Mahalo questions lately are getting higher fees, but they are also more subjective and argumentative. I don't like them. What do you think?

I love your article about IRDs! I've just created a shortcut to it. If you enter IRD in the search box, it'll go right to your page.

This is exactly what we had in mind when we launched TaxAlmanac! Thank you for your help regarding Fixed Assets. As you may see in my profile I am already retired, have a small practice in Houston but even though I have an MBA from NYU I was not interested in pursuing a CPA certification since I was in the corporate sector.

Now I regret it. I am trying to take a second best choice which is Enrolled Agent. In 2005 I took in the old format all four parts, but unfortunately I only passed 1, 2, and 4, and I missed part 3 Corporations Fiduciaries... etc. I took the test for the part I missed under the new Thompson format and I failed it by three points.

However I don’t give up and I am planning in taking it again around May or June after all this Tax season commotion. Now I need your wisdom in telling me please what will be the best way to study for this exam. Is there any courses?

Or classes I can take or is there a method I can follow to study to pass this test? I would appreciate any light you can give me. I am comfussed.

Why would I study parts 1 and 3 and then 2? I only missed the Corporations Part. And they are giving credit for the other parts I passed.

I am inclined to buy the GLEIM EA review book only for the new part 2 Business. Any comments on that? My father is a retired CLU.

He worked for Prudential. He said it stands for Chartered LIfe Underwriter. Your web site has you as a Certified Life Underwriter.

If that the same? Are you teaching the final 1040 in Colorado this summer? What is your email address?

I just wanted to thank you for all of the times you have answered my questions on this forum. You are very knowledgable and I wanted to know your opinion on becoming an EA. I also have an MBA and I am a Registered Tax Preparer in California.

Some of my CPA friends say I should take the CPA exam and others say I should take the EA route. I was interested in why you choose that path and what do you believe are the benefits and downsides to becoming an EA and also the benefits and downsides to becoming a CPA. Also, for one who is not good at memorization but who is good at test taking overall, which path is the best?

Hope you are doing well, I have some stuff on legal fees I thought you might like, didn't think it pertained to any particular discussion, I always enjoying your comments! I am thinking of taking the EA exam this year...I am a CPA but it is beginning to cost more and more to keep this designation and besides that, I don't need it much anymore being in a small town and no intent to audit ever again! What would be your response to someone who says that a CPA is more valuable?

Since you teach and also are involved in the EA community, I thought I would go to the horses mouth on this one. Thanks so much! Thank you Kevin!

Oh for sure I know I need alot of studying for the EA exam. But in the town I am in, I do more taxes than anything else. Yes, I do a ton of F/S, but I don't really (for my clients) need to provide reviewed or audited statements...they are statements for internal use only and for tax return prep most often.

Thank you for the input. I am going to try this thing....haven't taken a test in years, but as I said, the need for my CPA in this town is not cost effective. Thank you for removing those spam posts!

Just wanted to say thanks...my research leaned on yes but it wasn't black and white...just wanted to hear it from another source. Can you give me a hint to where I can see this in a reg, code sec ect>>>Have to let an attorney know. Special Thanks for Mr. Kevin Huston for replying the links you sent me for EA exam really helped I already registered for three day workshop.

But I would really appreciate if you can guide me where I can get the detailed knowledge about part 2 as I don't know practice in corporations, trust or any non profit organizatoins and I need to know about these things in detail. By the way would it be benefit for me in any different way if I will practice as EA instead of practcing as self employed individual. Thanks for encouragement.

Faxed over stuff earlier, and your name is down as my referral...if you win a trip to Hawaii, take me. Thank you so much for your assistance in turning my collections situtaion around. I also appreciate your comments about adding financial services which I probably will do eventually.

Thank you for your help! I really appreciate the knowledgable advice! I wanted to thank you for giving me some great resources to prepare for the EA exam.

I think it was NATP but I found some great on-line classes and CPE opportunities...just wanted to thank you. Have a nice evening. I took a class with TaxMama last summer to prepare for the EA Exam and although it was a great class; I just did not feel ready.

I had some medical issues that distracted me from getting the most of the class. Thanks Again and I can tell that you really do know your stuff. Thanks for your note.

I have read that expenses related to a personal residence (of the deceased) for sales expenses are deductible. Does that include the brokers commission, legal and the various closing costs? Thanks for your input.

What about HD Vest. I am hoping the financial aid services will bring in more tax clients and then I can associate with someone like HD Vest. Can't make money doing accounting and bookkeeping.

Thank-you for your time! Education does payoff! CPA I do subwork had a client die and asked me if an estate tax return needed to be filed.

(He owned three businesses.) I said yes and that I had just gone to a seminar about them. I'm taking my book and going to the CPA's office on Friday. I suspect he'll just ask me to do the return.

Thought you'd be interested. Thanks for the great class! You have responded to some of my questions in the past and I greatly appreciate that.

I am going to an HD Vest local meeting with a buddy of mine to check it out. I have 130 clients at this time ( live in a rural area) and may wait till I have more do do investments. I an EA as well as have an out of state CPA license ( which I can't get reciprocity for easily and will probably have to do some audits for someone to get it).

I do writeup work, tax returns and planning as well as QuickBooks consulting for individuals and small businesses. I am not a great fan of audits but wish I had that CPA( a self esteen issue) I wonder if it is worth all the hoops to try to get it ( fees, peer review,etc) when I probably would only do a few compilations. Can CPA's charge alot more for the same work as EAs?

Would focusing on financial planning ( if I get more clients) make up for the economic difference. How is it working for you? That's alot of questions.

Sorry I could not make the NATP convention this year. Is there a way I can purchase your seminar? You had left me (TaxNerd) a message.

My name is Larry Moon and I used to work with Griffin & Associates. One of the other guys at that firm works in Marietta now. His name is Stafford Huff.

You can e-mail me at [email protected], or my phone number is 770-438-2080. I would love to have somebody to refer clients to if you are accepting new ones, especially the more complicated ones that I am trying to avoid, although I believe you are in NC now. Feel free to contact me.

Going tomorrow to the NCPE corporate seminars. I like their seminars, but I'm sure they don't compare to yours (this is where I would put the smiley face thing if I knew how). Your post to Natalie was excellent.

It hit me last night that it would be malpractice to disclose this without full client consent. It shows how quickly we can fall into a trap. It was an superb discussion.

