|
I am amazed that goons read this thread and decide to forgo furushotakeru's tax prep service in favor of their local H&R Block.
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 18:41
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 10, 2024 00:57 |
|
|
ThirdPartyView posted:I'm always amazed that the IRS hasn't yet bludgeoned H&R Block and their ilk into bankruptcy with Circular 230 penalties. They wait long enough and they won't need to. http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=HRB&t=5y&l=on&z=l&q=l&c= The free efiling through irs.gov, tax software, and direct deposit is already starting to dent them pretty good. If the IRS ever goes more in-depth with filing online H&R Block is toast. In this recession I've had quite a few clients head off to H&R Block thinking it was cheaper, but they're just as expensive as I am.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 20:21
|
|
|
Chef Bromden posted:I have a surprising amount of tax problems for someone who made so little money. *Ahem* The H&R Block Guarantee: The H&R Block Guarantee is included with every tax return we prepare. If H&R Block makes an error on your return, we'll pay resulting penalties and interest. If you are audited, we'll explain your IRS tax audit notice and the documentation you should provide to the auditor. http://www.hrblock.com/why-hr-block/our-guarantees.html Get them to cough up, and next year call a goon :P
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 21:24
|
|
|
Mandalay posted:I am amazed that goons read this thread and decide to forgo furushotakeru's tax prep service in favor of their local H&R Block. To be perfectly honest I didn't know about this thread until I had already gone to H&R. I figured it would be quick and simple enough that even if H&R wasn't the best, they couldn't possibly gently caress it up. I was horribly wrong and I have learned my lesson and I will go to goons from now on.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 21:30
|
|
|
furushotakeru posted:Well until recently Block wasn't really subject to Circular 230 for the most part since the vast majority of their employees aren't CPA's, EA's, or attorneys. Oh yeah, the Registered Paid Tax Preparer status didn't come into effect until late last year, right? Still, couldn't the IRS disbar H&R or the other prepares if they are grossly incompetent (as demonstrated by what seems like a rather large stream of disputed/wrong returns)? I thought that was in place prior to last year... Edit: AbbiTheDog posted:In this recession I've had quite a few clients head off to H&R Block thinking it was cheaper, but they're just as expensive as I am. I hear that they only do the 1040-EZ for free and then they charge by the credit (such as EITC) and state thereafter, which is how they trap a lot of people. Horseshoe theory fucked around with this message at 22:41 on May 2, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 22:34
|
|
|
In fairness, Turbotax does the same thing with state e-filing and (god forbid) extra states. The actual software package was like $40 "with a free state" but purchasing another state and efiling two state returns is like $100 on top of that $40. e: and since that's paid directly to Intuit through the software program, that's 100% profit for them minus cc processing fees--just like DLC for games, no sharing with retailers!
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2012 23:22
|
|
|
ThirdPartyView posted:I hear that they only do the 1040-EZ for free and then they charge by the credit (such as EITC) and state thereafter, which is how they trap a lot of people. That cracks me up - I see it on this board too. "WHY CAN'T ALL THIS SOFTWARE, WHICH THE COMPANIES NEED TO PAY PEOPLE TO PUT TOGETHER AND MAINTAIN, JUST DO MY TAXES FOR FREE? I DON'T WANT TO PAY $20 TO USE SOMEBODY'S COMPUTER PROGRAM."
|
|
#
?
