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Giving your spouse a signal and have her/him ring the doorbell works too!!! I just had an epiphany!! My doorbell is wireless. I get another button and mount it under my desk!! No need for spouse to ring the bell!!!

Itzhak Perlman was playing a solo in front of an orchestra, when one of his strings broke. He swapped his fiddle for the concertmaster's, and kept going. Another string broke. So he kept going, making adjustments on the fly. When asked later on, he said, "Sometimes the point is to see how much music you can make with what you have left."

I am in the process of "preview testing" the new software. My sales rep also called me. I was very straight forward to the fact that unless I am satisfied with the "preview test" (beta test for the non-politically correct group) I perform, that their software is not even on the radar. Stay tuned. As I go through the beta testing, I will post my opinions. The non-disclosure agreement I signed will keep me from giving out details. Rest assured you will get my HONEST and COMPLETE opinions of the software as I brutally and mercilessly beta test it. Anyone who has followed my posts during the past tax season will know that I may be the toughest test they have to pass. Stay tuned!!

A woman walks into a post office one day to see a middle-aged, balding man standing at the counter methodically placing "Love" stamps on bright pink envelopes with hearts all over them. He then takes out a perfume bottle and starts spraying scent all over them. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she goes up to the balding man and asks him what he is doing. The man doesn't even look up, and says, "I'm sending out 1,000 Valentine cards signed, 'Guess who?'" She watches as he continues with his work -- he clearly is on a mission. "But why?" asks the woman. "I'm a divorce lawyer," the man replies.

We will have both, if we decide to try ATX for 2013. Can't take the chance. I just spent 40 minutes on the phone with a new (3 1/2 months) design manager for 2013. After some in-depth technical discussion, my hopefulness is increased. Still waiting to see what happens when "the rubber meets the road" in the beta testing.

Anyone received a call from ATX lately? I took a call yesterday and the agent was asking me to commit to the software. I let her know I would purchase the software after they shipped it to me and I loaded it and confirmed that it worked properly. She said they need a commitment and some money down to do that. I said don't you have 30 day temp license to try the software, she said no. So I told her I would start looking for new software today then. I did not have too many problems after the first couple weeks and the software worked, but I am not into reloading the software countless times and spending countless hours with support until it runs this year. This was my first year using ATX, after running Ultra Tax for the last 15 years. I then talked to her manager and explained that there was no way in hell I was committing any money to ATX until I received a working program. She said if I did not give a commitment that they would not even contact me unless there was some new program put into place. She then proceeded to practically beg me to commit even $50.00 to set me up. I basically hung up while she was still begging after telling her the same thing about ten times. What is wrong with this company?????

When I did walk in clients I would do estimates for $20 and tell them if they came back to me to get the complete return prepared and filed that $20 would be a credit to the final bill. I suppose we could do something similar with these walking and talking advice customers??

If you think about it logically, ATX was a very good tax prep software prior to 2012. I know the platform was ancient and they wanted to rewrite it for the next generation of software evolution. The question is how much was Mr Gramlich involved in the "weeds" of that development. What sunk their ship was an inappropriate implementation of the Raven DB (we went over this stuff 6 months back). I don't think the top executive is involved in that deep weeds but ultimately bears the responsibility for the success and failure. I would put the blame more on the leadership of their software development dept. May be the beta testers know this but has any major change happened in their IT dept since this fiasco? Did they ever fix the responsibility and accountability for the root cause of this problem?

I love KC's advice. I was mainly thinking of using the phone (or kettle on the stove; mine is always there, too) for a colleague who calls to run stuff by me. Well, I do the same sometimes with her as we have different areas of specialty. She can get really long-winded, though, and just *has* to tell me the exact same story in the exact same words three times running. If it's a short story I let it run out but the longer ones... halfway through the 2nd iteration I excuse myself. She's a smart lady, a nice person, and is a good sounding board in a number of areas, but she also has poor social skills, not enough friends (as a result of the former), and has trouble knowing when to stop talking. She's the one I was thinking of.

AGES AGO, before I even started doing tax work, I had a 'friend' who could talk the ears off a basset hound. I always kept a teapot on the top of my stove, so that when I could take no more I could honestly say "I have to go, I've got something on the stove." Then just hang up fast. To this day, I keep 'something on the stove'! That was long before caller ID, today it's easier to avoid such call, of course, but cell phones reduce that somewhat. But in the office, I do think frankness is best. Simply tell them, "Sorry, but I've already given you the best advice I can, I can not do the return for you unless you are willing to pay me. The tax laws are very specific about tax advice." Then, if they ask "How much?" you say "$XX in advance". You may offer a reduced rate, but if you do, be sure you tell them that. Example: "My normal charge for that is $300, because of your circumstances I will do it for you, this one time, for $150, but since I am giving you a big discount I need to be paid up front."