Very Socratic as it proceeded along. I love your idea about a course or tutorial on how to do tax research. I didn't want to reply to you on that discussion as I want more people to answer the original question and not get sidetracked on this topic.

Would you be willing to help out in putting together such a tutorial, or at least a framework? One thing that wikis are really good at is allowing people to collaborate on a topic, constantly improving it. I am more than willing to help, but I have a programming background, not a tax background, and I doubt I'd be able to hit the mark on the correct organization.

TA has quite a bit of reference material, and I'd love to put together a tutorial to show people how to get their own answers. Let me know what you think of this idea. Would there be any issues with copyrights, etc. if it was submitted to both locations?

I think this could be worked out. If the article was written collaboratively by many members of TA, who would the "author" be when it was submitted elsewhere? Would we need to get approval from all authors before submitting elsewhere?

If the TA article has links directly to the source material here on TA, and perhaps makes reference to how to do the research on this site, how would that work in a published article? What about the possibility of writing 2/3rds of an article and then diverging from there - adding TA specific references to the online version, and fleshing out the published version. The published version could reference the TA version and the TA version could reference the published version, both similar but with unique differences customized to their audiences.

This is an important topic, and I appreciate you taking the time to discuss it. I think these issues have prevented others from submitting work here. Thank you for taking the time to answer so many of the questions I have posted the past 2 years.

You have been and still are a tremendous help! I am very grateful for everything. I hope I can give something back in the future as well.

Have a great tax season. Kevin: I just did a search on Casemaker (free service to Ga. Bar Members) which includes GA statutory and case law.

I entered "Divorce Twelve Months", "Divorce one year", and "Final Decree time", and got nothing of interest. I did hear of the law, or proposed law, you mention. To be sure, you can call the office of Legislative Counsel.

The item my client has starts as a Separate Maintenance proceeding. It's a strange bird, and is not the same thing as your normal separation agreement. This is an explanation I ran across that attempts to explain.

You may have already run into this yourself when you were in GA. Perhaps the most frequently spoken of, but least understood form of marital separation is the “formal judicial separation” which is sometimes called a legal separation. The “formal judicial separation” or legal separation is initiated as a lawsuit by one spouse against the other.

The name of the lawsuit that results in a formal judicial separation varies in different states. It is often called a “bed and board divorce” and in Georgia is called a separate maintenance proceeding. The legal assistance office will not be able to assist you with a separate maintenance action other than to advise you of the benefits and procedure involved in this action.

From a Ft. My name is Michelle and I am a CPA. I started my own practice this year and realized there were a lot to learn.

I already tasted the sweetness of digging more into tax field! I would really appreciate if I can get your advise from time to time. After reviewing the boards, it appears as though you are the resident expert on this topic!

:) Any words of wisdom? At the seminar that you attended last year, were you told about the necessity to use 263 if you want this deduction? All of our clients are exempt from 263.

Do you have a methodology for implementing 263? Kevin: my father was a manic depressive too. The only thing that kept us from rack and ruin was the fact that he had started a business in the 50's that had done well, and the employees managed to conspire to keep him out of there when he was in the manic phase.

Two years after he was finally started on Lithium, he died. I was 17, but it was much harder on my sister at 11. I can now see the humor in certain aspects of it.

Coming home from school on the bus one day to find sheep grazing in my front yard in your typical subdivision. The toughest thing for any human being to face is when there is no one to blame. I got my first call today from the nurse letters I previously mentioned.

Actually, it was a male nurse who gave my letter to his female nurse friend who called me. She is scheduled to meet me at my home office for a tax meeting on Monday, so it looks like I have a decent chance at 2 new nurse clients and then I can put your great advice you gave me into effect. Thanks a lot for your time and suggestions!

I was reading a post somewhere that you posted up saying you were located in asheville nc and that triggered something in my memory. I told my partner and she looked up in our records, im pretty sure we attended an estate seminar you put on in atlanta a couple years ago. It was good stuff.

Anyway, small world I suppose to run into you here. If you ever put on any more seminars please let me know. We are trying to gain knowledge in the 1041 prep area, we get asked to do more every year.

Kevin- Good for you. I took a few minutes to do this. Maybe Tim can highlight the DIY and this so people will get the message.

Kevin, Thanks so much for the laughter today. Although I had a hard time getting work done, what with checking your posts. My son in particular appreciated the green dinosaur.

Had to show it to him about ten times. Was there a full moon behind all the clouds? I tried to post this yesterday, but just then my power started to flicker & went out for a while from a storm.

Some sort of cosmic intervention? You were pretty snappy & and pretty funny yesterday! FWIW - I am not offended in any way.

Just to clarify, my post on name calling not being professional was definitely not directed at you. I thought you handled the personal attack quite well. Candyass psuedo intellectual?

I appreciate all your comments on tax issues and have learned a lot from them. First, thanks for all the input you give. I have 2 questions.

1) What are some good topics to give talks on? I am going to look to give a series of talks but do not know the best topics. 2) Do you know anything about HDVest?

Thanks for the info. I think I will plan on getting hold of a local group and attending a meeting. If there is any benefit to you giving me the information then I would be more than happy to do that.

I'm the CPA in Kennesaw who posted the other day. You mentioned Leon Faris, but Derek Leroux is who I've been in touch with at PAS already. I'm assuming you're still in the area and, seeing the HD Vest in your profile, doing financial planning?

If you are still in the area I'd love to take you out to lunch one day if I could "pick your brain" for an hour or so while we eat. You can e-mail me at [email protected] or give me a ring at (678) 314-3604. I have a title from Surgent: "The Complete Trust Workshop", Code TCTW, http://www.surgent.com I think it's pretty good, sometimes spotty in it's cites, and slim on examples; so it's above average but not great.

I am not an expert in the area. One class on Estate taxes and one class on Income taxes in law school (1985), but I'm trying to refresh my education. You are more than welcome.

I am glad the kittens enjoyed them as well. It was my pleasure. One more question, if I may.

These same clients who created the CRUT in CA moved to CO 1/1/07. The trust document does state that the administration of the trust is governed by the laws of the State of CA. However, a legal professional is telling me that the state trust returned to be filed is CO.

Which state should be filed? Thanks for your input again. I understand the nexus issues about filing a state return.

