kcjenkins

Did you put the rolled over amount in the third box?   It's on the same form, no extra

I thought that one would touch a nerve or too !

Since it was set up that way, you should report it that way.  Mom probably had her reasons for setting it up, which does not matter now.  

4 hours ago, rfassett said:

I hear you.  But I will take the stickers any day over the meeting wherein they come in with a folder and taking out one piece at a time while saying, "this is my W-2",   pause, pause, shuffle, shuffle, "this is the interest on my savings account, I think it is a 1099"............

Or the guy who comes in with his legal pad to give me his rental property information.  He reads every line off of his sheets while I write it on mine.  How cost effective is that for a use of my time? I have offered to copy his papers on the copier - no way Jose!

 

Had some that started out that way, but I broke them fast.  "Give it all to me, if you read them out or hand them over one at a time, my fee doubles."  That always worked for me.  And the ones with the legal pad, I just took it from them and went and made them copies.  I kept the originals in my file.   I did give them back the rest of the pad.  

16 hours ago, TAXMAN said:

My problem is that the school where they took these classes is not an accredited school. It is not on the so called list and according to the school personel they are not accredited. I thought this was one of the standards that had to be met.

Well, gee, that was a significant detail to leave out, don't you think?   Of course, given that fact, no education credit is available, no matter what the course was. 

And do NOT feel bad about charging fairly for the 1041.  It was her fault, not yours, that it became necessary !

I would just file the Sch D, you don't need the installment sale form when you file the entire amount on the D.  

Right.  It's a payment to the landlord, but NOT a payment of a fee, or rent, because they did not owe the landlord.  

2 minutes ago, Roberts said:

We have multiple mini-computers in the office that don't have CD drives. I use one at home as a Plex server. CDs will be like those 3.5" floppies in a few years.

Exactly.  And anyone who has their old tax return on any size floppy is probably out of luck if they need to print a copy for any reason.  That is one thing about a paper copy.  It may be old school, but you do not need any equipment to read it, except maybe eyeglasses, if you're old, like me !

Good points, Michael.  I think you are right, the church did not pay this as a business expense, it was actually a gift to the tenant.  So no need for a 1099 from them.

Definitely should add a PITA fee, but not too bad if she's old, and at least she is trying.  

I'd just do it, a paper filed 1099, with his name and address and 'refused' in the box for SSN.  

Certainly she needs to contact Vanguard, both for the future and hopefully to get a corrected 1099-R for this year.  I'd advise trying, as we all know that the IRS seldom actually reads explanations.  

Jack, I felt the same at first, but that was back in 2012, when I first came across the problem, and bought a plugin cd drive to deal with it.  But now I just accept the reality that, at least for the CLIENTS, which is what we're talking about here, that is the reality.  Why would you want to give the client a CD if they do not have a drive to read it? 

Why not?  Education is education, in the government's eyes.  If they allow it for a kid at Brown University, taking their  "On Being Bored" class, why would these not qualify?  

http://dailycaller.com/2015/08/21/the-daily-caller-proudly-presents-the-dumbest-college-courses-for-2015/

http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2009/10/100-hilarious-college-courses-that-really-exist/

Zillow or Trulia is not reliable as an 'authoritative source', but is still useful as a tool to tell you whether the client's number is 'in the ballpark', or needs to be backed up with a written appraisal by a realtor.  IMHO it's a starting place,  altho they are more accurate in the in-town locations and much less in rural areas.  Because of the higher number of comparables and more neighborhood info, I think.   

I agree with you.  LTC insurance is clearly not for the benefit of the corp, it's totally personal.  No way to make it anything but compensation.

On 2/23/2016 at 6:08 AM, Abby Normal said:

Giving clients CDs with PDFs of returns and records, cut our requests for copies of tax returns to near nil.

But the new computers don't have CD slots any more, so the only viable option going forward for electronic copies is flash drives.  

You adjust the BASIS, not the income received.  Same net result, but does not distort the actual flow of money.

If the spouse really did leave, for more than half the year, then the exception is basically very fair, when one parent is left with caring for the child alone.  And it's up to the client to be honest about it.  

What he is trying to do is avoid the SE tax on the work he did, delay paying any tax on it in the year earned, and now report it at the capital gain rate.  Knowing that. I don't see any way you can prepare the return that way.  

On 2/24/2016 at 6:49 PM, Catherine said:

Where I would tell them that we are asking the IRS to investigate them for the possibility of tax fraud, identity theft, and fraudulent return filings, since they are purposefully keeping papers that were supposed to be delivered to a *known* tax accountant's office.

After they change their pants, they would get much more cooperative!

On 2/24/2016 at 6:56 PM, Terry D said:

Catherine, that would be great except, and as far as I know at this time, the only thing they've done to this client is keep the notice from the Post Office regarding the certified mail. I have a secure online document service available but for some reason most folks won't use it.

Terry, it's not just the one client, it's ALL your personal mail.  They don't know whether anything they kept was tax stuff or not, so why not at least scare them a little?  And for all they know, that certified mail might have been extremely time sensitive, which is one of the usual reasons for using certified mail.  It's worth a try.  

Maybe I'm old fashioned, [OK I know I am] but I've always believed that giving the client, even the up-to-date ones, a decent folder with a paper copy on 20 lb paper is just good marketing.  We all tend, when we pay a nice fee for something, to like walking out with something tangible in our hand.  And we like, if we need to show someone our return, banker or such, usually, to have a nice professional looking copy to show.  Even if you give them a flash drive, I'd give them that nice folder with that good-looking copy, too.  It's a form of advertising, and pretty cheap, but when the fee is high, it's especially valuable if that folder is nice and thick.  All flash drives are small, whether it's a 6 page return or a 47 page one.