May 3, 2012 19:31
|
|
|
AbbiTheDog posted:That cracks me up - I see it on this board too. I don't necessarily disagree, but depending on how they are presenting it, it may be in violation of fair advertising rules (both general and tax-related). Of course, going "Well, it depends on how complex your return gets..." isn't as thrilling an advertisement as "LOOK AT ALL THIS MONEY WE CAN GET FOR YOU!" Edit: Also, I do know someone that works at H&R Block and she's told me plenty of stories about their shadiness, both on client and employee-side (which should not be shocking given the above example of misleading information) regarding bait-and-switches and other ethically gray (at best) situations. Horseshoe theory fucked around with this message at 00:53 on May 4, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 4, 2012 00:49
|
|
|
Chef Bromden posted:I have a surprising amount of tax problems for someone who made so little money. As someone who may (or may not) continue working at Block, let me take a small stab at this, with the standard disclaimer that I, in no way, speak for the company. I'm not entirely sure that this is an error worthy of the Block guarantee that Kaishek mentioned, though it is a godawful, convoluted explanation that the tax preparer gave you. The preparer was correct in saying that the NJ and Federal refunds would offset the NY liability, but, to my knowledge, there is no way that the federal and NJ refunds could be sent directly to NY to cover that bill. To put it another way, what I'm getting from what you wrote is that this is what you expected: NJ and Federal refunds would both go directly to NY, you would not receive a check from either entity, and you would write a check to NY if there was a difference. To my knowledge, there is no actual way to do this. What happens in a case like this is that you have to bend over, suck in, and cut a $1400 check to Albany, and then your Federal and NJ refunds would ease that pain a little. Now, if the tax prep specifically told you that you would NOT be getting checks from NJ and the IRS, well, then he's a dipshit for saying that, but, technically, that is not an error on the return itself, its more a dumbass explanation of what was going to happen. Now, what the tax preparer MAY have missed, and what you need to go back through your return to see, is if he gave you the NY Residence Credit, for the taxes that you paid to NJ. (If memory serves, it would be on form IT-112). As far as the compliance fee goes, it is added to cover certain licensing fees. As an example, I got reimbursed the $100 it costs me to register with NY as a tax preparer each year, and I'm (probably) going to get reimbursed the testing fee for the RPTP exam, if I actually decide to take it. My boss is still going over things, and at one point, he was mulling around the thought of the whole office just becoming EA's instead, and I want no part of that. Most employees do NOT like the fact that the fee is not really disclosed until the absolute end of the return, and I've forgotten more than once to add it in when I initially explain the bill to clients, and felt like a schmuck for the (albeit small) bait-and-switch.
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2012 06:44
|
|
|
Why not take the EA test and become a real professional instead of just playing at taxes? Also, the RTRP test isn't optional unless you no longer want to do taxes for money, or you become an EA.
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2012 08:05
|
|
|
Kwik posted:I'm not entirely sure that this is an error worthy of the Block guarantee that Kaishek mentioned, though it is a godawful, convoluted explanation that the tax preparer gave you. Except that his error (which it is based on the narrative) technically makes Chef Bromden liable for the failure to pay penalty in NY. Of course, as mentioned before, Chef Bromden could file a request for waiver arguing that H&R Block screwed the pooch by misrepresenting the actual treatment of the $1,400 liability to NY, leading him not to mail a check/request an ACH withdrawal. I'm not quite sure how H&R Block could viably argue against paying for any resulting penalty in this case as it would seem, at the very least, to be an estoppel situation and at worst gross incompetence. Horseshoe theory fucked around with this message at 14:34 on May 5, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 5, 2012 14:30
|
|
|
I can see it now : " Goon Tax Services, we will make sarcastic comments while you wait ".
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2012 16:08
|
|
|
furushotakeru posted:Why not take the EA test and become a real professional instead of just playing at taxes? Also, the RTRP test isn't optional unless you no longer want to do taxes for money, or you become an EA. Well, I'm not entirely sure that I want to keep doing taxes. I am keeping up with it, and am going to probably make a decision in the next few weeks, and if I'm going to stick with it, then I will be taking the RPTP exam. But that said, this has always been a seasonal sideline for me. The extra money is nice, and I like the people who I work with, but I'm not sure that this is what I want to be doing with my life, so that's why I want no part of the EA thing. Of course, I could wake up tomorrow, find out that my permanent job is heading down the shitter, and this could all change. ThirdPartyView posted:Except that his error (which it is based on the narrative) technically makes Chef Bromden liable for the failure to pay penalty in NY. Of course, as mentioned before, Chef Bromden could file a request for waiver arguing that H&R Block screwed the pooch by misrepresenting the actual treatment of the $1,400 liability to NY, leading him not to mail a check/request an ACH withdrawal. I'm not quite sure how H&R Block could viably argue against paying for any resulting penalty in this case as it would seem, at the very least, to be an estoppel situation and at worst gross incompetence. I know the basics about the guarantee, but whenever our office has a claim, it gets kicked to someone over me in the chain of command, so it is entirely possible that you are right with that. If it were up to me, I would pay the penalty, because Chef Bromden relied on bad advice from the professional. But, as said before, I in no way speak for the company.
