Lion EA

I will probably get rid of my old landline for my fax by the end of the year. When I set up my office, the AT&T line was less than $11 per month plus a separate long-distance service for about $2. We're out in the boonies with power failures, especially during tax season. With our other lines on Optimum and this one on AT&T, we stood a chance of having one of those work and had an extra telephone to plug into the AT&T jack. Now we have a generator, so don't lose power. And, the prices have increased to about $21 and $5. But, I often have papers to fax that are not in my computer, so having the physical fax machine still has some value to me. I'm happy with eFax but haven't given up all my old ways!

With things like eFax, you can receive your faxes via your email &/or log on to eFax from your computer to read/receive your faxes and fax out &/or log in anyplace with an internet connection to read/receive your faxes or fax out. Yes you can get rid of your old machine and the cost of its landline. You will probably have to choose a paid fax service to be able to use your same fax number, but ask anyway. And, this is the time of year you're talking to all your clients. You could stress that you have a new fax number.

Unless she's a full-time student, she would not be a dependent. If the 529 Plan distributions cover her tuition and expenses, then she has nothing left to use for the Lifetime Learning Credit. If she wants to make her 529 distributions taxable and pay her tuition with her own funds, then she can take the LLC. Off the top of my head, I don't know which would be most beneficial to her, but your could run the numbers both ways to find out. Research "coordination of education benefits."

And, 4Q PLUS annual reports in January, even for seasonal landscapers. In my state, you owe reports every quarter, even if zeros. Not to mention the deadlines and the huge penalties for missing a deadline.

I keep reminding myself that I don't charge enough. Ask me how many times I stick to my $500 minimum. I haul that out for price shoppers. I seldom get the chance to use it on actual referred clients.

I use eFax. I used their free service for some time, but then decided I wanted to choose my own number, so now I pay. (But, I pay annually, so don't remember how much off the top of my head.) You could try out their free service...

e-Sign is a standalone program. I don't use the full CCH Portal; although, I use the simple portal FileShare that's free with my CCH SiteBuilder website. FileShare or any portal will allow you to upload anything you need to share with a client (or remote employee or...), so if a client needs a copy of his W-2, you can upload that alone. The full CCH portal can accept tax returns directly as I export for e-filing with just a check box, no separate export from the tax preparer. With FileShare, I do then need to upload to FileShare. I can upload the client copy or my copy or a customized list of separate pages or anything at all. Run some demos of different products after tax season.

Do they work when printing from a prior year ATX? You say they worked in previous years for ATX. But, do they work this year to print a prior year return? Just trying to isolate where the issue lies.

I try to bring in all new clients at $500 minimum. That doesn't always work. But, I'm in pricey Fairfield County, CT so it does work sometimes. Even when I charge less, I print the full price and then a discount. And, I have long time clients at a fraction of that price. And, families with deep discounts or free for kids or.... I get more complaints when I raise prices than I do when I start high with a new client.

A portal by itself will not allow your client to e-Sign. But, it would allow your client to print the page, sign it, and scan/upload it to your portal or fax it back to you (some of my clients mail it back and some text it or email, no matter what I tell them). Something like CCH's e-Sign will send your client a copy of his return for review and the signature pages, which he can sign with a touch screen or type in his name or have it automatically entered after he verifies his identity. NAEA offers Verifyle which is a secure email and can produce e-signatures if you enter your own verification method. It came out so close to the start of tax season, that I didn't look at it much.

People look at their pay stubs with FIT, SIT, FICA, MED, 401(k), health insurance, and on and on, and don't count their refunds and think they pay too much income tax.

Thank you, Roberts. I've been seeing things that suggest "Other income" without SS or MEDA. I wasn't seeing much guidance on the state, so was leaning to resident state. I will follow your lead. The government doesn't have to follow their own rules! They have specific requirement for 1099s, but the Social Security form is the worst size, worst layout, thicker paper, and that rubber cement that sticks to everything...

The taxpayer will be glad to have years of OK suspended losses when he sells his rental and has an OK gain.

You can't e-file personal amendments, 1040-X.

You can tell I currently don't have any clients with rentals!

Stipend is designed to cover: "Stipend: To cover additional living expenses, local transportation, and incidentals"

Depends a lot on the broker. When clearing is done through the same broker the company uses, I've seen the basis accurate. When the client has taken his shares to another broker before selling, it depends a lot on what your client gave his new broker as his basis and the completeness and quality of the paperwork from the old broker and the DD the new broker performed, so I've seen the basis NOT accurate.

College student received a $420 stipend, no Form 1099, from the US Department of State as a Critical Language Scholar abroad for a few months, diplomacy and all that. Their tuition and housing and everything was paid for by the federal program. The $420 stipend was to help with food. There's a list of things they can NOT spend it on, such as gifts or upgraded food. Taxable or not? Other Income? If taxable, in which state? CT resident. Attends college in NYS. But, not a Colgate program but a US program to send him overseas to interact with the people.

Even when not available for rent?

NATP gives one free question to members. They charge for future questions in the same year. Make sure you ask for cites. If you subscribe to David & Mary Mellem's e-newsletter at [email protected] you can get answers with cites at a very reasonable fee, maybe about $15 for a quarter hour: David & Mary Mellem, EAs & Ashwaubenon Tax Professionals, 920-496-1065 (920-496-9111). We do not sell, give, or in any way share email addresses with anyone. If someone else would like to be added to our list, have them send us an email to that effect or use the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

What happens when one unit is not available for rent while you repair the other after an abusive tenant? Do you have to take both sides out of depreciation? Why not treat all eight units as separate columns on Sch E with their own income, expenses, and depreciation? If you do sell a duplex down the road, you'd combine the two rental units in that duplex to arrive at your cost basis and allowed or allowable depreciation.

You would hope so. I have clients that know their 1099Bs will be mailed in March. If she had to exercise due to leaving the company, then maybe early and maybe no CG. Ask her questions. I had to have one client call her HR dept to get someone who could copy us on all the appropriate paperwork, another client call employee relations in his huge company (think he retired from NY Bell and had employee stock purchases via payroll dating back from the Ma Bell break-up and a through couple of the re-mergers) to get his stock basis correct to report his ultimate sale.

I look them up, Pacun! In recent years, I've had Restricted Stock Units, luckily from a retiree in the finance dept. of her Fortune 500 (more like 50 or 10) company so we wade through them together. In fact, we did a pro forma last fall when she was required to deal with a couple of tranches due to her retirement. She also has Stock Performance Units. Long gone are my non-qualified stock options with code V making the computations just plug in the numbers. And, I haven't had any ISOs in a long time, either. I used to have NQSOs myself from HRB when I worked for them and an ESOP my ex had that I had to deal with after the divorce, both events decades ago. Start with articles in our trade magazines, such as TaxPro Journal to get the lingo down. Work your way up to the Code. IRS Pubs include a pub for many types of stock options with examples. Always ask for ALL the paperwork/correspondence from the employer. Your client probably received a summary copy of the stock plan, correspondence when the first "event" happened, and lots more paperwork when anything showed up in payroll. You may find that the company walked its employees through the timeline of transactions, including examples.

It depends on what type of stock option. Some have regular income now, some AMT, some CG income when sold, some a combo of ordinary and CG when sold, etc.

Wait a minute. You said four duplexes. Each duplex is two residences. So, eight rental units, right?