Jim Oh Bkkr

Thanks again, Yardley!  Your knowledge & expertise is greatly appreciated!  (I think work is within walking distance from home, so it should already be covered by withholding.)

Thanks Yardley!  She started a new job that requires work split between the Pittsburgh area and northeast Ohio.  And is my assumption that husband is responsible for 0.5% local at the home location?

Client moved to Pittsburgh area.  Husband and wife both received a stack of W-2s, Federal info for each is the same on all. 

But the PA portions:

Husband - 1 W-2 lists PA wages 4,000.  1 W-2 lists local wages 6,000, with 30 w/h.  1 W-2 lists local wages 10,000, with 50 w/h. Both locals list the same PSD (work location), and I have confirmed the local rate is 0.5%. (Railroad employee, if that is relevant.)

Wife - 1 W-2 lists PA wages 35,000.  1 W-2 lists local wages 60,000, with 600 w/h.  1 W-2 lists local wages 63,000, with 630 w/h. Both locals list the same PSD (home location), and I have confirmed the local rate is 1.0%.

I realize PA wages are calculated differently (the only affected item I see is wife has 120 GTL in Box 12), but I don't understand the huge difference between state and local wage amounts.  Nor the double locals, unless 1 is municipal and 1 is school district?

Does this look right (within reason), or am I missing something?

10 hours ago, Terry D said:

Another reason I am glad I left ATX. That's ridiculous to charge if the OP paid for unlimited e-filing when they bought the software. 

Ditto!  I held out hope that Glenn's "non-compete" would expire or "Mel in/from Hawaii" would get his software up and running.  (Can't remember if I lost track of Mel's discussion, or it just quietly died. )

Possi, do you have all the paperwork from the time of the exercise?  I have seen the 1099-B issued on the spot (much like a W-2G at a casino) and the client doesn't even realize it.

11 hours ago, Randall said:

After the efile is created, you can see a list of the forms to be filed with the IRS and state on the Efile Info form and one of the tabs.

Not if you use Drake!  That is the one HUGE thing I miss about ATX.  Found an (old) discussion about this on Drake's forum last year, and the consensus was "Drake never has and probably never will".  A lot of posters didn't even understand the question.

That's probably my biggest complaint w/Drake.  I use a desktop with (approx) 24" monitor and some things are impossible to see without my magnifying glass.

Whether good advice or not, I always stress that the client look at the terms of the scholarship to make certain that it is NOT specifically earmarked for anything, ie. tuition only.

I don't know the first thing about scholarships and have never read one.  But I would hate to show a paper trail of a (tuition only??) scholarship being used for room and board to save the taxpayer 2500 in taxes only to have them lose a 4000 scholarship.

I did it last year.  As I did each return, I reconstructed 17, prior to rolling over 18.  By the middle of Feb, I knew my way around pretty well.

I'm old 'n grumpy too, (30+years ), and can retire this year.

Not being able to create a multiple returns to play with numbers was a royal PITA, but the ??future scenario?? works well.  Married v Separate was easier than ATX.

Just glad to be rid of WK!

Ditto to all that has been said.  I still remember talking to him, it was like talking to a best friend.

Same thing here.  Except sending a copy of the check (10 to 15 days late) ended the problem.

"This time I WILL take that advice; they'll throw me in debtor's prison first."

Don't you have to be in "good standing" to renew PTIN?

I just went through this a few years ago.  My research said hot tub cost less increase in value to property equaled medical deduction.  But most R/E sites were ambiguous as to value increase,  more than a few said a hot tub devalues property.  The client ;got an opinion letter from a R/E appraiser that backs up devaluation.  We used the full cost and never heard a word - Rx & appraisal were at the ready should it have been questioned.

FWIW Rheumatoid arthritis, and client (100K+ income) says she would be on disability without it

(After re-reading, my client got the Rx first.)

16 hours ago, Catherine said:

Because who - outside of my clients,

Mine!

Awesome!!!

On 6/14/2018 at 11:51 AM, Edsel said:

Ask someone in Gatlinburg for the backroad to Townsend.  It's not far, and you make a leisurely drive alongside a small cascading river until you reach the community of Townsend,

Be careful, there is a waterfall (by/under a bridge) along this route.  A stop to sight see here, has sucked many an hour out of my days.

I would enjoy seeing a "Tax Star Emeritus".  KC would be the obvious, but who remembers Louis Sheffield, JN Mealer etc...

I had a school teacher (Kentucky) who qualified for this due to teaching in a certain area.  Backed it out of income on Line 26  with the explanation "section 108(f)(1)" and it was never questioned for 10+ years.  

9 hours ago, jasdlm said:

 I'd probably be a bad dad!

Doesn't sound like it!

Yes, and same with the $50 senior credit.  Joint return - 250 worth of credits, separate returns - 500 worth of credits.  It is (almost) always better to file separate in Ohio, given that Fed taxable incomes are within the same tax bracket.  Disallowance of certain Fed items "if" filing separate, and Soc Security taxability are possible trips-ups, but minimal effort to check can double you income.

9 hours ago, SaraEA said:

Tape???  Use Excel, one column for initial entry and the next for "verify."  Makes it easy to spot the numbers that don't match if totals don't agree.  I understand that some accountant types don't feel like they're working unless they hear the loud grind of the adding machine, but c'mon make life easier.

Or a third with the formula - (Column A - Column B);  zeros are even easier to see.   

On 6/9/2017 at 1:11 PM, Edsel said:

...Both plants have "posted in conspicuous place" some message that the plant property is under foreign sovereignty or some such message....

So the unasked question here:

"He goes to work one day, and a "wildcat" strike breaks out.  He is locked in the plant for 331 days.  Is he entitled to the exclusion?"

I would wait as well.  I had this situation 20 some years ago, and client, (who had good records of payments), received a grossed-up W-2 that included minimal "income tax withholdings".  Gross, less all taxes withheld from W-2, equaled payments received.

Here was the gist:

"A planned maintenance event will require certain systems to be unavailable from
9 p.m. EDT, Friday, July 22nd through 9 p.m. EDT, Sunday, July 24th."

I had to dig up my log-in info just to offer my congrats.  (Nephew is still with SkyWest btw.)

Jim

... it changes back to 100%

I tried 6 times, before I used my "typical" work around. Just be sure to rename the GOOD return "w/2013 rollover", or similar wording so you don't rollover the wrong one next year.

Jim