ILLMAS

Again thank you. MAS

Question for Jainen, ok verified with TP and no FMV was used, sale price was based on actual cost which was around 900K at the time of the sale (sales price 300K or 1/3), the rear house/land was excluded which makes things easier now. Now for example, the relative is now 1/3 owner of the land, 1/3 owner of the 1st fl and 1/3 of the 2nd, and as more money is put in to finish up the 2nd fl., 1/3 or 33% will decrease because the relative is not going to be putting any more money in, only the TP. Also, since actual cost was being used and the land, construction in progress was not being depreciated, then there was no gain? The sale happened a couple of months before the 1st was put in service. Now the relative would have to show on their tax return 1/3 of non depre. land and 1/3 of the 1st fl? TP and relative won't show the 2nd fl until it's placed in service correct? There is were I am a bit confused, since the 2nd floor is not finished yet, how do I account for both if it hasn't been put in service? Thanks

Thanks Jainen, you have directed me in the right direction, I am going to create a spreadsheet to further analysis it. You brought up some good points that I need to address the TP. MAS

I need to setup a building (fixed asset) that has been partially completed and placed in service in 2010, and want to see if this would be the correct way of setting up in ATX. Scenario Land Cost $100K Construction Cost $800K and more needed to complete the 2nd floor Since I know what the land cost, I am allocating $100K for the cost of land, non-depreciation, now for the 1st floor, the TP believes that about 65% of the construction cost should be allocated toward the 1st floor. So I would capitalize $520K and depreciate over 39yrs since it's commercial space. Would it be ideal to leave out the 2nd floor information for ATX until it's finished and placed in service? Lets call this part II So we know the TP paid $100K for the land, $800K so far in construction and he also bought a house which he is renting, to eventualy knock down and to build a parking lot for the commercial and residential units once everything is completed. Land 100K Construction 800K Rear house 200K Total 1.1M TP then sells part of the investment for 300K to a relative (Beneficial Interest), for example, he now owns about 73% and the relative owns about 27%, my question is how would I account for this sale in ATX? The rear house already appears on Sch E as a rental property since it has been rented for the last 8 yrs, would it make sense just to post the sale towards the completed part of the project, for example, just take 300K out of the 1st floor against the sales price of 300K which would be a wash??? Any advice would greatly be appreciated. Thanks MAS

Only if you knew what I am personally going through right now to buy a property, just to give you an idea how bad things are, I had to have an indepent CPA review my tax returns that I prepared myself for the last two years. I've been preparing my own tax returns for the last 16 years :)

Carbonite automatically picks up the most common files word, excel, powerpoint etc.... But if you right click on a folder and find Carbonite, then you will see something like backup up this file, once it's backed up you will see a green dot next to the folder, if you see an orange dot, that means there were some files it did not backup which are usually program files. To access your backed up files in Carbonite, there should be a green lock with a happy face on the lower right hand side of the screen, if you double click it you will see Infocenter... then go to restore and the click on browse my online backup drive, a box will appear and just look for C:\program file\ATX20XX\backup\ then select the folder to restore. If you computer doesn't show the green lock, go to programs and look for Carbonite ->Infocenter

Just checked my machine and carbonite does make backups of the ATX folder, I remember selecting them to be backed up manually.

Then this should be your path: C:\program files\ATX20XX\Backup\ If you go to start, then run and type C:\program files\ATX2010\Backup\ This will open the 2010 backup folder, then you'll see if there is any files in there, to search for other years just type 2007, 2008, etc......

Look for this path: C:\program files\ATX2010\Backup\ it might different on your computer if you are using Windows 7 the path is the same for all the years. MAS

I use carbonite and I will check to see if it backups ATX files, will let you know. I know sometimes you need to select a folder you want backed up, so if that folder wasn't select then it won't back it up. FYI I have an external HD and export 2007, 2008, 2009 & 2010 files to separate folders in the HD, I do this very couple of months.