But in this case, now that the California property has sold, the $$ are invested in cyberspace for my now Colorado clients in a Vanguard account. Are the assets really "IN" any state? Or in this case, are they considered located where the clients live?

If that's the case, then I need two 2007 state returns as the property sold in 12 March1 and in 2008 it will be entirely CO. Just thanks for being there to help out. I really appreciate your input!

Kevin, thanks for your reply. I understand what you mean with the math and theory differences. I'm going to post a statement on the thread that I'm referring to.

If you have any insight, it would be greatly appreciated. Hate to tell you, but I felt honored that you replied to my Proseries depreciation question. My response was intended to be good-natured and I hope you took it that way.

This is my one and only "chat" forum, so am still learning that things sometimes are taken differently when typed vs. spoken. (come to think of it, this is my one and only social outlet at the moment as well). Hope things are good with you.

Thanks....very very loose...but don't want to take a $2k credit and have it bite me in a year! Researching this topic and came across your explanation. Thanks for the links; it gives me most of my answer.

Have a similar situation here in NY with the sale of a residence with a retained life estate. The only difference I see with the Tax Pro example in the March article is that the parent actually deeded (for $1) the residence 10 years ago. Therefore I don't see that she meets the "ownership" test.

Doesn't matter though, the nursing home expenses wipe out the tax liability. I'll be apportioning the gain based on the tables between the parent (life tenant) and the daughter (remainder interest). Do you think I'm missing anything?

I need your help! That is one of the funniest posts I've ever read. Did you announce who you are now teaching for and your 08 schedule.

I don't see you around TA so much these days. Just thought I'd check in and say hi. Hope all is well with you and your family after the tax season.

Mine was the absolute worst season and one that cannot be repeated, thankfully. But we are now moving on to the extensions and actually, it's a lot easier, even the harder ones are easier without the deadline stresses. So let me see if I understand.

The penalty will show up in 2008 for the 2007 RMD, IF the RMD is assessed (or the IRS picks it up). If I file form 5329 and it is determined not to be assessed, then nothing should/will show up in 2008 and no further action must be taken. Thanks for your response...much appreciated.

Did you ever teach the NATP 1040 Update and Extras seminars in Virginia Beach, Virginia or the NATP corporate/partnership classes in the DC area? If so, I did take your class. I have submitted two questions tonight (one dealing with the distribution of real estate to a partner and the other dealing with the reporting/accounting for the proceeds of the refinance of a loan secured by rental property owned by the partnership) which I desperately need help with.

I have 5 partnership returns for the same client, a client who basically has no bookkeeping skills. I have just about driven myself crazy trying to straighten everything out, and am at the point of second guessing everything I'm doing now. I'd appreciate any help you can give me.

I've put so much time into these returns that I hate to give up now. As an ex-IRS person I'm impressed! Knowledge-base to have.

Keep up the good work! P.S. I agree 100% about the value of tax software - will never replace a human tax pro! Kevin - I don't know what you're referring to.

I haven't had anyone on this board bugging me in a while. Although I have noticed that WPBCPA gets a bit nasty to those who don't have his "espertise". Sorry Kevin - I forgot to leave my identity in the prior post.

I was at the Atlanta conference. KG was dynamic as usual. Hope to meet you at net year conference.

Upon further review, it was an insurance contract, and it was NOT part of a Qualified Plan, just a whole life insurance contract. This client is a CFP and he says his district director told him the distribution is NOT subject to the 10% penalty. I am not able to confirm that with my reading of the tax code.

Can you lead me in the right direction? It's the best I could come up with considering I really don't know her. I will let you know if anything comes of it.

And that must be a great topic to have your masters in INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS. This really applies to me because I have a Japanese wife and my two kids are in Japan living with her parents. Her mother is ill and she is going to stay over there for a while.

I wanted to go over there. Is it possible for an american CPA to find an accounting job in Tokyo if you don't speak Japanese? Maybe you could refer me tosomeone who would know the answer to that.

I would appreciate it so much. Also while I have you on the line, I have been trying to find some tax info on selling investment residential real estate, that is not rental income property, that is just held for investment purposes. This person is a mortgage broker, so it is not his profession.

I figured to treat it like a stock transaction, on Sch D, but I really don't know. I can't find anything on this. You may know...anyway, sounds like you have a great career going on for you.

I wanted to get your take on NATP and their materials. I am expanding my studying and I can't right now sit through all day classes, so I can do only self-study or on-line for CPE. Anyway, I was thinking of joining NATP to expand my horizons and study material options.

Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks for the information. I am probably looking for training materials more code specific.

I might order that and the 1041 as refreshers right now for re-training purposes. I am surprised at how much I retained, but also surprised at how much I lost. It's not fun, but I need to ramp up now.

Kevin - You now can identify a face with a name. Thanks for coming to New York this weekend. I know I appreciated your lecture as it gave me a clearer picture of 1041 preparation.

As with all the convention's education topics, I now will be spending a couple of days actually READING the stuff to really comprehend it. Glad you were able to come. By the way - I happen to be one of NYSSEA's co-founders - although I never was President - was on the Board for a couple of terms - but never President.

Kevin-I'm going over the convention CPE subjects now (as I ususally do from any CPE session). I really did find your lecture informative - especially since I have TWO clients that have passed away this year.(One on 12 March8 - no fooling-a man age 101). Anyway I wish to point out something (non-technical) that you should be aware of, in case you will be using this material for another lecture.

8 - just under Medical Expenses - there should be a bold caption of Miscellaneous Itemized Deductions, because it looks like the 2% stuff is mixed in with the Medical Expenses. Sorry - forgot to sign my name. Kevin, would you take a look at the question I have on the building rental in a corp?

I am pretty sure the corp is subject to the passive activity rules. I'm just not sure how to handle the expenses. Kevin I left a message on the forum anout this topic.

Appreciate your taking a look -- just want to make sure I am understanding the thread correctly. I downloaded the spreadsheet, thank you very much. If I can ever be of assistance....don't hesitate to ask.

Obviously, I graduated with my Accounting degree a while ago, left the profession, and came back when my wife quit work (thank, hon!). I started doing simple returns and I am adding layers to the onion as I go. I know some people probably get tired of some of the elementary questions (to them) but I tend to treat each client like a case study.

