JohnH

I hadn't seen this site before, but I got a good laugh out of several of the articles. Many of them are even funnier if you've served in the military and have been either the perpetrator or the victim of some good-natured "barracks humor" from time-to-time. I laughed out loud at the "Taliban Proposes a "Call Ahead" Night Raid Policy", especially the last line from the excerpt below" The Taliban has enthusiastically offered a “Call Ahead” program as an olive branch gesture to U.S. forces. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid explains: “We are trying to do our part in the peace process. You ask an Afghan court 72 hours before getting a warrant to knock down our door, we’re only asking 24 hours, tops, as a common courtesy. We’ll even put my cousin Mutassa on the computer in case you email. Either way, we think this is more than reasonable for a head start…to peace.” Afghan President Hamid Karzai was optimistic about a deal being reached. “I think this is a great idea,” said Karzai, as he text-messaged the location of a high-level U.S. Diplomat to an insurgent leader. “It provides the Taliban a good compromise, and frankly, saves my government resources from being wasted by having to call them ourselves.”

If you're not sure, seems to me it would be wise to back up the electronic filing with a (gasp!) paper return, maybe with a note attached about the lack of an ack. If filed by the 10th of Nov it's still considered timely and there's really no harm in taking that course of action.

Memo to the yahoo who stuck a political sign in my yard. I understand that you legally placed the sign on the right-of-way and I respect your right to express yourself. But I can't stand the thought that some of my neighbrs might see it and think I voted for the loser you are supporting. So I'm sorry to tell you I tore it up and tossed it in the garbage.

No real interest here but I'll bite. Speaking only for myself - if I had any interest in doing the government's job for them, I'd hustle on down to the IRS and apply for a job.

Thanks KC. That was an interesting Ted Talk. One reason I'm a fan of the Drudge Report is the variety of links it provides to columnists across the political spectrum. D/R makes no pretense about its Conservative bias, but that doesn't extend to the links it provides down the center column. I know of no other online or print source which offers this much variety.

You're welcome. I take it you haven't done anything yet. If you had started the process I described on Monday, you'd be a third of the way through by now (regardless of whether anyone else responds or not).

Shouldn't that be (qualifying child) / (qualifying relative), or are the parentheses just assumed?

If the ownership in both proposed corporations is the same, I'd think twice about splitting into multiple entities. Assuming the corp charter uses a general statement of purpose, I think there should be other reasons for multiple corps. Different business activities wouldn't be the standard I'd use. If one business has much greater potential liability exposure, regulatory issues, or other such influences, that might change the decision. Or if there might be some tax advantage to using different accounting methods for each separate corp. But if the current accounting system is working fine and none of the above factors are a problem, why complictate things?

I think that was the point of the exercise.

The RTRP is mundane, but it's only the opening volley in a process which will eventually result in all tax preparers functioning as unpaid surrogate auditors for the IRS. I used to think this might be a 10-year process, but given the way they are reaching, I think it will be pretty much in place within 3-5 years.

I just went through this with a new client recently. We couldn't get login info from the prior payroll company for some reason. But there are instructions on the EFTPS login page on how to reset everything. I think you have to obtain a new enrollment number (not the FEIN) and then they send the client a new PIN, which takes about 7-10 days. Armed with the new enrollment number and PIN, we were able to set up his EFTPS info fairly quickly. You may as well go this route because by the time you get shuffled around by the payroll company, you can have the process completed on your own.

The camel's head is completely in the tent. Now it's just a matter of time until...

Yes, I remember that class well. At 12 years of age Rita was the youngest person to ever teach at my middle school. And thanks to her excellent teaching skills, I made it into high school just after my 21st birthday. BTW, I can still use a slide rule. Best way in the world to visualize a log table.

http://www.mathgoodi...operations.html The answer is 20 using the order of operations rules. (The order of operations rules essentially tell you where the parentheses should be) 4 x 4 + 4 x 4 + 4 - 4 x 4 is the same as (4x4) + (4x4) + (4) - (4x4) is the same as (16) + (16) + (4) - (16) is the same as (32) + (4) - (16) is the same as (36) - (16) You could also get the same result by canceling out the 16's (after the multiplication is done) or by any of several other routes. My abacus also yielded the same result

I don't have the tape handy, but here's the result on my calculator display:

You could tell them you don't waste time remembering this stuff because you find it more prductive to devote all your mental energy to calculating their bill.

