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Ok, time for a happy client thread. First was a pickup and her bill was $100 more than she had paid her last preparer, and I had said that based on last years return I could match it. I explained last year she didn't have the 5 partnership investments that I had to calculate basis and at risk limitations for. They weren't complicated k1s per se, but those two items were. But she was really happy with the bill because the last preparer hadn't asked her about a SEP contribution, and what her max would be. Also talked about how much better a solo 401(k) would work for her. She happily paid the bill and we'll meet again in June to talk about setting up the solo k. Second new client had monthly meeting with: my first I'll be doing write up work for on a monthly billing basis. He is in the process of buying a convenience store. Brought bank statements, cancelled checks to reconcile with the bank statements so there would be no guessing as to what the expenses were, a copy of one of the point of purchase reports he'll get from the franchise, and used to be a bank auditor so is anal about record keeping. I explained state payroll reporting, 940s & 941s, etc and talked about the possibility of using Xero instead of QB once I have a chance to look closer at Xero. Big smiley face here. Now back to the remaining extensions.

I am Happy. Yesterday, we had the office doors open for fresh air, clients picking up returns; silly humor from being tired; AND I found a fantastic new office to relocate to. Just a few more days . . .

I agree, it's really all you can do. You will eventually have to do the best you can, even if you have to use 'best estimate' on parts. But for now, extension. But no on Jack's note, no need to create extra stress on the grieving family.

A grandfather was delivering his grandchildren to their home one day when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the fire truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children started discussing the dog's duties. "They use him to keep crowds back," said one child. "No," said another. "He's just for good luck.." A third child brought the argument to a close."They use the dogs," she said firmly, "to find the fire hydrants."

When they say "I don't have any idea how to decide how much to send in with the extension. What would you do?" Me: You need to start with last year's amount owed and then think about any changes. Them. "I have no clue about any of that." Me: Send $5,000. Them: "WOW that is way too much!" Me: I thought you had no clue.....

I use dikes (different type of pliers) Great for grabbing the tiny wires of the staples. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one with a tool arsenal in my desk drawer. Has anyone else posted a sign on the ceiling that says "answer not here".

Additional note... Prevent any contact of Base with top of shoeless foot, especially the front half....

Yes, as Ron White said "You can't fix stupid". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL6wbsGx9qw

New client this year.... Have the same last name as me. That was interesting... So, as I am looking over the prior year return, I ask for the birthdates of the children. And one of the dates is 9/17, which is my birthday! And out of 450 to 500 clients, he is the only one with my birthday, and he shares the last name... Cool. And, they were happy, and wish they had stopped in years ago... Rich

You might try explaining to him that the asset "Land" is no different than the asset "Cash". He can hold cash in more than one account at the bank, or he can hold some of his cash in the bank and some more of his cash in the form of land. So when he writes the check to pay for the land, the portion that goes to pay principal is simply being moved from one location to another. It is no different than moving cash from one account at the bank to another account at the bank. The only difference is that he can't write a check from his "land" account, and he can't easily divide, spend, or add to his "land" account in the same way he can divide, spend, or add to his "cash" account. If he can grasp that, you're well on your way to getting him to understand the other half of the transaction, in that he really doesn't own the portion of the "land" that is offset by a liability. By paying the principal down, he reduces the liability and the offsetting transaction is that his net worth increases by exactly that same amount. If you can ever get a client to understand his business and personal life as a set of flows between balance sheet accounts rather than focusing only on the P&L side and the associated taxes, you can help him become pretty good at really grasping financial concepts.

4852 works as a substitute for a missing 1099-R as well as a missing W-2. Assuming you've got the info I'd go that route.

Any distribution from a retirement account requires the creation of a 1099R. I know of no exception to this.

Me too!! I blame it on cheap staples. the wrestling to get the remians out is a real pain. I keep a pair of needle nose pliers in my desk drawer for digging them out. Fortunately, I use a folder that hides the damage.

I am ................. transmitting 88 e-files. (Geez that takes a while) - Not a bad day!

"Plank stare". I like that, for when someone is dumb as a plank.

I started charging for reruns if it is not my fault.

I am totally weary of people (new clients?) expecting me to clean up multi-year messes created by completely irresponsible actions of grown adults for years. Especially after the passing of a relative. Just call me "...once too often taken advantage of for being a nice guy trying to help...."

