Switched Keys

The last entry began what might be a series of articles on "Updates and Observations" related to the upcoming tax season. This time I'm dealing with Partnerships. It's been said that one learns most by teaching others, so I hope to learn more about partnerships and upcoming tax issues.. more »

This is a review of Trust news so far for 2014, based on what I've bookmarked or saved during the year. The year has been a somewhat quiet one for trusts. There has been some clarification of NIIT for trusts, material participation, and what it means to be a real estate professional as a trust. One thing that may be a highlight is the clarification of what is included in the 2% miscellaneous deductions, and a mention of required unbundling for that purpose beginning in 2015. Considering those issues, you may want to do some end of year tax planning. more »

Andrea is a 26 year old female that was unemployed for all of 2013 and decided to go back to school to complete her criminal justice degree in the fall. She registered in August, received a $1,000 scholarship, a $2,750 Pell grant, a $2,000 student loan.. more »

I have been preparing tax returns for aVITA site for the past three years. In the course of my work there I continue to be amazed at how much tax firms attempt to charge for tax preparation. Taxpayers either can't afford their fees or have resolved from… more »

When a client comes in for their tax preparation and presents you with a 1099-MISC, what is your response? Unless you are familiar with your client's activities, you should probably ask questions to determine how to handle it. more »

Training for royalty transactions in VITA are brief and instructions for how to enter them in Taxwise are not easy to find. With some trial and error and investigation, I believe I understand how to best enter them in Taxwise. It is rather… more »

Working at VITA is quite a learning experience. Working with the IRS, non-profit organizations are able to offer free tax assistance to low-income individuals via the "Volunteers in Tax Assistance" program. To adequately staff the site, the VITA… more »