BulldogTom

Hello........didn't you watch the movie? It was magic!!!! Tom Lodi, CA

It is 9AM in Ca. and I am sitting at a Drake Seminar. Anything you want me to ask them while I am here for the next 4 hours? Tom Lodi, CA

And don't forget about the DE 34 for independent contractors. They need to report contracts in excess of $600 within 20 days. Tom Lodi, CA

Damn old codger! Where the hell you been hiding? About time you got back here. Now go look at my post I just made and rip the $hit out of me for being stupid. Then tell me in your oh so smug way that if I just read _________ publication, court case, or code reference, it would be as clear as mud to anyone with half a brain. Good to see you posting again. Tom Lodi, CA

This is a better question for the client's lawyer, and I am wary of giving any advice....but..... Client had a rental home for 2 years. Could not make the payments and walked away. Filed Bankruptcy. Included the home debt in the bankruptcy filing. Bank says they cannot include the debt in bankruptcy and the client must go through foreclosure. Bank has offered to take a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure from the client. Here are my questions/statements Can the bank force the issue out of bankruptcy? Could they even add the debt to the bankruptcy filing (this is the question they should ask their bankruptcy lawyer). I know if a debt is discharged in bankruptcy, there is no income. I know if a Deed in Lieu is delivered, it is a sale and the client has to prove insolvency to get relief. Is the bankruptcy proof of insolvency? Thanks for your help. Tom Lodi, cA

You guys and gals are the best. Thank you all for all the help and humor. I can't wait for Jan 15th to roll around again. Tom Lodi, cA

I don't have enough clients. Mine was done in February. I always use my own tax return as a test on the software. I don't finish it first, too many documents that I have to wait for, but I start mine first. I take the first couple weeks in Jan to get my books reconciled and put my Sch. C in. Then I use the last check stubs to dummy up income. Stock trades and Sch. A is all estimated until I have the documents to back them up. Estimate if the kids need to file a return also. Then I have my wife re-do everything but the sch. C when the rest of the documents arrive. Tom Lodi, cA

Unfortunately....yes. He has not posted in a long time. I bet he prowls the board at night when he thinks no one is on or will notice him. Tom Lodi, CA

I have to disagree with my collegues. You are in business to earn a profit. By making your clients do this correctly, you will maximize your fee. You should call the IRS and the state and tell them what happened (charge for this), then process all the corrected forms (charge for this) then spend the next 2-3 years answering notices and providing information to the IRS and the State (charge for this too). By following my advice, you will positively impact your firm's bottom line enough to afford that new fishing boat. (this is all tongue in cheek) Tom Lodi, CA

Thanks for your honesty Sasha. I am really suprised by the comment about Santa Barbara, as I used them for several years without a hitch until the CCH takeover. I will look at the other options this year. Tom Lodi, CA

I think they get the step up regardless of how the deed is written. Tom Lodi, CA

I believe, but don't take my word for it, that it is an option to take the deduction or not on an IRA contribution. If not deductible, and 8606 should have been filed to show the non-deductible portion. I would guess that you could recreate the contributions over the years and treat them as non-deductible, and then treat the distribution this year under the normal rules for an IRA with basis. This is off the top of my head and not researched. But I would look into it if it was my client. Tom Lodi, CA

Sasha, I read a few of your posts and I am wondering if you can provide some insight into Bank Products going forward. First, let me say I love my ATX software. The product has gotten better almost every year. I know it fairly well and don't have problems getting the results I need on tax prep. That being said, I am prepared to dump ATX becausse of the hassle every year with Bank Products. The sign up proceedure is a mess. You have to sign up on the CCH page, then with the bank on their page, and then wait for CCH to talk to your bank to finalize the set up. Calling in for banking support is a ping pong match - "it is the bank" no "it is CCH" no " it is the bank". I have lost early season customers because they can't get the bank products in time like they can with HRB. These early season clients don't care about the tax return, they want the money right now. I never had these problems with the bank on this scale until CCH took over and forced us onto their website application last year. It was no better this year. When you run a small practice like I do (and many of us on the board here), every client lost is a major loss. And when you live and work in a small town, word travels fast. I have friends that tell me they heard I don't get the checks out so they go to HRB - even though I am priced a lot less. They feel like they are paying for the service I can't provide in a timely manner. OH yeah - they will come to me if they get a letter from the IRS, but not to get the tax return and RAL. Customers can be funny like that. So, does CCH even see this as a problem? Is it something they will look at and address going forward? Do you have any insight? Thanks. Tom Lodi, CA

