Catherine

Sympathies!!

So does "various". It's just like "unknown" only not. Sheesh.

You mean a keyboard with integral real-time printer?!?!

Because of course the gov't needs to use the browser with the most egregious security problems. Sigh.

To deal with the phone calls: http://www.callruby.com/ Very reasonable and everyone who talks to them loves them. No problem signing up for 1 or 2 months so it's not like you're locked in. Plus they have an alternate phone number to call ME and can patch calls through if (under guidelines you give them) the call warrants it. Highly recommended.

I have a couple of clients who cannot get anything but gobbledygook from the "Where's My Refund" site and the common thread is Safari browser on a Macintosh. Anyone know if this is a known issue?

Actually, the polar bear population is the highest that it has been in the last five decades.

That was adorable!!

One of my favorites is, "Magic 8-Ball says 'Answer Hazy; Ask Again Later'!" -- and it always gets a chuckle, too.

With thanks to "Dr Eowyn" over at Fellowship of the Minds: Some guy bought a new fridge for his house. To get rid of his old fridge, he put it in his front yard and hung a sign on it saying: ”Free to good home. You want it, you take it.” For three days the fridge sat there without anyone looking twice. He eventually decided that people were too mistrustful of this deal. So he changed the sign to read: “Fridge for sale $50.” The next day someone stole it!

Get a flute and charm it? Don't neglect the turban, though.

We're in the 8 - 10" projected swath; I'm with you!

My magic solution is to change the "pay to" field in the client's accounting system to read "No payment until W-9 received!" and that has (mostly) done it. It means two trips to the client for me (unless I can do this on an Accountant's Copy). Gets an answer fast, too. It IS possible to e-file 1099s with up to 25% of the ssn's missing. Tell your client they WILL get a letter from the IRS (1) scolding them, (2) telling them to get W-9s from everyone, and (3) telling them to start 28% backup withholding IMMEDIATELY. Showing them the backup withholding form (forget the #) gets attention, too, as it is filed annually with sub-totals per month. Clients are usually looking for the least amount of work -- that backup withholding form ain't it! As far as deductions -- I tell clients that without the 1099 (with tax ID) that upon examination they WILL lose the deduction, completely. Then I ask them if they think their taxes are so outrageous, why they want to pay MORE just so sub-whoever can skip paying their own portion?

Technically, yes. Would they come after a closed estate for a penalty? Unlikely. But it's easy to do and gets rid of the left-undone feeling. Don't worry about the "red" copy -- I've never seen black laser printer copies rejected. Especially for *one* form.

Oh, Tom.... you just HAD to tell us, didn't you? Yum. And I'm SO far away!

I have even run into a couple of smaller churches where the volunteer secretary did not know to send ANY letters, EVER. How do I know so much about the secretary? Because *she* was the one who came to me for tax help (with her own list of donations to the church for the year)! She immediately went back through her records and sent the letters to everyone.

Wow.

Clients moved to MA in 2009. Were unable to sell their home and so began renting it out. Were given FMV from realtor of 700K as of date rental began (had purchased some years earlier for well over 800K, had tried to sell in 2009 in the 760K range with no takers). Have rented home since mid-2009 and have taken depreciation every year now totaling roughly $100K. Finally sold the place in 2013 -- for less than $500K; a huge loss. How can I determine how much (if any) of this is now a *business* loss and how much would have been considered a *personal* loss? It's now been long enough that they would not have been able to exclude any gain as sale of principal residence. Had they purchased the place for 700K as an investment it would be pure business capital loss. But I can't find any info on how treatment may change if it was personal property *converted* to business property. TIA, Catherine

The nice thing about pencil returns and carbon paper is that they always open, don't get corrupted simpl.y by sitting on your desk overnight, and you know where EVERY number came from. Of course, we'd all only be able to do 1/5 the number of returns because of the additional time. Details!

Dear Tax Client, It was great seeing you this morning. The appointment to drop off all your tax documents and self-employment info for 2013 really was NOT as important as what we ended up doing: hearing about how your sister set up QuickBooks for you. Once you make all the changes I listed for you to make, and finish getting around to entering the data, the reports you then print out will be really useful in eventually preparing your 2013 taxes. Until then, I'll just hold on to the one-and-only-one tax document you actually arrived with. And in your copious free time, poke around at the long-overdue paperwork from 2012, 2011, 2010, and 2006. No rush; we'll get to those one of these years. Also appreciate the $60 payment for the 1099s I sent out for you. You get me info for the one last guy you didn't realize you needed to send one to, and I'll get that last one on its way to him. But I really enjoyed our hour and a half discussion.

Our anniversary is April 1st. Doug wanted a date he would remember (and should he forget, he can pretend it was on purpose as a gag). This year it falls on a Tuesday so our big night out will be a regularly scheduled pistol team match. We *really* know how to party!

Anything that starts with "Dear Client" from RitaB is going to be funny!

this little, little girl is just SO thrilled being out in the rain! http://www.glennbeck.com/2014/02/06/this-video-will-make-you-really-really-happy/

LOL Jack -- no Holiday Inn Express. Pistol match that our team lost by TWO points, then home. I don't think the ex-partner is in a position to refi the loan. Perhaps the best thing for this guy this year is to put his returns on extension, work with the ex-partner (still a friend) to fix the loan problem *somehow* -- then file his taxes/get his refund several months after that has been done. Three years to claim refunds...

Well, it was considered enough of a "federal" loan to snag the guy's refund a couple of years ago. The big difference is now it's on a repayment schedule with a collection agency, and those repayments are current. And that's the piece I can't find: will the loan being on a repayment schedule by an agency trigger the refund capture, --or not? It's a big issue for him, as he got laid off last year and they paid off his deferred comp and over-withheld. So the 2013 refund is likely to be plump and juicy. He really doesn't want it to get snagged. I also told him he needs to check into legal ramifications -- the loan was being used for a spin-off business from the one it was originally issued for, and this guy has NO connection (or standing) in that business. For all I know, that abrogates other provisions of the loan paperwork and I have no idea what the legal consequences might be. (I am not a lawyer and don't even play one on TV.)