Yardley CPA

Just received this email from CCH: IRS Maintenance Outage Tonight; State E-filing Tip The IRS will take its Modernized e-File (MeF) system down for maintenance at 11 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, April 10 to apply modifications to improve efficiency. The IRS expects to bring the system back up by 7 a.m. Eastern on Thursday, April 11. At that time we will pick up any outstanding acknowledgments and submit the e-files sent to us after 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 10. What does this mean to me? You may continue to send returns to the SFS Electronic Filing Center and we will hold them until the IRS system is reactivated. At that time we will pick up outstanding acknowledgments and submit the e-files sent to us after 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 10. We will keep you informed of IRS system status on the ATX Blog and TaxWise Blog. E-filing Tip - "Unlink" States from Federal Return In order to timely file your state returns between now and April 15, we recommend that you unlink state returns from the federal return before you transmit the federal. In ATX, at the top of the state EF Info form, check the box to unlink the state return from the federal. In TaxWise, when you create the e-file, choose to unlink the state from the federal. For more information on linked and unlinked state returns, see the program help in your tax software.

I've noticed that when I now create an efile, I have three returns listed...Federal 1040 (as Proforma), Federal 1040 and the State. Maybe I'm showing my ignorance here, but why is a Proforma copy created??

Elrod...I sent you a private message.

Thanks, Elrod.

Does anyone know anything about the Michigan Business Tax Annual Return. I am trying to find a pdf fillable version of the 2012 form and I am unable to. I assume there is a reason for that but since I am not familiar with Michigan I don't know why. Can anyone lend a hand here. Is a fill-in form still available? Thanks!

Last year, I received my ATX renewal email on March 20th. Haven't received anything from ATX so far this year and, with all the issues that the program has given users, I'm not surprised it has yet to flow into my inbox. As a caveat, I have to disclose that I've have experienced hardly any of the issues that have been documented on this forum. The 2012 program has worked relatively well for me (not looking to jinx myself down the stretch.) I'm curious to see if ATX will still be an option for 2013. If it is, I wonder what the pricing structure will be and whether they offer any type of incentive given the problems that have been reported this year. I think it's prudent to review what other packages offer and I plan to do that during the next few months. With that said, I have been a long time user of ATX and go back to the Saber days. if ATX is offering a renewal package, my early inclination is to sign-up and use them again in 2013. I guess time will tell and it will depend on the pricing and the information provided in their renewal solicitation. Will they speak to the issues experienced in 2012 and will they make mention of their commitments for 2013? I'm curious to see what they will offer. Good luck to everyone as we approach the 15th!

I've run into an issue where once I close the ATX program, it ill not open again unless I restart my computer. I normally always keep ATX open. Occasionally, I inadvertently close the program. When I double click the ATX 2012 Icon to reopen it, I receive a message that the program is already running. It isn't. I check my Task Manager and it isn't listed as an open program. Not sure why this suddenly started to happen...not sure if it's program related or a Windows issue. Anyone else experiencing this? ATX is running on a loan desktop. It's not on a network.

Have a wonderful Easter!

Thank you.

It's my understanding that in order to satisfy the "Age" test, a qualifying child must be under 19 at the end of the tax year or under the age of 24 and attend school, full time, for at least 5 months of the year. I have a client whose 22 year old son graduated from college mid-May, 2012 and took no additional classes throughout the year. I assume the son is not the taxpayers qualifying child in this case? Other posts I've read base "full time" on the number of credit hours taken, indicating anyone taking at least 12 credits in a year is considered full time. Just wanted to see what your thoughts are? Thanks!

Yup, deductible medical expense.

The last pay stub from LTD should reflect everything you need, however, the LTD W2 is really the form that is official (a copy of that should be filed with the IRS) and I would try and obtain that in some way. Maybe the LTD Insurer can at least confirm the figures on the stub and let you know if they are the same figures that would be reflected on the W2. That's a tough one, because you just don't know if there is some item that is not reflected on the stub that should be.

Long time client (a school teacher) who I've worked with for almost 15 years. Received a fax from her yesterday indicating that she decided to go to a "local accountant as he works with many of the teachers in the district. I appreciate all you've done for m in the past." A little surprised to receive this as we always had a terrific professional relationship. I guess some clients just feel the time is right to move on at some point. I emailed her and wished her well. A part of me would love to know why she felt the need to move on....but so be it.

