Cathy

Hi everyone and thanks for your replies. However, I've been with ATX for numerous years, therefore, this "ain't my first rodeo". I don't hold my State returns as Louisiana is a Direct State and I perfer not to hold them. Also know that prior to originating this thread, I definitely searched every section available and that particular Direct State was NO WHERE to be found even though I had kept a copy of the program telling me that the Direct State e-file had been created for this particular client. This confirmation appeared within the client's file after I created both the Federal and Direct State e-files. The problem I experienced was not on my first return to e-file this year. I first experienced the same problem described in my first post of this thread last night with another client. Several clients after that issue cropped up appeared correctly in the e-file menu...in other words, both the Federal and Louisiana returns were displayed and I was able to select each return for transmitting. Also, I do know for a fact that ATX personnel (in past years) often visited our forum and have performed "fixes" on issues they read about here. I contacted my sells rep. after my initial post to this thread. She was trying her best to get through to Customer Support to have the problem expedited for a fix. While on hold after talking with her, I experimented with the client's file to find a temporary work around. Luckily, I was able to find a work around on my own. I told my sale rep. about the work around so hopefully it will appear in the knowledge base as a work around until a permanent fix can be found. In the interim, the work around is as follows: If a Direct State return e-file that was "successfully created" does not appear in the menu of files created to be transmitted, open the client's file and select "Save". The usual box will show on your screen and inform you that the e-files already created will be rejected. Click "ok" (if memory serves me right...in other words, "so what"). After performing the above step, once again select the "create e-file" tab. Select both Federal and Direct State files to be created. Your screen will once again (assuming no errors) indicate that BOTH the Federal return and the Direct State return e-files have been created. Close the client file and once again go to the transmit e-file screen. BOTH FEDERAL AND DIRECT STATE RETURNS ARE NOW LISTED. Mark the boxes for both files to be transmitted. Problem solved. Again, thanks for your replies....although your solutions did not pertain to my situation, they possibly might help another ATXer with limited experience with the software. Take care, Cathy

Ditto!

Have had 2 instances....this doesn't happen every time however: Both Federal and State returns were created. After they were created, I even printed out the E-File Creation Results which does verify that BOTH returns were created. This is the screen you see within the return after the returns are created. However, when trying to transmit the returns from the "created" menu, ONLY the Federal return shows as being created, therefore, the State return can not be transmitted as the State return box can not be checked to indicate it needs to be transmitted. As it's impossible to reach the Customer Service line, hopefully, ATX will see this and call me. (Cathy @ 225-627-5140)

Thanks Jack and taxtrio, Jack.....Yes, I have done all that you suggest. And, you are right. I do need some rest, desperately, and possibly I would have time to rest if it didn't take me twice as long to prepare a return as it should. I completely understand your sympathy with the programmers at ATX, but don't you find it a little strange that our program wan't beta tested BEFORE tax season? Taxtrio, I finally found myself with no clients at 6:30 pm tonight and called customer support. I have very little time to post to this board or read the comments from the other members as I'm up to my eyeballs with clients. I am a long time customer with ATX and I think I, or rather I should say "we" (even if one is a first year client) deserve better from the customer support and the entire ATX staff than we are getting. I tried to log on to the "official community board" but found myself locked out of it for some unknown reason. I haven't posted anything on it since this site has been up and running. Thanks to both of you again..... P.S. My program still closes for no reason even after installing the 12.9 update...thanks for the update, ATX!

To add fuel to the fire, I just watched ATX TV where they talked with the President of CCH SFS, Jeff Gramlich, and he stated that their customer service department is working day and night including weekends! A man is only as good as his word! I hope Mr. Gramlich reads my post. Cathy