Most everything, I know enough to go find what I need. This guy is on the cusp of minority interest, at risk rules, and did things about as hard as he could. Of course, his bill just went way up for this year!

Once you're on the NAEA board, you need to log in with your user name and password. I haven't had to do it in a while, because a long time ago, I created the settings on my "Favorites" list, and I'm automatically logged in. Beware - you have your "special types" on that board also - but since you MUST BE an NAEA member to get in, the discussions are much more professionaly disciplined.

I saw JR post and realized I'd forgotten a very important category - and by the time I got back with the link, you'd fixed it already! I am glad to see this happen. Frankly, I know it got old.

I am glad to see the changes he made and glad he gave you and Trillium some limited authority. Thanks for the hard work. I think your first issue is that it's named "Discussion:Template:etc" and needs to just be "Template:etc." Once it's a template, you can call for it to appear on the consumer forum - I haven't done that yet, but I did see how it was done while talking to Tim about something similar.

I see what you have been working on with the question. Rather than working within a discussion, you can just type a pagename into the search box, hit enter, and then click the link to start a new page. Templates should have the name "Template:Something" while discussions should have the name "Discussion:Something".

Standard pages should just be "Something". For what you are trying to do, I would create a new page with the title "Template:CQ" (stands for Consumer Question, but is short). On that page, add in your divbox coding, and save.

Now you can just add {{CQ}} to any page (the "Template:" part is assumed). Another option would be to just go to Template:Consumer Questions and add the divbox to the bottom of that template. That way no new page needs to be created, and all discussions in that forum will then have the box at the top.

I just set up two templates we can use after we move questions. You go to the user's talk page, start a new message, and then in the text box you type either {{subst:MoveDIY}} or {{subst:MovePro}}, depending on whether you want the first boilerplate message for likely DIYs, or the one that is for someone who may be a tax professional but hasn't completed their profile. When you click preview, the text from the templates appears, and it can be edited if needed (e.g. , if they posted in the acctg forum rather than the tax forum).

This ought to be handy if we're travelling and signing in using "foreign" computers - we may not always have the handy Word document ready for the copy and paste process. I didn't even know HD Vest had a such forum. I just checked it out on HDVLINK.

Thanks for the tip. Sorry for the late response I am still trying to figure out how to answer messages. The reason why I don't belong is because I really don't like the idea of having to pay for both the national and state memberships in order to be a member.

I also think that referring people to an EA is because at least an EA has, at some point in time, been educated above a basic preparer and doesn't charge as much as most CPA's I know. Anyhow, I have thoroughly enjoyed your posts and again apologize for this delay in getting back to you. Have to learn this part of the forum.

Thanks for your help. One final question if I may. Amount which should enter on Form 6251,line 27 ATNOLD.

Is that correct? I really think that the IRS has outdone themselves in making this way too complicated. You are MY HERO!

I was coming here to apologize for sort of "stepping on" your decision to delete the post! I just have this aversion to outright deletion - do it to the wrong person, and we've created another Mike0310, but mainly it seems to go against the way things oughta work. Create an article, paste the entire contents of the post (from {{ to }}.

Add {{Consumer Questions}} at the top, change ForumReplyPost to ForumNewPost (although to be honest, I'm not sure that last part matters). Move article to discussion (add "Discussion:" to the front of the name). Post something to the discussion, otherwise it won't sort into the Consumer Forum or All Topics listings.

Other than that, it was probably just timing; I've been doing other stuff today and just happened to sign on right then. Thankyou very much! Unfortunately, it does affect every forum.

We would not want that same message for the consumer forum, chat, feedback, etc. Only for the tax forum. I'd say change it back for now, as it's changing too many things. But we keep that in mind, and maybe Tim can split it so it would be variable by forum.

Back Me Up! Kevin, Thanks for the support buddy! Thanks - you responded before I'd even finished the e-mail I was sending to you and Tim, so I incorporated your suggestion into the mail.

I think that would be okay, although it'd be my second choice. Let's wait a bit and see if Tim responds. I'll check back in about an hour.

I was a little worried about my judgement earlier, but things have finally calmed down a bit. I agree, that second article was worse than the first one. If it's okay with you, I am going to steal your wording ("articles...factual information and instruction") for later similar offenses; that was much better than what I was coming up with before.

I started to move it, then stopped to read it more thoroughly, and decided that even in the Bus Gr forum, that particular post probably wouldn't go over very well. Also, all the people who read "all topics" would just see it as more spam, especially after this morning's event. So I will suggest that he start his own disc on Bus Gr with more than an ad and an offer of svcs - he can refer to his profile for the ad, keeping that out of the discussion altogether, and he should provide some general advice, as you'd initially suggested.

Sorry for the sudden 180. As you could see, I'd already moved it and was just in the middle of the reformatting and bumping when I reconsidered. Tim set up my profile page as a trial to see how we might be able to organize user information a little differently.

I was not able to correctly move the picture to where it should be, and I never took the time to go back and figure it out. A lot of the stuff I simply left blank because I didn't want to post that many details. The idea was that people could look at the page as a sample and see if we should move to that kind of set up.

If you can put the picture in the right place, that would be fine with me. As far as spam goes, I'll try to remember to let you know the next time. Oh, and I'm glad to hear seeing the hiking pictures brought back good memories.

You have been very busy! Thank you for the star! BeatleFred had a star?!?!

Just goes to show, I was right to be ignoring them all along. Yes Kevin...please teach me how to delete the spam post. I wondered if perhaps they hadn't been updated in a while.

When you click on a profile of one of the long-time/regular posters you get to see their star rating. Then when you click on the text of "Gold Level Contributor on TA" (not the star itself), it gives you a nice list of top contributors, and tells you that Bronze is for >50 quality posts, Silver is >100, Gold for >200, and Platinum for >1000. I've come to recognize the regular (and experienced!) posters whose opinions I value, but occasionally I'll wonder about an ID that I don't recognize, and this star feature is helpful.

Thanks for the delete info. Re the SSA: by collectively I meant we professional preparers...can you think of a way that we could convince the SSA to allow us to verify SSN's through their site that is set up for payroll personnel from private businesses. I mean, after all, the IRS wants us to be sure the information is as it shows on the SS card.

I think it would be very helpful if we could make use of this site. I want to thank you for thr great job you do here. I googled life of hot water heater and your answer in tax almanac was 5 yrs because it is an "appliance".

