BulldogTom

ATX Max for me as well. Tom Modesto, CA

I did the download today. No real issues at all. Looks like the software works. I rolled a return and then had to go carve the turkey. I did not even pay attention to how many forms are missing. But the download went very smooth. Tom Modesto, CA

Good to know. Thanks

Me Too. Tom Modesto, CA

At the risk of sounding stupid, please explain what a *taxable* scholarship is? Aren't all scholarships taxable, unless they are used for educational purposes and therefore excluded from income by the code? And aren't all amounts in excess of eligible expenses taxable, regardless of what the donating organization says? Is there another type of scholarship that is taxable regardless of whether it is used for qualified higher education expenses? I really have never heard of it before. Tom Modesto, CA

The Master Tax Guide is a really good book. ATX/Kleinrock used to have something similar, but when CCH took over, they discontinued that book and replaced it with the Master Tax Guide. That made sense when they did that. The MTG (or the Kleinrock equivalent) has always been included in my software cost. I don't like CCH, but I am too lazy to learn a new software and go through the conversion process. Since I don't have to interact with ATX except at renewal and occasionally with their (non)support department if something goes wrong at the beginning of the year, I tolerate them. But 2012 is never far from my thoughts every time I deal with ATX. Rants are not supposed to be rational, they are always bizarre to the person who is not ranting. Tom Modesto, CA

OK, here is my tax simplification code: Individuals: 17% Tax rate Flat. Std Deduction of 10K per person on the return. All persons must live in the home to be on the return (school exceptions). All persons on the return over 18 are jointly liable for the tax. No concept of marriage, just joint return filing (so I could file with my mom if I wanted to, or my brother, or my roommate, so long as we live in the same home, or we could file individually). No credits, no other deductions. No Cap Gains rates, just 17%. Corporations: 17% flat tax on Gross profit. 10K std deduction. No credits, no other deductions. Done. Tom Modesto, CA

Got a reply from Will Van Kleef this morning. Totally pissed me off in the tone. Says I must have forgotten our conversation. Bullcrap. I hate when they talk down to me like that. But he probably did not forget that I told him in the conversation how much I don't trust CCH and how much I don't like them either. But it does say that the Master Tax Guide will be coming this year as soon as it comes out of print. Tom Modesto, CA

I ordered my software last week to get the 10% discount (which means I paid slightly more than last year). So today when I got home from work I had a package in the mail. I thought it was a little early for the Master Tax Guide to arrive. Surprise, I got last year's state tax guide and last years Tax Book. Once again, CCH has shown me why I don't like dealing with them. Will Van Kleef told me there was no changes to my package this year. He lied, I got shitty books from CCH instead of the Master Tax Guide. I bet some pencil neck geek in their accounting department thought it would be a good idea to ship out all the leftover books from last year to the returning customers. The lows to which CCH falls every year still surprises me, even though it should not. Tom Modesto, CA

What do you have to include? In past years, we just put in the hours we had completed each year. Is it different this time around? Are they asking for provider numbers or anything like that? On a side note, I noticed that my CPE records at the PTIN site were all correct and up to date for the last two years. The year before that was missing some hours. Tom Modesto, CA

Thank you. It is not me this year. Tom Modesto, CA

What is the SSN that renews this year? I don't know if it is time for me to renew or not. Tom Modesto, CA

There are some very, very interesting proposals in this bill right now. How many will survive remains to be seen, but there is going to be a lot of tax planning to do for our clients, especially in states like CA, NJ, NY. Those clients in the 75-125K range are going to want to look at different options to save tax dollars if the SALT tax deductions are limited the way they are being proposed. There will always be EIC / CTC / AOTC issues to deal with for our clients, and some of those rules are changing. The 401K option may be one of the best tax strategy vehicles left to our upper middle clients. Right now there is no changes proposed in the current plan. Our clients with pass through businesses are going to need us more than ever. There will be work to do. Tom Modesto, CA

In general, I don't mind the 90 day change of password requirement, except that I will have to remember it for every year. When I have to go into a prior year and do a return, I have to remember what the last password was on that year. It would be nice if there was a way to link all my years of ATX software to the same password because in 3 or 4 years, it is going to be impossible to keep track of the last changed password on those years. I wonder if the password can be controlled at the ATX site under our account and linked to all years that we register on their site. Then we could change it at the Account page every 90 days for all years of software? I bet I am just dreaming. Tom Modesto, CA

You mean I can sabotage people by giving them negative votes? Sweeeeet. I can be a real terror on the board now. Thanks for the info Judy. Tom Modesto, CA

I want one of them IP addresses that let me watch sports on the interweb for free. Where do I go to get one of them suckers? Tom Modesto, CA

The Second one is perfect. the first one just looks confused. Tom Modesto, CA

Go get 'em Eric. Show them the door. Tom Modesto, CA

If any of you got the email, are you planning to sit through the webinar? If so, could you take notes and update us on the board? I would like to find out how hard it is going to be to keep my access to e-services, but I can't make the webinars. Thanks in advance. Tom Modesto, CA

Thank you Max for your very thoughtful insights. I appreciate it. Tom Modesto, CA

To get it out of the way. This is the official start of the 2018 tax season. Tom Modesto, CA

Did you get the email saying you are eligible for early renewal? I did. We got ours today. I think they are only allowing those that were sent the email to renew in this early period. Some of us are special I guess. Tom Modesto, CA

Well, in an abundance of caution on the part of the IRS, they have "temporarily suspended" their no-bid contract with the Equifax. Did someone read the newspaper finally at the Treasury Department and realize just how stupid they looked? But I bet Equifax still gets the contract in the long run because the IRS does not have a plan B in place for a different vendor to come in and take over security verification. I am willing to bet a Vende Fappuccino from Starbucks that the design of the security verification platform at IRS only works with Equifax. Tom Modesto, CA

This is very interesting. Here is my un-researched take on this: She brings a home that was very recently purchased into marriage. It has a mortgage, but we don't know if it is most of the value of the home or not. The are married from 1987 until his death in 2009, or 12 years. We are assuming that they treated the home as a community asset, because the post says they used community funds to pay for the mortgage, etc. If you can somehow document the funds that were used to pay the mortgage are substantial enough, and that he did in fact contribute to the community, then yes, the new basis in the property is the FMV of the home on his DOD. Now, if she was independently wealthy, the mortgage was really paid from the interest on her investments she brought into the marriage, and he was nothing more than a glorified "boy toy" for her, it might be a problem. Or, if there is a pre-nup that states that her assets remain hers, you are on dangerous grounds. But if he had a job or income stream that paid a good portion of the community expenses, I think you are there. Can you document that they always had joint checking accounts that were used to pay the mortgage, Taxes and maintenance on the home? Was there a major remodel that was paid for out of community funds? Is there any trust or will that states that the "marriage residence" goes to the survivor if one dies? I think this argument can be won if the facts and circumstance back it up. I would do some more research, but I think you have a strong position if they treated the property as a community asset. Especially since the state is CA, which has a history of assigning community to assets that are not strictly treated as separate assets. With 12 years of marriage I think this is a good position. Don't quote me on this though, I could be very wrong. Tom Modesto, CA

Good to know. Thanks for sharing this post. Tom Modesto, CA