I don't add anything into the pdf either. All my instructions are in the body of my email text.

Margaret...I'm finding it's random. For instance, on form 8879, I normally input the date so the client knows where to sign the form. I'll instruct them, "sign near the line that has the date 3/15/2013." When I print the return using pdf, I review it and the date appears normally....3/15/2013. After encrypting, adding a password and saving the secure pdf, I'll reopen it. I notice the date appears as 3 15 2013. It removes the / In addition, throughout the return there are missing numbers and characters. Don't get me wrong, the vast majority appear correctly, but there are locations throughout the return that a number or letter is dropped. It happens on almost ever page of the secure document. In some cases, it does cause confusion for the client. I plainly state in my email that the encryption option does cause some letter/numbers to be missing and that the return on my end is correct, however, I don't take comfort knowing what the client is reviewing is not exactly what I have on my end. So I wasn't sure if anyone else is experiencing this? In Adobe Standard, I go to the "Secure" tab. I then choose "Password Encrypt" and check the "Require a password to open document" box. I then select a password, re-enter it to confirm and then save the docuemnt again. After opening this saved document is when I notice the missing letters or numbers.

I normally email a copy of the completed tax return to clients to allow them to review the information. Included in the attachment are the 8879 forms for them to sign and return to me to allow me to efile the return. I print the returns using the pdf option on the print manager and then I add a password through Adobe's encrypt option. I noticed that after I save the encrypted version, some of the letters or numbers are not carried onto the document. So the encrypted return that is opened by the client may contain missing digits/letters/symbols. Has anyone else noticed this? Any suggested solutions? I obviously feel it is important to secure the document prior to emailing it...but in doing so, I'm sending something that does not correctly reflect all the information properly. In addition, I had to reload ATX onto my computer after a crash. I also had to reinstall Adobe Acrobat 8 Standard version. I noted that prior to the crash, ATX's print manager allowed you to select Adobe PDF versus ATX PDF as a print option. Now, the ATX print manager shows error triangles next to the Adobe PDF options. I tried reloading the Adobe Acrobat again (even chose the repair utility) but the ATX print manger still shows an error triangle next to the Adobe print option. Thoughts?

Client adopted a son in August 2012. They yet to obtain a Social Security Number and never applied for an ATIN. I assume the return cannot be filed without having the SSN for their Dependent son, correct? It's my understanding that applying for an SSN can take up to 6 weeks to complete. Your thoughts, please? It seems an filing an extension is the way to go in this case (should the SSN not be obtained by April 15th?)

Thanks much, Schirallicpa!

Can someone please refresh me on the proper way to attach a document to an efile? I want to include a copy of the Wage Statement (it's from Honduras) on the return of a client that includes form 2555. Thanks very much.

Does the program still provide an option to sort interest or dividends on Schedule B. Prior year provided you with a sort tab on the input screen that allowed you to sort by a few different fields. I don't see that on the current program.

Wonderful news, KC. My best for a speedy recovery.

I have been using ATX/Saber since the 1990's. Over that time frame, I always felt it was a strong and reliable program (generally speaking, and certainly not including the 2012 version.) I never truly investigated other programs because ATX offered me everything I needed for my practice (a stable, reliable and cost effective program). After the issues that are being faced by most of us this year, I would imagine ATX will have a difficult time maintaining its customer base and we may have no choice but to look for another option for 2013 returns. I'm curious as to what the future holds for ATX? We've heard about all the changes in the corporate structure at CCH (executives who have "resigned" etc.) Will ATX be around for 2013? Hopefully it is and hopefully they are able to work through the issues and bring back some stability to what was once a great program to work with.

MAS...thanks very much. That did the trick.

When trying to open certain returns that were created prior to 12.9 (at least, I believe it was prior to 12.9,) I receive n error message and then the program closes. I see that others have experienced this same issue. I'm wondering if there was ever a fix for this? Any ideas? Thank you.

Janitor Bob, I believe you hit the nail on the head with your last sentence. I also believe that it would be tax free if issued in the parents name, but since they are issued in the student's name, they are not tax free (not 100% sure though.) Maybe someone will chime in on this. Here's a link from Publication 970 with some additional information. Take note of the "Example" toward the bottom. http://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/ch10.html