I just received an email from Fast Forward Academy regarding the release of the specifications for the competency test, I think it's more of a spam email to buy their product, anyway here is what I found from the IRS website related to "RTRP" (please add as a tag): Test Specification http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/rtrptestspecificationsaugust2011.pdf http://www.irs.gov/taxpros/article/0,,id=243833,00.html And here is something that surprised me, it seems CPA, EA and attorney will not be required continuing education, see below: http://www.irs.gov/taxpros/article/0,,id=243833,00.html MAS

Here is an idea from another forum I participate in: There is a cost associated in running a website we (the members) don't see, Erc has done a great job running this website and I wanted to suggest to Erc to create a sticky to allow members to donate $5, $10, $15 etc... to help maintain this website. Once a member makes a donation, they get a banner under their profile to show they are a site supporter. You can write off the expense as a membership or subscription (check with your tax preparer jk). Does anyone else agree with this to help out Erc? MAS

Blame the accountant, anyone ever heard that phrase before? LOL

There is a chance you will lose this client, I have dealt with clients like this before. Their story changes from collecting rent to borrowing money or using money from savings, but at the end we are not auditing their information, that's the IRS job. But now that you know he collecting rent set it up on Sch E, capitalize % use for business and deduct expenses related to the business use, it will probably be a wash.

No, talk to the collection agency and fax them the -0- returns, this should solve the problem.

Yes, probably what happen is the client didn't file -0- returns on a timely basis, so IDES uses the last filed reported wage report and uses it as a basis to charge your client, to fix this, just submit -0- returns and you should be okay. IDES will adjust their records accordingly. MAS

If the son was on the mortgage, then the bank shouldn't have a problem changing the name to him. You can try using the 1099-C on the son return, but most likely he will get a notice disallowing it, and you will spend a lot of time going back and forth with the IRS, I had something like this happen with a mortgage 1098. A husband and wife had the husband parent co-sign a loan, parents had better credit and income score, so they became the primary borrower, the 1098 was issued under the parents name and SS#, two years later they get a notice disallowing the deduction on Sch A. The IRS wanted for the mortgage company to change the name and SS# on the 1098 and that would solve the problem, well it wasn't easy, the bank that had originally sent out the 1098 was no longer in business, so the IRS ended accepting a copy of the mortgage loan statement as proof that tax payer were on the loan. MAS

1. Have him/her bring a copy of the quarterly returns for the year in question. 2. Prepare it using ATX 3. Combine the wages on the 941's and put on line 3, ATX will automatically calculate a tax of $56 4. Fill out page 2 using the quarterly returns 5. Fill in your company information and sign it. 6. Have them sign, date and submit payment with voucher (prints automatically in ATX) I would charge between $20 or $40 for this form, $60 if he needs it the same day MAS

Depends on when the backups are being made, most companys have their server make back ups while you are asleep, so if you make a return now, 30 minutes you delete it without exiting out ATX then there is no way to retreive it, but lets say you created the return, exit out of ATX, ATX will automatically make a backup, so if you reopen ATX and go ahead and delete the file, there is a copy under the backup folder :)

Prepaid health insurance, general liability and workmen comp are always a pain to account for every month, I would recommend if the amount isn't that large, just go ahead an expense it every month and recognize the prepaid at the end of the year.

I briefly did work for a Texas corporation, as you mentioned they don't have state tax, but they do have state unemployment tax, sales tax and a franchise tax. You heard that saying don't mess with Texas, don't pay your franchise, sales tax and state unemployment tax in a reasonable time, count on your bank account being frozen. The rest of the payroll taxes would be your normal federal taxes.

LOL if people can barely keep track of their mileage, I doubt they would keep a good records of calls or maybe the only ones that keep a log is an attorney, I have seen clients get a bill for a 10 minute call.

Client was behind on their accounting and finalize it until early 2011.

Yes we filed extensions for every year, so we should have until 9-15-11?

12/31/07