JohnH

He probably has nothing to worry about. I'm sure that when he shows his tax bill to all his buddies who bought the cigarettes form him, they will gladly chip in the tax money to help him round up the $10K.

I'd rethink the 1099-C idea if I were in your situaton. You are not a financial institution.

I like the Sandler version: "Some Will, Some Won't., So What? NEXT Please

I agree with Joan. You already have one ADL covered - it's just a matter of addressing at least one more in the care plan and getting a health care professional to sign onto it. I'd start with the doctor who sees patients at the facility, if there is one. If you present the doctor with a simple written statement that addresses the question directly, chances are he/she will sign it. I this isn't an option, then ask the Director of Nursing to sign it. The healthcare professionals in the institution have a vested interest in helping you out here, provided the need is legitimate and they are not being asked to sign something that is untrue. The opinions of the healthcare professionals carry much weight in determining the deductibility of the expenses. Also, most people who need assistance with one ADL are in need of assistance with other ADL's. For example, how many people are incapable of bathing themselves but are perfectly capable of clothing themselves? I'm not going to defend the daughter for kicking him out, but this may be in his best interests in the long run. She may simply be an ungrateful jerk who needs her attitude adjusted. But on the other hand, she is so burdened by his presence that there's a temptation to mistreat (or neglect) him for example, then he needs to be in a facility where he will receive proper care and she needs the mental/emotional relief.. It might result in a slighly better relationship between him and the daughter as well. If you want to read an interesting story about this whole elder care dilemma, check out this month's issue of The Atlantic. The title of the article is "Daddy Issues" by Sandra Loh. http://www.theatlant...dy-issues/8890/ Be prepared to laugh at times and cry at others, sometimes in the same sentence.

I'm not sure why your returns are out of alphabetical order in the Rollover Manager, but you can re-sort them by simply clicking on the "Return Name" title at the top of the column. This is useful for sorting them in alpha order or clicking it twice to sort them in reverse alpha order (such as when you are looking for someone whose name begins with S,T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z for example). I toggle back and forth with this field regularly. You can also use this feature to sort by other column headings, such as unique cities or to group returns by state, preparer, etc.

Maybe it means "Probably". As in, "This is probably your number, unless we make an arbitraty decision to change it."

That's what I do as well. I shut the program down at night and reopen every morning, then do manual updates once or twice during the day throughout tax season, especially before complex returns. So far, it brings over the county name just fine, but it omits the county code. I assume it's simply a matter of linking two tables together and they just haven't gotten back around to it yet.

Well, "grace" and "license" don't belong in the same sentence either, but that's a whole other paragraph (maybe even a book or two). :)

So far, every NC Form D-400 I've rolled over has the county code missing. The name of the county rolls over, but not the code. I only roll over as I'm getting ready to prepare the return in order to give ATX time to correct any problems, but I've seen this error every time so far, and I update at least once a day. Are any other NC preparers running into this consistent error?

I agree 100% with Randall. I've never seen IRS ignore a truthful letter from a taxpayer, even when the answer is "no". Including a 1040x is also helpful, because it gives IRS a way to resolve the issue within their normal channels if they decide to accept the info. I've also never seen them refuse to do an audit reconsideration when there was not a taxpayer-signed agreement to the assessment (even after the time had passed) but maybe I just have lucky clients.

I'm pretty sure that baby grace period only applies if your return is prepared by a qualified & licensed hair stylist or auto mechanic.

That's how you do it.

Well, what are you going to say?

I don't have any cites for you, but I think this is a pretty good explanation & summary: In order for assisted living expenses to be tax deductible, the resident must be considered "chronically ill." This means a doctor or nurse has certified that the resident either: 1) cannot perform at least two activities of daily living, such as eating, toileting, transferring, bath, dressing, or continence; or 2) requires supervision due to a cognitive impairment (such as Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia). In addition, to qualify for the deduction, personal care services must be provided according to a plan of care prescribed by a licensed health care provider. This means a doctor, nurse, or social worker must prepare a plan that outlines the specific daily services the resident will receive. Though not required by law, most assisted living facilities prepare care plans for their residents. Generally, only the medical component of assisted living costs is deductible -ordinary living costs such as room and board are not. However, for a chronically ill resident who is in the facility primarily for medical care, and the care is being performed according to a certified care plan, then the room and board may be considered part of the medical care and the cost may be deductible, just as it would be in a hospital. If the resident is in the assisted living facility for custodial and not medical care, the costs are deductible only to a limited extent. In any case, the expenses are not deductible if they are reimbursed by insurance or any other programs. Residents who are not chronically ill may still deduct the portion of their expenses that are attributable to medical care, including entrance or initiation fees. The assisted living facility is responsible for providing residents with information as to what portion of fees is attributable to medical costs.

