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I know, we all have war stories but I just need to rant about this one for a minute. 80 years old, always had a interior design s corp, doesn't understand any question I ask her. Can't be bothered to answer any questions once I get her stuff. She generally just tells me her whole schedule and why she can't get me anything else because she is so busy. Still skis (at 80, which I admire) but doesn't have time for anything else. Then asks why her taxes aren't done. I'm sure she has done this for years with other preparers but I've had her now for about 7 years. I think she is overpaying in taxes but if I don't get answers, I take the conservative approach. I hate to inconvenience my clients so by asking for information.

I never change the date. I enter the date when I'm done and I create the efile. Even if they sign it 3 months later, I never change the date/recreate the efile. I've been efiling since the late 90s. If they ever want to talk to me, I'll explain the realities of being a tax preparer.

I also love it when you tell them their return is ready, and they run down their entire schedule for the next week trying to think it through as to when they will be there to pick up. We really don't care, just pick up.

I am so tired that nothing is funny. When it gets to be this time of night, my hand and the mouse don't agree with each other. And, of course, this is the stage when you call a client and nobody is home so you have to move on to another one and then forget what you were doing on the last one. We are such a silly bunch.

...................

husband and wife only have w-2s. kids left last year. Told them in 2012 that next year - 2013 - they would lose kids and credits and would need to visit HR to up withholdings. In 2013 they owed $2500 and had fits. took money out of IRA - of course - to pay tax. Told them again - go to HR. Printed a W-4 for them. Get withholding changed.........yep........in 2014 they owed $4500. Withholdings went down....... They are letting everyone know that next year they are going somewhere else. good....

Client came to pick up return. W2 income only. No deductions. Had substantially more income than last year but had less withholding. Is not getting the same refund as last year (really?). Will take return for a second opinion. I spent 20 minutes I didn't have explaining. I feel like I am either going to cry or scream. This is ridiculous.

Love the popcorn emoticon, but some days would like to have an emoticon that is knocking back a quick shot. *sigh*

I forgot to GET tips. My bad.

Sick lady, very complicated return, caregiver has wasted so much of my time, "handling" the taxes, took the trouble to write down every medical expense, every donation (there are hundreds), didn't add anything together. I ask her on one of her visits where I find out everything I never needed to know: "Did she make any estimated tax payments?" Caregiver: "No." Then more yakking. She and sick lady pick up yesterday. Caregiver: "You know, I meant to ask you why she was writing checks to United States Treasury. I didn't really know what to do with those." I almost told her what to do with them.

I change nothing.

Ditto

TMI? I was just trying to put on a false front of modesty. I thought it was a masterpiece of prose! Yeah, I know. TMI

I don't change anything either.

I do nothing.

This popcorn is like regular popcorn on CRACK!

I really feel like I am losing it. Most recent phone call: "I am doing my own return in _________ software, but I need you to tell me where to enter 'X' and 'Y'." Seriously. As someone else said in an earlier post, 'you can't make this stuff up'.

I hate it when they say that kind of stuff on TV. New headline: 17 out of 19 television reports are just bunk. :pop:

Never happened to me until after 13.5.1

You will kill the 1099-C with form 982 and you will not continue repaying the loan because the house was sold at a loss, but you have to use the form to let them know. You still need to report the sale to be on the safe side and to justify the repayment stoppage.

If you've already carried back the losses, you'd roll over the amended return and then the problem is solved. The correct NOL will roll forward & show up on line 21. Then do the worksheet, and the correct carry forward will go towards next year.

Hot tub. Always ready, always hot.

Who's whimpering? I'm feeling like this today:

I just printed a tax return for a client that contained approximately 105 pages. Several rental properties, deprecation schedules, 4 Schedule C's Sch D's B's A and the list goes onand on and then the State stuff. Not really complicated but definitely emptied my printer paper drawer. Whew I am glad it is done and the fee is in my cash drawer.

Some of these "beware of your tax preparer" scare-monger articles also mark as "errors" using a 1040 instead of a 1040-A or 1040-EZ. Well, I don't like those short forms and don't bother with them. Far as I'm concerned, it's not an error; it's a choice. An error would be using a 1040-EZ for a non-eligible return. Garbage.

