Passing the week. . .
To quote the beginning of an article from TWTP titled ANOTHER GOVERNMENT UNDERCOVER STUDY OF TAX PREPARERS “The office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has prepared a report titled “Most Tax Returns Prepared by a Limited Sample of Un-enrolled Preparers Contained Significant Errors” based on an “undercover” operation conducted during the recent tax filing season.” If you wanna no more you need to read the whole piece. For my 2 cents read the comments.
“Most people have some degree of financial concern in their lives. How will I pay the bills? What will happen if I’m suddenly injured and unable to work? What if I lose my job?” Trent covers this fantastically in his post Addressing Financial Worries in a Healthy Fashion.
In the finial post over at THE FLACH REPORT we must say good bye to a blog. For those of you not familiar with this blog it covered Sole proprietors and one-person LLCs who file a Schedule C with a great deal of valuable information. Robert states that although he’ll no long post in this blog but leaves it active so those in need can find the valuable information within in the archives. Please see the last entry in a post called ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST.
The Tax Foundation brings us a “Joke of the Day” You’ll either see it or you won’t. For those of in the biz, (at least from my point of view) this is very funny.
“What many seem to forget is that a fortune doesn’t consist of just one thing. A million dollars isn’t acquired all at once or not at all.” This is a line from the post From Pennies One Million Dollars Grow written by Penelope Pince over at Our Fourpence Worth. This is a fantastic look at money. I would encourage all to go have a read. Penelope, I like the charts you made.
Out of the mouths of children. A shocking statement is made by a son as to what he would do if he received a large amount of money (a bonus). Children are truly the best, their minds are wide open and depending on the situation, so honest in their thoughts.
For another look at the bail out (in my opinion one that is optimistic) check out the Guest post over at $aving to Invest, titled The Trillion-dollar bailout and why it will be profitable for taxpayers by Tony Parker. Once again, I had to put my two cents in. Read the comments, all of them.
Like Kelly over at TAXGIRL, I have received a lot of questions about losses from dying stocks as the market drops only to rise a bit then plummet further. Her post Some Straight Talk On Capital Losses fills in the information most will need for the situation. Great Job Kelly taking us back to work. Thanks.
Everyone wants to save money. This coming tax filing season those of you who insist on doing your own and use a PC to compute/figure your return then the news is out; Free e-filing for all?, First free filing shoe indeed drops, and my personal favorite- More e-filing fees evaporate. Be sure to check out all three post from Kay over at Don’t Mess With Taxes. And remember, if you are going to do your own I recommend TurboTax. (Which TurboTax Is Right For You? )
Ever wonder about the FDIC, and what would happen if they went under? Ihave a few times. For a bit of insight on this check outIs the FDIC a memberFDIC?A post fromGerald Prante atThe Tax Policy Blog.
Also from The Tax Policy Blog, Joseph Henchman writes Did 1997 Capital Gains Tax Exclusion for Housing Contribute to Economic Crisis? If your are wondering, I think there is indeed a link.
“The United States Patent and Trademark Office has undertaken a practiceof granting patents on so-called “tax strategies,” legal plans for avoidingtaxes.” If you want the whole story go check it out at theTaxProf Blogat this link.-Wolfman:Patenting Tax Strategies.
Tiny leaks and evaporation put a constant drain on your resources. Penelope fills us in on 101 Ways to Save Money in Your Everyday Life. Yes I did learn something
Dealing with market volatility? If so, then Kay Bell over at Don’t Mess With Taxes has a great post titled Taking the sting out of stock losses at tax-filing time. She points out several other tax blogs with links to what their saying (nope not taxguy) about the turmoil. Then she list what Melody Kump of the Raymond James & Associates office in Austin Texas has to say about it.
We have all heard the story or stories on how our government pays outrageous prices for things (like toilet seats, plungers, or hammers) in a report from Peter over at The Tax Lawyer’s Blog find out how one taxpayer went the next step to pay his tax bill in this post Taxpayer Pays IRS Bill With Toilet Seats. I think this is a great idea, only . . . Did it work?
Trent over at the simple dollar reminds us all of our largest investment in his post Looking at Your Career as an Investment. Go check out views on this.
I have had a great turn out for my series Mistakes Made… see you tomorrow for TWTP guest post. Wednesday’s guest post is from Peter of at The Tax Lawyer’s Blog and Friday I am glad to have Living Almost Large here with a guest post. With Much more to come from other great bloggers. (you can find them all in my blog roll/s to the right)
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Turbo-Tax? I can not imagine anyone at anytime, including the IRS every suggesting someone file their own tax returns online. I don’t even support the VITA program, which I was a volunteer for one year, when Iraq war 1st started up and I wanted to prepare returns for no charge for our troops.
The volunteers in the VITA program do not get enough training to properly file a tax return. Millions of taxpayers file their own returns, and I believe way too many cheat themselves the big bucks. They save the small charges and cost themselves in their tax returns.
One example: Husband and wife adopt the children of the wife’s deceased brother.
