2—Enter the self-employed health insurance deduction from federal Form 1040, Line 29 Line 14, Health Insurance Premiums—Enter medical and dental insurance premiums paid for yourself, your spouse and your dependents. This deduction applies to premiums paid with after-tax dollars. Note:You cannot deduct on Line 14 insurance premiums paid with pretax dollars (cafeteria plans and vouchers already excluded from wage income) because the premiums are not included in box 1 of your W-2 form(s). Do not include long-term care insurance premiums included on Schedule M, Line 13. You may not deduct premiums paid on your behalf (advance payments) and you must reduce the amount you paid by the amount of health coverage tax credit. (See federal Form 8885.) So I assume the reason the line 14 entry is not automatic is so that you will check for the exceptions listed above. KY has a very nice chart, on page 9 of the instructions, that shows the differences between Fed treatment and KY treatment.

Jainen is right, IMHO, it is impossible to be certain just from looking at a tax return that the preparer KNOWINGLY and DELIBERATELY prepared it fraudulently.

The best advice I can offer with so little information would be to get back with tech support, ask for an upper level tech, explaining that you have already tried the lower level help without success, and keep insisting until someone figures out the problem. It is most likely some kind of conflict with some other program, but what and why is beyond my 'guessing' ability. What I DO know is that this is not normal. I've run the program on a Win 7 computer, with no abnormal start-up issues. And I am 'assuming' that you've already tried removing the program after backing up and renaming the database, and then did a new clean install, and that did not solve the problem?

That leaves off one very significant detail. IF the office is NOT 'exclusive use', it's not claimed and not depreciated. So it is easy to protect those clients from the problem by simply advising them to use the office at least part time for some personal use, even if that is just putting a TV in there to watch from time to time. Even putting a game on the computer, and playing it there from time to time is enough to make the office no longer exclusive use. They can still deduct all the direct expenses, while not needing to claim any depreciation.

Clay, his parents can not claim him when they did not support him.

I've NEVER asked for nor seen a birth certificate except when an adoption was involved. And for returning clients, why in the world would I ask to see the SS card again? I now scan in the cards of new clients, but in 'the old days' we did not bother to make copies unless I FELT A NEED to do so. You know what I mean, sometimes you just have a feeling that you need to CYA with a client. Today, I just pass on those, but that is because of my need to reduce my work load.

Here's the response from my request to the support desk: KC, Thanks for letting us know about this. The correction should now be available. Any return will need to be saved before amending for it to work correctly. Regards, Karen Hall ATX Tax Manager

Good catch Jainen, I read the original post too fast, and just focused on it being an A not a C. I should know better, but this season is getting to me!