JohnH

I believe you are right. After doing some more research, I found some other info that says box 13 is to be used by 501(a) organizations if I'm reading that correctly. I've come to the conclusion that the 990 or 990-EZ is the easier part of this process. The real work comes in getting the Schedule A filled out properly. Don't recall when I've ever spent so much time doing something and still find myself left with such an uneasy feeling about the whole task. The only consolation right now is seeing what a sloppy job so many others do in preparing the form, based on what I see on Guidestar.

Maybe they're taking the day to decide which employees they appreciate and which ones they don't, which could be followed by "Bloodletting Day". This would be similar to the one they held in Caribou a few months back when they told everyone to come to a "Planning Meeting" which really meant a meeting to advise them to plan where they were going to try and land their next job..

Gail: Thanks very much for the quick reply. Yes, this PTA is a 501 © (3) covered under the state organization's exempt status and lists the Group Exemption number on its 990-EZ. After spending a couple of hours on Guidestar staring at 990's filed by other schools in my own community, I've become aware that there are lots of 990's being filed incorrectly. Some use box 12, others use Box 13, some don't check anything, and I've seen quite a few check box 3 indicating they are a school (which is clearly incorrect). Your response raises an interesting question - would it be acceptable to check Box 13 and thus avoid providing the supporting info, or is there some reason that Box 13 is an inappropriate choice?

I'm helping out with a Form 990-EZ and we're hung up on a question on the Schedule A. I looked up several 990 forms on Guidestar and the answer still eludes me. In Part IV of Schedule A (Reason for Non-Private Foundation Status), some PTA's check box 12. Others check Box 13, describe it as a Type I, and then list the name of the school on the next line. If anyone can tell me which one is correct or how to decide which one to use, I'd be most grateful.

Last year I paid $664 for 1040 Office, and this year's invoice shows the price as $704. I also paid $752 for Total Kleinrock Office last year, but haven't yet received an offer for this year. (When I do I'll edit this post). These amounts are before any discounts, but I'm not interested in the discounts because I'm not making a decision until the last minute while I evaluate other vendors.

She's already getting 3:00 AM calls, but she won't listen to what they are saying.

I don't mind looking at notices for non-clients, since it's usually easier to glance at the notice & explain the facts rather than engage in endless speculation with them. Regardless of what she says about how & when she pays, I'll guarantee that this is related to an outstanding liability of some sort. So if this were my friend I'd tell her I'll be glad to take a look at the notice & explain it to her - otherwise we don't have anything else to talk about on the matter.

Whatever the reduction was, it was not for SE tax on the stimulus payment. She probably had an outstanding tax liability from a prior year (maybe it was for unpaid SE tax plus some P&I) that the computer picked up when it processed the stimulus payment.

I'm not saying this to criticize their revised board, but it seems to me that it hasn't taken off very well. I've posted to it a few times just to more or less keep track of where I left off on the past visit, and it seems there isn't much quality activity on it so far - certainly nothing approaching the quality of the info being posted on this forum. Maybe that's because it's still fairly young, but I suspect it has more to do with people's overall uncertainty & lack of trust of the company. In any event, there's no reason that I see to become deeply involved with it since we have our own board that isn't subject to the whims of some out-of-touch management team that is subject to throw another tantrum at some point in the future. I agree with Gail - this forum needs to stay active regardless of what happens at the "Official" level. Nothing can beat having some control over the process.

I've gone along with the "they might switch to Taxwise" argument, although deep down I'll confess I've more or less felt it was very unlikely. However, from a marketing standpoint it would seem to me that they have nothing to lose to offer a simple guarantee of that sort, especially since they are asking people to put up cold hard cash. I'm sure they are hearing it from others, so I keep wondering why they don't address it in writing. The only conclusions I can come to are: 1) They are stubborn, stupid, or shallow in their thinking; 2) It's a possibility and they don't want to make any commitments.

Thanks for that heads up. I don't prepare them, but any weakness or deficiency is a concern since one never knows what will be needed in the future.

Marbeth: Yes, I'll throw in two OfficeMax discount coupons just to even things out.

I can forward my early renewal discount email to you if you'd like - I'm not going to be using it.

Same here, Mel. Ready to front some money at any time you say you're ready.

AHA! That's' the last straw! I knew there was something up - no early renewal from me until I get equal treatment.

I'm doing the same thing I did last year. Holding out for a toaster or microwave oven as an incentive.. (Coffee pot is no longer an incentive for me, because I've sworn off drinking the stuff every day) They never stepped up to the plate in 2007 like my bank did with its CD's, but I'll give them another chance.

Is is humorous how some people acted in light of the prospect of "free" money from the government. Just goes to show how irrational some people are when it comes to financial matters. The irrationality compounds itself when taxes are involved.

Yes, "Kathier" is a word. It's the person who takes your money at the Konvenienth Store.

7) You should let me slide because of all the referrals I've given you. 8) You'e got me owing so much to the government that you should be paying me for doing my return. 9) My last preparer would let me go 2 or 3 years before paying, and he's not complaining about what I still owe him.

Excellent analogy.

That's a good link to save. I'm emailing it to anyone who asks. - it's a good client service function. It's very easy to use and they can get their status info right away. https://sa2.www4.irs.gov/irfof/IRServlet?app=IRACTC And I agree, it will probably be the lookup location next year.

Personally I'm not bored with this discussion, but I get bored with a topic I have a guaranteed satisfactory way to deal with my boredom. Rather than trash the people posting to the topic, I just quit looking at it. Works every time.

My overall experience this tax season was fine, so at this point I'm still pleased with the software itself and am remaining in the "will probably renew" camp. However, I'm not trusting enough to commit this early and so I'm also still in the "won't renew early" camp. I'll renew in Dec at the earliest unless they do something to lose my confidence in the interim. Meanwhile I'm going full steam ahead to evaluate Drake (any maybe Tax Slayer Pro) during the extension period by using it to prepare most of my extension returns (except those with carryforwards, depreciation, and other issues that affect multiple years) and I may even opt to run dual programs next tax season. Learning the basics of another program isn't very difficult - finding the shortcuts and navigation techniques that increase efficiency is the biggest problem. That's why I prefer doing that sort of thing during the extension period as a means of keeping the powder dry.

This string has reinforced one of my operational biases. I'm going to stick to my long-standing policy of refusing to do accounting & tax work for restaurants.

Just tell them that the early rebates are being sent out to people the IRS is planning to audit later this year.