BulldogTom

Dependency is not the issue here. The issue is qualifying child versus qualifying relative. The first comes with all the goodies (HOH, CTC, EITC, etc.) and the latter only gets you a dependency exemption. As jainen pointed out, they become qualifying children when the court or agency places them in the home and they stayed there for 6 months. Take all the credits that come with it. Tom Lodi, CA

Man, I hope ATX gets that out fast. I have 4 returns sitting here waiting to go. For you big firms, that is not a lot, but for a little practice like mine, that is four unhappy clients who are not out telling their friends how great I am. Tom Lodi, CA

Margaret, I think you are making a mountain out of a molehill. It seems to me that you used a valid and defendable method of valuing the land for the 2005 purchase. Put that to bed and don't bring it back up. It also seems to me that you are using a valid and defendable method to determine the valuation of the land on the 2008 purchase. Use it and put it to bed. Who cares what it does in relation to the 2005 purchase? They are two different transactions in two very different economic environments. Just my 2 cents. Tom Lodi, CA

I am guessing - you reduce the basis. The rehab money implies that your client will have to do some work on the property, and that work will increase the basis (most likely given the amount they are crediting). The other credits sound like a reduction of purchase price to me. That is the best I have on that one. Tom Lodi, CA

That takes care of Canada, but what about his 1040? Where do I enter the pension? Does he get a foreign tax credit? Sorry to be asking such basic questions. Never had to deal with this before. Thanks Maura. Tom Lodi, cA

Happy birthday --- you old fart. I am glad I am not as old as you!!!! I don't get to 44 for another 3 weeks. Tom Lodi, CA

He is now a US citizen. I don't know when that happened. At some point in his life he was something else, and now he is one of us. Tom Lodi, Ca

I am not sure. In the box for income code, one of the forms has code "46" and the other has code "44". It is issued by Service Canada / Canada Pension Plan. The other issue is the amounts are in Canadian Dollars. How do I convert to US$ (I realize I can look up the conversion rate on a bank web site, but I am sure the US tax code has a requirement to use a certain date or something). Tom Lodi, CA

Help from those of you familiar with Canandian pensions. Taxpayers are H&W. She lives in US and recieves SS. He lives and works in Costa Rica. He recieves US SS and Canadian Pension from the Government of Canada. His Canandian Pension shows an amount withheld for Non-Resident Tax Withholding. What the heck do I do with this? Specifically, do I report it like a pension and enter it like a 1099R, or do I add it to the amounts from the 1099 SSA? Do I use a Form 1116 and take credit for the withholding? Your expertise is greatly appreciated. Tom Lodi, CA

Killifer should not have withdrawn. She was ok. Daschle was just another carreer polititican. So much for "change" in the Obama white house. It looks like a lot of the same retreads. Tom Lodi, CA

I think he got scared off by a monkey in a pink tu-tu with a wand and a tiara. Still ROTFLMAO at that picture. Sorry Kerry, you will never ever ever live that one down as long as I am alive. Tom Lodi, Ca

>>you can't use the same EFIN with 2 different software packages going through the same Efile Center<< Interesting.... I called support to see what is going on with CA acks (they used to take hours, now it is a week). The young lady was very pleasant but an airhead. She did not know why the CA acks were taking this long. ATX policy is that acks are not late until they are 7 days late. As my return was only six days late, they could not call CA and find out what was wrong. But I could call back tomorrow. When I asked if ATX acks were being handled in the same manner as they were in the past, or if they were going through the Taxwise or CCH system, she assured me that they were the same as they were last year. What a line of bull.......... This software company makes my blood boil with their BS sometimes. Tom Lodi, CA

File the mother's tax return for the sole purpose of claiming the other half of the credit. Then file 15 more to make the payments. And if she dies before they are paid off, it is free money. There is nothing wrong with this. And you get some bigger fees and a new client for the next 15 years. Tom Lodi, CA

Are you kidding. I still love that rollercoster. It is the best....ever. Wooden, rickety, the clack, clack, clack as you go up to the first drop. Hands up high as you make that first drop, beams that look like they will hit you in the head as you zoom under them. We take our church youth group over every summer. Tom Lodi, CA

I am partial to last year's CWS also. Tom Lodi, CA

Continuing the theme from another post..... What is your hometown famous for? My office is in Lodi, CA. We are famous for three things. 1. The song "Stuck in Lodi" by CCR 2. The home of A&W Rootbeer (yes - the A&W restaurant is still on Lodi Ave.) 3. Wine and Wineries Tom Lodi, CA

>>even though I felt disappointed in KC's response to my queries, but I did understand what he was saying<< KC is a wonderful southern lady. I have had the distinct priviledge of meeting her personally. We should all aspire to match her grace and generosity. Tom Lodi, CA

I need to push the wine. Robert Mondavi Woodbridge appellation. Great quality at a great price. The winery is about 2 miles from my home. Unfortunately, we lost Mr. Mondavi in the last year. Tom Lodi, CA

I concur with Jainen (oh my gosh - don't tell him). Let it go. If you have solid ethical business practices, you will do fine in the long run. They will succeed or fail on their own business model. Everything works out in the end. Tom Lodi, CA

Definately not the name of the software. My little joke. It is still un-named as far as I know. The last time Mel posted something about it, he said he could not get it to beta in time for the 2008 filing season. It has been discussed on and off for over a year on this board. There are people on this board (me included) that would love to see it come to market. Tom Lodi, CA

Pass that suggestion to Mel so he can incorporate that into the new Pineapple and Coconut software. Tom Lodi, CA

That is my question also. Did he get a K-1 from the estate? Did that loss already pass through to him? Or did the estate distribute the home and then he sold it? The post is not clear on the sequence of events and how they were recorded. Tom Lodi, CA

Is the pet a monkey in a pink tu-tu with a wand and a tiara? That one is for you Kerry!!!!!! Tom Lodi, CA

Have you thought about using this board as a reviewing tool? You could start the return and then ask questions as you get to certain parts. You could use generic numbers so you don't reveal anything about the taxpayer. There are a lot of smart and helpful people on this board. If you already have intimate knowledge of the taxpayer situation, I would think you could manage the return. They are not that hard if you have the books and the balance sheet is clean. Start with the bookkeeping, and if you are comfortable with the books and especially the balance sheet, you should be most of the way there. It is only a tax return. You already have most of the knowledge you need, and for a small home based business, you should be able to figure out the rest (assuming of course that your client load allows you time to research pubs and instructions as you go). Good luck. Tom Lodi, CA

I just got off the phone with the IRS. Form 8582 is "on hold" and not expected to be released until "mid February". No explanation. The rep tried to get an answer for me and could not get through to the section that is in charge of that form. He is supposed to call me back tomorrow when he gets an update. That was probably the most pleasant conversation I have ever had with the IRS. He was courteous, helpful, and did not try to hide the fact that he did not know why the form was not available. We will see if he actually follows up with a phone call tomorrow. At least I feel better after talking to him. Tom Lodi, CA