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It was a great day when I realized that "my attorney said" carries exactly the same weight as "my hairdresser said".

Death and taxes I was watching the news Sunday evening and they were interviewing a woman in, I think it was Oklahoma. She was a survivor of the latest tornadoes. She said her whole house was gone, EXCEPT for her office in home. She is a tax preparer. She said she didn’t lose any of her client’s tax returns. (Or her hard work). Now tell me the IRS doesn’t have that good of connections?

.125 returns left to do at home. At the firm where I work, we filed 300+ extensions.

Me too! The last one going out was picked up yesterday. I have 7 extensions, 5 of which are complete but won't be out before the deadline, and the remaining 2 are 99.99% complete. One is waiting on a K-1 from an estate, the other needs basis from a mutual fund.

sigh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is nothing to be worried about. You did everything right and the attorney doesn't have the whole story. Do not provide any other service for this client and just tell their attorney that they wanted you to prepare a return incorrectly and that's why you charged for your time. Let the attorney know that you told the consequences of not paying taxes on their SS and fired them following circ 230.

Perhaps this couple checked around and found that the H&R or the other big chain preparers would charge them a higher fee to prepare their returns than they've already paid to you, and now the wife is trying to get a return from you to file. They've probably already done that, received the same result as your return showed, and they, or the wife, have again demanded their documents back and refused to pay, this time under the pretense of the return being wrong. I think you could ingor the whole thing and be done with it. Or you could attach Form 8948 and also get the signed statement from them that they've requested you not file the returns electronically and give them a completed package. If you do give them a complete package, be sure to attach any W-2s and 1099s showing withholding, and any other required attachments. You might tell the wife that there will be some nominal charge for printing, assembly and signing the return since those functions were not included in the amount they already paid to you. I would not simply give them a copy of the return if you go this route.

He paid me "for my time" as he put it.

You did not charge for a return, so don't give them a return. You don't have to cough up a return just cause somebody came in your office, didn't pay for a return, and their attorney wants you to give them one.

Here is the link in irs.gov. http://www.irs.gov/taxpros/providers/article/0,,id=223832,00.html Explain paper returns Even if you are an authorized e-file provider, clients for whom you prepare one of the returns identified above may choose to file on paper if the return will be submitted to the IRS by the taxpayer. As described in Rev. Proc. 2011-25, tax return preparers in this situation should obtain and keep a signed and dated statement from the client. Also, in this situation and in the cases of administratively exempt returns or returns filed by a tax return preparer with an approved hardship waiver, specified tax return preparers generally should attach Form 8948, Preparer Explanation for Not Filing Electronically, to the client's paper return.

The statement he signed should protect you just fine. Ignore her, and ignore the lawyer, who probably did not have the full story anyway, if he got his info from her !!!!!

Attorneys like to flex. If you were paid for your time, then of course you can bill for your time. What do they think they are doing when they sit in your deposition, texting another client, billing you both?