kcjenkins

Makes me wonder why we bother to file ourselves. However, we know their attitude to our 'doing as they do, instead of as they say' would not be friendly.

I've sent it to my boys, Tom, asking their thoughts. Will post as soon as I hear back, [they are always super busy, of course].

Yes, his agreement is his, they can't show it to his ex.

10 Things to Consider on a Form 990 05/01/2014 By Brooke Karafin, Ralph Citino and Stuart Katz As most exempt organizations know all too well, preparing a Form 990 can be a time-consuming and complicated process. To help them have a better understanding of the form's importance for both compliance and marketing, we have compiled a list of 10 things to consider on a Form 990. 1. Good governance: Form 990 requests information regarding an organization's governing body and management, governance policies, and disclosure practices. Although federal tax law does not mandate these policies and practices, there is an expectation that a prudently managed organization would have specified policies around conflicts of interest, whistleblowing, document retention, determining compensation and joint ventures. 2. Review of the Form 990: An organization is not required by federal tax law to provide a copy of the form to its board or governing body, or to have them review the form before it is filed. However, the IRS believes board review is a fiduciary duty and encourages board members and executives of nonprofits to review and understand what is being filed each year. 3. Not all tax-exempt organizations are charities: There are more than 50 different 501© classifications that organizations can be, depending on their purpose and activities, from business leagues to social clubs. 501©(3) organizations are exempt from federal income tax as charitable organizations. The major difference between charities and other tax-exempt organizations is that contributions made to charitable organizations by individuals and corporations are tax-deductible. 4. Not all income earned by nonprofits is tax-exempt: Even though an organization is recognized as tax-exempt, it still may be liable for tax. The organization may be subject to unrelated business income tax if an activity is regularly carried on and is not substantially related to the entity's exempt purpose. 5. Functional expense allocation: Form 990 Part IX reports expenses in three categories: program service; management and general; and fundraising. Proper allocation of expenses between these functions is very important. The amount of funds spent on program services (when compared to total expenses) is a measurement of the organization's effective stewardship of its assets. 6. Public support test: Part I of Schedule A requires an organization to indicate why it is not a private foundation by checking the box for one of 11 categories of public charities. Many publicly supported organizations must describe their revenue in either Part II or III. This information allows the IRS to determine whether an entity meets the applicable public support test. For those organizations whose exemption category requires performing the support tests in Parts II or III of Schedule A, failure to pass both of these tests may result in their loss of public charity status and being characterized as a private foundation. 7. Lobbying vs. political activities: Many nonprofit organizations mistakenly assume that it is illegal for nonprofits to lobby. To the contrary, federal laws actually exist to encourage charities to lobby within certain specified limits. Knowing what constitutes lobbying under the law, and what the limits are, is the key to being able to lobby legally and safely. Unlike lobbying, Section 501©(3) organizations are prohibited from participating in a political campaign. Schedule C provides the IRS with information concerning political campaign activities and/or lobbying activities of Section 501©(3) organizations. 8. Unreasonable compensation: Unreasonable compensation is one of the IRS's most active areas of inquiry and enforcement. To avoid loss of tax-exempt status and/or intermediate sanctions, the organization should use a process for determining compensation that includes review and approval by a governing body or compensation committee, data-based salary comparisons, and careful documentation and record-keeping of compensation-related deliberations and decisions. 9. State requirements: Most states require nonprofit organizations to file one or more documents to give them permission to operate and solicit contributions in that state. Each state has different requirements; therefore it is important to consult with a tax or legal advisor. Filing requirements may include annual reports, annual financial returns, periodic renewal of state nonprofit tax-exempt status, and registration as a fundraiser. 10. The Form 990 is a marketing tool: The Form 990 can be a valuable marketing and development tool. Once the Form 990 is filed with the IRS, it becomes a public document that potential donors, sponsors and grant recipients can use to obtain information about the organization. Information can also be accessed by state regulators and the media. The organization should consider Form 990 disclosure as an opportunity, rather than a burden. Use it as an opportunity to tell the organization's story by effectively stating its mission and program service accomplishments. The IRS and various watchdog agencies encourage the public to review organizations' Form 990 tax returns. Brooke Karafin, Ralph Citino and Stuart Katz work at Shechtman Marks Devor PC, a Philadelphia-based accounting firm that specializes in working with nonprofit organizations. Reach them at [email protected].

Craig's List: Free to good home. My girlfriend doesn't like my dog, so I appeal to you. She is a purebred from a wealthy area and I have had her 4 years. She likes to play games. Not totally trained. Has long hair so she's a little high maintenance, especially the nails, but she loves having them done. Stays up all night yapping but sleeps while I work. Only eats the best, most expensive food. Will NEVER greet you at the door after a long day or give you unconditional love when you're down. Does not bite but she can be mean as hell! So........anyone interested in my 30 year old, selfish, wicked, gold-digging girlfriend? Come and get her! Me and my dog want her re-homed!!

Marilyn is exactly right, the IRS actually is REQUIRED under the law to go after anyone who owes, and with a joint return, both of them owe it.

If he has a payment plan, he should have something in writing proving that. But even if he does, that will not stop them from going after her too. That is the reality of a MFJ return. Best advice is to help her work out a payment plan too.

If they want to do it, they need to do it the right way. Work with both parties to get a bill written that can be passed, not try 'dirty tricks' to try to impose unlawful requirements.

GOT THIS ONE TODAY: I would like to make donation to charitable institution in your community. Please contact me if you can accept this donation on their behalf. Contact email: [email protected]

Or we could just agree to declare the "Comic sans MS" font to be 'our' sarcasm font. What do you think?

Yes, but you are one of us 'oldies', Jack.

Us old-timers certainly feel that way, but lots of the younger ones just trust that the software knows. Many 'newbies' have never actually held a 'real' form in their hand, much less had to fill one out by hand. They never had to read the form to see where it flows.

See Pub 463, starting at page 23. Good examples.

Yes. If you take a distribution from your designated Roth account before the end of the 5-taxable-year period, it is a nonqualified distribution. You must include the earnings portion of the nonqualified distribution in gross income. However, the basis (or contributions) portion of the nonqualified distribution is not included in gross income. And there is no penalty because there was no deduction when the contribution was made.

I have always liked form-based input. That said, it's also true that this is a hang-over from the early days when you had to actually know which forms to use, and where to put things, because all the software did was basically 'the math'. Today, the software is much different, and using the forms is, as mentioned, only a visual trick, when almost ever line on that form 'jumps' you to some 'input form'.

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/danish-government-creates-entire-country-in-minecraft-users-promptly-blow-it-up-and-plant-american-flag/1100-6419412/

Or a bigger serving, he's clearly still really hungry!

Sure, dump it all on them, can't hurt, might help.

I agree, Atticus, but politicians love it as a way to buy votes.