I just updated to 12.9 from the ATX web site. I chose the selection to automatically have my program updated each time I open it. Needless to say, 12.9 would not download that way and I had to retrieve it from the website. Instructions on the website tells one how "To download and install 2012 Program updates using program Updates feature: You know the routine...connect to the internet, open your 2012 program and click the updates button. This instruction was on the same page as the "To download and install 2012 Program updates without opening your program". Pardon my French folks, but why in the hell did ATX not test the update to see if it would download through the program? Even more mind boggling is why the hell is Customer Support closed today at 6:30 PM central time (EVEN IF IT IS SUNDAY) on February 17, 2013, when they still have so many issues with their program? Simply unbelieveable!!!!! I have had to work till 3:00 in the morning every day since tax season began simply because this program is so flawed! One would think CCH would have the common decency to pay overtime to their programmers and support personnel to get ALL of the problems solved. I still cannot print 2 copies of each return as only 1 copy will print! After I downloaded from the web site and installed 12.9 I performed the following test: I checked ONLY "custom print" and ONLY chose "billing" to print....2 copies, of course. Instead I got many, many pages I had not requested and ONLY one copy of those pages at that. Each year, I comtemplate switching software but tell myself in January of each year that it HAS to be better this year. Contemplating the idea of converting ATX to another software now is so minor and I can't wait until next year! It seems as if the ATX software has been turned over to high school students or freshman college students at best. The programmers cannot possibly be of the calibar needed to work with a tax software this time of year. Of course, I can appreciate the fact that ATX was no longer able to use the Excel spreadsheet as the mechanism of the program due to having to keep up with new technology, however, for us to be the ginnea pigs is again, mind boggling! Also, as the Excel spreadsheet worked fine last year with IRS's MEF system, I'm not convinced that ATX had to get rid of the Excel spreadsheet to run the program. Every single one of these time consuming issues we are facing should have been remedied long before the season began. I would have been glad to work with them to test their new program engine in the off season as I'm sure many of our gang would have been glad to do as well....not to say that it should have been our responsibility in the least, but why didn't they do that rather than selling us a piece of C _ _ _ during the filing season. Take care, Cathy

Bonnie, Yikes!!! I just re-read your original post. Be sure and tell your client to have his attorney make sure the settlement doesn't include any language about the settlement (or part of the settlement) being for lost wages....It will stop his social security checks dead in their tracks!

Whereas worker's compensation settlements aren't taxable, social security offset by a worker's comp. settlement sometimes must be included in income. That usually happens when you have an inexperienced attorney, but it can happen! If the wc settlement is written up as X number of $ for lost wages, social security will offset their payments to the injured (if the person has applied and been approved for social security disability benefits) until the lost wages dollars written out in the settlement are depleted. EX: Taxpayer qualifies for $1,000 a month in social security benefits. The WC settlement specified that $40,000 of the settlement is for lost wages. Social security will keep 40 checks (40 x $1,000 = $40,000) AND send the taxpayer a 1099 at the end of the year for $12,000 that he must include on his return. The taxable portion of the social security goes through the same formula as normal social security payments would in order to obtain how much of the social security is actually counted as income on the taxpayer's return. Holler if I can confuse you more! Cathy

The AOC is a 40% refundable credit. In your clients' case, whether the mom claimed the daughter or the daughter claimed herself, the 40% portion of the AOC credit (max is $2,500) is refundable....$625. Off the top of my head, I believe the daughter might be the qualifying child of the mother for the EIC. No matter where the mother and daughter might live be it in a homeless shelter or the home of a boyfriend, if the daughter (under 24 and a full time student for at least 5 months of the year) lives with the mother for more than 6 months, the EIC credit is available. The mother doesn't need to claim the daughter to get back everything she paid in, and could possibly get the EIC...pull up the EIC assistant under IRS.GOV real quick and run the facts...am in an awful hurry or I would verify it myself for you. Good luck! Cathy

There is a "Preview" that you can click on before you print....I've learned to do that as I don't print the worksheets. Maybe that will help you???? I always tell the program to print 2 copies, however, only 1 prints! In regard to slow printing...I don't have that problem. I kind of wish I did because at times my printer prints out over 50 pages before I can blink my eye and in those 50 pages are those worksheets I did not request! I have a HP4014 that I purchased 3 years ago. If your printer continues to print slow, you might need to upgrade to a newer printer. When I last upgraded my printer, I was amazed at the speed from the additional memory or whatever a newer printer has! It makes a tremendous difference. Good Luck!

UPDATE: The "Temporary Solution" above didn't work. After clicking the "Print" button then the "Cancel" button, the programs shuts itself down. I reopened the return and tried again...program crashes....many times I tried it...same results. I discarded the 8879 and the 1040 EF Info and then added again to the return. Same results...program crashes. Had a feeling my enrolling in "Fee Collect" had something to do with the program not letting me create a return with the client receiving a paper check. I'm not using the "Fee Collect" with this return as having tried it once and found it too time consuming, I will only use it when I absolutely MUST. After many attempts to create the Federal e-file to no avail, I clicked on the "Fee Collect" disclosure sheet and tried to discard the form. The program told me that the 1040 EF Info would be discarded. I cancelled that bright idea and tried to create the return again. It then created! Pathetic, absolutely pathetic!

