1. This Monroe County resident client is married, both spouses are under 64 and they have two children, ages 12 and 7. The client has $62,000 in W2 wages and owns a home. Documents that the client has:
2. Spouse #1 W2 shows access to medical insurance through the employer for the family, has $3,200 paid in New York State income taxes that were withheld, $4,800 in 401K contributions and $620 in union dues paid.
3. A mortgage interest statement shows $8,500 in interest paid on their home, which is located on a hill overlooking Lake Ontario.
4. A bank loan statement for their Class A motor coach (RV) that includes $3233 in interest and $6212 paid towards the principal
5. A bank statement for a home equity loan in spouse #2’s name that shows $1,200 in interest and $3,000 paid towards the principal
6. Receipts from the rental of their home for 13 days for the total sum of $13,000 during the month of July.
7. A receipt from the town showing $4,150 in town and county property taxes
8. A receipt from the school district showing $3,300 in school taxes related to their property value
9. A copy of their 2014 taxes which includes a coversheet showing $700 paid to their prior tax preparer for that work

They also provide this information:

• They paid $200 per week during the school year to a relative to babysit for the kids
• When they rented the house out, they paid $350 for a cleaning service and $150 for lawn services. The family went to visit out-of-state friends during that time and spent $1,500 for gas, food and other expenses related to the trip
• Spouse #2 is a part-time student at a local college and a volunteer at a local not-for-profit
• Spouse #2 opened the home equity line of credit in 2014 and the amount used in 2015 paid for new furniture, a vacation to Maui and a payoff on their credit card debt

Questions:

What else do you need to know/what is missing? What other documents do you need?

What numbers provided above are important to your ability to complete their taxes?

What forms will be completed when you use the software to complete their taxes?

2. This client is single, is 25 years old and has the following documents:

• A W2 which shows she has access to medical insurance through the employer and that she contributed $3,000 towards an HSA, has $1,500 paid in New York State income taxes that were withheld, and did not contribute to any retirement. Her total taxable income was $13,200.
• Rent receipts for $900 per month from September through December
• A log listing all of her job hunting expenses, including several trips to Rochester with overnight hotel or friend’s home stays
• Receipts from her move from Syracuse, NY to Rochester NY: $1,300 from the movers, $500 lease cancellation from her Syracuse landlord, a $200 hotel receipt for the nights she stayed in Henrietta before she could move into the apartment, $60 in food receipts and $40 in kennel costs for her cats while she was in the hotel
• The form from Syracuse University showing that she paid $13,000 in tuition and fees from her final semester of undergraduate study
• A form from NELNET showing she paid $800 school loan interest in 2015
• A receipt from DMV showing that she paid $48 to New York State for her car’s two year registration

She also provides this information

• She owned a home in Syracuse until August 29^th and was working full time while she went to college. She lost the W2 and can’t find her house closing statement. She’s asked the employer and her prior mortgage holder to send her copies.
• Her grandparents gave her $8,000 and her parents gave her $7,000 to help pay for her final semester college costs.
• She transferred with her current company to work at their Rochester office as their offer was better than any of those she received in her job hunt
• Her job in Syracuse was in the manufacturing plant where she wore jeans and T-shirts to work. The new job in Rochester is an office job in the legal department. She had to buy new working clothes that she believes she can only wear to work (suits, blazers, shoes, etc.) and spent $1,600 of her graduation gift money for the clothing.

Questions:

• What else do you need to know/what is missing? What other documents do you need?
• What numbers provided above are important to your ability to complete her taxes?
• What forms will be completed when you use the software to complete her taxes?