I change nothing as well. I did notice this year that OneDesk automatically changes the signature when I have been waiting to file them. But.... it doesn't match the original but then again, I do nothing and haven't for the last 18 years.

Don't forget, you can stuff a LOT of paperwork into a $5.60 Priority Mail envelope. And that includes the cost of a tracking number.

I just enter the date they signed it.

my wife got one this year. But she put it on the invoice, so I only had to pay her commission on it instead of her putting it in her pocket. So that makes it a tip for me as well. Tom Hollister, CA

A couple of things come to mind. 1. What is the state situation? How much does he owe and can he pay it. If he can, that would mean you are only working with one agency trying to get his money. 2. I don't know why mailing in the returns is a problem. It will also buy you a few weeks before you have to deal with the installment agreement. 3. I doubt his employer will do this. Better strategy is to have an automatic withdrawal from his account. Have the client get set up on direct deposit from his employer to make sure that the money is in the account when the IRS tries to pull it. 4. Your best value to the client is to come up with a great reason for him to not have filed so you can work on the FTF and FTP penalties that are going to push the bill up. You might be able to get some relief because you are coming forward (at least it sounds like they are not coming after him yet). It might play in his favor to have you in front of their collection activities. Just my thoughts. Tom Hollister, CA

Argh, yes, they are a pain. How about explaining a $200 change in in refund to someone who's income is going up so more taxed at a higher rate. Very logical but somehow they think I am lying. Oh brother.

I did a complete reboot after I updated some other software. I did not have the problem the rest of the day . . . or this morning. Alas, it just happened again. Must be getting close to the deadline. The gremlins are getting active!

So I printed client copies for clients to review while here. They signed 8879 went away, efiled. Now I want to print originals of local returns to pick up in a couple of days to save me postage and print 9325 and letters saying efile is successful, you getcher refund, blah blah Yup, press print, walk away, come back to half a ream of client copies - again. This season cannot end too soon.

For a trust, I believe the charitable deductions are taken to determine taxable income and are not passed through to the beneficiaries.

I always print to .pdf first. When I want it on paper, I print from the .pdf. I also change the print order, moving the comparison to the back.

No popcorn. It is too messy.

I feel like I am about to hit the stage where I am so tired everything is funny. I really like that one. Hope it kicks in soon.

... and Alt+Print Screen will capture the currently active window instead of the full screen

Do you double side the return? Love my auto duplex printer.

A few minutes of quiet meditation and deep breathing is always nice to reduce the stress.

:pop:

The husband does NOT always go 'on top'. I have several clients where the wife is the primary earner, or when they married (both were clients) I rolled over the wife's return because it was the most complicated and added him to it as spouse. Having husband as taxpayer is just a throwback to the old days when wives rarely worked and were property.

$83 is the per diem rate for lodging for locations without specified rates. Basically, he's giving you the per diem for lodging rates. But they can't use per diem for deducting their lodging expense so it's a meaningless number.

But because the timber would have been a capital asset in the mother's hands, as long as she had held it for over one year before gifting it, they should be able to use LTCG treatment for the sale. And I agree with Jack; if they don't want to pay the taxes, gift it to me. I will pay my share!

Don't confuse the vowels. You said A but it should be E.

I agree with Jack. Please do an amended return. It should be a simple amendment. The explanation should something like: Tax Payers were going to file as MFS but later on decided to file jointly after wife filed MFS. So we are amending original filing to include husband income and filing MFJ. Line 1 has increased because his income was included. Line ... has increase because the tax liability has increased. In taxes, husband always goes on top, BUT not always. Please leave wife on top because that's the return you are amending and you want "not to confuse the IRS", which is not hard to do (I mean both). The following year, you can let the husband go on top again but this year, leave the wife on top.

You have her information, select "amend return" and enter his information and select "MFJ" on the "new 1040 that will never be filed" and enter his income and you will have a correct 1040X. You can also file that 1040 before April 15 and ignore the one you efile. In any event, you will have to paper file.

The former. You'll amend by adding his info to hers. He does NOT need an original return to be on her 1040-X.