Make sure you have the right boxes checked for spouse Sch C and the SE is matching up with the same Checkmarks. Sounds like you have a C marked for the spouse and the SE is marked for the Filer. Just a guess. Tom Lodi, CA

I hope for better for my boys. All I can give them is a christian home, a strong work ethic, and hopefully a few dollars for college. The rest is up to them. If they really want to come back to the business, that would be OK, but I would hope they will pursue their own dreams and ambitions. They hate the fact that I hand their paychecks to their mother, she shows it to them, and then the entire check goes straight to the bank to fund their Roth IRA's. Since they will have had the Roth's for over 5 years when they get to college, they can use the money then. They may not like it right now, but hopefully some day they will look back and appreciate that the money was not wasted on video games, junk food, and movies. Tom Lodi, CA

They better still be or I am in trouble. Hired my kids as sign wavers this year in front of my office. No crazy costumes, just a big sign. They were so excited to get a job, until after the first 15 minutes. Then they started asking when they got the first break. It is a good thing they are exempt from child labor laws also, or I would be in a world of hurt for making them work 55 minutes of every hour. Tom Lodi, CA

I have a client who gets these also. Right under the amount on the 1099 Input screen is a drop down that will list your schedule C if it is already in the return. Click it and everything will flow to the right place. Treat it like any other 1099 Misc. Tom Lodi, CA

If it is a client I already know, I make sure I can give them the exact reason why they owe what they owe. The Prior Year Comparison form in ATX is excellent and showing what changed. Depending on the client, I will usually break the news over the phone and then schedule the appointment to look at the final return. I don't go into much detail until they get to the appointment. For new clients, I ask them to bring in their prior year return and we talk in person. Tom Lodi, CA

This is exactly what this case is about. The Independent Republic of California has decided that all income from every state is subject to the CA LLC Fee for every LLC registered in CA. There have been several court cases challenging this fee, and the courts are siding with the taxpayers, in part. CA appealed to the S.C. when they lost at the lower level. Since the S.C. is not going to hear the case, it looks like CA will have to back down. Your client will need to watch this carefully to see how he is going to have to apportion his income for the purposes of the CA LLC fee. Tom Lodi, CA

Linda, I only do two partnerships and neither is an LLC. But I played with them and added the LLC fee in and this is what I came up with. Go to line 7 and put in a <800> and call it CA LLC Fee. That brought my year end balance to what it should be. I had to enter the LLC Fee on the K-1 CA adjustments to bring income up in CA, On the M-1 I had to manually add it to Line 4d and on the M-2, I had to manualy subtract it from line 7 to get it to reflect the ending capital accounts. I don't know if this is correct, but the numbers came out right when I did it that way. BTW, I did not over ride any number in the return. I just kept adding the 800 dollars to the three places I mentioned. Sorry I can't be of more help. Tom Lodi, CA

I don't think that flies. Off the top of my head, I think tuition and fees are deductible for that credit. The travel is not part of that credit. The fees for the class are. I look at it like this. I pay tuition to go to Harvard, but I can't deduct my travel to and from California every semester to attend classes there. I think you are in the same boat in this situation. Whether the class is accross town or accross the country, the travel to and from are not tuition or fees. However, if the training does not qualify the person for a new occupation (as in he is already a paramedic and this is just an additional certification), you may be able to get a deduction for unreimbursed job expenses on the sch. A. It sounds like your client was not a paramedic already, so I don't think that flies either. I don't have another way to get that deducted. Sorry, wish I could offer something brilliant to help you out. Tom Lodi, CA

Does that mean I will be seeing less Ronnie Duetch (sp?) commercials about settling your IRS debt for pennies on the dollar? Fat chance. Tom Lodi, CA

Must be part of a program of study towards a degree or certification. If he took the bartending class at the same school where he took his other classes, it could slip through. If there is no certification for the class, it would be non-deductible. Tom Lodi, CA

You are not dumb. It is just that time of year. We are trying to remember all the hard stuff and the simple stuff just won't come to us anymore. I had the same problem on the 6251 trying to find where to put the AMT NOL. It was right there, I just could not see it last night. It was still right there this morning. Amazing the difference sleep and coffee make in our lives. Tom Lodi, CA

Thank you Maribeth. It is amazing the difference in your understanding after sleeping for a while and coming back and looking again. I could not see that item last night even though I read through that form a dozen times. Today, it is right in plain sight. Thanks again. I appreciate your help. Tom Lodi, CA