Gene: Here's a suggestion to move through it faster. For each part, go directly to the quiz and answer all of the questions you know. Save those answers without submitting. Then read the material for the test. Doing it this way will help you focus on learning answers to the questions to which you didn't know the answer at first. Then go back and finish the quiz & submit your answers. You'll learn more this way and save lots of time in the process. You'll also score higher - 70% is passing but I think 90-95% is a reasonable expectation for this material for anyone preparing returns on a regular basis. This may not work for everyone, but for me it's a real time saver and it isn't cheating or dishonest. It's a matter of using the tools at your disposal and learning the most possible.

I dont think it's allowed on 941's.

I'm not making this up about the self-certifying Is isn't a matter of self-certifying being an option - fact is it's the only game in town. Just look at the CE section of the renewal instructions. Also look down this FAQ page about 1/3 of the way - the bold type beginning with the word "*NEW*" http://www.irs.gov/Tax-Professionals/CE-FAQs:-I-am-a-Tax-Professional ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ And this from Platinum: " Recently, the IRS has received a number of certificates of completion directly from tax preparers. Please note the you do NOT need to submit their certificates of completion to the IRS . Platinum will submit the information on your behalf within 10 business days. Even though preparers don’t have to submit their certificates to the IRS, per Circular 230,Registered Tax Return Preparers, Enrolled Agents, and Enrolled Retirement Plan Agents must retain their records of continuing education for four years. The IRS reporting system has begun but the IRS has stated that is not fully operational. For 2012, the student will "self-certify" that they have completed 15 hours of continuing education or will complete by 12/31/2012. You will not be able to verify that your completion has been reported for the 2012 continuing education requirement. For 2013, the reporting system will be completed, and there will be an online procedure to verify education. This system will not be operational until sometime after January 2013 for the 2013 Continuing education requirement. Please Note: The IRS will perform an audit in January 2013 and ask a certain number of preparers to send in a copy of their Certificate of Completion." +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ So does this mean that Platinum is in error and I wasted my $27.95, or are some of the high-priced CE providers just not bothering to fully inform their students?

Don't know. Guess you'll have to ask IRS. But I'm guessing it isn't recorded on their site. Hope you kept your certificate, which you're supposed to do for 4 years anyhow.

Good questions, but all that's covered. Platinum is on the IRS list of approved CE providers - you can click on their link directly from the IRS list. Although there will eventually be a process for CE providers to send info to IRS, right now IRS isn't geared up to receive it. No RTRP's CE is bring reported directly to IRS right now. So as of today, when a RTRP renews, the only requirement is that we self-certify that we have completed our CE. Given all the above, here's my take. I have a printed certificate from Platinum (which every RTRP is supposed to keep for 4 years), it's from an approved provider, and I know I completed it in good faith, so I can self-certify and I'm done. And in the worst-case scenario, even if all this was wrong, I'm still ahead. Even if I later learned I'm out $27.95, I've still jumped through the hoops and I did learn a few things. That doesn't rise to the level of an expensive mistake in my book.

You're right - their course was very basic. I learned a few things but nothing substantive. I will probably do some other CPE as well, but it is nice to get the 2012 requirement out of the way quickly. It takes the pressure off and enables me to concentrate on important stuff. Peace of mind for less than $30 - well worth it.

I tried this one and found it to be very convenient. I paid $27.95 for 15 hours of CPE to meet the 2012 RTRP requirement. All of it was completed on-line and self-paced.

Or he could go on vacation with some of the money. . Maybe meet another landlord who is vacationing on part of the proceeds from HIS property being destroyed by a flood. For future reference, they can spend time discussing how to start a flood.

I'm betting Mrs Kinsey is a mom.