Catherine

The forms may also insidiously end up being issued years afterwards, when the taxpayer is no longer insolvent. Then it can become taxable income.

Here you go, Gail. https://www.gocomics.com/frazz/2024/04/13

Maybe institute a per-call fee, so you try hard yourself before calling. Even a small fee of $1 to $5 per call would make a lot of folks look things up themselves first.

I definitely have a few in mind to fire. However, I'll wait until I've recovered a bit before making final determinations. Drake tracks time on a return (so I leave the client's return open when I'm doing anything with their documents) and one of the things I'll do is go back through 'em all and compare what I charged with what my time-billing fee would have been. Anyone whose time-bill is substantially more than the per-form charge is high on the list of candidate for firing.

On occasion I'll send an extension form with recommendations, or (for those internet-savvy) a link to Direct Pay. Up to them, though. I'm not their mommy and they're supposed to be grownups!

I cover these two in the upcoming webinar. Don't know about ATX any longer 'cuz I bailed in the 2012 filing season. I always learn more from case studies than the ivory-tower practice cases where all the numbers line up perfectly.

This one is online and 2 CPEs. No plans at the moment to go somewhere live. Got a group that wants to invite me?

I also note is is very limited in time, and only for the day before the due date. They are also asking people only to call in with time-sensitive issues rather than general questions.

Yes, a very heartfelt thank you to Eric, the moderators, and every colleague who reads and posts here. Without you, I would be bereft of what small dregs of sanity remain to me.

When there is NO information on which to base anything - no papers at all, a client who varies year to year from owing v getting refunds - the worst that happens, that I see, is that the IRS invalidates the extension later. But they may not. If there ends up being a refund, you have extended the statute for collecting that refund an additional 6 months. I have a couple of clients who show up every 3 years, with 3 years' worth of documents in hand. I put in extensions, every year, just in case. They know the risks (as they get told, by yours truly) and if they don't pay anything it's all on them. I figure it's worth a try, for minimal effort on my part.

It was supposed to be!

Next lesson: we cannot allow ourselves to care more than the client does. Care about the quality of our work, yes! Care more than they about penalties for being late? Nope. And I at least have to re-learn this every couple of years.

You'd get to see the (totally staged) photo of me hiding under my desk with a bottle of whiskey, when the full extent of the debacle becomes known...

Somewhere in the stack-o-stuff there is a breakdown of the per-condo improvement amounts, that I will dig out after 4/15. Thanks, guys!