Maribeth

Maybe the import function won't work with a trust??? Hmmm . . . . have the Users Manual open for another reason, and just flipped to the import function. On Page 354 it says that you can import for 1041, 1065 and 1120S. Gives a couple of warnings about making sure you have the correct SSN but that's about all it says.

You might just have to manually enter the information. so sorry.

Don't know much about NOL's in an estate. I am currently batting one around for a trust that has the business of renting equipment in it.

However, I do know that a rental loss is cosidered to be a business loss for NOL purposes. So you might have an NOL.

The SEP must be funded by the due date of the return, including extensions. The appropriate deduction goes on the 2012 tax return.

Some retirement plans must be established before the end of the tax year --- established, not funded. Just checked and the SEP can be established after the year end.

Once you have placed the corporation on extension and determined the appropriate SEP deduction, you can file the corporate return any time before the due date. The filing of the return will not negate the funding of the plan as long as the funding is done by the due date of the return.

Long story short: take the deduction on the 2012 return; fund the plan by 9/15/13

Had the S-corp return closed but not marked complete. Made changes to the S-corp this morning, closed the S-corp, opened up the two shareholders again, and the system discovered the changes and imported again. It is working fine here.

But again, no returns were marked complete.

So good to see you again, Kerry! Please stick around and keep us company. I had forgotten how much I missed you!!

Just did a K-1 import and it went slicker than snot. The corporate return is not marked complete so maybe that is the reason your import is not going.

Actually, call me in November. I probably will renew but CCH will not have my money early.

I cannot address your concerns specifically. I can only address my experience.

The package that I reviewed was limited in what I could and what I could not do. I could not print; I could not create a customized global report. I wish that I had kept my review notes but I did not. They are gone.

What I am going to say, and forcefully, is that one option that was NOT in the program that we beta-testers indicated MUST be in the program was the group option. We were told that it was not possible to get that option in the program before its release. We insisted that it must be in the program. That it was crucial to many of us that use FAM for our accounting and bookkeeping functions, not just tax.

That function made it into the release. And I applaud ATX's programmers for getting on the stick & getting that function done. It is not perfect, but it is there. We were listened to and our concerns were addressed.

I loved the "feel" of the program; I loved that it had moved into the 21st century; and I was very pleased with the speed and the manuverability within the software.

So, having said all of that, I now am still pleased with FAM. Had a few rough outings at the very beginning of tax season with losing assets but those problems were fixed. And I have to admit that my office has not had the severe problems that others have had. We have had no crashes, no trouble efiling, no lost assets after the beginning of the year. We have had slow opening of returns and very slow backups but that is probably the worst issues that we have had.

I am pleased with version 12.13 and as of today we are stable, preparing returns on 3 computers, efiling returns, and getting the work out.

Thank you all for your opinions/insights/thoughts/suggestions. I appreciate it all. You make me think and sometimes push me out of my comfort zone. I would be lost without this board.

Cruising along with 12.13. Speed is up. Oh My!

Working on a couple's return. He has 5 K-1's. On one of them there is foreign income, but it says 'other countries'. When I do an error check, it says: If there is an amount on line 3b for other deductions, the line 3b 'Statement for Other Deductions related to Gross Foreign Income must be filled out.

Any help where I can find the info that goes on there?

Thanks!

Eli

How much in FTC does your client have? If under $600, delete the 1116 and 1116 AMT and the error code will go away. If it is more than the $600, then you have to determine the foreign income and fill out the 1116. On that stupid 3b questions, put anything, anything at all, like "other itemized deductions", and move on.

Hth!

Well, I did beta testing on the new FAM this past summer and I am not a myth.

It is a temporary job in that it is a project, building apartment buildings and single family homes; I believe there are 40 homes & about the same in apartment units. Once that project is done, they will be coming back home. They are not going to move to ND permanently.

But this is an S-corp so I cannot use Office-in-Home. I could reimburse the corporation for expenses incurred by the shareholder/employees while living in ND. And of course there is the interest on the RV, which on the 1040 would be deductible.

