kcjenkins

Terry, location has nothing to do with it, it is the USE that determines it. And you said this was an automotive repair buisness. There you have it. It's 1250 business property, so it's 39 years SL.

Pacun, you have posted this before. I really wish you would read up on this, because it is totally wrong, and if you are telling your clients this you are going to either get them in trouble or lose them when they realize you don't know what you are talking about. I don't mean this in a mean way, but it worries me that you've been corrected on this before, and are still saying it. The ONLY time that a married person filing separately gets to ignore the rule on itemized deductions is when THEY qualify for HOH. The other partner is still under that rule. So if a couple with two or more children split up but don't divorce, and each of them has at least one child living with them, then they could both be HOH and either one could itemize and the other not. Or if the one without a child living with them itemizes, the other, filing HOH, does not have to. But those are the ONLY exceptions.

Sorry, Deb, he has to file itemized if she does. Sounds like he's not getting that short a stick, tho, if he's not providing anything but child support. If she's paying the mortgage, she's fully entitled to take it. He just needs to adjust his withholding to cover that lack of Standard deduction. He can, of course, still take whatever he does have, taxes he paid, charitable contributions he made, etc.

Dear Client, Thanks for that call today asking for an appointment this Saturday, because you can't get in during the week. No, I do NOT work on Sunday, and no, I'm not making any appointments between now and the 15th, but if you want to drop your stuff by during business hours, I'll be happy to file you an extension and will get it done as soon as possible. Yes, you may qualify for that new $8,000 credit, IF you bought a new home in 2009, or before 4/31, 2010. But you DO have to have proof that you bought it, and you can not buy it from a relative, so just using your brother's address, as you mentioned, will not make you eligible for that credit. You'll need the HUD-1 form that you got at closing, as well as proof you actually moved into the new home before the deadline. As for my fees, while the basic fees have not gone up, there are several new forms that you may need this year, so yes, it is possible that your fee will go up. How much I can not say until I see your information. And no, the fees do not go down after the 15th. Have a good day, and let me know if you want me to file that extension.

So why do I not feel safer?????

The passage of the Healthcare reform bill included some of the most drastic changes to 1099 information reporting in over a decade. The bill included revenue raising provisions meant to seek greater compliance of the tax code via 1099 information reporting. General provisions included: Ø The elimination of the corporate exemption from 1099-MISC reporting. (Public Law 111-148) Ø The requirement to report payments for property (goods, materials, merchandise, supplies, etc.). (Public Law 111-148) Ø A six-fold increase in penalties from $250,000 to 1.5 million. (H.R.4213, H.R.4849) Ø A doubling of penalties per record from $50 to $100. (H.R.4213, H.R.4849) Beginning for payments made after December 31, 2011, companies will be required to furnish and file form 1099-MISC for payments made to all for-profit companies regardless of corporate status. In addition all payments for goods, materials, merchandise, supplies, and other property will need to be reported as well. Early indications reveal that these changes will likely cause the 1099 reporting volume to increase significantly for most companies as well as the associated B-Notices. [You think?????] While the law applies to payments made after December 31, 2011 companies need to make broad changes to: 1) W-9 procedures to include all vendors. 2) Solicit W-9's for corporate vendors. 3) Prepare for larger 1099 year-end printing, mailing, and filing. 4) Make the appropriate budgetary and system updates to accommodate these changes.

They can take it. The PT Job may have provided her funds, but so did Mom & Dad, and the money that paid her tuition could just as well have been from their contributions, with the job money going to other things. It would be crazy to leave the deduction on the table just because the folks did not write the check themselves.

It did, which is what has us all a bit confused. It said there was no legal separation and no divorce, too.

Let's ALL remember to click on that 'Donate' button this week, while we're in the midst of the 'good times', collecting from the procrastinators!

Share these with your client................

Jack, in this case they are not divorced nor under a legal separation, in which case it's not alimony. Before you can have legally deductible alimony, you have to have either a divorce or a legal separation order. If I'm wrong, please give me a cite.

This one is great.

Well, in most cases the lawyer can get you that answer. And usually on 'bitter' seperations, they know enough about each other to know whether the spouse has enough, or close to enough, to itemize. I always ask, but if I don't know for certain, I err on the safe side of assuming the other spouse did or will itemize. As for splitting the 'joint' things like mortgage, you look at who paid it, or you split it down the middle if it's paid out of a joint account that both use. And you tell the client they have to provide you what they paid, so that you can keep them out of trouble. Clearly if they had paid in joint estimated payments, they are going to have to reach an agreement [through their lawyers preferably] on who claims how much. The IRS will accept any division that they both agree to.

Clearly, you are just over-tired, Margaretmort. Happens to all of us this time of year. Must be the spring rains, huh?

That is because you ONLY use the 8879 when the client owes and you are having the extension payment deducted with a direct debit. Essentially you get the signature as proof of the client authorizing the debit. This is in the instructions for the 8879, which MontanaEA was kind enough to point out to those of us who had not bothered to read them!

Jainen's point is that if filing MFS and one spouse itemizes, the allowed 'standard deduction' for the other spouse is ZERO. Note he said "take the appropriate standard deduction by simply checking the box on Line 39b." Look at what happens when you do that, the 'standard' goes to zero, only amounts entered on Sch A, however small, will show on line 40a. By the way, just to reiterate, 'spousal support' is not ever a deduction, for the one paying it, nor income to the one receiving it. Only alimony is. They do have the right to file a joint return, if both agree to it. But if they file MFS, or MFJ, that 'support' is not going to be a factor anyway.

Thanks Montana, we all missed that. Glad to know that what I've been doing is OK. My clients never have funds withdrawn, they prefer to write a check or send a MO, and mail it in.

You are correct, Grace. Those were not his taxes, they just add to his basis in the house.

I can't pick out my favorite. But just for the record, my attorney son sent me those some time ago. He loved them too.

Well, if you think about it, the extension form does not commit anyone to anything, really, so the idea of signing a 'permission slip' to be able to file it seems silly to me. I routinely file extensions for clients that I expect to be back, but have not heard from, so that when I get those calls on the 16th, [yes, I always get some then] I can tell them 'taken care of'. A few never do come back, of course, but so what? If they already filed elsewhere, it's a non-event sort of thing. No harm, no foul. If they just forgot to call, they are covered. You do not have to sign to file it by paper, so why should we need a signature to efile the same form?

You don't have to get it signed now, if you look at it the first box for "I authorize ___ to enter my PIN" should be marked. You just get them to sign it when they sign the 8879. At least, that is what I do. Although the top of the page says we should be it signed, either in person or by fax or mail, first.

WOW. THERE ARE NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE THAT.

Tom, in this case I think you are on the right track. I'd do it that way, and keep good notes, and if he does get 1099Cs next year, you just deal with them then by zeroing them back out, and refer back to the 09 return. It may generate a letter later, but it may not, given that there are so many of these situations, especially out in CA where you are. The IRS may give a lot of them a pass, and you may get lucky. If not, you still are on solid ground.

Rich, before you import it, rearrange the excel format to put things in the order you want them to be in. THEN you can save it as a .csv file, and import that. That should fix your problem. That is the great thing about using the excel program to arrange the data any way you want it, first.

Thank goodness most of these idiots are too dumb to realize that when they use bank accounts to get these deposits, it's easy for the cops to trace them. But it does make you wonder what the impact on H&R will be.