Lion EA

Have her check her bank statements to see if she received direct deposits. Years ago before DD was required, I had a friend who didn't get checks in a couple months. She contacted SSA, and they issued new checks. Turns out her hubby thought the original checks were his, so he deposited them. When the SSA realized the checks had cleared in hubby's account, they wanted the money back, obviously. Struck a deal to withhold it gradually from benefits, so all ended well.

Done

And, for searching for CT entities: http://www.concord-sots.ct.gov/CONCORD/online?sn=PublicInquiry&eid=9740

The best I've found to search by municipality in CT: http://publicrecords.netronline.com/state/CT/

I have almost no one on Obamacare. But, I thought that they have no recourse to collect the penalty -- sorry, TAX -- except by it lowering a refund. That if someone owes and doesn't send in the penalty, there's no recourse. So, the IRS was not failing to process returns just because Obamacare information was incomplete or a lower amount is set to be direct debited or for anything Obamacare. This year, the IRS was going to start NOT processing returns that were incomplete re Obamacare. But, after the executive order, decided to continue with their method of prior years. I would continue doing whatever I did in prior years re telling clients their options. And, add the new wrinkle of extending to wait to see if the law changes.

Catherine, I have a client (retired PE teacher, or whatever the PC term is for that subject now) who keeps a coach's whistle by her phone for that very reason.

Do NOT call. If he reaches you, tell him you have no openings for new clients this season.

My seniors are more complex, in spite of paying off their mortgages so taking standard deduction. They have many, many, many sources of income: SS, IRAs, pensions/401(k)s, SEPs/SIMPLESs, capital gains, interest, dividends, and lots more interest, and maybe a part-time job or SE &/or renting out a spare room or renting their house until it sells while they move in to a smaller place (did they get 1099-S?), and LTC benefits when ill and double-checking RMDs and which were ROTHs and which were inherited and....

I get bored doing easy returns. And, I don't want the dumbest 30% of the population unless they are really, really nice to work with. My clientele needs my advice for next year and not just forms filled out for last year. I've been assuming I could shrink my business in my old age via attrition, but my numbers are up a bit each year from referrals from my current clients. I will have a career for as long as I want to work!

I lost one who's semi-retired and going to go DIY. (I think this is only my second client to go to DIY; the other also retired and had prepared his own returns when much younger so is giving it a try again. Both those people no longer have NYS NRPY returns, paid off their mortgages, one has kids done with college now, simpler financial lives.) And, another semi-retired couple who'd moved away, now found a preparer closer to home. Both stayed with me a long time after their lives changed. The couple took a lot of time with questions & calculations all year, so as much as I like them, I'm really better off without them. But, a teacher client recommended a couple she knows from work. And, a biz client that was himself recommended by another biz client has formed a new partnership and is bringing me more biz returns. So, I have as many clients and will make more money.

Check out Thursday's question and answers.

Only as far as the NYS NYPY pertains to my commuters. Don't have any NYC resident clients now. What is your question?

I charge my hourly fee during tax season. If off-season, I usually charge less per hour than for tax prep. And, I have a very, very part-time assistant who I pay to organize/run adding machine tapes/etc., and then I add that cost (including any of my time to direct her) to the client's bill. Some stuffed boxes/bags get sent home anyway, to total themselves or go on extension until I can get my assistant in. I put the Bookkeeping fee right on their invoice, so they can see how much it costs them.

Figuring out if that teeny, tiny character is an 8 or a B is a pain. I wear my reading glasses to prepare tax returns, but those 16 digits are really tough to read. Do I include the hyphens? I've done it both ways. And, I know I missed one originally, but spotted it when noticing that one of their other W-2s had the code. And, have you seen the one where it's buried in the name/address box?! Big companies have employee numbers anyway, so it took some time for me to realize where they'd hidden the verification code. Box 9 or within the name/address, right? What a stupid system.

My hubby got all excited when a large Lord & Taylor box arrived for me, thinking a grateful client had sent a gift. I took one look at the return address and knew it was just a tardy client sending all her tax documents, plus every other piece of paper she had, for a couple of years. What a letdown.

There's always an estate. You may or may not have to file an estate tax return. Although, with a surviving spouse, you'll want to file for portability purposes, and now the distribution.

