Posts by Carol Price4

Susan Martinez29 said:Thanks for clearing that up... since I'm looking at providing intellectual services—let's just call it that—rather than dealing with retail or manufacturing, being able to handle all the sales tax filings online would be a huge relief. It saves me from having to deal with an accountant on top of everything else 👍

If anyone has the inside scoop on how the shutdown process actually works, I’d appreciate the heads-up. If I opt into the sales tax system voluntarily, I'm locked in for three years, and I'm wondering if that commitment changes anything regarding closing things down.

Alright, the bit about the checking account makes sense... but what about the corporate tax? Wasn't that scrapped at the start of the year? And those $130 for Goldman Sachs, is that some kind of annual fee?

You can file online, but you can't actually do the full calculations there—it's just for the filing part.
Since you mentioned not wanting to "deal" with an accountant, I'm assuming you're comfortable handling all your own tax forms, deadlines, and the specific regulations that apply to you—otherwise, you'll run into trouble if the IRS ever comes knocking. 😉

Good luck!

Robin Gray9 said:I just received my first foreign invoice in about seven years... since so much has changed recently, I’m feeling a bit lost on what to do with it. Specifically, how should I record this in my books and how does it work for sales tax reporting?
Here is the situation: the invoice is from Germany... the VAT number is verified in the system... and it’s for a software subscription.
The entire invoice is written in English, but the amounts are listed in USD... it shows the net amount, calculates the tax at 25%, and gives a total (though there's a note at the bottom mentioning the final total in USD)
How on earth do I book this? And more importantly, how do I report it for sales tax purposes? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

This sounds like an electronically delivered service to me...

Did you buy the software online and just download it—and by any chance, did you forget to provide your Tax ID?? If that happened, they probably assumed you weren't a business entity and charged the full 25% US sales tax since you're the end consumer here in the States.

Steven Anderson14 said:Are we still sending the tax attachments along with the VAT filing as PDFs like we used to, or do I need to scan and sign everything manually just like we do for the IRS?

Just like before...

ruggedlynx63 said:Well, I actually reached out to them just the other day, and they basically told me straight to my face that they aren't planning on doing a single thing about it 😢

Just saw this pop up on Facebook...😠

Richard Howard55 said:The Democratic Party announcement is live on the Police Department website.
Still, we won't have to deal with manually typing it out and attaching it to the PD forms. I guess. 🙂

I’m really hoping the Pupil gets this uploaded right away... maybe if we all start flooding their inbox with questions, they'll move faster! 😁

electricbadger89 said:That isn't "savings," that falls under "capital gains."

From Huawei MHA-L29

It’s not mandatory—you can do it if you want, but it's totally up to the taxpayer depending on what works best for them...

Joseph Fisher2 said:Do I just clear it out in Chrome from that same list in my trusted folder, or is it tucked away somewhere else too?

Regarding the installation—should I go through that whole process using the FinTech app, or is it enough to just hit "make available" in the active client?

Thanks for the help! 😉

Check the trusted root and that first tab—I can't remember the exact name off the top of my head—then just try running the installation procedure again..

Joseph Fisher2 said:
I've gone through every single step—all the certificates are exactly where they should be...
but it doesn't matter—it isn't even asking for my PIN, it just jumps straight to

"No certificate selected"

Dear User,
access to the application is denied because a valid certificate was not selected. Please close all active browser windows and restart the application. If you continue to encounter this error, you can find solutions and potential causes in the "
frequently asked questions"
document. 🤦

Just unplug the security key and clear out that old certificate stuck in Chrome—then plug it back in and give it another shot...

Joseph Fisher2 said:Having some trouble with the IRS e-filing system—has anyone dealt with something similar lately?

I run my own bookkeeping business, and honestly, it was my own oversight—I missed the deadline to renew a client's digital certificate. (I work directly with their security tokens)

The client went ahead and filed a request for a reissue through Chase, then handled the power of attorney with the IRS (since they're brothers sharing one token). By the next day, I had the new token with the updated certificates. I installed everything, they show up fine in the active client software, and I can see they were issued yesterday and are valid for two years. But when I try to log in? Nothing happens.

Using Chrome, after I select the certificate, it just throws a proxy connection error. Using IE, it says no certificate was even selected. I called Chase (their support line), and they were super helpful—they confirmed the certificate is totally fine and told me to contact the IRS. So I called the IRS, and the agent there said everything looks processed and updated on their end, so it *should* be working. They suggested I just email the e-filing help desk.

The thing is, I sent that email back on Thursday—complete with screenshots—and, naturally, I haven't heard a peep. It’s already the 20th...😵

Once you plug the key in, go down to the taskbar, open the active client, right-click the certificate, and select "make available in Windows"—do that for both of them. That might be the hiccup! After that, check your Chrome settings to make sure it's in the trusted root tab—you'll need to see fin RDC 2015 there...

We’re currently ironing out those bugs popping up when people try to file their DI forms. We've got a new version of the IRS app ready to go live tomorrow, February 21, 2017—it should clear everything right up.

Thanks for hanging in there with us!

🎉

Arthur Thomas5 said:Why on earth would it be logical for a bank but not for the IRS? Nowhere in the application for using the IRS portal did I waive my right to submit forms in writing. Furthermore, it doesn't matter whether it makes sense to you or to me; the IRS should base its decisions on the law, not on "logic" (not that our laws are particularly logical anyway), and there is absolutely no legal basis for prohibiting the submission of hard-copy forms. It's nothing short of illegal behavior by the agency.

