samingeorgia

What about SS-4's? I have had two back-to-back "sorry we can't process your request" messages and now I'm waiting. And waiting....

I'm going to try the HP just to see.

Late last year in getting ready for the season, I paid big bucks for a Fujitsu (because everybody says it's the Cadillac), but it wasn't Twain-compliant, so no bueno for me. I sent it back and got a complete refund and got the new Epson. It lasted almost through extension season before falling apart.

Sic transit gloria mundi.

Three Epson scanners in two years. They do OK at first but then can't seem to feed multiple sheets and start clicking for no apparent reason. I did about an hour of research and decided that the rollers needed replacing. So I went to the Epson website -- out of stock! I called their support number and spoke to a representative who said that, yes, the rollers are out of stock. I asked if she knew when they might have some more - she said, "Maybe weeks, maybe months - who knows?" Then she suggested I call a place in Washington. They had the rollers in stock so I ordered them and had my computer guy install them. The scanner still clicks and won't feed properly.

I'm switching to an HP scanner.

The scanners for Drake and Creative Solutions have to be "Twain Compliant". What a 19th century humorist has to to do with data storage is beyond me.

Rant over. That is all.

I got a call yesterday from a client. Went like this:

Client: Hey, I heard there's a new law that allows you to deduct everything you buy.

Me: Everything? 

Client: Yeah, I got some emails that said they have passed some new law that nobody knows about.

Me: Send me one of those emails.

Client: This was some time ago, I probably can't find the email.

Me: Oh, OK, let me know if you find anything on this.

The kicker for this exchange is what the guy does for a living. He's an engineer in a really big power plant.... 

Here in the Atlanta area there is a company that advertises to provide money to people who have lawsuits pending while they wait for their cases to grind through the courts and settlement to occur.

The thing that piques my curiosity is this: they say that if you lose your lawsuit, you do not have to repay the funds. So I'm wondering if these people will be taxed on these funds as cancellation of debt income.

I'm curious what you guys think.  

The Fire came in this morning and I have downloaded a preview of a book about Charlemagne. Looks like this will be a good purchase. Thanks to all for your input!

How about if I just build a bigger pyramid?

Catherine, you mention leaving behind a library -- that's another topic for discussion! The younger generation seems to have as much use for a printed book as they do for a butter churn. I plan to go through the books in my den and put some kind of sticker on the ones that they should be careful with after my journal has been posted to the great general ledger in the sky. I have some pretty rare and out-of-print books relating to history and collecting and these do not need to be discarded.

I do plan to have my old "Package X" volumes buried with me, kind of like a Pharaoh.....

Thanks to all that replied. I ordered a Fire ("Far" as some of my kinfolks would call it) because it's possible that I might want to do more than just read with it and the price was attractive.

I'm thinking about getting either a Kindle or a "Fire", but don't know the difference. Since I'm asking this question, you can tell I'm not a real tech freak. I view electronic devices as tools, not sources of entertainment (unlike my daughter and granddaughter!) -- what do you folks suggest?

Additional background: I had a tablet which I rarely used, so I gave it to my granddaughter. There was an app that showed the position of the stars just by pointing at the sky; that was cool for an hour or so....

Yes, I am an old geezer.

Eine Kliene Nachtmusik?

OK, the nice lady called from the Alabama DOR (quick service!!) and said that gains and losses are confined to the year in which they occur.  So, no carryover....

Is there such a thing?  I'm doing a return for a client's brother, who lives in Alabama.  He had a hefty capital loss carryover on federal, but I sure don't see where it would go on the Alabama return.  I read their instructions on line, but can't find anything on point.  Any help would be appreciated!

Nah, I just got back from TN, it's not so cheap!  If I were you, I'd: (1) go up on fees, and (2) tell the pleasant old lady to go be pleasant somewhere else  (there are some real nice bat caves in Kentucky).

Thanks to all.

Is this a viable exit strategy, though?  If a guy was knocking on the door of age 70 and wanted out, do they pay a good price?  Cash?  A big problem I see is the lack of young people who are willing to do this work.

This old XP machine is about dead.  I switched to Drake starting in 2011, but I really need to keep ATX 2000 - 2010 available in cases dealing with non-filers.  Will these old programs work OK with Win 7 Pro?  Thanks!

I hope they are taking a big bag of money....

Here is a situation I have not faced before.

XYZ Corporation owned a "key man" policy on the son of the founder. The policy was paid up and no additional premiums were due. About 15 years ago, XYZ closed and liquidated its assets. Except, of course, for the insurance policy.

Now, the son is going over old paperwork and has found the policy. He talked to the insurance agent, who pointed out that the policy is still owned by XYZ. My opinion is that XYZ should have distributed the policy to the son (who was a shareholder) as a dividend or additional compensation or something. But that wasn't done. The son wants to change the beneficiary from XYZ to his spouse.

What, if anything, should the son declare on his tax return? It's obviously way too late to amend a 1997 tax return. My gut tells me that he should pick up the cash surrender value as other income. I guess it should be stated as "Misc. Income" on the 1040, I don't think it would be too good to show a dividend from a company that no longer exists.

For discussion purposes, the death benefit on the policy is +/- $ 200K. I don't know the cash surrender value (now or in 1997) but the son can get it for me.

I am so sorry for your loss. You and your family are in my prayers.

I haven't been here for weeks, but want to add my best wishes and prayers for your family.

Perhaps it would be helpful to have a separate section devoted to how practitioners deal with the challenges we all face, especially the process of transition out of practice. How can we get the most out of what we have worked for? What's best for the clients? How do you find young people who can think and solve problems, deal with clients, and who want to do this work?

Got it. Thanks for the clarification of my poorly-worded sentence.

OK, as I read it, it seems that the disposition of the note represents a change in the gain or loss on the original sale. Does that mean that I need to recompute the gain percentage in the year the note is disposed of to reflect the ultimate gain on the sale? What is interesting is that if the original sale resulted in ordinary income, the adjustment to gain or loss is ordinary also. So apparently the note is not a capital asset in the traditional sense, because you don't have basis in the note unless gain is recognized and the nature of that gain remains unchanged whether the note is collected or sold.

For the past several years I have done 990 forms for a couple of organizations, and a recurring problem is these endless lists of questions on the form. Nearly every one of the things has a bunny hop icon, which would make sense if I was answering "Yes" and this would then open the related form. How the heck do I answer "No" without the dang thing showing that I over-rode the question? This is irritating as heck.