Embarrassing Gaffe

[erchess]

On an efiled and accepted return it seems that I put the wrong state for the taxpayer's Sch C Business address. Is there anything I can or should do to correct this? Should I bring it to the client's attention? In my tax software state is something you select from a list and Windows has a habit of changing such things for me. The problem is not limited to that program.

[BOB W]

My guess is not to do anything. I can't think of any use for that info on a 1040 "C". Just correct your info for next year.

[ChEAr$]

If just a matter of address,

On an efiled and accepted return it seems that I put the wrong state for the taxpayer's Sch C Business address. Is there anything I can or should do to correct this? Should I bring it to the client's attention? In my tax software state is something you select from a list and Windows has a habit of changing such things for me. The problem is not limited to that program.

don't sweat it. However if your software uses the state designation to allocate income
and that gaffe thereby cause tax to be paid to the wrong state, well. . that's a problem.

[erchess]

TY Both

No that particular choice of state does not affect any of the money calculations. As I suspected, the best idea is to do nothing. I don't like making mistakes. I don't like it at all. My instinct when I have made a mistake is to amend but I think in this case that would be another mistake.

[KJ Judd]

On the occasion when I've found something like this, I sometimes will send the client a new copy of that page. With a note saying something like, "when I was doing my final review of your tax return I noticed (insert situation). This will have no tax impact on your returns but I am enclosing an adjusted schedule/form, etc. for your files".

I always worry if the client happens to go somewhere else next year and the new preparer sees it & points it out to my client.

[ChEAr$]

IN such a case,

On the occasion when I've found something like this, I sometimes will send the client a new copy of that page. With a note saying something like, "when I was doing my final review of your tax return I noticed (insert situation). This will have no tax impact on your returns but I am enclosing an adjusted schedule/form, etc. for your files".

I always worry if the client happens to go somewhere else next year and the new preparer sees it & points it out to my client.

there's no way I would send client a new page just for his files. It don't matter one whit,
and nothing is to be gained by it.

[Roland Slugg]

State auto-changed?

I apologize if I am just stating the obvious, but are you sure the state was changed, either by your tax prep program or by Windows? I have never seen Windows do this. If it was, in fact, changed, and wasn't merely entered incorrectly by you and not noticed upon review, try looking at the various preference settings in your tax prep software. If you prepare returns for clients in two or more states, you may have one state set as the default state, and that gets auto-entered in all fields where a state name should go. Also, look at the same client's return for 2006, if you prepared it, and see if the state was correct on that year's Schedule C.

[BOB W]

I apologize if I am just stating the obvious, but are you sure the state was changed, either by your tax prep program or by Windows? I have never seen Windows do this. If it was, in fact, changed, and wasn't merely entered incorrectly by you and not noticed upon review, try looking at the various preference settings in your tax prep software. If you prepare returns for clients in two or more states, you may have one state set as the default state, and that gets auto-entered in all fields where a state name should go. Also, look at the same client's return for 2006, if you prepared it, and see if the state was correct on that year's Schedule C.

I just checked my program ( Ultra Tax CS) and when I put in a different state a window pops up asking if a "res or nonres". so it would be possible for the Schedule C to not be included in the resident state's return.

All you need to do is check the State's return for the inclusion of all income from the Schedule C. If it is there, don't worry. If not, you will have to amend the state's return.

[erchess]

I will try to explain the mechanics

but please bear in mind that my knowledge of computer terminology is weak.

In both of the versions of Orrtax that I have used, most if not all entries of a state are not typed in. Instead one clicks on the space and a menu with a list of your choices appears. You can scroll up and down the list with the arrow keys on your keyboard or by pointing and clicking on either of two little triangles known as arrows. When you see the state you want you click on it to select it, After that, you need to click somewhere on the form other than on one of these sliding scale spaces because if you use the arrow keys on the keyboard or the scrolling part of the touchpad before doing that step, you will change the state you have selected. I am vulnerable to this because I tend to use the arrow keys or the scrolling part of my touchpad to move up and down the page. The solution to my problem is for me to be more careful. I understand the rules I just don't always follow them.

[joanmcq]

I do the same thing, and have had the same problems, but at least it was entering a W-2 and my software said the state didn't match the zip code so I caught it.

[wv112]

In TaxWise we complete the zip code field and the software inputs the city and state info for us.