It’s failing because you can’t input a decimal number—which pops up due to partial work hours—into the payroll tax form, specifically under Section B, both points under item 10. And regarding sending an email? An inquiry was sent, but the response was nonexistent, claiming that this is simply how it must be according to the law. So, I sent a follow-up asking them to cite the specific article and statute they're relying on, so we'll see. Of course, you won't get their email response until after the filing deadline has passed—logical, right? And you can't reach them by phone to get immediate info—logical, too. Plus, the filing window is incredibly tight—just one day—so if you fail to submit something instantly, the deadline hits and you're immediately in violation. Logical.

But since we're talking about logic, setting my own situation aside for a moment: what would actually be logical if someone is unable to submit a correct form via the IRS portal? Should they be allowed to submit it in writing, or should they just not submit it at all and automatically face penalties and fines? Common sense and actual logic point toward the former.

Moreover, does an IRS employee even have the authority to refuse to receive or file a declaration, even if it were wrong from start to finish? Who are they to decide what I am permitted to file and what I am not? This is yet another instance of unlawful conduct...

Look, if the IRS portal isn't accepting it, it won't work manually either, because they simply haven't accounted for decimal hours—there's nothing you can do there. Just round up to the nearest whole hour to favor the employee and call it a day.

Complaining is just going to draw unwanted attention—then they'll just change the filing regulations so you can't even report 24 minutes of work a day, which—if you ask me—was a stupid rule to begin with. I mean, who tracks 24 minutes? It should have been a minimum of one hour a day and that's that.

Henry Edwards33 said:I can't say for sure, but my gut tells me we won't see anything until mid-March. Why?

Look, this is just standard end-of-quarter closing stuff. I’ve also got some outstanding issues with the IRS that I need to sort out first.
.

I'm asking because of the down payments... but since he isn't closing until this year, whatever he pays should count toward his CDC filings.

They have to stop billing him once he de-registers his business—and they can't start charging for the new one until the first year passes, if I recall correctly... though you should probably double-check that. I didn't deal with it all in the same year myself—my old business closed on December 31st and the new one opened just a few days into the next year.

Henry Edwards33 said:I’ve honestly never run into a situation where a small business owner closes one LLC just to immediately open another one right away.
Without getting into the "why" behind their decision, I’m mostly curious about the logistics. Is the paperwork process identical to just shutting down a business normally?
What should I be looking out for here? Specifically, what happens to any prepaid income tax installments that have already been settled?

Any advice would be appreciated. 😁

For the one being closed—just list any unpaid rent as income and any unpaid utility bills as expenses—and if there's depreciation involved, tack that unamortized value into the income side.

What date are they using for the closure?

Jessica Gonzalez30 said:And you could even do it through a bank transfer.
For example, if I have an invoice from $333 that a client needs to pay, but they also have an approved credit from, say, $33.
When the payment comes in from $300, I’d record it as a $1,000 deposit minus a $100 adjustment. So, effectively, there's $900 hitting the books, which matches the actual cash flow moving through the bank account.

That works too! Honestly, I find it way easier to track everything when I list out actual cash inflows and outflows—that's just how my brain works—but what you're saying definitely makes sense.

Nicole Lee6 said:Here is my workaround for the credit: record it as in-kind revenue with a negative sign (-), then close out the original invoice it's tied to by entering a corresponding in-kind receipt with a positive sign (+). At least, that's how I handle it....

Exactly—that's my move too! 🙂

Yeah, just like compensation—in kind.

amberbadger17 said:What does she mean by "SENDING THE FORM FOR MANUAL ENTRY"?

I just type everything straight into the IRS portal myself; no importing files or anything.

But even then, it keeps throwing an error for fixed assets that have a book value of $0.00 as of 12/31/2016.

The warning pops up constantly. I’m stuck—should I just try to submit it despite the error, or should I call my contact at the tax office or some intern to see what's up?

Thanks. 🙂

It means you basically have to physically go see an agent so they can type it in themselves—since their system clearly can't handle these forms correctly without tripping errors.😁

casualorca5 said:Has anyone dealt with filing Form DI before? I'm getting an error saying the book value at the end of 2015 doesn't match the start of 2016. Everything was fine until now, I guess.

Just grab a coffee and hit the manual entry option—their system is clearly acting up again...div>

Peter Young5 said:Has this always been a requirement, or has the regulation shifted recently? I was under the impression that only LLCs were actually responsible for forest accounting.
.. If we haven't been recording forest assets in previous years—and they aren't even listed in the USA records—what would be the most sensible way to handle this?

You can file everything dating back to 2014 right here—you could even just call the Department of Agriculture and sort it out via email. You should probably move fast, though, because starting this year, they're going to start auditing people; I think someone was posting about how sole proprietors are being targeted...

The reason there's nothing in the USA records is simply that the IRS still doesn't track it, even though there’s been talk about them doing so...

Basically, if your business classification makes you liable, then yeah, you have to file.

Nicholas Moore7 said:Hey there.
I've run into a bit of a situation here.
My mother-in-law works in accounting, and her laptop completely died on her yesterday—the one she uses for all her IRS filings. I picked up a new machine for her today running Windows 10, but I'm hitting a wall trying to get everything installed, and she absolutely needs this working by Monday.
Is there anyone out there kind enough to point me in the right direction?
She’s got an ActiveClient reader and her ID card ready to go.
I even went ahead and set Internet Explorer as the default browser.

Any ideas?

Hmm... I use Chrome, and honestly, I just got a new laptop two months ago and simply logged into Chrome—it pulled all my settings right over. I don't know the specifics because my husband handled the setup, though.

Try logging in with Chrome.

I've really never dealt with those card readers, though... maybe it wouldn't hurt to move some files over to a USB stick.