Don in Upstate NY

Might not be a good criterion any more. The "Sunday Best" clothes at our church often include ratty tee-shirts with questionable logos and unlaced sneakers without socks. And the kids dress even worse. :dunno:

I am running TRX on a Windows Home 64 bit system with no problems.

I have just e-filed my first return using the MeF protocol. I have no idea why this return went by MeF instead of the legacy system, except that this return was a federal only (no state) return. The Activity log at the E-File Center shows ... Return received at EFC 3/19/2011 1:28:11 PM Return received at IRS 3/19/2011 1:30:19 PM Return accepted by IRS 3/19/2011 1:30:34 PM The only downside that I see is that the MeF protocol does not reference the return using the 14 digit DCN that is printed on the 8879, but uses a 20 digit 'Submission ID' that is printed nowhere. (TaxWise seems to know when a return is going to be transmitted by MeF, and prints the Submission ID on the 8879.)

Confusion alert! The registration is a requirement to prepare NY returns, even if they are paper filed. And, as Pacun notes, it doesn't apply to CPAs, EAs, or attorneys. NY used to have a requirement to register to e-file, but they eliminated that several years ago. Your federal EFIN is good in NY.

It always has for me.

Since he is supporting himself, I assume that he is not a dependent of his parents and is filing claiming himself. As long as he meets the other conditions (undergrad, no drug felonies, etc.) he can claim the AOC. Line 13 questions whether he can claim the refundable portion. Without looking at the instructions, I believe the criterion is whether he has earned income to justify his support assertion.

I've found that the updates can fail to install properly, with no notice to you, unless you install them from an account that has administrative privileges. Since I normally run in a user account, to install updates I have to log out of the user account (shut it down completely so that both TRX Pro and the Update Manager are stopped), log into my Administrator account, run the update manager to download and install all new updates, log out of Administrator, log back into User, and I'm good to go. [This is the XP version - Windows 7 might be different.]

On the Schedule A input sheet, there is a box by line 5. Anything you put into that box ADDS to the withholding and other taxes that the program automatically puts on line 5. If you have multiple items, you can use the 'detail' tool to make a list for your records.

Just curious. Does anyone know if TRX is actually supporting the MeF format this year for 1040 returns? None of my returns have gone via MeF. I know that there is an option to disable MeF; I do not have that box checked. I also know that other vendors (e.g. TaxWise) are transmitting via MeF.

There are some things that TRX does that I have never seen in a program before. [Well at least not since the days of DOS Pencil Pushers.] Like the ability to actually examine the e-file that is sent to the IRS. No more doubt about which forms, which fields, which notes, etc. are transmitted. A minor feature - the taxability worksheet for state tax refunds - is amazing. It truly handles the case where the return was subject to AMT the prior year, but not enough to make the refund totally non-taxable. It also calculates what the 1099-G should have looked like. This is a biggie for New York because NYS no longer mails out 1099-Gs, and the amount on the 1099-G is not the refund, but an adjusted amount to account for sales tax impact, refundable credits, etc. TRX handles this correctly. The client letter is vastly superior to ATX, but that is simply because ATX is using a spreadsheet program as a word processor. Overall the learning curve is somewhat steep, and I certainly miss the ability to work directly on the forms, but TRX is definitely a winner for my money.

Not true in this case. Pub 1346 (2009 edition, Part 2, page 89) defines this field as character with the following allowed formats and literals So unless they changed the definition for 2010, it's a bug.

In the asset manager, there is a button to elect out of the special 50% or 100% depreciation allowance for this tax year. If you do elect out, the program calculates depreciation without the special allowance, and also correctly prepares an 'election' notice that is filed with the return. If you then change your mind and unclick the button, the depreciation calculation takes the special allowance but the 'election' notice is not erased. You must erase the 'election' notice using the NOTES function. The NOTES function, reached from the utilities menu or from <ctrl>N, allows you to prepare and manages four classes of notes ... 1 Notes for your own use that are not transmitted to the IRS 2 Non-specific notes that ARE transmitted to the IRS 3 Notes on ELECTIONS that are transmitted to the IRS 4 Notes on REGULATORY issues that are transmitted to the IRS. Unfortunately, use of the NOTES function will generally cause a fatal error and shut down your program. The work-around (based on previous year knowledge) is to explicitly list TRX as a program not subject to Microsoft Data Execution Prevention protection. In Windows XP, you do this by accessing Control Panel | System | Advanced | Performance | DEP. The file to look for is C:\TaxPrep\TY10\Bin\TW10MAIN.exe.

I noticed a DCN that was way out of sequence. I was generating 401, 402, 403, ... and then one showed up as 301. I used the 'force DCN' box and it started over at 401. Repeated 'force DCN' until it was in proper sequence. No problems since then. It looks like the DCN is generated when you do a review that passes the e-file test, and that you don't actually have to generate the e-file until you're ready to transmit. This avoids having clients in the 'Send Client' list who aren't actually ready to send (e.g. haven't signed yet.)

I just did a return where the spouse had died in 2009. So the 2009 return was MFJ with a date of death for the spouse. When I brought the return forward to do the 2010, the spouse's name and SSN were no longer on the return, and (IIRC) the filing status was no longer MFJ. So that much at least was automatically done when I brought the return forward.

Check the fine print on the ad. "Simple" = 1040-EZ

How do you access the knowledge base?

Thank you.

The program generates Summary sheets of the W2s and 1099-Rs included in the return. These sheets are generated in landscape orientation. Is there an option to set these to portrait?

From form 5405, line 16b ... The instructions don't do much good since they were issued in July 2010 and the form was then revised in December 2010. But based on the form itself, it looks like you can pay off as much as you want as long as it's at least 1/15.

In your example, TRX is correct. The instructions for the D-400 say to use the tax tables on pages 21 thru 28 if your NC Taxable Income is under $68K, and the rate rate schedule (page 29) only if your NCTI is over $68K. The tables show a tax of $701.

Except, as noted on the site cited, if you are a CPA, EA or atty and you do not offer RALs, you need not register. The confusion arises from the paid preparer signature block on the IT-201. There is a space for the "Preparer's NYTPRIN", and also one for the "Preparer's PTIN or SSN". The instructions say to enter the NYTPRIN "if you are required to have one". An EA (who doesn't do RALs) is not required to have a NYTPRIN, so leaves the box blank. It would be clearer if there were a checkbox to indicate that a NYTPRIN was not required, but we save ink this way.

The web site for individuals filing their own tax returns shows neither a PO Box nor a physical address. If you're the IRS, every delivery company in town knows where you are.

Not always. The deduction has a higher AGI phaseout than Lifetime Learning, and can be used for graduate school which the AOC can't.

It's a new additional PIN that the IRS will be issuing only to taxpayers who have previously reported identity theft problems. Announced yesterday in the IRS e-news issue 2010-50 (can't locate it on irs.gov). A six digit number that facilitates processing of returns from taxpayers with previous identity theft problems. If the taxpayer is issued this special PIN (by mail in January) and doesn't include it on the return, processing will be delayed. For you paper filers, it goes into the unmarked shaded box next to the spouse occupation field. :dunno:

Having a higher AGI in 2008 would not reduce her SS benefits. It could increase her Medicare premium however, which would result in a decrease in her monthly check. If the increase in AGI is a one-shot deal, she might be able to get the Medicare premium reset to its normal amount by contacting her SS office. See this link.