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Dear Out-of-Town Client, Thank you for leaving three messages yesterday saying you would be here today (Friday). I wasn't really clear on that Monday when you said you would be "in town" Friday, and I said that your return would be ready to pick up Friday. Thank you also that in message # 2 you advised that your cellular telephone would be in the console while you are en route should I need to reach you. Finally, thank you for updating that to "cup holder" in message # 3. Keep in touch.

I am afraid to post this but we just hired a masseuse to come in 2x a month for either chair or table massage, staff choice. Its a better perk than a Yankee game after tax season. For a small extra fee the masseuse will come in after 6:30 so it won't interrupt the work day too much

Dear Client, Yes, I filed your tax return. I guess I did not make myself very clear when I said that if you don't hear from me, everything is fine. Please refer to your client letter, as it will tell you how to find out from www.irs.gov when the money will arrive in your account. As to your 3rd and 4th texts about the projected 21 days that the IRS is stating they will take to get your refund to you, all I can say is call your congressman and ask him to get the IRS off their collective butts and process your refund. FYI - due to the number of texts we have been exchanging today, I will be a little late from work tonight sweetheart, so please put my dinner in the microwave. Your husband and tax preparer, Tom Hollister, CA

My Anniversary is Feb. 25. We were married BEFORE I decided to make taxes my main profession. Will be married 19 years in 18 more days! I do NO tax work that day at all.

1. "Depends on what it involves. Would you like an appointment to discuss it? Or you can email me a copy of last year's return, and a list of any changes in your circumstances, and I can then give you an estimate." 2. "I can't tell you until I know what is involved. Tell me about yourself." 3. "How much dirt's in a hole?" 1 when I'm busy, 2 when I have time to discuss it. 3 when I'm fed up or their tone of voice suggests they are only interested in price. Those are not worth the trouble.

Our anniversary is April 1st. Doug wanted a date he would remember (and should he forget, he can pretend it was on purpose as a gag). This year it falls on a Tuesday so our big night out will be a regularly scheduled pistol team match. We *really* know how to party!

this little, little girl is just SO thrilled being out in the rain! http://www.glennbeck.com/2014/02/06/this-video-will-make-you-really-really-happy/

I agree with michaelmars that you both need to stop. This topic started as FTM questioning his access to the official forum being denied and not being able to contact his friends there, and it is morphing into an argument about the ATX program. ATX will never go back to what it was, but for those of you that are sticking it out, I do hope that this year's program is functional, faster, and meets your expectations and needs. There are a variety of professional programs on the market to choose from, so if ATX isn't a good fit, keep shopping and testing until you find one that is. Please, let's put the discussion about the 2012 program to rest once and for all. It's old news and time to get busy with our current work!

stop it you too, Jack you are happy with this years program and FTM is still mad over last years horror. Can we move on? For all the users I hope Jack is right about the program. But I too lost faith in the company and dropped out of beta testing. You will never convince each other and there are many more issues to discuss

Anything that starts with "Dear Client" from RitaB is going to be funny!

David: *How* do you *know* they can get to other appointments during the day? That is a presumption on our part. *None* of my clients tell me when they can come in and see me. *I* set the appointments, and *I* will reschedule to something that may be more conveinent to the clients. But those times are still within the times I am willing to meet with them. I learned along time ago that folks are going to do what they think they can get away with, And one of those things is forcing you into a 9 pm on Friday night appointment if you let them. My little ol' ladies don't want to drive at night. So they get daytime appointments. My younger clients want weekends, or evenings, I just work with them, but I set up the times I am available, and if that doesn't work for them, then maybe they need someone else, or they can mail it in... Rich

I have a date for Valentine's Day. It's February 14.

super answers! ours is a basic tax return is $60 for 1 W-2 for fed and WI and it goes from there. Mostly charge by time, not forms. If you like you can drop them off and when they are complete we will make an apptmt to pick them up and go over them and you won't need to spend as much time.... or Can we make an apptmt for you? How about March... "If I don't get in today I'm going elsewhere,,,," well after today! Be my guest - Totally full cannot squeeze another apptmt in until March 5th!!! good problem to have!

I have a bushel of golden delicious apples sitting in my office right now. Anybody want one, come on over.

Dear Not Even A Client, Thanks for stopping in at 3:59 and acknowledging that you read the sign on the door that said 8 - 4. Thanks for telling me your tax situation in five minutes, and your epic family history from hell in twenty minutes. No, really, it was fun for me. I will see you on Monday. Can't wait. 8 - 2. New hours for you.

A massage.

If you're rebuilding, you probably want just about everyone. So, you want to work with them enough on the phone to book them an appointment to come in for a free consultation/fee estimate. Get them to bring you their documents and last year's tax return. Once they sit down with you and pour out their financial life to you, they really don't want to do it again with someone else; you've hooked them. RIch gave some great tips about phone presentation to get callers to walk through your door. Also, an elevator/one-minute speech about what you do for a living to everyone, along with a couple of your business cards in their hand. And, tell every client/prospective client that comes in that you have time for new clients. Ask for referrals.

