[jeff]

Trying something new…

[littlenumberrobot]

Good luck cpatime and tru1316…. cant even imagine being that close to freedom!!

@Cardea – you are far ahead of me already. I admit I am cramming a little but I want to test in this window so I can take AUD before busy season. I'll take these again if I have to during busy season.

CA CPA - All because of the journey listed below
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FAR - 53('10), 8/25/12 79 PASSED!
REG - 66('11), 69('12), 12/06/12 77 PASSED!!
BEC - 58('10), 74('12), 01/05/13 77 PASSED!!!
AUD - 43('11), 66('12), 69('13), 74('13) 7/29/13 85 PASSED!!!!!

(Combinations of Roger, Yaeger, Wiley Book, Wiley TB, & NINJA Notes)

Ethics 90%

[Anonymous]

Thanks Tru/Little, good luck to us all.

[Anonymous]

Kudos to Jeff for the email about the special December test window! I scheduled the time I wanted on a Sunday thanks to the early heads up. I can definitely use the extra time.

[Anonymous]

I just rescheduled since the testing window was extended an extra week. An extra week is just what I need.

Thanks Jeff for letting us know!

[Anonymous]

@littlenumberrobot Busy season will be rough, but it's good you want to get it over with! I'm in grad school and have only night classes so I have so much time to study. I CANNOT imagine studying for this exam and working full time!

[littlenumberrobot]

@Cardea Lol. Just like I cannot imagine how some people do this study thing, work FT and husband/wife AND KIDS!! But everyone just has to adapt with their lifestyle and get it done! Good think I like REG, I'm not looking forward to AUD. Got through Fed Sec, ethics, accountants responsbility and employment rules today…. time for business structures….

CA CPA - All because of the journey listed below
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FAR - 53('10), 8/25/12 79 PASSED!
REG - 66('11), 69('12), 12/06/12 77 PASSED!!
BEC - 58('10), 74('12), 01/05/13 77 PASSED!!!
AUD - 43('11), 66('12), 69('13), 74('13) 7/29/13 85 PASSED!!!!!

(Combinations of Roger, Yaeger, Wiley Book, Wiley TB, & NINJA Notes)

Ethics 90%

[momto5]

I need help BIG TIME with this Accumulated Earnings Credit. I have seen 3 different ways of arriving at the credit amount, and all 3 ways give me a different answer!

As an example, let's say the Beginning E&P (which is the same as the ending E&P from the prior year) is $100,000 and the reasonable needs of the corporation = $75,000, giving an excess of $25,000. Using those numbers:

-Becker's calculation example on pg R3-42 says the credit is $250,000 minus the excess ($25,000), which would be a $225,000 credit.

-The NINJA Notes say on page 46 that the credit is the greater of $250,000 or the legitimate balance based on future needs (the $75,000), so the credit would be the whole $250,000.

When I did a search online, I found 2 resources that basically said the credit is the greater of :

$250,000 minus accumulated earnings at end of prior tax year (Beginning E&P of $100,000), which would = $150,000 in my example

OR

the portion retained for reasonable needs, which was $75,000 in my example

…..therefore equaling a credit of $150,000.

So which one is correct? And how can I be sure?

FAR - 92 (4/27/12)
AUD - 96 (7/17/12)
BEC - 92 (8/30/12)
REG - 91 (11/12/12)

[momto5]

OK, I did some more research and came up with the following:

First of all, in my example above, I used the $75,000 incorrectly by calling it both the current reasonable needs and the total reasonable needs, so my example was flawed. This makes better sense if the numbers are as follows:

Beg. E&P = $200,000

Reasonable needs from current E&P = $300,000

Total reasonable needs = $500,000 (say they are buying a new building)

Then………..the credit is the GREATER of:

$250,000 less the Beg. E&P, which would equal $50,000

OR

Reasonable needs from current E&P, which equals $300,000

Being that the MINIMUM credit is $250,000, but this company can justify needing more than that, they can take a credit of $300,000 and would be taxed on the balance, if any.

Basically that is what I have been able to come up with. Doesn't match with Becker very well, and the NINJA Notes don't mention subtracting the Beginning E&P at all, but this makes the most sense to me and matches what I have found online. In a nutshell, for the credit, take the greater of:

(1) $250,000 minus Beginning E&P OR (2) the amount of the current earnings that are justifiably needed

If anyone thinks this is incorrect, please explain. I have been spending way too much time on trying to figure this out and, more than likely, I will not get even one question about this on my exam. You know how that goes!

FAR - 92 (4/27/12)
AUD - 96 (7/17/12)
BEC - 92 (8/30/12)
REG - 91 (11/12/12)

[tzuyuwen]

I have one question reagarding partnership section. What does it mean for the following sentence?

“A three-month deferral (Oct., Nov., Dec.) is the maximum permitted.”

[momto5]

It means that your fiscal year (if you don't use a calendar year) must end either September 30, October 31, or November 30. If your fiscal year is from Sept. 30, 2011 to Sept. 30, 2012, for example, then the taxes for the three months Oct, Nov, and Dec. of 2011 will be applicable to fiscal year ended September 30, 2012.

If you had used a calendar year, the income for Oct – Dec. of 2011 would be included in the return due in April of 2012. By choosing an earlier end of fiscal year, you would be deferring the taxes for Oct – Dec. income until 2013. Therefore, the earliest you can end your fiscal year is September 30th because a 3 month deferral is the longest allowed.

I hope my explanation made sense.

FAR - 92 (4/27/12)
AUD - 96 (7/17/12)
BEC - 92 (8/30/12)
REG - 91 (11/12/12)

[Faintear]

About to start studying for REG. What should I be looking forward to…?

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone!

I scheduled REG for Dec 6th- I had to reschedule from Nov 30th due to the hurricane- so that gives me a limited amount of time to study. I look forward to this study group.

[abacus]

Hey, faintear and El Fernandez. I just recently started studying for REG as well. I am using CPA excel and supplementing with Yaeger/Wiley. I haven't scheduled my exam yet (waiting to see if I passed FAR so I can save money on my NTS fees if I need to purchase both), but plan to sit Nov 30 or the first week of Dec, depending on availability. Good luck to you both!

BEC 81
AUD 76
FAR 70, 76
REG 58, 78! DONE!

"I am not my intentions. I am my actions."

[Anonymous]

Good luck to you as well Abacus!

[G35]

Aghh…Chapter 3 (Becker) is such a drag.. I need to find some motivation… somewhere…

AUD 88 | FAR 79 | BEC 81 | REG 82 |

[Author]

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