Thus the children went from being the nieces to their own children. Can the wife’s son which is 32 yrs old and lives in the household with his mother and the two small children, claim the children on his tax return? Although the home is a mobile home owned by the wife/mother? Although he can’t prove he provided any financial support to the children? Yes he can, but find a way on turbo tax to give the advice.
Jeff Day EA For Henry + Richard
Evansville, IN
@ Jeff
I am glad you read taxguy. I even appreciate your comments.
I am not sure how long you have been reading but I would like suggest reading back further. I and several Guest post point out on several occasions, ask a professional.
I have an up-coming guest spot on another blog (and I quote)”my best advice for every taxpayer out there – consult a professional tax preparer. If you’re insistent on doing your own return that is fine. Make an appointment with a professional tax preparer anyway.”
People are going to do their own returns, can’t stop them. I suggest that if they are then they would be better off to use Turbotax. (Your company must be so proud to have such a dedicated employee.) From my own experiences and client comments Turbo Tax is the best around. Still, garbage in garbage out.
As for your example: It reads rather silly. Are you sure you are an EA or were you that mad at me. Let me point out.
If the Husband/wife adopt two children then they will claim the children. Even if they are all living under the same roof. The wifes son has no claim to them. At least by your explained example. The residence matters not, if a prefab, an apartment, or a mobile, the IRS won’t care.
The key, you are right, the software can’t give advice to any taxpayer. Again that is why I urge all to seek pro advice.
Oh, and the IRS advertises freefile on a grand scale. Try going to http://www.irs.gov/ left side of screen, second third and fourth bullet/s. Can also be found on page 4 of the IRS instruction for Form 1040.
I am an enrolled agent, There are 5 of us with HRB in the Evansville, In district. I end up representing no small % of all the clients that have problems.
In this example, I preferred to not be too lengthy. However, The children’s natural father died in 2003 and got a committment out of his sister before his passing that she would always take care of his children and not allow the mother who he deemed was unfit. She was at that time and is at this time in a prison. The children were legally adopted in 2004.
The “new” father is 67 yrs old. The mother and her first husband had a child that is 32 yrs old at this time. The “father” is ill and the wife was virtually unable to work during 2007. Her total earnings were $1250. During the latter parts of 2006 she asked her son to move back home and help them financially as well physically as well as emotionally. He is unmarried and has no children and did so. Therefore in 2007 he is legally entitled to claim his “siblings” and does not have to prove he provided any support. The tie breaker rules only come into play if both the parents and the sibling should have claimed. They did not. The “brother (of the children or the mothers son), Michaels income was $27000 for the year. I did not file him as head of household since it would have been impossible to prove he provided 50%+ support of the household. But under the rules of a qualifying child he has every legal right to claim the children which in 2007 were 5 and 10 yrs old and he not only lived with them over 6 months but did the whole year.
I like your blog and wish I had the talent to do a blog myself and could discuss real life scenarios and the “legal manipulations” available to the citizenry of the Country that I love.
Jeff Day EA
Evansville, In
Jeff Day
I have read your comment to the taxguys post. I’m thinking you need to calm down the next time you read something and comment on something that you know about because you sure don’t in that situation.
I’m just an ordinary person and your little situation that I read I know enough about taxes to know that the only way the son could claim the kids is if he is providing the most support for them otherwise the mother is the only one that can claim them and the son if he isn’t supporting himself.
Maybe you should go back to school and learn alittle more about taxes and really help your customers.
For those of you reading this from Jeff, He works for H & R Block (he says). Please tell me you can see the errors.
Well folks, I am truly sorry but Debbie and Bruce really do need to read (re-read) the rules on a “qualifying child”.
Because you most surely do NOT know of what you speak, which is what I wrote in my 1st posting. I wish there were blogs that did in fact talk about every day circumstances. Because this is an everyday circumstance.
And the 32 yr old son is most certainly entitled to claim his siblings.
Here is a link to irs.gov. definition of a qualifying child. Please notice it includes that a sibling may claim. The tie-breaker rules only come into play had the parents claimed the children, which they did not.
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=133298,00.html
Notice the ONLY support test is that the children did not provide over 50% of their own support, it matters not that the older “brother” may or may not have provided over 50% of the support
I am confident when Bruce checks into the facts he will be glad to admit there are some of us @ HRB that know more than some of the folks that work wherever he works.
Debbie, I promise, you I have more credentials than you and have been to more IRS national forums and represented more taxpayers in audits than you and will be glad to accept your apology when you discover that I know of what I speak.
Jeff Day EA
Evansville, IN
jad012547@yahoo.com
Damn dude, why do you keep put up the stuff from this guy. He isn’t telling you everything, on purpose to make you look bad.
Hey Jeff, Debbie was right on, “you need to calm down”.
I know the rule preety good and even though Bruce screwed up at first, I bet he won’t again. I’d be willing to bet your about to find out just what you don’t know.
Next time try keepping all your thoughts together. First you’re complaining about software then trying to make a point.
Then dude you said “I can not imagine anyone at anytime, including the IRS every suggesting someone file their own tax returns online.” What kind of dope are you? IRS has been telling people for years to do their returns on line. I went to the IRS home page like the tax guy said and sure as he said, there are three places where they are pushing filing returns on line.