My 10 year anniversary is coming up at the end of the month, and I don't know what to get myself.

I better get an invite to that party!!!

I would think you are right. Which would be a circular 230 violation for a CPA/JD. The invoice is proof that the preparer was paid, and if they did not fill out the bottom of the 1040 as the paid preparer, they are subject to sanctions for failure to sign the return. In addition, if the return was e-filed, the PTIN could be revoked. Why do preparers do this. The penalties are so harsh if you get caught. And for a few bucks. I don't understand it. Tom Hollister, CA

Last year a client brought me chocolate on valentines day! Loved it. (Love chocolate period!)

1 - Add some letters after your name, CPA, EA, MBA... 2 - Take so many clients from your competition that they won't need to stay open late or on weekends.

What is on the bottom of page 2 of the 1040. I am dying to know if they put the firm name and PTIN number on the return? I don't want to know the name, just if the preparer actually filled out the information. Thanks Tom Hollister, CA

Well, I wish you guys would pile on with your own letters. I was hoping for some levity up in here.

Here is a nice detailed article on accountant-client privilege/confidentiality. http://www.aicpa.org/publications/newsletters/aicpacpainsider/2010/june7/pages/theaccountant-clientprivilegedoesitexist.aspx Note that not all States have the same rules. Further, the privilege does not extend to tax preparation nor do they reach the level of an Attorney Client privilege and tax preparation is essentially not considered legal representation so not protected under Attorney Client Privilege. Still I tend to feel it precludes you from turning your client in and possibly from turning in the prior preparer as this is probably not in the best interest of your client and essentially the same thing as turning your client in.

Let them do their own for 2013. Be ready for them to come back for 2014 and then increase their fees. I have many of those. I term them "retread" clients. When they come back, they stay for life. Turbo-Tax, Tax-Act, Freefile and H&R Block are all very good sources of clients for me.

I basically told them here is your outcome and if you want results like last year then you need to go see the former preparer.

Pikestar: The biggest and FIRST question is: Do you need/want more clients? If you don't want that many more clients, then these phone calls are a nuisance. But if you do, then its a matter of your conversion rate. Converting from Phone Call to paying client. Ten years ago, I LOVED those phone calls. I was building my practice. If they had a pulse, they were in... And my conversion rate would run 90% percent. But I developed the drill on the phone. I would ask them their name. Then, how they found out about me.. (What marketing was working, or the referral source, who to shoot later..etc...) A little more about them. Then we could get to talking about tax returns and price. I could always point out that TurboTax is $35 if price was their only concern... Five calls in one day? You must be doing something right. Its easier to answer the phone, when you have a plan for what happens next. Rich

FTM, Since you don't have access to the ATX Official Board, I thought you might want to know that although there are less complaints over there than 2012, the number is still fairly high and the drama still exists. Suggests that CCH/ATX still has not gotten the program fixed for everyone. Guess you made a good decision to move on. From ATX Board:

Drake and I have become friends. I feel good at the end of each day. I know my program will open quickly, work smoothly and give me no trouble! Wow! Once I accepted that it was time for a change and I settled into a routine, I am actually able to concentrate on my clients and their taxes. Nice not to have a knot in my stomach from the stress of wondering what ATX would do / or not do next. Support is quick to answer and very helpful. I am finishing returns in much less time than I have in years. I didn't realize how slow ATX had become. I agree with ATX Master. Glad I am using Drake. All forms are available so far, efile works smoothly, updates are no problem. No special configurations needed in my computer system.. Printing is quick and easy. I edited the client letter and it works like a dream. I keep finding new handy features in Drake the more I work with it. I was very comfortable with ATX, I knew how to get things done and I dreaded the thought of having to learn a new program. I stressed about it last summer and fall, but once I made my final decision and moved forward everything fell into place. Hope you all have a great season whichever software you have chosen. Taxtrio Pam

It starts at $240, depending on what else needs to be filled out it could be more. I need you to fill out a information form and forward your information to me. Also I'll like to look over your 2012 tax return if you have it.

OK Thanks everyone, I really needed the laugh! Still say Janitor Bob put Crazy Mary and Chaz up to all the calls. But he's not responding so we will never know!

Get the DETAILS, not a summary. Not all expenses qualify for the credit

Well, I wouldn't be surprised it was Kimmie. She did seem to have it in for you. As for Drake, it is probably the most forgiving software as far as old and slow systems go. All software vendors tend to exaggerate the hard requirements, because this way they can blame your system when something isn't working quite right (ok that is the conspiracy theorist inside me talking). I have Drake running on a state of the art pc and an antique pc and it screams on both of them. Anyway, they have a free demo of prior years and will have a free 2013 demo available probably in May (it is fully working software btw). You should download and try it. You might be amazed that even on Old Hardware it screams.