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2012 17:10
|
|
|
I guess I'll ask here first before making my own thread. My wife is getting a rather large (to us; somewhere between $20,000-40,000) inheritance from a grandmother she never met from Connecticut (we live in PA). I'm assuming the Executrix of her estate is taking care of all the estate tax up in CT, as it's taking forever to clear through probate and such. My question is how the taxes work for us? We looked up that there's a 4.5% inheritance tax in PA. Does that have to be paid right away, or is that done with the yearly tax return? Do we add that as income on our 2012 tax return to be taxed as income too?
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2012 17:55
|
|
|
Orgophlax posted:I guess I'll ask here first before making my own thread. Inheritance tax typically is assessed to the estate not to the recipient.
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2012 20:03
|
|
|
furushotakeru posted:Inheritance tax typically is assessed to the estate not to the recipient.
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2012 20:25
|
|
|
Orgophlax posted:So we would just file it as income come tax time? I am not familiar with PA specifically but an inheritance is generally not considered income to the recipient.
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2012 21:36
|
|
|
furushotakeru posted:I am not familiar with PA specifically but an inheritance is generally not considered income to the recipient. I would caution to see what the character of the funds coming in are. If they are retirement funds they are fully taxable. If they are part of an estate/trust you'll get a Form K-1 showing your share of the income/expense. Get more details from whomever is in charge, then post us back.
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2012 16:48
|
|
|
Orgophlax posted:I guess I'll ask here first before making my own thread. Assuming your grandmother was a nonresident of Pennsylvania when she died, the Pennsylvania inheritance tax is only going to apply to any of her real estate or personal property that was located in Pennsylvania. Here's the relevant statute: 72 P.S. § 9106 quote:An inheritance tax for the use of the Commonwealth is imposed upon every transfer subject to tax under this article at the rates specified in section 2116. "Transfer" is the relevant term in that statute. A "transfer" is defined as: 72 P.S. § 9102 quote:"TRANSFER." Includes the passage of ownership of property, or interest in property or income from property, in possession or enjoyment, present or future, in trust or otherwise. "Property is the relevant term in the definition of "transfer." In that same statute, "property" is defined as: quote:"PROPERTY" or "ESTATE." Includes the following: As you can see from #4, for nonresidents the PA inheritance tax is only going to apply to transfers of real and tangible personal property located in Pennsylvania. Unless your grandmother owned either real estate or tangible personal property in Pennsylvania, you are probably in the clear. I.E., if you are getting a check for cash, that won't trigger the inheritance tax. As others mentioned, you will get a K-1 from the estate which will tell you whether you have any income tax issues.
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2012 17:26
|
|
|
entris posted:Assuming your grandmother was a nonresident of Pennsylvania when she died, the Pennsylvania inheritance tax is only going to apply to any of her real estate or personal property that was located in Pennsylvania. Here's the relevant statute: Wow, look at that. 
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2012 17:38
|
|
|
entris posted:Assuming your grandmother was a nonresident of Pennsylvania when she died, the Pennsylvania inheritance tax is only going to apply to any of her real estate or personal property that was located in Pennsylvania. Here's the relevant statute:
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2012 17:56
|
|
|
Mandalay posted:In fairness, Turbotax does the same thing with state e-filing and (god forbid) extra states. The actual software package was like $40 "with a free state" but purchasing another state and efiling two state returns is like $100 on top of that $40. I will use the Turbotax free state, but I just print it out instead of e-filing and re-enter the numbers on my state's web site for free. Funny thing is that TT must be using different rounding rules or something since it's always off by $1 in calculating the tax.
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2012 18:39
|
|
|
smackfu posted:Especially bad since really the state forms aren't that bad, and they often have free online e-filing. Their program might be using a formula instead of the actual tax tables to figure it out. There is a slight difference.
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2012 18:48
|
|
|
Last year I got some money as a beneficiary of my grandmother's IRA. My understanding of it was that this was taxable income, so I owed money on my federal taxes because of this. But the other day I got a letter from my township's tax office saying "Please be advised that 1099s coded with a 4 in box 7 are not taxable", and therefore I will get a refund from them. Is this something that is handled differently with federal tax than local tax, or did I pay federal tax in error?