3. This client is a married couple, ages 48 and 50. Their children are grown and live in different states. They have the following documents:

• Spouse #1 has a W2 which shows no medical insurance, has $700 in New York State income taxes that were withheld, $1500 in 401K contributions and salary of $28,000
• Spouse #2 owns a shoe repair shop. A summary page from QuickBooks shows $70,000 revenue and $30,000 in expenses which include rent for a small retail space and other valid expenses such as utilities. Receipts from the IRS show $15,000 in estimated tax payments.
• A mortgage interest statement showing $5,200 in interest paid on their home and $8,800 in principal paid.
• Receipts from a trip they took to a shoe convention in Miami in January. Travel expenses for the 4 day convention were $2,000 and meals were $600.
• A receipt from the town showing $3,350 in town and county property taxes
• A receipt from the school district showing $3,700 in school taxes related to their property value
• A police report that shows their home was robbed while they were in Miami and an insurance form showing $7,000 reimbursement towards $10,000 value of the stolen property and a smashed window.
• Their December statement showing bank interest earned on their joint checking account, $22

They also provide this information:

• Spouse #2 works at the shoe repair business on the weekends
• They didn’t know much about the Affordable Care Act, so they just signed up for the Gold plan at a cost of $900 per month and paid the bill directly to the insurer. They were covered for the full year.
• They’ve been thinking about an IRA but haven’t put any money into one

Questions:

What else do you need to know/what is missing? What other documents do you need?

What numbers provided above are important to your ability to complete their taxes?

What forms will be completed when you use the software to complete their taxes?

4. This client is 67 and retired at the end of November. She has the following documents:

• A W2 which shows earnings of $125,000; medical insurance coverage, has $11,000 paid in New York State income taxes that were withheld, $12,000 in 401K contributions
• A mortgage interest statement showing $10,600 in interest paid on her home and $22,000 in principal paid.
• A receipt from the town showing $8,020 in town and county property taxes
• A receipt from the school district showing $7,300 in school taxes
• Her December brokerage statement showing stock dividends of $7,000
• Charity receipts for $6,000; a receipt for the donation of a car valued at $2,800 and political campaign contributions of $2,000.
• A 1098 from the University of Rochester for $15,000 in tuition for her 23 year grandson who was her dependent until May when he moved to Alaska for his new job.
• The sales contract from her November purchase of a Nissan Leaf: $32,000 plus $2,560 in New York State sales tax.
• A log and plastic bag with receipts for miscellaneous itemized expenses such unreimbursed work expenses, tax preparation fees, safe deposit box rental fees and job hunting expenses related to her job search in San Francisco (she decided to stay here). The total of these expenses is $14,000.

She also tells you that:

• She has no other income and won’t take Social Security until next year. She’ll be living on funds from her investments this year.
• She has applied for and will be covered by Medicare
• Her New York State income tax refund for 2014 overpayment, received in April, was $845
• She volunteers regularly at the Veterans’ Outreach, at least once per week. During the holidays, she generally puts $20-$25 in the Salvation Army buckets.

Questions:

What else do you need to know/what is missing? What other documents do you need?

What numbers provided above are important to your ability to complete her taxes?

What forms will be completed when you use the software to complete her taxes?

5. Your last client of the day is a father, age 28. His documents include:

• A receipt from Rochester Playful Child Care for $2,000
• His December bank statement showing $2,000 in interest
• A W2 from his Rochester full time job where he earned $18,000, was covered by medical insurance and had no retirement account contributions. He started this job in October.
• Receipts from his move from Albany to Rochester in September. The total cost was $300 for the truck rental and $500 for his apartment deposit.
• A closing costs statement in his girlfriend’s name for the home she purchased in August where they both live now

He also tells you that:

• He did not hold a full time job while in Albany and he lived in an apartment, for which he paid $800 rent per month
• His adopted son, Jake, is 3 years old, the adoption was finalized in April and he has asked his attorney to summarize the costs for him.
• He received a monthly check from Social Services for his son for January – March when he was still Jake’s foster parent.
• He received a $250,000 life insurance payout in 2014 when his aunt passed away and he uses money from that whenever needed. The remainder of that money is in the bank account for which he supplied the bank statement above.
• He makes the mortgage payments, pays for utilities and his girlfriend pays the other home related costs. Total monthly costs to maintain the home are $1,600 and his monthly contribution to that amount is $1,200.

Questions:

• What else do you need to know/what is missing? What other documents do you need?
• What numbers provided above are important to your ability to complete his taxes?
• What forms will be completed when you use the software to complete his taxes?