Today TaxMama® hears from Mary in the TaxQuips Forum who remembers. “During one of the registered tax return preparer (RTRP) presentations on May 15, or 17th, the instructor mentioned getting clients familiar with bookkeeping software. Several names were mentioned. Can you give me the name of the software?”

Today TaxMama® hears from Tony in the TaxQuips Forum with this question. “I have a friend / client who had self employment income in both US and Canada. He has already filed in Canada and is asking me to use the same income amount declared there, here in the US. He now owes the Canadian Government $5,000.00.  Any advice on how to handle this will be appreciated.”

Today TaxMama® hears from Blake in the TaxQuips Forum who is upset. “I bought a used car last December for $8,000. The car was owned by an individual who apparently had a business bank account where he deposited the money. The bill of sale just says his name on it, no company. How can the state of Georgia charge me $700 in taxes plus a $115 penalty on a car I bought from an individual? I don’t have the coins laying around for this kind of “surprise” expense. I was fully under the impression the car was bought from an individual and so were the two witnesses who were there when bill of sale was written up.”

Today TaxMama® hears from Ada in the TaxQuips Forum with a deceptively difficult question.  “My father is a non-resident alien with a non-business U.S. checking account that he opened over 15 years ago. He wants to give me and another sibling (both resident US citizens) the money from that account (split equally to about $20k each). What are the reporting requirements and tax liabilities for him, my sibling and myself?

Today TaxMama® hears from Kelly in the TaxQuips Forum who cares about her friend. “A friend’s home will soon be going into foreclosure. He’s owned the home for 2.5 years and we’re trying to figure out if he’ll have to repay the $8,000 tax credit he received as a first time homebuyer. I’ve read that if the house sells and there’s no gain you’ll owe nothing. If the home is in foreclosure how is a gain calculated? Would it be of any benefit to try to do a short sale on the home versus the foreclosure? He’s planning to file for bankruptcy as well. I’m just wondering if there’s any legal way around the $8,000 repayment?”

Today TaxMama® hears from Saroj in the TaxQuips Forum with a valid concern. “I have been doing taxes for last 20 years or so. I was thinking of taking the EA exam. But I added Financial Advising to the practice (HD Vest) and QuickBooks, also. I am 62 years old; so I don’t know how long I will be doing taxes. With all the regulations and continuing education requirements, what do you think is more beneficial? Should I still get my EA or just pass the Registered Tax Return Preparer Exam (RTRP) and keep doing what I am doing?”

Today TaxMama® hears from Hugh in the TaxQuips Forum with a long question. “To make his story short, he lays out his income and expenses and wants to know what his audit risk is – and what records to retain in case he’s ever audited.”

Today TaxMama® hears from Mazyar in the TaxQuips Forum with a good question. “I am planning for 2012 tax and am trying to find out what would be the maximum long-term capital gain I can have in order to still have it taxed at 0%. I use the Schedule D Tax Worksheet and enter the required information. To make the matter as simple as possible I assume that there is no short-term gain, no dividends and enter zero values for most of the lines. There are only three values I enter: (see the post for details)

Considering the simplified scenario, I think the max is (70700 less taxable income) and should match the value in Line 20 on the worksheet. Am I wrong?”