Lion EA

Linkedin has some QB discussion groups. I was on one titled Successful QuickBooks Consultants QB Online Cloud Accountant CPA Bookkeeping Accounting Bookkeeper which seems to cover just about everything QB.

No. Mother does NOT have to provide more than half of the support for her child. The child can NOT provide more than half of his own support. That's for the dependency. (If you're talking about HOH, then mother would have to pay for more than half of the household expenses to file as HOH.)

Don't assume. Ask him to bring in his SS card.

Oh, I agree, KC. My point was it's not just wives; husbands support their returning servicewomen, too. I've seen that video a lot and am very glad the service dogs are being trained. I grew up during Viet Nam and watched friends come home to no services and no support and maybe families and spouses that had had no support while their loved one was away. One of our church members who trained guide dogs and then trained a breeder and then were able to keep her into her retirement, brought her out of retirement to train her as a court dog. They take her to court when a child has to testify; Lumina sits at the child's feet so the child is not alone in the witness box.

And husbands. And mothers.

Just like an adult with a stock sale, file the return to report the basis, and in this case loss. You can put on parents' return if interest and dividends ONLY, not for stock sales.

There is always an estate. The estate might not have a filing requirement. But in that case, you're probably filing due to the portability of the estate's unused deduction so it can go to the surviving spouse and not be lost.

The first few years of moving to CT, my then-husband /or I had auto accidents every 15 January. After about three years or so, I refused to leave the house on 16 January. I had an auto accident on 16 July!

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware. Also, Glary Utilities. Maybe Microsoft Essentials.

If we knew when we are going to die, then it's a calculation with a "right" answer. But without that piece of information, it's a choice; and I hate to make decisions without full information -- which is most of life.

Our situation is me 66 file and suspend. Hubby 62 draw on my account. Me at 70 draw on my account with increased benefits; hubby at 66 draw on his account with full benefits. He'd worked this out with a financial advisor. Neither of us has done the legwork to check it with SSA and actually do it. He's a retired teacher and I'm busy, so this will be his project now. Also studied the draw and then pay back strategy in a CE course one time. My grandmother lived to be 103, so I hope to collect for a long time. On the other hand, my mother died at 67. But, daddy was nearly 80 as was my grandfather.

Come here as often as you need for whatever you need. We're all in this together. I'm a huge fan of extensions. I also think mileage is deductible to bid on jobs, to pick up equipment and workers, to bank, for any business purpose, whether he's going from his OIH to any of those or going between his various activities/locations. (Just don't pick up the dry cleaning on the way!) As long as he is "on business" it's business mileage and deductible with an OIH.

I know. I turned 66 with a younger husband. I just haven't take the time to go over to the SSA office to work it out. (I'm so afraid they won't get the Suspend part right.) I'll then wait for 70 to restart drawing, and hubby will wait until 66 to draw on his own but have mine to draw on for a few years. Can you do it online? How long before you see something in writing or definitive that it's suspended? Happy Birthday, John!

I have one client who writes his own checks but didn't want it to look like it. He developed a Word template that he uses to input three checks on a page, so he can feed the page of checks from his checkbook through his printer. The beauty of it is that it's Word so when he starts typing a vendor, such as me Dollars & Sense, LLC, he doesn't have to type the whole name or risk typos because it auto-suggests my company name by the time he gets to Dol. He used to fax me the pages before he'd separate the checks and mail them. (He finally has a part-time administrator who does the QB input, but he still prepares his checks the same way!) You could set up his template one time, then he's not handwriting. I would really work on him to use online banking to save time, money, and hand cramps.

HOH goes to the one who paid more than half to keep a household for a qualifying child. With a low-income couple, logic would suggest that the higher income parent would claim HOH. But WHO paid the household bills? If she paid the rent and utilities and bought food and he bought booze and motorcycle parts and rode with his buddies to Miami Beach or maybe paid his own tuition at Harvard or has huge child support and alimony payments to his previous family or.... You have to ask questions. And, yes, if I thought the lower income parent might be the one paying for the household, I'd document, document, document, knowing the IRS would take some convincing.

Inherited property is defined as long term. If child didn't live in home, then were they investment property in her hands? If so, a loss is deductible. Do you have the cost basis at date of death or alternate valuation date?

KC already posted a cite above.

In chilly CT, many people pick out their retirement homes while still working and better able to qualify for a mortgage. Many use it as a second home, some as a vacation home, and some as a rental. Eventually (unless one passes away, and sometimes because one passed away) they move to that warmer clime. They usually continue to send their tax documents to me. I currently have clients in FL, NC, VA, and coastal CT. I have lost a couple to preparers in AZ, but their prior year returns contained the depreciation schedules, etc..

TImberTax.org

My phone goes to voicemail while I'm with a client. And, my front door is locked (office in home). I have a large mail slot in the front door for drop-offs without an appointment. Usually, my clients don't take calls. There was the one with a mother on a tour in India who broke her hip!

I had an engineer come in with his return prepared each year. I always found something he missed or misunderstood. Eventually, he stopped preparing his return and trusted me to do it. He organizes his information in great spreadsheets. Over the last three days, he's been arguing with me about a 401(c )(4) he belongs to that donates to charities, and why can't he take the donations on his personal return. (Yes, I came here to get input as he argued; it's the one I posted about.) He now believes me and is writing up a paper for his club. He is also a really sweet guy and very intelligent and sent his daughter to me as a client. I also have a banker and his wife who had her own business. Banker is very mellow and laid back. Wife creates amazing documentation by hand. She does question every difference. (One year I got a lower amount for LTC premiums, because of the limitation base on age; she now understands that that number will differ.) She has gone elsewhere to double-check me or to get advance information, such as the elder care attorney when their parents were ill (she brought me all the information she got from him). She asks lots of questions and apologizes, but I do like her kind of questions, wanting to take responsibility for her own finances and wanting to understand the tax implications of what they do before they do it. They contact me every fall with what their year looks like and what their final estimated tax payments should be. They are also a very nice couple and continue to use me even though they moved farther away. I had a new client late last year who'd always had his returns done by his company's accountants while he was overseas. In 2012 he'd been in the US all year, so his company did not prepare. I showed him owing a ton. There's nothing to argue over: he has a huge W-2 and only 10% withholding. He wanted to discuss with his wife. I've never heard back from him!

MFJ or MFS for federal return.

Thank you all. I knew it didn't make the IRS list of qualified charities. Needed the words to explain to client the difference. I like the short answer; and if he wants the long answer, that link is perfect.

RIta, you can be polite and not tell them and smile and still tack on your hourly rate for "waiting time."

The IRS is federal and pays no attention to state court rulings such as divorces. Yes, the bottom line is where did the child spend the most nights, with the mother or with the father. Paper file with your client in the correct manner. Tell him what type of supporting documentation to start gathering now, and tell him to contact you as soon as he gets an IRS letter. Let him consult with his lawyer about what his ex is supposed to do or not do per their divorce decree.