Judy

small employer with minimal hiring.  Their website is not real clear on this.  Says you can post a job free, but what about clicks on your ad or getting resumes from applicants?  What if you hire one of them?

 I ordered an item from Amazon (sold by another seller), to be delivered to an address other than mine.  Shipped thru UPS but then turned over to USPS for delivery.  USPS tracking says "undeliverable, Package held by carrier as customer moved. Please contact Amazon with more address information."  Recipient DID NOT MOVE.

Client age 83 has always taken his rmd on time. This year some kind of miscommunication with custodian (Fidelity) resulted in it not being taken out. Didn't realize it until saw January statements Called Fidelity immediately,rmd now out that should have been 2014. Will file waiver request on form 5329 - how likely to be granted? Any other tips?

What advantages does QB offer over Quicken for categorizing, summarizing and reporting checking account transactions? How well does QB handle payroll and all tax calculations/tracking/reporting for federal, state and local taxes, including unemployment reporting and payments, for a small non-profit with only a few employees, compared to using a service like Paychex? We have been using Quicken. It's being recommended to us that we move to QB, but by someone who is very familiar with QB but not with Quicken. I have no need for things like billing and invoicing.

Thanks for any info you can give me

Anyone have any tips for getting odor out of clothes a cat peed on? Multiple washings haven't done it.

Thanks.

How much is appropriate for a tip for hotel/motel housekeepers? Does it depend on the number of people in the room, how long you stay, or how much of a mess you leave? Say for 2 adults in a room for 4 nights, don't leave a mess so just normal services, room not serviced 2 of the 4 nights, had do not disturb sign up.

What's appropriate for an airport shuttle driver? What about driver inside airport for those carts that take handicapped travelers from gate to gate? What if transport is done one on one in a wheelchair?

Not a question, just info. This just came across IRS newswire. I know people have been asking, and anxious to know:

Issue Number: IR-2013-10

Inside This Issue

IRS To Accept Returns Claiming Education Credits by Mid-February

WASHINGTON - As preparations continue for the Jan. 30 opening of the 2013 filing season for most taxpayers, the Internal Revenue Service announced today that processing of tax returns claiming education credits will begin by the middle of February.

Taxpayers using Form 8863, Education Credits, can begin filing their tax returns after the IRS updates its processing systems. Form 8863 is used to claim two higher education credits -- the American Opportunity Tax Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit.

The IRS emphasized that the delayed start will have no impact on taxpayers claiming other education-related tax benefits, such as the tuition and fees deduction and the student loan interest deduction. People otherwise able to file and claiming these benefits can start filing Jan. 30.

As it does every year, the IRS reviews and tests its systems in advance of the opening of the tax season to protect taxpayers from processing errors and refund delays. The IRS discovered during testing that programming modifications are needed to accurately process Forms 8863. Filers who are otherwise able to file but use the Form 8863 will be able to file by mid-February. No action needs to be taken by the taxpayer or their tax professional. Typically through the mid-February period, about 3 million tax returns include Form 8863, less than a quarter of those filed during the year.

The IRS remains on track to open the tax season on Jan. 30 for most taxpayers. The Jan. 30 opening includes people claiming the student loan interest deduction on the Form 1040 series or the higher education tuition or fees on Form 8917, Tuition and Fees Deduction. Forms that will be able to be filed later are listed on IRS.gov.

Updated information will be posted on IRS.gov.

Situation: 17 year old girl left mom's house in the spring of 2012 where she had been living for a couple years since her parents split, and is staying with dad and grandparents since then. Nothing has been formally changed. Mom still has legal custody, gets food stamps for her, and girl still goes to the high school in mom's district rather than dad's, is dropped off at school or at mom's to take the school bus. (yeah, I know, but I'm not going there on the food stamps or school district, just will be trying to do mom's taxes). Younger sister lives with mom and very rarely visits/stays with dad. Parents alternate years claiming the kids; this year is mom's year.

Mom's income makes her eligible for EIC; dad's does not, is too high. For 2011, mom got EIC for both kids - both lived with her all that year - even though dad claimed them as dependents.

My question, is the older girl temporarily away from home, so eligible for mom to get EIC for her, or does she fail the residency test, so no EIC? Pub 17 says for EIC, someone temporarily away from home is considered living with you during that time. I think "temporarily away" is a real stretch in this case, but would appreciate the opinions of others here. Thanks.

I have a Dell Inspiron 1525 laptop, several years old. Recently it's started suddenly shutting down a couple times a week. If I let it sit for a few minutes, it starts back up fine and stays up ok. What's chances it's just overheating, and if I opened it up and cleaned out the accumulated dust and cat hair, it would be fine? And would this be hard to do? Any tips?

Thanks.

Specifically, this is a group that provides supplemental classes for home-schooled kids. Some parents teach some of the classes, receiving $200 for each term they teach. Can the teachers also be on the board and still be paid for teaching? What if the $200 is in the form of a credit for classes for their kids' classes?

For the entire time of the trip, or is time spent sleeping excluded?