Catherine

It could also be presumed that the person made a donation to a restricted fund of the church, put the name of the restricted fund on the check, and the church used the money for the restricted purpose. Churches have many restricted funds -- flowers, Sunday school, music -- this could be another one.

Enjoy your day!

So far as materials go, jainen, you are correct. However, I found the ability to take computer-generated sample tests and have them graded extremely useful. They taught me that going back and second-guessing myself almost always gave me the _wrong_ answer, and also gave me confidence as I started to recognize when there was a problem with a _question_ or the choice of _answers_. Made the actual test much smoother -- I didn't agonize over second-guesses, and didn't get confused, upset, or freaked out when the answers didn't match the question or the question was too poorly worded to be clear. And that would push our original poster to a set of materials that does have test access. Unless MAS learns best in a classroom, or by reading, etc. YMMV.

Sometimes annuity payments end up being partially taxable, as well. But the beneficiary should get a 1099-R from the annuity company next year on that.

Thank you for letting us all know!!

I second that -- they gave me that guarantee right away once I asked for it. And remember that CCH won't give any guarantee at all -- once they have your money, it's gone, whether they have a product or not.

More prayers coming your way, Kea. And good wishes for getting the insurance conundrum straightened out to your satisfaction. Catherine

:bday: and have a terrific day!!

Thanks for this idea, KC -- I can add a flag column to my spreadsheet. That'll work better than my post-it note! Catherine

There was some mention on another forum that CCH only authorized X number of licenses to be sold through TRX. So perhaps they have indeed sold them all and you are SOL for this year. However, you still have time to sign up for CCH's amazing 10% discount with no money back guarantee! Not what you wanted to hear, I know. But it's the best I can do for now. Catherine

Always the best place to hide, if you can manage it. I've found that lots of tax rules hide there.... :lol:

I think the red one is the "plug something in here and we fry ALL your data!!!!" slot. :P

Have a terrific day!

I forgot one a couple of years back and now put a little sticky note on my monitor at the beginning of the season reminding me to check. As for estimateds -- about one client in four or five actually makes the payments in the amounts I specify at the time cited. So I always get a list from the client, rather than assuming from the prior year information.

The only thing I know is that if you get their demo _once_, they will call you annually for years afterwards.

Thanks, taxbilly. Clicked on the link and just about every single entry was highlighted in my browser's "you've been here" color!

I was able to determine that this is an avenue worth pursuing. As opposed to "just" trying for a payment plan -- which is what I've done for everyone else who has come wanting an OIC the last however many years. So I've sent him off to dig up financial data. From what he _tells_ me, he assets are nothing but a 7-year-old car with many, many miles on it, and his clothes and watch. Ex-wife has everything else; no investments, retirement plan, cash-value life insurance. Alimony & child support set by court based on _former_ earnings, now cut by 25% in this economy but at least he still has a job. Thanks for the info; I'll see (once I have the financial data) if he can get something from employer about documenting cut in pay.

ATX has the form as well; I was hoping for advice on presentation rather than documentation. But thanks. Catherine

I have a client who came for advice on a sizable outstanding tax liability, and after discussion and analysis he's a good candidate for an offer in compromise. He's someone who actually would _like_ to pay it all -- just can't manage it. A payment plan would require about $1,000/month more than he has cash flow to support (after current taxes and court-required alimony, child support, and child medical payments, and absolute bare-bones living expenses for him). Another case of lawyers make out like bandits, and a guy trying to do the right thing goes slowly under. Sigh. But I haven't touched one of these since before they messed with the rules a couple of years back. Any advice for someone whose knowledge is both outdated and rusty? I offered to send him to a local colleague who specializes in OIC's and told him how long it had been since I'd done one -- but he wants me. Thanks, Catherine

Don't see why not. But try the 990-EZ first. Lots of times smaller groups with hopes/dreams of growing bigger want the schedules of donors etc on file because as they grow they need those records -- and if it's not on the tax forms, it's usually near-impossible to dredge out of history. A friend who does lots of non-profits was telling me about this just a couple evenings ago on the phone. Don't remember as much as I should because it was late and I was tired at the time. Catherine

The TRX-Pro TX product for $699 says the exact same thing as it did before, when I was assured it was the ATX product. Now -- so far as the ATX discount goes -- for me, it would be $111. Not a deal-breaker. However, CCH will NOT promise to have ATX for anyone, NOR will they refund your money if they, for whatever reason, decide to NOT produce/provide/sell ATX for the 2009 tax season. Is it likely that they cancel ATX? I don't believe so. However, to give them over $1,000 of my money, now (for them and not me to use for almost a year), with no recourse later, to save $111, makes no sense to me. Your mileage may vary. ATX is a great product. For Eagles Ridge -- get a demo version and play with it over the summer. If the $111 (or less for 1040; it's only a 10% discount) will really make that big a deal to you --> then go look at TaxAct by Second Story Software. I used it for years before I switched to ATX. It's a fabulous program and I left because I needed too many business returns, part-year and non-resident individual returns -- and at that time, those returns were a major weakness of TaxAct. They have since improved mightily, I hear. And yes, it's easy to get frantic. Ask me how I know this. All the more reason to take a deep breath. Nothing here is life or death -- or even happiness. Ultimately, you can do a good job for your clients and make a decent profit for yourself using any one of a half-dozen or more programs, which will all work pretty darned well for you. Catherine

Hang in there. They may be under a "confidentiality" agreement until it is settled. What's the rush, anyways? It's not like we need our 2009 software TODAY. We'll know in plenty of time to buy directly from CCH if need be, and with TRX's written guarantee (which CCH, by the way, will NOT give), any money you spent will be refunded if they can't provide you with ATX. Chill! Or are you _trying_ to stir people up? I do note that all these frantic-sounding notes are from new community members. If you're legit -- go back and re-read (or read 1st time) some of the older TRX-related posts, take a breath, and calm down. If you're just making trouble -- get outta here; we don't need you, we don't want you, and it won't work.

Thank you. I certainly did!

Hope that your dad improves soon, bstaxes!

Thank you, taxbilly!