Thanks, Grmy!!! I owe you one! Cathy

You're positively correct! One of my client's W-2 indicated $1.30 in Federal withholding when the correct withholding was over $28,000. Offshore gulf worker that the employer incorrectly classified as a foreign worker. Rather than correcting W-2 and payroll reports, etc.... client was told that he had to let a CPA firm they deal with prepare his tax return. He refused upon my advice as the CPA firm was going to prepare his return as if he had worked in foreign waters. I prepared the form to correct the W-2 that was filed with his paper return along with documentation of 9 months of correspondence with employer. Client received a timely refund from IRS. Amazing what the oil and gas industry employers are trying to pull with their employees pay since the BP spill! Another client's oil and gas industry employer even filed an annual report with the SEC stating that they relocated their company overseas, therefore, they and their employees will no longer owe US income tax! Their U.S. employees still report to the same office in Houston, TX and still work in U.S. territories. They went on to state they will not register with the new country's tax office and will not pay any income taxes in their new location! Can't believe they had the audacity to file this info with the SEC!

Hopefully ATX is monitoring this forum because you sure can't get through on the support line, or should I say "non-support" line. Client had her refund direct deposited last year. This year she is requesting a paper check as she no longer has a checking account. When creating the Federal e-file, errors regarding her checking account (must have routing number....yada yada) appear. I cannot create a Federal e-file return. I had no problem with the state return. Cathy

Can I do this? NO How? N/A Should I do this? NO I would tell client to contact employer and request a W-2C. If the client is unable to provide a W-2C, I would tell client that I could file a paper return for him/her explaining his/her position to IRS. I would further tell client that my additional filing fee would be more than the $60 and IRS might not accept her position and it would cost her more than double the $60 in that case..... Take care, Cathy

Margaret, You should be able to use your program as all you are doing is printing the acknowledgement history....you may not even have to take the extra step in pasting the ack history to word or office, right?

Ok...Finally got a couple of minutes. SHORTCUT TO PRINT ACK HISTORY: 1. First open either Microsoft Word or Office to a blank, new file and then minimize it if you want to. (I put my Word program icon on the bottom tool bar at the bottom of my screen. 2. Select the acknowledgement(s) you want to print under the E-File menu as we once did. (I usually select the Federal and State acks for each client separately.) 3. Once the acknowledgement appears on your screen, hit "Control"," ALT", and "Prt Scr" keys at the same time. You will not hear or notice anything different on that screen after you press those keys. 4. Click on your Word or Office file and a blank document should appear if you followed step #1. 5. Right click on the blank file you brought up in Step 4. 6. The acknowledgement history will appear. 7. You are then able to print the acknowledgement by using the print command under the "File" menu. 8. After printing the acknowledgement, to get rid of that particular ack and get ready to print another one when needed, click on the border of the acknowledgement. Then click on your "Delete" key. It then disappears. I then minimize my Word file to have it ready for the next ack I need to print, whenever. Take care, Cathy

My daughter-in-law showed me a trick to print the ack history. Basically, you copy it and send it to Microsoft Word where you use their print command. I will post what keys you use to copy the ack in the morning when I get to my office. Cathy

You are correct. Also, the EIC refund will not affect public assistance such as food stamps.

Thanks, but I did that already. The ack. history appears on the screen, however, I cannot print it. The "PRINT" command is very dim and does nothing when I click it. Have also tried "control and print" and it will not print that way either. Cathy

J.B., I just e-filed my 1st return this morning. Approx. 2 hours later, both the Federal and State have been accepted. I can't print the acknowledgement history, but other than that, it went o'kay! Take care, Cathy

Bump......Has anyone else had this problem?

There is a "print" box on the bottom left corner for the E-File ack. History, however, it is dim and, of course, will not print when you click it. Also, right clicking on mouse doesn't pull up the menu where you can also print a document. Any ideas? Thanks, Cathy

Awww....thank you, KC! You are 100000% per cent right. In fact, I went ahead and used the company as it's so late in the year already. It really kept me on my toes! And, mcb 39 you're also correct! Note to self: it's time to make a donation to Eric to keep us up and running! Take care, y'all! Cathy

Hi Jack, I realize I'm a day late and a dollar short, however, if you have made contact with an individual at ATX, can you pass this on, please: When entering information on a W-2 and the Social Security and Medicare wages are different than the wages in box 1, I'd like to see the program automatically compute the corrected Social Security and Medicare taxes. My very old AmTax dos program used to do it years ago. Also, when selecting an employer from the saved listing, I'd love to see the State and State number automatically pop up as the Federal ID number does. This also was possible on the old AmTax dos program and is a big time saver. When the client is rolled over from a preceeding year and had the same employer, the state information appears if memory serves me correctly. However, no state info appears when selected from the saved listing. How was the forum? Do you think it's something that you will attend each year? Edit: Just read your post about the forum. Will try to attend 12-18-12. Thanks! Thanks so much! Cathy