Most of us have needed a fresh start at one point or another in life. I'd hate to think that every mistake I made would have dogged me for the rest of my career, especially since many of those mistakes were muti-faceted, complex, and often involved other people also dropping the ball along with me. I also know from personal experience that I have learned much more from my mistakes than from my successes - that's just the way things work in life. So I wish him well and hope he succeeds in his new endeavor.

>>> only because this woman picks my brains about beating the system. I have a cousin who is a plumber but think he knows more about taxes than plumbing. Every time he starts by saying hey I want to run this idea by you, I say if you tell me I have to put it down on the return. That stops him every time with his crazy beating the system ideas. He is a cash basis plumber and once wanted to deduct like $8K in uncollectable billings as a business expense? Tells me all the plumbers he knows do it?

You don't need an actual friend at all. You could go to the cell phone's settings and adjust the volume of the ring and it will start playing, or play one of the sample ringtones. Here, I could also simply point at the doorbell button and at least 2 of my dogs would start barking.

We are all starting at the same time.

I only give very general tax advice or information for free. PERIOD. Leeches do not ever lose their apatite. Stop being the "nice gal" and expect to get paid for the skills, knowledge and experience you have.

I just got off the phone with one. YIKES!!! Today must be the day. Phone has been ringing steady. Fax this, check that, I never got my refund, I don't believe I have made a penny today. Am going to run away from home!

You should have a SAVE ME buddy, I get many calls for free advice, I have an office so all my calls are via the office phone, I don't use my cell phone during office hours, so what I do is I text my good friend "Save me" and she calls my cell phone right away. I put the cell phone to up the telephone and tell whomever is on the line, I need to let you go, I have a very important call I need to attend. Then I just simply thank my friend for saving me, works every time.

I used TaxAct before I got involved with TRX. I switched only because TaxAct doesn't support 1040-NR. I went back to them after the TRX-Fiasco of 2012 (I wanted to cut back on 1040-NR returns due to various reasons...so this was a great excuse). I was very happy with TaxAct...and plan on using them again.

News From the Swamp: IRS Expands Its Troubles The inspector general for the Social Security Administration (SSA) recently published a report revealing that the IRS routinely neglects to penalize employers who file W-2s with mismatched names and Social Security numbers. In effect, this has "hindered" the SSA's attempts to prevent "unauthorized noncitizens" (illegal aliens) from using fake or stolen Social Security numbers to obtain tax refunds. "Furthermore," said the report, "a senior employment tax official at the IRS acknowledged that unauthorized noncitizens accounted for a high percentage of inaccurate wage reporting." This isn't surprising, given that the IRS has issued an astounding $14 billion in refundable tax credits to illegals. In other IRS news, National Review's Eliana Johnson reports, "The second in command at the Internal Revenue Service, Beth Tucker, will retire at the end of September." As we noted in July, Tucker is one of the IRS employees who "commutes" to DC from her Texas home at obscene cost. Travel policy has since been changed. Baby steps. Finally, Republicans on Capitol Hill are still working on the investigation into IRS targeting of Barack Obama's political opponents in the lead-up to the 2012 election. Lois "Plead the Fifth" Lerner, the IRS official at the center of the scandal, remains on vacation since her May non-testimony, though Republicans still hope to compel her testimony. Exit question: Does anyone trust the IRS to implement ObamaCare?

I just faxed in my non-disclosure agreement. My testing starts on Sept 9.

A farmer lived in ancient Rome. He was working in the fields one day when he came across a giant strawberry, about one foot wide and 18 inches high. He thought this would be a novelty that many would want to see, so he took it home, washed it off, and set up a display in a case. He advertised the giant strawberry far and wide, and people came from all over to see the exhibit. He charged admission and made a pile of money. However, he failed to report his earnings to the tax authorities, so they came to his farm to confiscate the exhibit. When they arrived at his door, he said, "I suppose you have come all this way to admire my exhibit as well?" "No," they said. "We've come to seize your berry, not to praise it."

"How was your golf game, dear?" asked Jack's wife Tracy. "Well, I was hitting pretty well, but my eyesight's gotten so bad I couldn't see where the ball went." "But you're seventy-five years old, Jack!" admonished his wife, "Why don't you take my brother Scott along?" ... "But he's eighty-five and doesn't even play golf anymore," protested Jack. "But he's got perfect eyesight. He could watch your ball," Tracy pointed out. The next day Jack teed off with Scott looking on. Jack swung, and the ball disappeared down the middle of the fairway. "Do you see it?" asked Jack. "Yup," Scott answered. "Well, where is it?" yelled Jack, peering off into the distance. "I forgot."