Don in Upstate NY

If it's beyond the three year refund statute and he is due a refund, he gets a nice certified letter that explains that he won't be getting any money back. If he owes money and sends in a check, I've heard that the IRS returns the check. Never had this happen to one of my clients, so can't be sure. Several twelve-step counseling programs recommend filing all back tax returns as part of the "face your past errors" step.

I'm not so sure of that. Look at The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009, Public Law 111-92, (HR 3578), Section 17, entitled CERTAIN TAX RETURN PREPARERS REQUIRED TO FILE RETURNS ELECTRONICALLY. I find it a little ironic that the same law which mandates e-filing also put into effect the latest First Time Homebuyers program, which the IRS has determined cannot be e-filed. :dunno:

Technically you can file all his back returns, but 2006 is the only one he can still get a refund for. Back years must be paper filed.

Without addressing the issues of residency and domicile, a person who works part time in NY should get a W2 showing Federal wages, NY wages, and Federal and NY withholding. Per the instructions for the NY W2, the NY wages should equal the federal wages. The employer does not do an allocation of wages to NY state. That is done by the taxpayer on the IT-203. Just fill out the IT-203 showing no NY wages (if he didn't perform in NY during 2009) and he should get a refund of the withholding. No need for a paper return or explanation -- if the folks in Albany have a question they'll contact the taxpayer (or you).

Do you mean TaxWorks or TaxWise?

Go down to line 3 (rents) on the E and do a F9 link from the "Total" column. This will allow you to open a Schedule E Duplicate form for three more properties. Repeat as necessary. [Disclaimer 1: OK, I'll admit I'm not a wizard. I did a F1 help on the Schedule E and there was a section on more than three properties.] [Disclaimer 2: But I occasionally teach TaxWise for the AARP/TCE program.]

The $250 is not included in box 5. If it were, it would be potentially taxable, which it is not. [besides, it wasn't on my 1099-SSA] There shouldn't be this much of a problem for preparers. If the taxpayer was eligible for SS during November 2008, December 2008, or January 2009, check the yes box and show the $250. If you don't (and Schedule M is required because he also has earned income) the return will bounce. If he was eligible for the $250 but didn't actually receive it, you can't get it for him via the tax return anyway - he has to deal with the SSA. The government pension part of Schedule M is a different fettle of kish. :wacko:

Well, you could move :scratch_head:

I confess - I'm not using ATX this season. I'm using the other software produced by CCH Small Firm Services. :mellow:

You might want to take a look at the 1040 instructions for this year, page 75. They dropped the whole thing about entering "preparer", and now say to enter name, phone, PIN, etc. [i was the one who brought it up on the other forum after getting a fatal NY diagnostic for using "PREPARER". So I checked the federal and NY instructions and found that they had changed!]

The Opportunity credit requires that he is a degree candidate, and is at least a half-time student. Taking a single course may not meet these criteria. Consider the Lifetime Learning credit.

If you save a bookmark, bookmark the URL in the top posting above. http://www.tax.state.ny.us/pit/1099g.htm Don't bookmark the URL for the actual page "https://www8.nystax.gov/PIGI/pigiGateway?jadeAction=PIGI_HOME_ACTION"

It's working now. In my case I got a refund but didn'r itemize, so it says

Thank you - you're correct. I had a senior moment. Don

Sort of sort of. It's a little more complicated than that. The portion of gain that cannot be excluded is the total period of non-qualified use divided by the total period of ownership. And the total non-qualified use does not include any non-qualified use before January 1 2009 nor any non-qualified use after the last period of qualified use. (Renting out a house before it's sold does not hurt you; moving into your rental to get the exclusion doesn't work as well as it used to.) But then you still need the two out of last five to get the (prorated) exclusion, subject to the same old exceptions. I agree - wait for the pub and worksheet if you can.

Right. The Schedule EIC is just for EIC with qualifying children. You don't use it for the no-child EIC even if you file a 1040 or a 1040-A.

We know he means that even if your house isn't paid off, or your taxes are less than $1,000, or you don't file MFJ, your standard deduction still becomes higher. The $1,000 is the maximum for MFJ.

Good for cars purchased after Feb. 16, 2009, and before Jan. 1, 2010 only. There has been talk about extending it into 2010, but AFAIK it's still just talk. http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=210901,00.html

The requirements for either the $8,000 version or the $6,500 version are placed upon the taxpayer (and spouse if married.) If one spouse qualifies for the $8,000 but the other does not, they cannot get the $8,000. Likewise, if one qualifies for the $6,500 but the other does not, they cannot get the $6,500. [still looking for original thread )

There was a thread on that recently, or maybe it was in the NATP weekly. In any event, if one spouse qualifies for the $8,000 FTHB and the other qualifies for the $6,500 version, they they qualify for neither. :mad:

.pdf

Check the instructions on the 5405. It requires that taxpayer (and spouse if married) did not own a home for past three years. Doesn't matter if house is in her name only or if she files MFS. She doesn't qualify.

Intellitax /OrrTax was purchased by CCH and the software immediately discontinued. Intellitax as a company doesn't exist any more, and neither does their internet server. The old URL www.intellitax.com now points to a CCH page telling you why you should convert to TaxWise for 2008. So you won't be able to upload or download anything to the internet addresses that are hard coded into the Intellitax program - they don't exist anymore. What I personally did was convert all my 2007 Intellitax returns to TaxWise, both as an opportunity to learn TaxWise and as a way to facilitate possible amendments. (I had less than 100 returns, so this was feasible.) I found several that had different bottom lines on Intellitax and TaxWise, due to deficiencies in both programs. I still have Intellitax 2007 available on an old Windows 2000 computer in the basement, but have deleted it from my main computer and laptop.

"Addiction can be be problem" reports ATXaholics Anonymous :rolleyes:

And many warranties for laptops come in two flavors - those that cover the usual computer failures and those that also cover accidents such as spilled coffee, dropping the laptop, etc.