W-2 copy A & W-3 does not need to be Red. Black & white copies are just fine provided the right software is used, but as already stated I don't fold them, for the same reasons Form 1099 & 1096 IRS copy does still need to be Red.

Definitely don't need to get into the baby-sitting business. I do everything possible to keep my clients OUT OF MY OFFICE so I can get some work done.

I can't remember the last time I used a 2848 - other than a full-fledged audit. 90% of the itme it's much easier to call IRS, conference the client in on the call, then take car of the matter. I typically check with the client that they will be available for the next hour or so and explain that I'll be calling them with someone from IRS on the line and what IRS will ask them in terms of verification. Then I call IRS and put them on speaker while I do other work until the agent comes on the line. I explain that I'm calling for a client who is standing by and ask permission to put them on hold while I conference the client in. Problem solved. I've never had but one or two occasions where the person from IRS was cranky and refused to let me put them on hold. In those rare situations I just apologized to the jerk, hung up, and called right back. ( I assumed they needed to get back to their nap or coffee break) There's always someone else to talk with, and usually with a good disposition. No sense wasting time & energy with the ones who lack people skills. Why complicate matters when 75-90% of CP2000's can be handled this way?

I re-upped this year, but like most others on this thread I'm re-evaluating. I may cancel after this time around, for all the reasons already discussed.

Merry Christmas everyone. And if you're doing any sort of post-surgery physical therapy, just remember; "if you don't come to hate your physical therapist, they're not doing their job!"

If the church members get a tax deduciton for the gitts, it is definitely taxable income to the pastor(s). http://www.ecfa.org/...ed-for-a-Pastor http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-wd/09-0038.pdf

You can attach the letter to the return, but it will probably be ignored and a penalty notice sent out. So it will be wise to keep a copy of the letter and send it in again in response to the penalty notice. You will probably be successful in getting the FTF and FTP penalties removed, but interest will still be due on the unpaid balance. In any event, it won't hurt anything to attach the explanatory letter to the return - who knows, someone might actually read it. I;d forget about sending the 2210 - it doesn't apply in this case.

Why do people ever return checks to IRS? They just set themseves up for trouble of this type. The small amount of interest involved in depositing the IRS payment and then immediately writing a check back to IRS is more than offset by the convenience of having ironclad proof of what took place. This client is learning this lesson the hard way,

Just be really careful and you won't have to worry about misteaks.

Si, comprendo. This will work PROVIDED he files the 2008 return by Apr 15, 2012. (or Oct 15, 2012 if there was an extension filed for the 2008 return) If he files one day later, the $3,000 refund vanishes into thin air. In your original example, you had refunds in closed years which you were hoping to apply to subsequent years and roll forward to offset balance due years. Unless IRS makes a processing error, it won't work (except for open years)

If you are saying that all these returns are being filed now, Here's how I think it's going to work out. For 2004, the IRS owed $ 2000 to taxpayer. (LOST due to SOL) For 2005, the IRS owed $1000 to taxpayer. (LOST due to SOL) For 2006, taxpayer owed the IRS $2,500 (taxpayer owes tax, 25% FTF penalty, plus FTP penalty and interest) For 2007, taxpayer owed the IRS $300 (taxpayer owes tax, 25% FTF penalty, plus FTP penalty and interest For 2008, IRS owed $1,500 (taxpayer eligible for refund if filed before Apr 15, 2012. This can be applied to 2009, but see exceptions in next note) For 2009, the tax payer owed the IRS $1,700 (taxpayer owes tax, 25% FTF penalty, plus FTP penalty and interest on $20 if prior year refund was applied. However, if at the time of filing the earlier years amounts due have not been paid (tax, penalties, and interest), IRS will apply the refund to the prior year balances due - first to P&I and then to tax) For 2010, the IRS owed the taxpayer $3,000 (if at the time of filing the prior years amounts due have not been paid (tax, penalties, and interest), IRS will apply the refund to the prior year balances due - first to P&I and then to tax. If there's anything left due to interim payments & applied refunds on proir tax liabilities, etc, then after all the dust settles the taxpayer will receive a refund)