[jeff]

Welcome to the Q1 2017 CPA Exam Study Group for REG. 🙂

Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS) | Another71 | NINJA CPA | NINJA CMA | NINJA CPE

[HoosierCPA]

@namstut wow! That's pretty bad. Makes you wonder how many of them just slop together you return and take your money. Like @re2pect says you can go back 3 years to file an amended return…might be a real possibility in your case! If you don't mind me asking where were his big misses? Just crazy

FAR - 78
REG - 72,74,71...please just go away REG nobody likes you!
BEC - 82
AUD - Aug 16

[Namstut]

@re2pect, I am planning on checking my prior returns. Already got the box out!

And I use Becker for FAR.

@dtatham10, the mistakes weren't really anything that was heavily concentrated on for personal tax, it's just the fact that in the past I wasn't even reviewing. This time I recalculated each line and googled items I wasn't sure about. 🙂

This year he messed up on my form 8889. He listed my HSA contribution in the employer line so it was an additional income to me, but my employer does not contribute to my HSA. Then he did not enter my eligible disbursements in the correct line so they were taxed at 20%! And he missed one of the two 1099-SA forms.
He also missed one of my mortgage interest statements (we refinanced and we had 2 1098-T forms this year) so my itemized deductions were lower than they were supposed to, and on top of everything else he did not include my losses from investments. The passive losses were a new item for 2016 return but the info was there. I am surprised he did not ask about it and just ignored it.

Just overall, a very sloppy job!! It's a good thing I looked!

AUD 7/6/16 Passed
BEC 9/3/16
FAR TBD
REG TBD

[cpaMD86]

Oh wow, those are some bad screw ups. Specially because they're rudimentary principles.

FAR: 9/3

[RE2PECT]

@Namstut- It must have been someone else in this group that I was talking to about Roger for FAR.

@dtatham10- Today is one of those days where I'm just going through the motions and keep making stupid mistakes. I'm sure my son waking up at 4am has something to do with it lol.

FAR: 75 Roger & Ninja (notes/flashcards/audio/MCQ)
AUD: 73, 81
BEC: 71, retake 8/29
REG:

[CPYay]

@cpaMD86 Thanks! When are you sitting for your exam? How are you feeling about REG?

[cpaMD86]

@cpyay

I pushed it to March 9th. It's crazy, it feels like we were just starting FAR yesterday.

It's going well, but it definitely didn't start this way. Like with BEC, the MCQs became disheartening very quickly. I was doing terrible at the start, but it's all coming together now. There's just so much material and detail.

I've gone through all of Ninja MCQs, and am now going through Roger's Tax questions. He has some good ones in there that weren't in Ninja. I'll start looking at Roger SIMs soon.

How about yourself?

FAR: 9/3

[CPYay]

Seriously! I can't believe I'm one away. My family is heavily pushing for my success too haha. They're tired of me being “busy” all the time.

BEC was a nightmare for me. It was all over the place and I couldn't nail down one area.

I got through all the Roger videos for REG and started doing MCQs this past Saturday. I was killing it up until last night. Some of the questions are obscure, so I know it's going to be a long month. I'm solely using Ninja MCQ right now. Just doing batches of 20 until I notice I'm getting repeats. Then I'll switch it to “new”.

We're a month away though. Finish line is in sight.

[jjjgolf47]

Is common carrier liability based on strict liability always assumed to be the case, or does the risk of loss lie with either the buyer or seller unless specified?

Thanks!

PS. Sorry for the boring Contracts question…

[jordancole]

Hey Guys — got a conceptual question. How can you have a gift taxes paid credit AND an applicable credit [the applicable credit is the (All Gifts Even Given – Total Exclusion Amount) X Unified Estate/Gift Tax Rate)]

In my understanding it can't be both b/c they're mutually exclusive….if you have left over exclusion then you have a credit and won't have a gift tax. If you pay a gift tax it is only when you have exhausted your lifetime exclusion amount. The question related to the confusion is as follows:

Assuming the tax law in effect for 2016, which of the following may be offset against the calculated amount of tentative estate tax to determine the estate tax payable with the estate tax return?

Applicable
credit

Prior gift
taxes paid

The answer is that both may be offset against the calculated amount of tentative estate tax.

Unless it's as simple as either one can be applied at SOME point in time instead of BOTH at the SAME time, I need some clarification.

Thanks!

[cpaMD86]

@CPYay

Yeah, my wife and toddler are definitely ready for me to finish lol.

BEC was painful. It was painful sitting for it, and was worse waiting for the score.

I did all new questions in batches of 20 for REG to get through them all first. There's so many BLAW questions though, they get annoying.

I can't wait to be finished with this exam. I finished my MBA and came straight to the CPA Exam. I am ready for a vacation.

FAR: 9/3

[norseman88]

@jordan doubt you see a question with that difficulty on the exam, don't waste your time trying to figure it out.

[HoosierCPA]

@re2pect I know what you mean. My studying has been great until the last 2 days. It's like as exam day approaches my anxiety shoots up and I lose focus trying to rush through material–all of a sudden easy concepts don't come so easy! Frustrating.

FAR - 78
REG - 72,74,71...please just go away REG nobody likes you!
BEC - 82
AUD - Aug 16

[RE2PECT]

@ dtatham10- He started doing this almost every night about 3 weeks before I took REG the first time. I really hope it's not happening again because he was up at 4 again today smh.

I know all too well about the exam day jitters. Just have to trust that you know this stuff and try not to second guess yourself. Easier said than done when there's so much pressure on us to get these exams over with.

FAR: 75 Roger & Ninja (notes/flashcards/audio/MCQ)
AUD: 73, 81
BEC: 71, retake 8/29
REG:

[CPYay]

@cpaMD86

I actually enjoy studying for REG (compared to the others). I don't cringe right before starting a set haha. I suppose I should have gone the tax route..

Congrats on completing the MBA. A CPA/MBA combo is solid. I was thinking of going down that road, but promised my family I would be done studying for a while. In due time I suppose.

What do you plan to do once finished?

[cpaMD86]

@CPYay

I too enjoy the material. AUD had to be of been the worst to study – it was very dry.
Thank you. I needed some additional credits, so I decided to purse the MBA with an Accounting Emphasis to get the best of both worlds. I double majored in college, hence the lack of credits.

I'll be taking a break from any form of studies for a bit, but I'll be back on something soon. I am always seeking self-improvement. Six Sigma certifications are an option I've played around with, but we'll see. I've been with my organization going on 6 years, and I still feel like I have a lot to learn here (and in general with accounting). It's funny that some see that a CPA designation and immediately believe you're the expert. I feel a bit away from that, so I need to learn and overcome that. I've seen that mentioned by others as well. Plus, I didn't work in public. Out of college I went straight into private industry (health). I am 30 now, so achieving this is definitely better late then never. Just have to overcome this last exam. I've learned a lot while prepping for the exam, so I will definitely leverage that and continue to grow within the organization.

How about you?

FAR: 9/3

[Author]

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