They ran everything through the S-corp, all payments have been made through the S-corp. I better check the purchase papers/loan documents to see how the RV is titled.

Have a general contractor, S-corporation, that got work in North Dakota in 2012. He bought an RV for around $55,000, hauled it to ND and has been running the business out of the RV. He also is sleeping in the RV, along with his wife, who does all of the administrative functions for the business.

So . . . . . . my first question was what was the depreciable life. I believe I answered that: 5 years, as either an RV or a construction asset.

Then, I started to wonder whether the RV is even depreciable because they are living in it. And I am starting to second guess myself.

Would appreciate any input from any of you that have already dealt with this type of question.

Yes, thanks for the info. I do not know about the FIRE system either so I guess I will be learning after tax season.

So, with Drake, do they have 990's. I do a handful of nonprofits and will need those forms. Also, what about the depreciation? Do they have a separate depreciation module?

Agreed. Kind of creepy. And what's even creepier -- if they wanted my business, how come they haven't called me before?? I have gotten free demos in the mail and the occasional email. But now a phone call, from someone telling me he is my account exec for Lacerte and/or ProSeries? A Phone call????? Stay out of my business Intuit. I will buy your product if and when I decide to buy your product and it will certainly not be right now.

Just got an email from Intuit and a phone call from a salesman. Mr. Intuit does not want me to renew my tax software until I give him a chance to show me how wonderful his tax sofware packages are. Going to send me a free gift, a copy of Lacerte or the other one which I can use for this year.

Okay, that's fine. I may or may not take them up on their offer. (well, probably won't, on general principles, won't give Intuit any more of my money than I absolutely have to).

But my question is: How does Mr. Intuit know that I have ATX?? That is my question.

If the FTC is greater than $300 single or $600 married, then you have to fill out the 1116. That form will allocate the FTC based on the foreign income to total income. If the taxpayer cannot use it all this year, it is carried forward.

Did you have to purchase the FAM? If so, how much are they gouging us for?

Yes, I have purchased the separate FAM for several years now because we need to do depreciaion calculations throughout the year. The cost was about $225, which was the renewal price. I believe the first year cost is $300.

Yes, the FAM seems to be working well now. I sometimes wonder whether the issues some people have been having with assets disappearing in ATX stems from the interface with FAM. If they don't have FAM, then those assets disappear.

I did some beta-testing of FAM last summer and I liked the feel of it, even though many functions were not yet available. The one item that I really need to get on after tax season is generating an all-purpose report for our clients that becomes part of the workpapers. I have had to customize each client and haven't been able to figure out how to do it globally. But, of course, I haven't really tried to do it globally, just leaving that on my to-do list for after tax season.

Sometimes, well most times, I am so glad that Washington State does not have an income tax!

Agreed. The printing module is much better for me this year.

Attention Everyone! I have done backups in all the aforementioned methods. ATX2012 program is creating corrupted backup files. There is no difference when or where you do the backup. The files are corrupted.

Want proof...

Open ANY backup folder, find the actual files. See how many are 1kb in length. Each 1kb file is a corrupt backup for a client. Trust me on this. We lost 25 returns to 12.9 and I was hoping the backup files would save me. No such luck. A technician showed me the 1kb file situation. Since then, every backup I have created, no matter where or how is corrupted.

Try restoring a return that has one of the 1kb file in the backup file.

At this point, export seems to export all information and not be corrupted.

Just wait... As time goes on, and especially next year, what I am saying will be blatantly obvious.

Jack, just looked at my backups, both in the "official" ATX backup folder AND in the external drive backup I maintain. ALL of my files are at 2kb, all of them. not 1 but 2. So I believe that my files are corrupted and will start exporting today.

Thank you so much for the heads up. And I apologize that it has taken me so long to finally hear what you have been saying. Thanks for not stopping your advice in frustration.

Maribeth