kcjenkins

Remind him those 'farm losses' offset 'ordinary income' and what he has now is a 'capital gain taxed at a lower rate. And if that's not enough, tell him "it is what it is, you and I don't get to write the tax law, we just have to live with it." Putting it that way reminds him you and he are on the same side, while still letting him know you will do it right or not at all, without actually having to say that.

February 24, 2014 The American Institute of CPAs has sent a letter outlining a set of legislative proposals to the leaders of Congress’s two main tax committees, the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, recommending ways to simplify the tax laws and make them fairer. The AICPA said in the letter it sent last week that the focus of the proposals is on provisions in the Internal Revenue Code that “are not unduly controversial” and “are technical in nature.” The 32 proposals promote simplicity and fairness, according to the AICPA, and would improve tax administration. The proposals cover a range of tax issues affecting individuals, businesses, trusts and estates, and exempt organizations. Among the recommendations are harmonizing and simplifying education-related tax provisions; standardizing the allowable mileage rates for business expense, medical expense and charitable contribution purposes; allowing certain attorney fees and court costs to be deductions for adjusted gross income; clarifying and simplifying reporting of cancellation of debt income; simplifying the provisions for calculating the tax on unearned income of a child; and simplifying the tax treatment of Roth IRA contributions. The two tax committees have been at work on broader tax reform plans, but the prospects of a comprehensive tax overhaul appears to be unlikely this year, with lawmakers gearing up for midterm elections in November. However, House Ways and Means Committee chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., is expected to release a long-awaited draft tax reform plan this week . In the Senate, a new chairman took over this month at the Senate Finance Committee, Ron Wyden, D-Ore., following the departure of the former chairman, Max Baucus, D-Mont., who was recently confirmed as U.S. Ambassador to China. Baucus had been working closely with Camp on the tax reform effort, but Wyden has signaled that his first priority will be to focus on the set of temporary tax provisions traditionally known as “tax extenders,” many of which expired at the end of last year.

Glad to hear it's now working. And the good thing about calling tech support is making them aware of problems so they find a fix. PS You are on my friend list.

And if you do not see an error, delete what you entered and start over, sometimes we have something in there that we don't see, an extra space, a . or whatever, a comma where thre should be a period, etc.

Yes, that sounds right, the sale does not affect the books except that his capital now belongs to the partners who bought it, in whichever percentage they bought, whether 50/50 or otherwise.

Many banks just do them for all transfers, but it is not required.

Well, it SOUNDS like she did a trustee-to-trustee rollover, in which case no 1099 R is required. Relax, it's not your problem.

Sounds like a situation that calls for tech support.

Just be honest. "II will do your taxes if you want me to. The charge for a return like yours should be in the $120 to $150 range. Are you comfortable with that?" Now you have put it back in their hands, but with it clear that it's NOT going to be free. If you want to offer them a discount, still start with your normal fee, so that they know the value of that discount, We work hard all year, just keeping up to date on tax law, court cases, new regs, etc, and giving away that knowledge without it even being valued by the recipient is demeaning to you.

Good one, Atticus.

So what was the solution?

ROTFLMAO

State rules can not "trump and override Federal IRS rules about Federal returns", they can only add additional rules that cover things not addressed in the Fed rules.

I agree, but I don't blame the SC, who ruled correctly that the Constitution gives the power to legislate to Congress, so it's up to Congress to decide how to regulate preparers. That will come, I believe. But there are, as you indicate, many steps the IRS could legally take to reduce fraud, and to catch the crooks, and they are not doing many of them. Comparing addresses, and flagging any address used in over 100 returns, would be an obvious and easy first step. Ditto for bank accounts used by multiple taxpayers.

My first thought was that they had an oral partnership, but after thinking about it, I've changed my mind. Because the most objective measurement of 'intent' is how they have filed their returns. And this is not just one return, it's many years worth.

Judy, I find it a useful addition rather than a diversion. Although I agree partially with Jack and partially with you. I agree that, while Federal rules are primary on federal returns, states can have ADDITIONAL rules, as long as they do not conflict with the feds rules. But I also agree with Jack that a taxpayer can use any address they choose, for their convenience.

What a neat idea, Lion. I do know that some dogs seem to have exceptional ESP toward a person in distress. But almost any dog can give comfort.

The problem is not every vet has a wife, a husband, a mother, etc. They are training the dogs to respond to the early signs of distress, and they can be a great help where there is not a family member to help them that way. Truly a worthy cause to support.

I show the in and out so that if questioned it tracks with the paper trail.

We tend to just 'assume' that this sort of thing only happens to 'nut-case' families who are 'treating' their child with some weird 'alternative' medical treatment, or denying them any treatment at all The idea that parents who take their child to a world-renowned hospital like Tufts could have the state accuse them of abuse for doing that, and take their child away from them, is just unbelievable!

Clients never seem to like having to track down anything, do they? Yet they would blame us if we ignored the issue and then they got that IRS basty-gram. Especially since the IRS so often words it as "we made a mistake" even in cases where the mistake is clearly theirs.

Only 35 seconds long

You would need to see the 'friend's return before you should answer a single question, IMHO. Because you are getting it third hand, from one non-professional to another non-professional;, then to you, so assuming that there is ANY validity is a bit of a stretch. In fact, his refund, f it does exist, may not be related, or only marginally related to buying a house. That idiotic New Home buyer credit is gone, thank goodness. But for all you actually know, he might have told his friend about getting that credit A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, and so your client thought they would get the same credit whenever they bought a house.

No loss, just a higher basis.