I thought that's what it was -- my desktop guide certainly does not mention it though -- but I know you've got that particular number tattooed to your forehead. Have a smooth and profitable tax season! You know, I didn't move his Q last night, when he first posted it, for the same reason you just moved it back.

I'm still not sure exactly where the guy's coming from. But I think the combo of being moved, and then moved back, might just get a profile in there, and we'll have a better feel then for exactly how to answer his questions (what level to aim for). I've been searching the site for CRUT info and it quickly became apparent you have wealth of related experience.

Can you recommend a reference for annual filing requirements. I have read your discussions about S Corp shareholders getting paid a salary in ratio of 60/40 for 60 % W-2 and 40% distributions. My question is whether partners need to have guaranteed payments or can all salary be distributions?

If they need to be paid guaranteed payments, would you recommend the same 60/40 ratio? Do you hire out for telephone consultation on the subject of Cancellation of Debt? If so please reply with rate and I will provide my telephone number.

Kevin - I should have read your post above RoyDaleOne's. I also thought others could leave the Forum Award on ones page. I just added this to RoyDaleOne's page believing this was how it was done.

At one time long ago, it was so. If this has changed, I did not mean to overstep anyones authority. I think you are doing just fine!

I have not actively participated for some time at TaxAlmanac as I have had other commitments. Hopefully I will get the motivation to participate once again soon. I do remember your valuable input and sharp wit and would sure like to be your friend on Facebook.

I've recently established a profile on Facebook and am quickly finding this may be an excellent way to stay up to date with friends and family and possibly even clients and colleagues. As your friend I would look forward to receiving an automatic feed of your comments and posts; plus hopefully I could offer you some useful information, or at least some entertainment. Although I'm just learning what all it has to offer, I expect this is going to be the wave of the future as far as being on the cutting edge of communications.

We have had a few private exchanges, including just before my trip to Asheville a couple of years ago. If you do not have the time or desire to set this up, I will certainly take no offense if you do not accept my invitation. I am wondering if you can help me with something.

You made reference to IRM 4.2.3.3.2 6 in a thread re the auditor touring the place of business. I think that what you referred to is something that I should know (Internal Revenue Manual?). In any case, I just received an audit notice and need to review my client's rights.

Also, I am concerned about where the auditor does her examination. She is a couple of hours away from me. Can she require me to take the time from tax season to go to her office, or can I insist that the audit be transferred to someone closer to my location?

Thank you for any direction. Kevin, thank you for your response, which was very helpful. I don't feel like should have the authority to move a post from what appears to be a non pro, however I would like to help keep them off the forum.

I quit going to The Tax Book forum because they are not as active when dealing with non-pros. How should I handle this? WRT your QDRO challenge - Wes seems to agree w/you here: Discussion:QDRO_rollover_funds.

On W-2 for parent (et al) caregivers: see #46, 47, 48, and 50 on this search - maybe others - but of those 4 I believe you only posted to #48; is that the one you were thinking of? Oh - and take a look at the first time Cbtax posted his Q, in Dec. He's learned a lot since then about how to "pass" as a tax pro, eh?

Dude - stop attributing already - I'm blushing! I'd have posted them on the discussion(s) myself but was too lazy to really make sure that they truly fit the topic(s). Thanks for your response.

I believe the shareholders made loans to the company for operating purposes. They were both paid reasonable salaries, but not excessive. So, I'm not sure how you decide that something was for protecting their income and/or supporting the ongoing operations.

So, to my original question, is the bad debt recorded on the schedule D or as write-off in the current year of the entire amount? Too = two, yikes! BTW, when I try to edit my posts to your talk page, I now get this message: "The page you wanted to save was blocked by the spam filter.

This is probably caused by a link to an external site." (Before, I got something about page too long, but I know you've pulled a lot of stuff off of there since then.) Anyway, weird, and in your spare moments (ha) maybe see if somebody's left you a random link that should be deleted? See Discussion:Tax_Practice at the end, Crow's point about the concepts being separate, and then see the post Rgtaxservice left on my talk page, three up from your last one, reiterating that point after I proposed moving a similar discussion to Bus Gr. When you move a discussion, would you put something in the edit box to indicate that's what you are doing?

It looks like a lot of the pages I was tracking had changes to them, but I think they are all just pages that you've moved. Actually, the box I was referring to is the "reason" box. I'm pretty sure that only has the same affect moving the discussion does.

How are you? How is tax season going this year so far? If you don't mind can I get a few minutes of your valueable time and your very quick input.

I just hired the free services of my girlfriend and younger sister to go into local businesses/stores to inquire if they need a tax accountant/are looking to switch acountants. Today was their first day. You think this is worth a shot or a waste of time and energy.

I guess it can't hurt? I wound up getting 2 new clients last year from those nurse stickers I put on front of envelope, however, I have a feeling they aren't coming back this year (no replaies from my calls or emails during the year) i'll keep you posted. I send out about 300-400 more this year in early Feb, i'll keep you posted on my rate of return.

I am preparing a 1041 return and want to make sure I am handling the loss on the sale of the deceased personal residence correctly. I see that you have made several comments on the discussion forum. I would really appreciate any comments you can give me.

The FMV at DOD was 127,000. The property sold for 114,000 resulting in a 13,000 loss. There were about 10,000 in commission expenses and other related fees.

No one resided in the property after death until the time it sold, which was over a year. I was going to take a capital loss of 23,000 (114,000 - 10,000 - 127,000) on the 1041. However, after reading your comments it seems that some of these selling expenses could be administrative expenses reported on line 15b.

The trust is required to make payouts to beneficiaries and needed to sell the property. It could have sold some other assets, such as stock, but the residence made the most sense since no one was living there. Again, I would appreciate any of your comments.

Bold textsorry kevin, I hit the wrong key. It is $8,000. Please go back to my post on this.

My client and his sister are the heirs. My client paid out of pocket expenses for the appraisals, atty, etc for his dad's estate. Dad had no cash assets and only about 25.

In interest paid after death and none of the assets have been sold or distributed as of date. He died 01/30/08. I am extremely versed on just about everything that attaches to the 1040 but I am trying to understand the best way to do the 1041 to benefit my client.

My client is refinancing his own home in 2009 to pay off the other heir in full. He intends to keep the house and all the classic cars. The transfer of assets will not take place until 2009 and all will go to my client.

