joanmcq

Is he renting a room or rooms in his home, or does he live in a duplex? The rules are different between renting a portion of your personal residence and renting half of a duplex.

I asked this on another board, but got no answers, so maybe someone has an opinion, I hope? I know the attorney fees, etc to obtain an H1-B visa are not deductible employee biz expenses, but what about fees to transfer an existing visa from one company to another? Client got married and moved to be with husband and had to move from Bay Area to LA, and get a new job. Could the fees be considered job search and not fees to enter a profession?

So what is the number for support???? I hope they're working overtime hours for this.

Ok, I just tried, and the system doesn't recoginze my email address when I go in to upgrade ATX user. Now they send update emails to me...what the %$#@?

Not for ESPPs; they are horrible to compute.

I also started doing tax with a large firm and Profx. With ATX I do miss the 'state if different' column for K-1 entry. With ATX you must manually enter K-1 differences (at least with CA returns) on Sch CA; there is no state entry area for K-1s. But I could not afford the high priced guys when I started out as a sole practitioner, and don't have too many clients with K-1s so I muddle through. Another area where one has to pay careful attention is in the sale of business assets, if basis is different for the state than the federal. the differences have to be entered manually in a worksheet; they do not flow automatically from the asset entry.

Stock option calculation worksheets like, can I say it...TurboTax has? I created a spreadsheet for NQSOs based on the TT worksheet, but for ESPPs I've actually taken the client's info to work to calculate the taxable portion...

Thank you!

I think I'm still waiting for some acks (see post about piggyback states), and one pickup in about an hour and a half (already efiled). One client never sent in his 8879s so I'm not sure what to do. He doesn't actually have a filing requirement because income last year was so low, but I think I have to timely file to get him his $30 TTC (which will be applied to back taxes). Oh well, at least I did get a nap this afternoon. Its was lovely.

Two states that are either piggybacked or 'state only' are in 'IRS cleared' status, and have been for a while. What does that mean? Most of my experience is with CA, and its a 'direct state' so the file doesn't go through the IRS.

I think the package could also be useful for someone using another tax package that does NOT do the Ohio city returns to buy as an add on. Could be a way of marketing ATX to the non-ATX user. Since many people buy ATX for the business returns, for example, this could be another way of marketing a segment of the program, not necessarily a way to nickle and dime us up to MAX. Although with my needs, it became just easier to get MAX than the PPR and other modules I needed.

NEVER NEVER NEVER send three years of returns in the same envelope!!! The GS .5 in the mailroom will take the docs out of the envelope and staple them all together. The first return on the stack gets processed, and the rest get lost. This year I did efile all of my extensions, and was happy to have the confirmation that the extension was received. I wasn't happy that my direct debit failed to go through, and had to send a check late...at least I test processes like these on my own return...

certified mail

If he sold stock in the 401(k) its not a taxable event. If he sold stock and took a distribution, its taxable at ordinary income rates and is not capital gain income, but retirement income. He doesn't get to net it against his capital loss.

Of course, if you read the article, you realize the providers being suspended are those that didn't send in the 8453s as required. Now the system did break down when the 'send in the 8453s or else' letters went out, but what part of 'must be mailed within 3 days of filing' don't these preparers understand? Jeez, some of them were sending in over 100.

One of my new clients this year is a woman who became totally blind as an adult. She is the most calm, centered person I've ever met. Even the nasty divorce she was going through did not raise her ire (although she did have a lot of questions because she couldn't actually read the divorce papers). When reading these posts I immediately thought of how she would make the perfect customer service agent; even the most irate practitioner or taxpayer couldn't make her mad, and she is the kind of caring person that would make sure the cases were taken care of. Unlike the lump of flesh I talked to in Chamblee last week that couldn't understand that taking two months to record a faxed in response to a CP2000 could be a problem at her end, and not the fault of the taxpayer.

I believe it was 1997 or 1998. It was right before I started practicing in 1999.

Why from Santa Claus of course!

How did they bail out the bankers with cash? Ok, I've also got a few weeks worth of newsweek to catch up on. I did notice the interest rates paid on CDs crashed in the three weeks I was gone. And gas prices went up about 50 cents.... God it was blissfull being ignorant if only for a little while...

The FTB has been sending letters to registered RDPs letting them know about the new law. So I think they will know if they file single.

With the interest rate cut? I will admit I was in Germany for most of the month and was blissfully ignorant of news for much of the time since I don't read German well, and had limited access to the internet and only picked up two english language papers. And they were british..... I will agree the bankers and brokers who used lax lending standards get us in this mess. The nimwits that bought more than they could afford could not have done so if reasonable standards had been used in lending them the money. Greed all around.

I really seethe at bailing out financial nimwits that bought more home than they could afford. If the debt is higher than the FMV of the home, keeping them from refi-ing it to a fixed rate loan, then it is likely they are insolvent and would not be taxed on the cancellation of debt anyways. If they have assets they could sell and are solvent, then they are placing the value of keeping their toys, cars, etc over keeping their homes and I have no sympathy. I read an article yesterday about one homeowner in trouble and he said he was giving up restaurant meals, and entertainment, and maybe even parochial school for his kids. Well, duh, in my opinion.

I did just take the Spidell estate tax seminar and the whole afternoon was spent on RDPs and unmarried couples. SB105 (I think that is the number) is ready to be signed by the governator to determine just what method we are going to use to compute the RDP returns. Their consensus was that the bill would pass and we would start with adding the fed AGI from the two federal single returns, and then use a worksheet to make all the adjustments (cap gain and passive loss limitations and such). Fun fun fun. and hopefully, the software will keep track of passive loss c/fs that may exist for state and not for fed and cap loss c/fs that may exist for fed but not for state.....good thing I like spreadsheets! If you do RDPs and there is one of these seminars in your area that has not taken place yet, I heartily recommend it. There is also an hour phone seminar today on the subject.

"would a ratable portion of the premiums paid over the years be considered a charitable deduction in the years paid?". I don't think so, because the beneficiaries were revocable. This policy was originally taken out to ensure mom could be taken care of if she needed the money (could take a loan against it). She gifted money to son to buy the policy back in the 80's. But when it was clear she would be ok financially, she directed that the beneficiaries be the church and grandkids. But, however, she was not the owner of the policy and son did not have to do as she directed.

Man bought life insurance on his mom. He was the owner of the policy, but named the grandkids and her church as the beneficiaries. His agent is telling him he, as owner of the policy, can take a charitable dedcuction for the $20,000 that went to the church. All I can find is examples of the owner being the deceased, and the estate getting a deduction, but also having to include the income as part of the estate. So does he get a deduction, but not have to claim income, or get a deduction without claiming income, or neither?