Move on Bruce
Move on Jeff
Well Brad, I am sorry but you are wrong, I did tell everything. I told everything there was relative to that family. I tried to pinpoint that/each every software program there is, wouldn’t give these poor people a clue that the 32 yr old son could legally claim his siblings which he can.
I believe most preparers, including most preparers where I work, should not prepare tax returns. I believe only those people that live and breath taxes should prepare tax returns.
I am sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude or arrogant, I only tried to show that what most people would believe was a simple cut and dry situation isn’t. And each responder to me was all wrong. They tell me to calm down, but would they be calm if they found out it was their tax returns that were wrong and they had been “cheated” out of thousands of dollars that they were rightfully due?
Brad says to “Move on”
Try a new thread: husband and wife are divorced. They have one child. The divorce decree says they have “joint custody” (that’s typical BS by lawyers). Says the father is to pay all the daycare expenses. The divorce decree says that the father claims the child in even years and the mother claims the child in odd years. In reality the child lives with the mother more than the father (is that unusual?) For this year of 2008 which parent can claim the daycare expense? Tell me what software program, or where on the IRS links it will give proper advice which parent can claim the daycare expense in this scenario.
Jeff as Bruce has pointed out on sevel occasions he does not tell people to do there own tax return, he advises them to get a tax professional BUT if they think they can do it themselves to use turbo tax software. NO the software will not give them any answers on their taxes so that is why he advises to get a tax professional not to do their own. Now can we move on to something else or do you want to keep showing everbody how stupid H&R Block employees are.
Welp, Brad said: “move on dude”
Debbie said: “Now can we move on…”
Well I am going to move on and leave you folks alone. I am outta here, obvious that is what the few usual posters would want.
I allowed myself to believe you were people that wanted to learn, and discuss preparing tax returns properly. I only tried to point out that preparing one’s own return results in garbage in/garbage out. Getting help from the IRS to prepare the return is garbage in/garbage out.
But I pointed out a typical scenario that is prepared wrongly every day. And all I receive insults stating I don’t know what I am doing. And Then Debbie can’t even admit that she was wrong, although she was, all she can do is go ahead and try to make further slanderous remarks about me.
I wish you well, but if anyone that reads the blog would like correct advice over any situation in the future they may write to my email address and I would be glad to help or send you to someone else that I know would have the correct information.
But sorry, you can think what you want but this HRBlock employee (me) was the only person that had the correct answers.
Jeff Day EA
Evansville, IN
jad012547@yahoo.com
ps the father CAN NOT claim any of the daycare expenses in any year that the child lives more with the mother. She gets the credits, even if she doesn’t pay a dime.
Jeff,
Thanks again for your comments. In fact I have written a post that I am going to put up Saturday concerning this issue.
My apologies for not correcting my error from my response to your first comment and the start of your example.
As an EA, I am sure you realize I opened my mouth before I had all the facts. Pertinent facts that I am confident you are aware should have been disclosed for me to respond accordingly and accurately. Even the human preparer has the same problems as computer preparation software – garbage in, garbage out. But with the information provided in the first post, I had no reason to suspct the parents weren’t making finacial obligations to child care. And correct me if I am wrong but only now are you bringing up day care expenses. More left out.
I don’t feel my reader/s have any need to apologize to you and in a way I hope she won’t. Like you she is voicing her opinion. And no one needs to apologize for having their own ideas. This is indeed a great country and freedom of thought is one of the things that make it such. Freedom of speech is another.
Debbie if you wish to apologize please wait until after reading Saturday s post. Then if you still feel the need, that freedom is yours too.
Jeff –
I own my own practice, and have for many years. I feel for you in that you have so many clients you have to represent before the IRS due to your employer. I have only had two clients ever need representation before the IRS and that was their own stupidity and are no longer my clients for that reason. If a tax payer can’t be honest with me I can’t do the contracted job 100%. It is hard to help someone move forward when they are the ones pushing backwards. A battle I choose not to engage. Self employment has its perks. (The name of my business is L & R Tax Preparation – website link L & R Tax Preparation. )
As far as checking into the facts myself, I didn’t need to. I knew the answer, once I got more information about the situation. I even found a few flaws (given the limited information I had been provided knowing there is still more to disclose) in what you said you did for the client. However, for that you’ll need to come back on Saturday.
As for admitting that some of HeRBert’s employees are competent, never said any of them weren’t. Just under educated in tax prep by their employer. Some may improve, some remain blinded and keep you employed as an Enrolled Agent for a company who for two years in a row, not to long ago miss-filed their own returns. A tax return preparation company that incorrectly filed their own return, two years in a row. And other prepares arn’t suposed to make fun of that?
And No I haven’t yet met an employee from a fast food tax preparation company that knew more than I think I do.
In closing this, I would like to suggest maybe you find a discusion board to join. This isn’t one but seems to be going there.
Excellent comments discussion. Well handled Bruce! Clearly you have got some ardent followers.