Can you give me some guidance on how best to handle this 1041? I'm buying radio ad time this season and would love to use your line "TAX SOFTWARE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR A GOOD TAX PROFESSIONAL". I wanted to ask you if you'd be okay with that.

I've used it in the past when talking to clients in the context of "As a colleague of mine always says, "Tax software is .....". But this different, now it would be broadcast over the airwaves for the masses. Actually you always say "Check the Yellow Box" but very people would get the reference.

I just discovered your post of 4/7/07 dealing with the depreciation basis of rental property and the allocation to land. You wrote: "So unless I know otherwise (condo with no land, commercial on expensive land) 20% is my standard land allocation also." On 2/8/09, I inquired about land allocation for a condo and received responses from 2 camps: a "no land for condo" proponent who was shot down by the "allocate for land based on TIC interest" believers.

My friend took the advice of the latter. Thus my questions: (1) Do you have any authority for "zero value"? ; and (2) Since my friend filed 1040 2 weeks ago, should she amend it now to reflect corrected basis?

(FYI, she consulted 2 cpa's, one in each camp) Many thanks, Jerseygirl. Thank you Kevin for sending me the message. Yes, I had a bad feeling about this person.

By experience, people that are very demanding don't show up for appointments or make me work like crazy for little or no money. But I am learning with the help of my dear Almanacers (thank you!). BTW, I just called the lady and told her I could meet her in a location closer to me.

She postponed the appt, but I don't mind at all, as you can imagine. Kevin, thanks for the reply regarding guaranteed payments. Is there any issue with the dependency exemption?

Would the IRS argue some "implied" income? I agree with you Kevin. It will just make matters worse to try to correct it now, plus who knows how long it would take for the IRS to route the $$ back to them if they send it back.

I will wait until the dust clears, and I have a copy of the HUD-1 in my hands, then file corrected 1040 if before 12 Ma, or amend after 12 Ma. Thanks for your insight. I finally figured out why I was unable to edit my bio and I had to have you copy and paste it in for me.

In the preferences I had "use external editor" checked along with the opition either right above or right below it checked. :) at least I am finally able to edit my own bio. Thank you so much Kevin.

Thanks again for giving me some straight talk this afternoon. It had been such a crazy busy day and I believe I was just overwhelmed and wanted a quick answer. You were right about doing research before coming onto Tax Almanac to get a quick answer.

I just need to breathe and should have probably set that return aside until I was able to think clearer. I am writing you because I am new to taxes and I have a client who needs a 1041, but I do not know if I have to file a 1040 too. I would appreciate any help you can give or any guidance that would steer me in the right direction.

I am helping a trustee prepare a return. The trust was set up last year, 2008, as a revocable living trust and the grantor died shortly after. The grantor earned income as an employee and withdrew from retirement before death.

The trust did not earn any income after death except for cashing in annuities and other retirement accounts. Do I file a 1040 or a 1041. Since the trust was set up before death and an estate was filed by the court upon death, I was under the impression that I file a 1041 with 8855 attached.

But there was no real, estate income, and nothing was transferred over to the trusts name before death making me think it is just a 1040. I know the 600 income limit for 1041, but the fact that the trust was set up before death makes me question what I am to do now. Please guide me.

I am looking all over the place for this answer, and I can not find one that is clear. I have updated my profile. Thank you so much.

I have also found out that a retirement account was put in the trust's name and withdrawn for around 4k. So I am thinking I am doing the 1040 on all income before death, and 1041 on all after death. Just want to make sure.

I think there is a growing body of knowledge on the subject. We will never difinatively know, of course, because I'm sure any documentation found by the "establishment" of the past would have been destroyed. Your profile says you teach?

Can you share where or which organisation you affiliate with? I am interested in getting some CPE's. Thanks for the answer - is the paid in capital designated to the individual stockholder or to the corporation in general?

Your Cocker Spaniel story is great - we'll definitely consider it for publciation! Thank you for your attention! Could you please tell me where I could find the AICPA tax fee survey?

I searched the AICPA web site with no luck. Aloha Kevin, I just want to make sure I'm right, SEP contributions are NOT subject to SE Tax in anyone's universe. There's no weird rule I've not heard of that might create an exception.

The client I mentioned in a previous post has brought in their 05 and 06 returns and the SEP has been run through SE tax on both those returns as well as the 07. I'm going to amend them, and as you said, the client is really happen to have the amendments. I just don't want to chance having egg all over my face in case some remote exception exists.

Seems like there have been four or five new users this week who are in tax positions in industry, or are handling taxes for their own S-corps or their employer's corps or partnerships. Some were CPAs or EAs before moving to industry, and phrase their questions in a well-researched manner, and so even as I think of them as DIYs I let them stay in the tax forum. Some are clearly just trying to get somebody to do their tax work, including all research, for free, and I've been sending them to the consumer forum.

But it seems like there should be a way to phrase the "are you a tax pro" screening question to be more specific. Like: Do you currently have a tax practice? With more than one client (e.g. Did you ever have tax experience before you moved to industry?

Do you now do any CPE? I don't know, maybe I'm just ranting. Seems to me these companies need tax advisers, and not the free internet kind.

But how to get that across? It'll remain a subjective determination, I guess. Time to take a break.

Sorry for the late reply to your message; I've been trying to pretend that taxes are not part of my life. You were going to send me some info. I'm not sure what you mean by Basis...Basis....Basis.

My client (father) had $28,000.00 in basis when he sold the business to his son. He got back via an Installment Agreement about $4500.00. The rest he won't get back at all.

Could you explain your answer? Thank you for taking the time to answer my question.....I can't seem to find the answer anywhere. I doubt too if he can take it, but I have this doubt.

I remembered too late that somebody objected to my use of "trainwreck" to describe discussions that go off the rails (just to stick close to my original metaphor); if that was you, apologies for using it again. I've never been in, or known anyone who has been in, an actual train crash, so I may not be as sensitive in my usage as I should be. Also, I only get to be "right" once or twice a day, so if I've already done it once and it's barely past noon, I'd better slow down on posting for a while before my luck runs out!

Leave it be....it is too funny.......just hope others don't start doing it. Aw, come on! I just got the liberal/conservative stuff out of that discussion, don't put it back in!

