Catherine

powers of attorney....

Plus the kid will be un-employable. Are the parents prepared to support him his entire life?

My first thought on seeing the topic header was "don't we all have clients with trust issues?" But that' s not the type in question. Standard accounting answer is "it depends." If they are people hired through an agency, they are most definitely NOT employees. If they are people (like LPN's, say) who hire themselves out to many clients - again, not employees but rather contract workers. If they are direct hires, it might make make the most sense to put them in as household employees on Sch H and have the trust reimburse the t/p for all costs. Keep in mind that disbursements of corpus (if allowed by the trust document) are not income.... Many times income has to be distributed first, but sometimes it is left to the discretion of the trustee.

What a WONDERFUL story, Judy! Sometimes the Spirit moves us and we don't know why until later - but are SO glad then that we listened.

@Terry D - very glad to hear that you are happy with Drake! I don't use their Secure File Pro, simply because I have a secure file portal that came with my web site, pre-dated my switch to Drake, and already had all my clients' accounts. But I do the same: Gruntworx-indexed pdf on one screen, working return on the other... no papers (well, way fewer) on the desk.

That happened to me some years ago. First indication was a call from Crate & Barrel, wanting my current address to send my final paycheck to. Huh? Turns out a Kathryn with same surname and same *year* (but *not* month or day) of birth had her information mixed in with mine at all three agencies. And she had filed a bankruptcy in Texas about two years earlier.... I wrote to all the agencies with all the information, and they fixed the mess. Fortunately that was not ID theft; just sloppy data entry.

I look up the filing requirements per state, and how much tax was withheld on client's behalf. If filing threshold is met, we file. If refund of overpaid tax sufficient to pay my fee, we file. If tax owed is more than a couple of bucks, we file.

Sympathies, @Terry D - this is the *last* thing you need this time of year! I had some clients a couple years ago for whom I filed an extension because we were waiting for information from somewhere. Two months later went to file the return, and could not because someone else had used one of the ssn's for themselves. I'd file the IRS ID Theft form (14049? - whatever it's number is) pronto. You would want that protection regardless. However - before you file it - log in to e-services and download any reports you can get your hands on. One problem with the IRS ID Theft form filing is that it cuts of a POA's ability to get reports. Incredibly stupid, when you think about it - but that's ham-handed bureaucracy for you.

At this time of year I set up an email auto-respond, saying something on the order of "If you have sent your papers, we are working on your returns, in the order of receipt. However, if we take the time to respond to everyone who emails for a status report, no one's returns will get completed. We are doing our best, but refuse to rush or do sloppy work merely to meet the April deadline. Have patience with us, and we will be in touch with any questions or to inform you that all is ready."

Former client emailed, asking if I still had something or other (from tax year 2009). I responded that since they still owed a balance for that tax year, with late fees now adding up to $200+, I couldn't even start to look. I can't tell you how many times I have dunned them over the past few years. Well, of *course* she pleaded ignorance (uh huh, sure) - but then she went to PayPal and paid!! So then I checked my file backups, found what she needed, and sent it off. Well, that was lovely!

But check and make sure there were no contributions for tax or pension-y items in France. Then you can exclude.

I remember 8" floppies - the secretaries used them at DEC (Digital) to keep copies of letters etc. My first foray into computers was with keypunch cards. A LONG wait to punch your cards, hand them in to the mainframe, come back in an hour to see where your program barfed (fortran), wait in line for the keypunch machines while you tried to figure out how to fix the mess. Rinse and repeat. Anyone remember the paper terminals and telephone-handset audio-coupled modem connections? We had a choice between 300 and 600 baud rate - but the 600 only worked late at night. Which is when mainframe time was cheaper anyway. Yes, we were allotted a budget to pay for mainframe time. Something like $20 for the semester.

I still have a Macintosh 180c laptop - that still runs! 8" (or so) *color* screen. Built-in trackball (and no laptop since then has ever had any system so nice for screen maneuvering). Still has "KidPix" on it that my girls used when Gwen was 1 1/2 (she's my younger girl, the 24-year old who just bought a house last fall...) And I still make the sounds like the KidPix narrator made when something got erased.

I still have the installation disks for Word 5.0, too. Not sealed, though.

Client comes in. Two new dependents this year (parents), release of exemption to the ex, missing basis on trades that needed to be tracked down, complications etc - we all know the type. Wants to know why her refund is less than $200 when last year it was almost $5K, since "nothing has changed, really." Oh, really?!?! $57K bonus and up a bracket - nope, not much of a change at all. How can people get a $57K bonus and not notice during the year?! Then she wants to know why her bill went up -- lady, I still don't charge you what the aggravation is worth. Sheesh. Rant over.

If you find it, please post the instructions or link here!

This forum is for professionals, not "civilians," and your question goes much deeper than "do I need to file this form." Please find a really good EA or CPA to help you - they will be worth their fee significantly more than any attorney (with no disrespect to attorneys - but we tax pro's are better at helping, hand-holding, fixing messes, and we charge far less, to boot).

More accurately would be "in non-geologic time"...

Justifiable homicide. That is (or should be!) the nickname of this "major update" and I thank God that I am still on Win7Pro64-bit.

I'd put it on Line 21 with a back-out also on Line 21. Since you've already looked up the regs, have a pdf in the client folder ready for if/when the CP2000 notice comes.

I have found them even more cumbersome to do with the tapes from Judy's TenKey. That works when there is ONE purchase and ONE sale date - but not (for me) when shares/units were bought many times and then sold off in several chunks. I lose my place... unless I am using pencil & paper.

You WILL get it, @BHoffman - but put this one on extension and tackle it in May!

Can you e-file that 2848? I know I can with a return - but have not tried to send one all by its lonesome.

And the stupid calculations are a PITA and have to be done with pencil and paper, too.

When the MLP's uniformly generate losses, do not produce cash distributions, and don't pan out for the cash-flow-poor older client, it's not a good investment - at least for them. The only client I have who does well with these things already has bucket-loads of money.