If he reaches the then-limit while alive, he will owe tax with that year's gift tax return plus any subsequent returns. You don't wait until after he dies to pay tax, just until he reaches the limit. I think. None of my clients have given that much away, so I haven't had to look that up lately.

Your software should do the heavy lifting after you tell it the date your client became a NY resident, but some forms to look for TR-579-IT is the NY version of 8879 IT-201-V is the payment voucher IT-203 is the NRPY base form IT-203-D should flow from the federal Schedule A IT-2 details the W-2s IT-360.1 for moving into or out of NYC (NYC tax is calculated, but flows to IT-203; just a separate schedule and not a separate return for NYC) Yonkers has their own schedule, also. IT-2105.9 if underpaid If your client had any NY-sourced income while still an IL resident or IL-sourced income after a NY resident, you'll be using more columns in the allocation. If the company did not change/client does not have separate W-2s, you'll need a paystub with year-to-date information close to when he left IL/moved to NY to allocate his wages between the two states. I usually do a spreadsheet and then input the income items: wages, interest, dividends, capital gains, etc. I proofread on the forms and not from the input screens to make sure everything flowed where I expected it to, nothing doubles, nothing is missing, the amounts from the two states add up to his federal, etc. Moving expenses go on NY as the state he moved to, if the company did not reimburse him for deductible moving expenses. Your software should flow everything or almost everything after you prepare the federal and give NY the date and allocate anything your software cannot. I don't have any NY residents currently (moved to CT &/or NJ), but come back with any specific questions and hope a NY preparer jumps in.

Looks beautiful. Why don't you wean your clients to more remote methods so you can work from home, or closer to home? And, sit in your yard when the bears are willing to share it with you?!

CA's not a big issue this time. She did actually work and train there, and they withheld. So, you know you're filing a CA NR return with only a percentage of her income as CA-sourced income. It's all those other states!

I don't know. That's why I told you to read up on Tax Home. She may be like an entertainer or athlete or over-the-road trucker and owe taxes to all states she works in -- MA and AZ and everything in between. Her tax home isn't VA for that trip, maybe her residence. Maybe an itinerant worker. (Had a colleague who's client drove his truck all over, where ever he could find a load to carry and where ever he had to deliver. They filed like 42 state returns most years.) I had a consultant who traveled a lot, but his company withheld for the states they sent him to and prepared his W-2 correspondingly; we still filed a lot of state returns, but the company did the math and his work also took place in CT with the company. Hopefully she kept a log if using per diem or receipts if using actual expenses or detailed expense accounts if being reimbursed by her company. Those will help you with how much time spent in each state. Some states have floors re how many days or how much income before filing is required; others, like AL, say you owe them tax if you put your foot or any body part over the border. But, if she doesn't see clients in VA, I don't know if VA can be her tax home. You might use an NATP question; they provide the cites and backup along with an answer. Is her company big enough to have a legal department that researched this issue? Did they give her any written information re her tax obligations to the states she picks up in, drops off in, passes through, as part of her training or her job offer letter? Did they provide cites to the IRC that you can check on?

I'm not convinced her tax home is VA. Where does she do her work? You said "other states." Read up on tax home. Her primary residence could be in VA.

A few seconds to walk to my home office. I do NOT get dressed first, just add a sweatshirt and slippers to my jammies. When clients are expected, I do dress! But, I don't have to open the door to unexpected clients, because I have a large mail slot in my front door for drop-offs. Also, I have a couple biz clients where I go to their site and wear clothing. Those trips, which vary from weekly to monthly, are 20-35 minutes long, barring construction, accidents, etc. I time those for afternoon or late morning arrivals and departures in the evening after the thick of rush hour, and can drive to one of those sites entirely on back roads.

Exactly. I don't use all caps anyplace else, unless I mean to shout. But, with mixed case on a tax return where the line descriptions are in mixed case, it's just too hard to see what I entered in a list or info or anything. I need the contrast to find my place, proofread, etc. It's worth the occasional mistype of a password when I forget I have caps lock on.

Use word of mouth advertising. If you want new clients, tell your best clients that you have space for a few good new clients. Tell them you want more clients just like them, or in their profession, or in their neighborhood, or.... That way you stand a good chance of getting more clients like your best clients. Referrals are better than strangers who find you online.