(laughingly shaking my head, because there are people who will see the point of what you're doing, and there are those who will just respond to the labels you're using. I don't want any more of those responses! It's more of a rant than a response... he's got no profile... all caps... seems like the pink notice box and the warning on the "new user welcome page" covers this pretty well.

We can just zap the post and our replies to it... what do you think? I did something similar already today with Helen82 and left her a note explaining why. Don't you see, I'm making myself into this hypocritcal white man?

"Preacher Crow" is full of sh*t, and that's what the boy is trying to point out to the preacher. This also has special meaning for the Catholics. Onanism is spilling the seed.

Morally no different than abortion. So how it is that they march against abortion and not onanism? They pick and choose.

That's the Catholic argument against gays. It's disordered because it's not open to child birth. That's the argument against birth control: not open to child birth.

Well, neither is "onanism" but the priests are told to say anything about mastrubation anymore because it's natural. This is a quick note to thank you for the help on dealing with my auto expense for this client. I really appreciated the input!

Have a great weekend! You were probably trying to get across the same point I was, to Rally - you managed to get two posts in, in the time it took me to craft my response to his post, you speed demon. Lololol..thanks for the compliment...I can get ya the hat/sweater combo in 8 different colors../S/M/L..might look good on you!

Expat Tax Prep CPE/Review Courses? Would you happen to know of any CPE or tax prep courses focused on Foreign Earned Income/Expats? The more and more I think about it my online business model is tailor made for expats.

I was considering truckers as well, but they seem to need bookkeeping as well and I am not an accountant, and I don't really want to do bookkeeping. I'm not sure if I could pull it off for this tax season as I am up to my neck in studying for the EA Exam (Part 2 on the 23rd), but I am thinking more long term. Who knows, I am scheduled for Part 3 on 12 March9, so if I wrap those up and find a really good prep course for expats maybe I will give it a shot.

At any rate, any info you may have would be very helpful. No, it was really you! It was here: Discussion:Late returns and social security credits, in one of your posts... I believe that's what Harry's asking about.

Thanks Kevin I am so glad I found this site, so many good true professional here helping each other. On-line courses can be great. The pricing can be tricky, though.

I just saw one for $150 for one hour. There's no way I would take a one-hour on-line course for that much. You might want to consider two pricing levels -- one for the "all you can eat" people (for those who want/need lots of tax CPE) and one for those who just want to take a course here and there (like me, for example).

Thanks Kevin I will mention your name. Kevin - did you try IRS written determinations? Search for 2132 in the UILC; there are three or four over the past year that note "alternative valuation" in the title, could it be one of those?

Just wanted to tell you I appreciated your letter to the editor. I finally took my EA exam this year and I appreciate very much how you stand up for the designation. I need a good laugh after the Redskins loss yesterday.

BTW, I actually did play hockey and we got our butts kicked by a team from NC. I did score the only goal we had against them ever. I never thought they would be as good as they were, but they whooped us as bad as the Redskins got beat yesterday!

I've been in/out of the office; my doggie is having issues. 1) Don't you have any work to do?! 2) I want to know where to get that custom newspaper function.

3) Where'd you get the 'editable' kitty thingy? 3) A new instant classic thread is developing and I hope the OP appreciates the humor/hijacking. Needs all the laughs we can give him!

I can only imagine the dryness of trying to write CPE text, so getting your yuk's on TA is quite all right. I did manage to register my PTIN today, with minimal angst. Good suggestion of yours to wait until after the 12 March0 deadline.

Kevin-those are great! Where did you do those? Do worry about my name being misspelled.

I've had worse. Kevin-those are great! Where did you do those?

Do worry about my name being misspelled. I've had worse. Kevin-Thanks for the link.

I think I will have some fun with it, especially with the wife! At first I thought it was a family guy skit and couldn't usderstand why you couldn't post. Then I watched it.

YOU want ME to help you find something? They don't have a yellow box, but there is a search function in the upper right corner. Hey Kevin thank you for the help earlier, I was wondering if you knew of a good tax resource that goes into industry specific tax issues.

I am learning from the CPA I'm working under but would like to get ahead on my time off. I noticed on many of the CPA's websites I've visited that they identify themselves as experts in car dealership tax or some other industry. When asking my boss how they became so specialized in one area of tax he replied probably through taking CPE courses.

I searched the web for other sources and the only thing I came across was a learning program through RIA. Do you know of any other good learning resources that are industry specific? (Other than reading the code of course) Also I see your from Asheville, I've recently moved to Charlotte I will have to attend one of your CPE courses in the future.

Seems like it comes quicker and quicker each year. Wow, your two pups combined probably don't weigh as much as my dog's head. I have a six year old chocolate lab; she accompanies me to the office frequently - clients love her.

And hey, why did you delete that sheep link from MY page but not Fred's?!?!?!? Of course, I'd been lurking offline for months before ever venturing to post. Wish more people did that, so they'd have some idea of what they were "in for" before going straight to asking a new question!

Thanks for the info... I probably will make the change, even this late in the game. I have no trouble picking up new software, so no worries there. Most clients have similar situations year-to-year so I can easily spot errors quickly.

I'll see what we can do about that. And it's about in the middle of the page. However - I believe they ARE seeing it, but they are ignoring it.

Changing how it's stated might help, but I doubt it. You know this company must be doing something right when they have their own Wikipedia! Different day, different answer.

Today, I felt helpful enough to post a link to the FAQ for Htackney. On another day, I might have actually set up a new discussion for her. On yet another day, I'd have ignored it.

OTOH, "forgiven" got a heads-up as to the importance of the user info (your note early on), and still skipped the 4 steps. So moving that question out of the tax forum seems like the right response for that one. Not sure I'd delete it, though, as they did at least mention "client" not just in the discussion, but in the first posting of the question on their talk page.

It's possible there's an actual client involved! Update on Heather - okay, now she's got it posted as an article. Come on, how hard are the instructions in FAQ 20?

I think I'll let that one sit for a while! You are SOOOOOO right! This really has to be somebody's joke, though, right?

It HAS to be! Are you going to teaching at both the Las Vegas and Reno ones this summer? I can make it to Las Vegas, I will make a point of it!

I'm slowly, but surely figuring this thing out. Yeah, I definitely plan on becoming an EA, it sounds like the right choice for me. I do taxes for people in several different states.