Future Wax fucked around with this message at 05:00 on May 8, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 8, 2012 03:01
|
|
|
Local townships only tax earned income. They do not tax unearned income, such as IRA distributions. edit: very very very generally this is the case. I'm sure there's some obscure township or city which does tax unearned income, but they are the exception rather than the rule. Admiral101 fucked around with this message at 03:29 on May 8, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 8, 2012 03:27
|
|
|
An article with an admittedly sensationalist title about the home mortgage deduction vs education deductions: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2012/05/09/why-does-congress-love-houses-more-than-students/
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2012 21:42
|
|
|
Mandalay posted:An article with an admittedly sensationalist title about the home mortgage deduction vs education deductions: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2012/05/09/why-does-congress-love-houses-more-than-students/ My Individual Tax professor said the same thing in the first lecture.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2012 23:33
|
|
|
Sweet, I'm about to buy a house. From what this article says the federal government likes homeowners more than students, so I should be able to get the government to pay my mortgage interest for a few years and not have that be counted as income right?
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2012 03:54
|
|
|
quote:Sweet, I'm about to buy a house. From what this article says the federal government likes homeowners more than students, so I should be able to get the government to pay my mortgage interest for a few years and not have that be counted as income right? To be fair, that's effectively what the government is doing with the mortgage interest deduction. The most glaring flaw I find with that article is that it ignores all the indirect ways the feds and states subsidize education through funding directly to the schools (plus the whole tax exempt status aspect). Of course, real estate development has a lot of that kind of money too.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2012 04:37
|
|
|
Admiral101 posted:The most glaring flaw I find with that article is that it ignores all the indirect ways the feds and states subsidize education through funding directly to the schools (plus the whole tax exempt status aspect). To be fair, a lot of the state grants are being cut back (I think both of my alma maters are relying more and more on donations).
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2012 04:56
|
|
|
Admiral101 posted:To be fair, that's effectively what the government is doing with the mortgage interest deduction. The best way to get college costs to drop would be to severely limit the amount of student loans available for college. When there's unlimited demand and limited supply, they (colleges) can keep jacking up the tuition costs and there's not a whole lot you can do about it.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2012 17:14
|
|
|
I'm moving to NY soon with work and so far what I understand about your tax is limited at best. Does anyone know of any site with a primer on going from uk tax (dont think about it, sometimes get money) to US? (what seems like a phenomenally complicated procedure) Stuff like how it's paid & how to deal with it on a very basic level would be lovely. I get the impression from this thread that what I want to know is the stuff you figure out when you're a child by knowing someone who does them.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2012 14:25
|
|
|
cubicle gangster posted:I'm moving to NY soon with work and so far what I understand about your tax is limited at best. Does anyone know of any site with a primer on going from uk tax (dont think about it, sometimes get money) to US? (what seems like a phenomenally complicated procedure) Easiest part would just to read the Form 1040 instructions. Poke around on the IRS website for a bit in the "individual" section and see what you can pickup.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2012 18:29
|
|
|
AbbiTheDog posted:Easiest part would just to read the Form 1040 instructions. Poke around on the IRS website for a bit in the "individual" section and see what you can pickup.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2012 18:44
|
|
|
Ah yes, another May, another love letter from Lacerte, another loving 10% fee hike.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2012 19:02
|
|
|
furushotakeru posted:Ah yes, another May, another love letter from Lacerte, another loving 10% fee hike. How can they justify this? Either they are terrible at pricing their product or terrible at controlling costs.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2012 19:52
|
|
|
furushotakeru posted:Ah yes, another May, another love letter from Lacerte, another loving 10% fee hike. My cost this year for unlimited S Corp, 1040, and efiling (along with Oregon and 8 licenses) is a nice $7,900 after the 15% "early renewal" dicking over.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2012 19:58
|
|
|
kaishek posted:How can they justify this? Either they are terrible at pricing their product or terrible at controlling costs.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2012 20:03
|
|
|
I recently sold some software I wrote to a company that wanted the technology behind it. The deal was structured as an asset purchase for the software that went through my LLC. I am the only member of the LLC. Question: is this a capital gain or am I going to get hit twice on this?
|
|
#
?
May 30, 2012 17:41
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 10, 2024 00:57 |
|
|
mintskoal posted:I recently sold some software I wrote to a company that wanted the technology behind it. The deal was structured as an asset purchase for the software that went through my LLC. I am the only member of the LLC. If you did it right will be income to the LLC which will then be passed through to you. If you did it wrong it will just be income to you and not to the LLC. In either case it won't be taxed twice. Whether it is capital gain income or ordinary income depends on a lot of factors.
|
|
#
?
May 30, 2012 18:43
|
|