BulldogTom

EA's and CPA's cannot represent their clients before the tax court. Only Lawyers or those passing the tax court bar can do so. EA's & CPA's are allowed to represent their clients all the way through the appeals process. RTRP are only allowed to represent their clients through the examination stage of an audit. They cannot represent their clients on appeal. This brings up a question I have (but one I don't have to worry about because I am an EA). During the examination phase of the audit, I am allowed to call for a conference with the auditors supervisor prior to the conclusion of the audit. Does a RTRP have that same ability, or does it go beyond the scope of the examination phase of the audit? This sounds like a question for Jainen - the expert in all things relating to representation. Tom Hollister, CA

The system would not allow my wife to renew until she signed up for the RTP exam. What a crock of $h1t. It is not a requirement to pass the exam until next year. She is CTEC certified and should be allowed to renew her PTIN. I love my country, but I am really starting to hate my government. Time for a revolution. Tom Hollister, CA

Stopped by staples today to look for an adapter for my network cables and looked at the price of office. $489. I saved a fortune. Thanks MAS. I remember the days of Quatro, of dot matrix printers with green bar paper. I used to do grower crop accounting for a big farmer in Fresno. We would tape the pages together and lay them out on the conference table to review them. Incredible how far we have come in such a short time. My first computer cost me $2800 and had a 4 Gig hard drive. I just bought a laptop for $600 that has 8 Gigs of RAM. Tom Hollister, CA

It is hard to find the media version, but it is there. It took my son about 5 minutes to find it. Tom

Mike, You have to know a college student. My son is a college student, so I was able to have him order a 2 computer license of the Office Program. Price was unbelievable. The site is www.Journeyed.com. Again, they will require you to prove you are a student or faculty member of of an approved school. Tom Hollister, CA

That was awesome MAS. I appreciate it. Got my son online and ordered what I needed real quick. Thanks, Tom Hollister, CA

But the student edition did not have outlook, which I need. Thanks for the suggestion. Tom Hollister, CA

I am replacing my 6 year old computers for this year (what great machines they were, but the laptop gave out and the two desktops are making funny noises). Got one desktop and one laptop so far. Looking forward to the improved performance of ATX with more horsepower pushing it. But I need to get Microsoft office for my computers. Anyone know where I can get a deal on Office pro 2007 or 2010? Need the 3 user pack. Looking on the internet is making my eyes go crossed. You guys always know where there is a good deal. Tom Hollister, CA

<<I don't see the humor here....>> The humor is that the scammer picked a taxpayer who owes the IRS, there was no way they were going to get away with it. It would have been even funnier if the IRS siezed the bank account that they were trying to deposit the money into. Tom Hollister, CA

I just had my first client get caught up in ID Theft. Efiled his return on the 14th. On the 15th it was rejected by IRS for duplicate submission. We called and they said a return had been filed asking for a refund to be sent to a bank account. Paper filed the return and the account is frozen now. IRS says it takes about 6 months to get it cleaned up because they are so backlogged with this problem. Funny thing is - the clients laughed their heads off because they owe back taxes and are hoping the IRS applies the fraudulent return to the amount that they owe. This is going to be fun to clean up...NOT. Tom Hollister, CA

What is the source of the difference? Depreciation? Bonus depreciation? If so, I think you need to go to the state depreciation form and make the adjustment there. Not certain, but off the top of my head, that is all I can think of. Tom Hollister?

<<so if i read it right 1/3 of cost [since 1/3 of fmv] was sold. thus a non-deductible personal loss of $5k and a donation of $40k>> I don't think what you just described is the correct treatment. I believe if he sells it for 20K, it is a 55K non-deductible loss. No charitable deduction. If he gives it to the charity, 60K deduction. (assuming he does not exceed 50% of income) If he sells it to the charity for 60K, non-deductible loss of 15K, then write a check to the charity for 40K to get the charitable deduction (assuming 50% limit met). Tom Hollister, CA

jklcpa - where is the "final" box on the input screen? That is what I am looking for. I thank you all for the advice on the tax aspects, but I was only looking for the little checkmark or box for how to tell the software that the client is no longer a partner in the partnership. I only saw the boxes for the "complete disposition of a passive activity" and "complete disposition of a PTP". Just looking for the box that says "final". Thanks Tom Hollister, CA

Not doing the ps return, just the partner. Just can't figure out how to make the software do the disposition of the ps interest. Thanks Tom Hollister, CA

Client was a GP and an active participant in a partnership. Left the PS mid year. How do I show the disposition of the partnership in ATX? The K-1 only has complete dispositon buttons for a PTP or a Passive Activity. I know I am going to slap my forehead when you tell me the answer. Thanks in advance. Tom Hollister, CA

That is actually an interesting site to comb through for marketing information. I found it valuable to look up my "new" hometown and see how many EFIN's were out there and how many returns were being processed. Tom Hollister, CA

I think KC has exposed Jainen. If there is a notice of deficiency, and you went through all of the audit process, I don't think you are going to get a free pass because your son's middle initial is the same as your first name. Who would name their kid John Jainen Doe anyway? Tom Hollister, CA

KC, whatever you need, whenever you need it....just say so. Prayers and hugs to you. Tom Hollister, CA

Jainen, Thanks for your words of advice. UC San Diego is the lowest of his choices. Right now, MIT and Embry Riddle are at the top of the list. He is taking 5 AP courses this year at his high school. Does about 4-5 hours of homework every night. Will be taking the SAT this spring. His challenge is the extra-cirricular. Moving this year put him in a small bind because he was "in" at Lodi High, but now he is "the new kid" in Hollister. With his homework and church activities, he barely has time to spend with his family. He gave up football this year to focus on his classwork. We have told him he needs to find a group that he can get into and get his resume filled out. But I worry that we are putting too much on him. A 16 year old should not have to live the next two years so focused on getting his education plans in place. He still needs to be a kid. Tom Hollister, CA

The problem with this thread is the original post does not say what happened to the insurance proceeds. It also does not say if the property will be sold as land or if it will be sold as a rebuilt home on the land. The question leaves way too many options open to interpretation. That is why I stayed out. But I am enjoying the back and forth about what a fire is. President Clinton would appreciate the banter over "what the definition of fire is". Tom Hollister, CA

Sending you the biggest electronic hug I can KC. I implore the Holy Spirit to envelope you with love and comfort in this time of trial. May God Bless you. Tom Hollister, CA

<<Same thing for a dancer's tip jar in a bar>> And how do you know that? You continue to amaze me Jainen. Just pokin' fun at you. No malice intended. I am sure it is just from a dancer client that you had and you did the research to make sure you gave them the proper tax advice. Tom Hollister, CA

Lets say you show up on a Sunday and do some light bookkeeping, W2's and 1099's for them at the end of the year. You don't expect to get paid but they pass the plate and give you a "gift" of $500. What would the IRS say to that? Just because it is a church giving it out does not make it tax free. Tom Hollister, CA

While I love ATX, it is not as robust in the diagnostics as other software packages. I don't know how long you have worked with ATX, but I learned a long time ago that it does not have many bugs, it does however have many ways for the operator to miss a check box, entry date, or question that needs to be entered to make the software calculate correctly. It is my opinion that this is the reason ATX users are better preparers than other software users - we have to be to make sure the answers the software spits out are correct. Just my humble opinion. Tom Hollister, CA

My oldest is in a JC and the government is paying for all out of pocket costs via the AOC. Next year San Jose State (we think). About 10K per year tuition and fees. My youngest has dreams of MIT, UC San Diego, Embry Riddle or Cal Tech. I don't even want to know how much that is going to cost. Tom Hollister, CA