Catherine

Twice this week I busted my chops and managed eight returns each of those two days. NOT complete - but as complete as they could be without the missing info (which was mainly minor, like the driver's license info we keep forgetting to ask about at drop-off - or get for one spouse [the dropper] only). Ugh. I can't keep up that pace and do quality work. But then the only one-W2 returns I see are the high school kids of adult clients. Everyone else has stock options, rentals, businesses, a zillion trades, foreign accounts - or ALL of those!

Ask if he used one of the tracking services, and get their full-year printout. Last year there were also different kinds of splits (bitcoin to bitcoin cash, etc) so it was more complex than usual.

Not too long after the foreclosure for the next sale. It's not too distant (especially considering the long delays buying a foreclosure house) and so you can make a VERY strong case that THAT was the fair market value. So he was definitely underwater and so no gain.

True! -- Cross-check against the W2.

Stock options often come with basis adjustments in the supplementary pages, too.

I think I am VERY tired tonight. I read the topic name, and my first thought was, "Why does the IRS have babysitter positions open? How young are they hiring new people?"

Judy just about always comes up with the perfect cite.

The cheese arrived today; I tried the Ewemazing today. It is FABULOUS! My daughter described the flavor as a mix of Romano and Gruyere. I'll report on the Lacey Lamb after I try that one.

They really come up with some incredibly creative ways to try to WASTE our TIME, don't they?

Not quite, Max W - the penalties are VICIOUS. They start at 50% of the maximum value during the year and go UP from there. And that instance is for negligence (forgetting to report), rather than intention not to report.

Glad you are feeling a bit better today, Judy!

Good luck, @Possi!

I will trust the folks here to provide a correct answer to the question asked. Whether the question asked is the actual issue is a different problem! Plus we sometimes get a half-dozen answers which might all be correct depending on minor details. From there, we extrapolate (Bulldog Tom's "do my own research" equivalent).

Try Zillow. It lists prior sales. Also town or county online records would have that. All you need is the property address to search on. (And I posted this after reading your post, Possi, before seeing that Bulldog Tom had a similar response.)

But it would lead to a depreciation adjustment if the place has been rented.

But none of us will ever complain about OUR @RitaB!

I'll nominate Margaret for her foreigners and their rental issues.

Neither can WE! (Good luck.)

Me too, but I just started in January and we had a bookkeeper who did payroll until around Feb 22nd. (LONG story.) I have had to change payroll completely, get a new bank account, get new W-4's, check addresses (many of the papers dated back to the early 2000's; far too old to assume they were right). Then people rush me and lollygag themselves. The last delay was something that had to be approved by someone who just got back from CA after a family funeral... but yeah, they're going to toe the line. Starting as soon as I have a minute to get out a whip. Hey, Jesus used one, so it's completely appropriate for a church group, right?

Well, that one went poof some time ago and my brain was accessing information from the late 1990's. Another reason I never trust memorized standards - am I recalling this year's figures or the ones from a decade ago? Any chance either of these kids will go to grad school some day? Or take any kind of classes for fun and games? Basket-weaving, history of baseball, philosophy of Cicero? If so, hold the funds in the 529 until then. Else take it out over time to minimize the chances of bumping into a higher tax bracket.

Wait, I thought that once the youngest hit 30, any funds remaining could come out without that penalty! I'll go look that up and report back. As for the UGMA/UTMA - problem with those is the funds become the kid's at age 18. So the kid with the joint is gonna blow the lot on weed.

I needed to do a church payroll by YESTERDAY. Waiting for ONE item - the number of hours for ONE part-timer. I have been asking since Saturday. And of course since pay will be late it will be MY fault, and not the fault of the person in charge of getting me ALL (not just part!) of the information. So I'm not exactly Little Suzy Sunshine myself today. Plus we had over a foot and a half of snow yesterday, and I'm tired and sore from wrestling the under-sized snowblower through that mess. (Doug did all the shoveling, so I'm still better off than he is.)

Sometimes I think that instead of tax prep, I should just hit myself in the head with a brick. It would hurt less, and be over faster!

Judy, that is also my understanding. There may be a requirement in the plan, or it may have been the only way to "buy" shares with a sell-to-cover and what was told to Max was not quite the right situation. These transactions usually end up with a small capital loss due to transaction fees, but I agree that $5K sounds like something is off somewhere.

Glad you at least got it fixed, and here's hoping that the black cloud has now been dissipated!