It's nice to meet you, I have heard about Blue Ridge Tax Service. Actually, I have had a few clients come in thinking we were you guys. I'm slowly, but surely figuring this thing out.

Yeah, I definitely plan on becoming an EA, it sounds like the right choice for me. I do taxes for people in several different states. It's nice to meet you, I have heard about Blue Ridge Tax Service.

Actually, I have had a few clients come in thinking we were you guys. It may make it easier, but there is NO replacing the knowledge. I'm not sure about taking actual expenses for one vehicle and mileage for a second vehicle when use by one person alternates.

The only example in Publ 463 for alternating use describes using the mileage method for each one. I had to edit out what I wrote about whitey and his woman. I was a bit afraid I might get shot myself.

Well, I was going to cover all tax topics, but after it took so long to get approval for 13 credit hours I stopped submitting. General Taxation (8 Hours) Loans to Family Members: Tax implications (1 hour) and Tax planning for Home sales (4 hours). I was looking for more content, especially ethics courses, but after the tax season is over-- I'm pretty overwhelmed right now, working until 1AM every night.

I might just call my web guy and tell him to make all the CPE 5 bucks or something because I'm so pissed off. I'll never recover my investment if I have to submit each course and wait two months like this (I submitted the courses in early October and didn't get approval until the first week of December). It's the main reason I didn't persue any CPE certification for CPAs, even though I have a tax attorney and a CPA that can sign off of all of it.

If you hear any news that the requirement is changing, let me know. I'm open to any ideas. I would LOVE to do that-- a nice commission to the sponsoring org to avoid jumping those those ridiculous "CPE certification" hoops would be worth it.

I'm 100% interested. I don't get how a 105 plan helps either client (OP's or Szp's); all they want is to deduct SEHI on 1040 here: Discussion:Health insurance and SE tax. So Vette's post is feeling a little spammy to me.

Also, that link doesn't seem to be the same as the ones Fred/JR/others have posted a lot in the past. OTOH, he has posted a lot other than spam, do we give him the benefit of the doubt? And in Cali, of all places, where they each have their special designations!

Have you read all three questions? I'm hearing you, and might have been swayed by the fact that after her/his first Q was moved, she posted another one claiming to be a tax pro. After that one was deleted, she waited several hours and in the middle of the night updated her user page claiming to be a tax pro and posted a third question.

This all seemed too strategic to me, and the questions do not actually seem to be coming from a tax pro. Got your latest message. Well, would it be mean of me to add the second and third questions to her original one, with a note about when the user page was updated, and thus give others the opportunity to see how her story changed?

Just like weeds, they are not killable! I've pulled those two 2007 ones from the list twice, and they are both still sticky. So there's a trick to that, and that'll have to wait for another day.

Also, it's not just old ones that make the list really long. The Consumer forum has the "how to find a tax pro" topic, the PM/BG forum has one about that particular forum, etc. Those belong there, but are unnecessary dead weight on All Topics. Sometime over the next week I'll see if I can figure out how to un-sticky the two 2007 change topics.

Maybe the PM/BG one could also be pulled now, too, if we know the trick to make it happen (unless it still has current info about the forum use, etc.). What I did so far was go to that mediawiki page, and click "edit this tab" as usual, and copy the format of the info that's there. But if you do the same, you can see that even though those two 2007 discussions are no longer listed, they're still sticky - so there's more to it than what I've done.

You probably have to re-do the entire list and move up to a new section in the alphabet to get rid of the current sequence (that's my theory, but I've got other stuff to do before I try that out - feel free to play around yourself in the meantime. Thanks for catching my flub, but honestly...Kevin, how did you even see that? Are you a 24-hour moderator?

I am in *awe* of your God-like powers. What fun would that be ;-). And should we tell TaxWriter about the 'recent changes' section, so she can snoop around like we do?

I had to google 'belgian pie' as I have never heard of it. How can somebody like that read all of the notes that are all over the site, and still think that they should ask their question here? Clicking through "yes" when they know the answer is "no" to "are you a tax pro" and on and on - they thought that those were all just suggestions?

That's the very example of the person who needs to be blocked. How would you show (clear Balance Sheet) auto loan assumed by the shareholder? Loan is payable to the bank and shareholder will continue to pay that loan.

Some of the unenrolled preparers are slow to grasp the implications of Circular 230, and/or it could be that he wrote less than he was thinking (maybe he was taking for granted that the preparer had informed the client of his responsibility to amend, etc., and then just dropped to the bottom line for his post). So he could be a tax pro, maybe, possibly. But it seemed like a troll post to me, especially when I went back and read it more carefully (which I should have done before I posted the standard "welcome but you need user info" note on the talk page).

So blocking for at least a little while seems reasonable to me. On a post that was just resurrected you mentioned that you were teaching at the National Association of Enrolled Agents NTPI (National Tax Practice Institute) last year. I would very much like to attend a seminar that concentrates on representation and would like to know if you have any information on a similar program this summer or fall.

Once all consumer discussions get shifted into the Archive section, they won't be inadvertently bumped the way they are now, when people just don't notice. And Tim did say to try to keep locking of discussions to a minimum (something about poor user experience). So I guess - let's not lock, and hope Tim gets the archive transfer done soon.

You know how when you search, at the bottom there are a bunch of boxes you can check and uncheck, to show or not show User pages, Mediawiki, etc.? There's a new box now for Discussion Archives. It's UNchecked by default, so most searches will exclude the archived discussions. But if someone checks that box (e.g. , if they didn't get enough good results the first time), then the archived discussions will also be searched.

So it's really pretty easy, but most people won't get that far. I've got a revision to the search hints ready to pop in once Tim starts archiving discussions, but it didn't seem to make sense to add it now. My understanding is that the NC forms are in fact not "fully ready" as NC has not fully adopted section 179 as reinstated etc.... both Lacerte and Pro series are claiming the forms are not ready at the government level.

I'll find out if Ultra Tax is the same way. Really appreciate it. We wiped out both!

Pick the one you like better and put it back, I'll stay out of the way! We both tend delete the newest one, of duplicates, but this time I was just being lazy 'cause I didn't want to have to edit the old one to pull it over to the tax forum and change my first post. So I'm the one who messed that up, for sure.

So, now he says he's read the old discussions, that's good I guess. I'm thinking there's a pretty good reason he can't find anything about that line-of-credit exclusion, but maybe he's talking about something other.