TaxMan

I was listening to The Falcon "Vanishing Varmint" from 7/11/1951 and one of the gangsters said, "I road the rods". What does that mean?

I literally have to change the channel when they come on the TV. I don't want to see close-ups of the inside of people's mouths. Plus, the message never gets across. Why doesn't Progressive fire that ad agency, cancel the commercials, and move on? Flo is fine. What do you think?

DTV is giving NFL ticket to individuals FOR FREE! Yet, they are charging us full boat because, according to them, "it brings in business". Well, if people can get the same thing at home for free, why would they come out to bars and restaurants? You can't have it both ways. We are angry. We feel like they broke an implied contract. We are going to closely monitor the crowds this year, and if it drops, we are dropping NFL ticket. What do you think?

A recent commercial from Verizon has a seemingly intelligent woman claiming that her "daughter is graduating college"? No one graduates college. They graduate FROM college. I wonder how this slipped passed the proofreaders. Or, is this just another example of the dumbing down (if you'll excuse my pejorative term) of American English? What are your thoughts?

Does anyone know where I can get a bench seat for a 1989 Dodge Dakota Convertible? I can't find one in any condition.

I'm a US firm selling a service to a client in the UK. Assuming we never step foot in the UK. Do we have to collect and remit VAT? Does the answer change if we send employees to the UK to do some of the work?

I know that if two people who are unmarried purchase a home and if one of the two does not qualify for the credit because they owned a home in the last three years, that they can allocate the credit entirely to the other home buyer (other criteria notwithstanding). However, what happens if after the home is purchased, the couple marries later in the same year? Since both people must qualify when married, does the subsequent marriage nullify the credit? If the answer is "no", must they amend the prior year tax return, or can they file jointly and still get the credit, or must they file MFS?

I don't follow the Netflix commercials. What am I missing? I'm talking about the ones where they ask someone 3 questions. The contestant gives a totally incorrect answer to the first 2 questions and the announcer says "correct". Then, they answer the third question which is something like how much are the late fees and they say $0 and the announcer says "correct" again. My initial reaction is the announcer lied the first two times by saying "correct", are they lying the third time too? But, I'm sure that isn't Netflix intent. Can anyone shed any light on this for me?

He is losing weight at a pretty good clip. He no longer grooms himself or licks his chops after eating. He has trouble eating/chewing. He mashes his food down in the bowl while eating and I have to "refresh" it with a fork before he can continue. He is often doing something with his mouth which makes a noise like someone with dry mouth, but he cocks his head to the side when he does it and moves his tongue. A while ago, he stopped eating dry food/treats and he stopped using his water bowl and now will only drink from a trickle of water running in the tub, but even then, he doesn't lap it...he sorta bites it. He seems sad all the time...maybe in pain? He looks like he did the day I brought him home from getting his teeth cleaned. He's 17. The Vet looked him over and didn't find anything unusual, but we didn't do a CAT scan. His blood is fairly normal (elevated thyroid, but not much...slightly diabetic, but not much). His sister from the same litter is perfectly fine.

If a corporation reimburses an employee for an expense that is later denied by the IRS, what happens?

For example, let's say in 2006, a corporation reimburses an employee $1,000 for education. In 2008 during an audit of the company, the IRS denies the expense saying that it doesn't meet their guideline for reimbursable education (for whatever reason...this is a hypothetical example). Does the company need to reissue the 2006 W-2 showing an additional $1,000 in compensation? That seems particularly cumbersome since the employee would then need to file an amended return and may have to reclassify Roth contributions etc. The employer would have to pay FICA for that year. Ouch! Or, can the company request that the employee pay back the $1,000 as if it never happened? Or, would the company simply change the employee's 2008 W-2 to show the $1,000 (even though it went to the employee in 2006)?

Any help would be much appreciated.

If a taxpayer dies in 2008, should that be indicated when their 2007 tax return is filed? Should you write DECEASED across the top of their 2007 form 1040 and the date of death above their name, or simply wait until their 2008 tax return is filed? References? Thanks.

Can anyone direct me to a complete set of instructions that explains how to fill out the RCT-101 form. I'd be happy with an incomplete set as I can't find any instructions anywhere including the PA tax homepage (surprisingly). Maybe PA feels this form is self-explanitory. I am hung up on the definition of Book Income. I thought it was the net profit from the business after all taxes and salaries and stuff were paid. My SMLLC client is simply a consultant who has lots of income, but aside from mileage, no expense, no employees, and no retained earnings. Since he does a Schedule C, all of his income flows through to his personal tax return and is taxed on the PA-40. On one hand, I'm inclined to enter $0 for Book Income since there are no retained earnings. On the other hand, if I enter the Sch C net profit, it does not take into consideration his federal, state, or local tax liabilites which is shared with other family income and difficult to apportion to just the LLC. Help!

I got a heating bill that says "1% 10 Days" and "2% added after 30 days" on it. Presumably, if I pay the bill more than 30 days after it is due (which, ironically, is 10 days after they handed me the bill), then I will owe 2% more. But can I also assume that if I pay the bill in the next 10 days, I only need to pay 99% of the bill? I'd hate to presume incorrectly and piss off the oil delivery person.

I've jumped ship away from engineering and am now doing taxes full time. I'd like to know what you suggest doing to prepare for the EA exam (classes? books?). What tax software do you use? How do you know how much to charge? Do you offer electronic filing? Do you offer RALs and RACs? How do you protect yourself from lawsuits?

Any info at all will be much appreciated. You all deserve "best answer", so please do be offended if I give it to someone else.

Does Kentucky levy a local tax on where you live or where you work? A friend of mine lives in Ohio and works in Kentucky but had local Kentucky tax withheld from his pay (Boone County). Can he file a local return and get it back since he doesn't live there, or must he forfeit the withholdings?

When I lived in the Western time zone, I added holidays to my Microsoft Outlook calendar. I have since moved to the East coast and my holidays are all off by 3 hours. They all start at 3AM and end at 3AM the next day. How do I fix?

I'm ready to jump from engineering (boring) into a full time career in tax preparation. I just love taxes to the core of my very being (don't bother telling me how weird I am, I know already).

There are many options and I want to hear from career tax people which they feel is the best and why? I want pros and cons. I'm also interested in potential annual salaries.

1) Full time job with a large firm like H&R Block, but not as a manager or any other job where you don't do many actual returns.

2) Tax firm franchise owner...should I purchase an existing office or start a new one.

3) Hang out a shingle and start my own office or partner with someone else who has done this, learn from them, then buy them out.

I have enough cash to weather a few years of low income, but I am not interested in an extended dry spell. Also, do I need a CPA degree or just an EA?

What do you do in the summer months to stay busy?

Thank you all for your time.

I'm ready to jump from engineering (boring) into a full time career in tax preparation. I just love taxes to the core of my very being (don't bother telling me how weird I am, I know already).

There are many options and I want to hear from career tax people which they feel is the best and why? I want pros and cons. I'm also interested in potential annual salaries.

1) Full time job with a large firm like H&R Block, but not as a manager or any other job where you don't do many actual returns.

2) Tax firm franchise owner...should I purchase an existing office or start a new one.

3) Hang out a shingle and start my own office or partner with someone else who has done this, learn from them, then buy them out.

I have enough cash to weather a few years of low income, but I am not interested in an extended dry spell. Also, do I need a CPA degree or just an EA?

What do you do in the summer months to stay busy?

Thank you all for your time.