I love having a locking drop box now. I have managed to get some of my clients to just drop off, but most insist on seeing me. I don't take weekend appointments anymore and nothing after 6:30. It took me a long time to wean them from the weekend ones, but I don't think that I lost anyone over it. I just explain that I have to have some time to work when there is no one here and the phone isn't constantly ringing. Now if I could just get more of them to give me their email addresses so I don't have to wait until the next day to call them with questions.

"Clients are asking you to alter your times. And you are unwilling to do so..." I don't mind accomodating the clients IF they truly can't get here during the day. But I know that they are able to get to other appointments during the day. It escapes me why they think they can tell CPAs that they can't come in until later in the evening but they would never even think of asking an attorney, doctor, dentist, etc. to do so.

I only have one client who comes in the evening. Some come in the morning or afternoon, but most mail or e-mail their returns.. Only two clients stay here while I prepare their returns--which is the worst option.

How much do I charge? If you have to ask, you can't afford it.

1) "Who referred you?" or 2) "I don't charge at all to review your return from last year. When can you come in?"

We all have a few of those. A few you may be willing to lose. But you might try something that worked for me. As all you long-time members know, I'm very much of the Owl type, while Don was of the Lark type, so he got most all the early bird types. After his stroke, and I was doing it all, I had to retrain some of them, so what I did was to tell them, "I can see you at 2 pm Wed, or 3 pm Thur, or 10 am next Tues." I never made an appointment earlier than 10 am, but did not tell them that. The point was, given those options, many would choose to take the afternoon rather than wait. You could reverse the times, but use the same logic. Allow one day when you do take evening appointments, if you feel you can, but given that those may mean waiting, I'll bet you find that many will realize that they can, in fact, come by during the day after all. It's natural for everyone to ask for the time best for us, but we adapt when we need to.

I'm pretty sure that the credit is only concerned with what was PAID in 2013...so there really is no need for two entries on the worksheet....and you cannot totally rely on the 1098-T to tell you that....in many cases the boxes on the 1098 do not correlate exactly to the amount paid. Some schools put the amount that was actually paid in box 1...but many others (such as my daughter's school) lump everything into box 2...nothing in box 1....I paid almost the entire amount of box 2, but not all...some of it was billed in 2013, but I did not actually pay it until last month....so that portion will be for next tax year. Alternatively, there were amounts that I paid in January 2013 that were actually billed in 2012...so those amounts do not appear in box 2 this year. So in the end, you need to rely on the client to know how much they actually PAID in 2013 and deduct from that the amount of scholarship& grants listed on the 1098 to come up with the amount to enter on the worksheet. The parent or student should be able to support that with school account statements or something.

In the return manager select "Preferences" and then "Print." In the box that appears directly under the first set of checkboxes you'll see a section that says "Default Print Copies." The 4th line down in that section says "Print federal attachments for." Simply clear the checkboxes and Voila! the stupid attachments won't print unless you tell them to when you print a return. Hope this helps! Gina

No, but I do have some clients that bring me a bottle of tequilla or even a 24-pack of beer.

The clients never read the letter anyways. I highlight www.irs.gov and tell them to go there when they don't get their refund. That is the only part of the client letter that they read anyway. Tom Hollister, CA

MAS is correct. The penalty waiver is only for IRA's, not 401K's. Your client did the wrong thing. He should have taken a loan from the 401K rather than a distribution. Alternatively, he could have done a trustee to trustee transfer from the 401K (if the plan allowed early roll overs) to an IRA and then taken the distribution. I have seen this before and it really is a shock when the client learns they did it wrong and have to pay the tax and penalty. A lot of times, they don't even realize that even though the penalty is waived, the distribution is still taxable. Tom Hollister, CA

Since the day CCH closed the community in 2007, I have not even logged in or visited the "Official Community." All the quality members moved over here. I WILL NOT participate in the Official Community. I stated this to all the CCH management people at the CAB in no uncertain terms.

I am good. The update seems to make the program better, and I can now backup to offsite media as well. I suggest you do it. Tom Hollister, CA

I don't see anything wrong with this engagement. Offer to amend the prior year and explain that you are required to tell her about potential consequences of the fraudulent return, which include criminal charges as well as additional tax, penalty and interest. Encourage her to report the preparer herself, with your help if she asks for it. Then give her an organizer and engagement letter in your professional way, and prepare the current return for your ordinary fee.

She graduated college in 2012 and went to the other preparer. After the appointment spoke with her parents and they told her if she did not feel comfortable and they suggested she come see me for 2013 return.

Is she okay with returning the refund she was not entitled too in the first? I can picture her squeezing their butt checks when you tell them, they need to return part of refund and pay penalty and interest, but don't let them fool you, some TP know the game and play innocent when it comes to taxes.