Happy birthday KC, and happy birthday to the board! I do so remember that fateful day when CCH shut us down and within days or weeks this board was up.

File extensions, send a sympathy card, and include a note that you will contact them in a month or six weeks to finish up.

I am................... Just paying off all the credit card balances that build up over the slow months of 1 oct-jan. Monday I pay my own extensions and just sit here answering questions from clients that had their returns for weeks but only look at them on the 14th and 15th. then off to Vegas!!!!!!!!!!!!! first time there.

That's hilarious. I am looking at one now with "Dr. Pepper" written in and an arrow to the offending spot. There is now.

Why reprint the return? Just label it so the client knows what it is and move on. That's the courtesy they would show us!

There was both blood and extensive bleeping. Not gonna lie. Oh, one more thing: Stay up to date on tetanus shots. Carry on.

KC is correct IF Rita meant there was actual blood on the return when she said, "But I had to reprint the bloody tax return." Replace "bloody" with "bleeping" or better yet "frikkin" since this is the ATX Community and you'll see what I mean. Thanks for the laughs RitaB. I'd "like" your posts, but I've run out already.

Yes, extensions should be filed for any returns not expected to be filed by the 15th, or any case where there is uncertainty about whether it will be filed on time. This should be done irrespective of whether there is a balance due or a refund showing in the return. You never know when a client forgot to give you some income info , or one or more of their deductions turns out to be incorrect. So even though the original return showed a refund, if the examination shows a balance due on the original return, a FTF penalty will be assessed. You don't want to be in the middle of that. A "protective" extension solves all those problems.

I filed my 3 extensions and have one return left for the client to pick up on Monday. He wanted to come over tonight or tomorrow, but I think not. Monday will have to be the day. I have 3 people to calculate 1st quarter estimates for and that is it. Feeling pretty good now, just very, very tired.

14 left that I haven't touched, and 6 that are mostly done and waiting on something from clients. Doesn't sound like much, but I am losing steam SO fast. To top it all off, I have to teach 'Love Your Enemy' to second graders in Sunday School tomorrow. I'm really going to have to suck it up for that one. Right now, I'm with Rita . . . shoot 'em.

If the $5702 in direct medical expenses were deducted in a prior year and provided a tax benefit, those are taxable if the deduction produce a tax benefit, or if in 2013 then they would reduce the current deduction since she was reimbursed for them. The part of the settlement for her emotional and physical distress might be taxable too, unless you can tie that back to a physical illness or injury, so it seems the settlement would have to be because failed tubal ligation is a physical injury or physical illness. I don't think you can exclude the portion of the payment that relates to the future medical expenses because she hasn't incurred those expenses yet. IRS pub on settlements: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p4345.pdf

So frikkin tired. But it's a beautiful day. But I'm out of RockStars & dog food, so I'm gonna have to leave the house at some point. The dogs got cat food this morning. Loved it!

Pliers, what a great idea! I've been using my teeth. Not such a great idea.

Yes.

Sure Jack, we all [i am guessing] feel the desire to say that to some clients, now and then. Just not a 'nice' thing to do at the point where they just lost a loved one. And I would never suggest that the situation should cause anyone to let the client 'take advantage'. Full charge for the work, by all means.

I had a discussion with the first client about direct deposit and how I could use the check I just got in payment for her DD. And we chatted about how various banks print out images on the checks and how mine blanks out not only the name, but also the account number. So what did I do? Ran out to meet a client at Starbucks, and on the way back went to the bank with a handful of checks, and deposited hers before I updated the direct deposit info. Had to email her this morning with egg on my face.

The 4852 covers you and the client, whether they did or did not file it.

i Spellcheck slip. You never know what the spouse has as far as deductions...that's why I use income or occupation. If spouse is a file clerk...highly unlikely she will itemize. If spouse is an investment banker ....highly likely she will. I combine logic with facts...and never had a problem. I actually do some returns where spouse doesn't have to file (embassy employees )....and I've always used standard deduction for the one filing.

I would stop trying to explain it to this client. I have one like this that will never understand. This is what I would tell him: "You won't get a deduction of any kind for that land until you sell it, and it doesn't matter if you paid for it fully by cash or financed its purchase through a loan. You will get to deduct that land at the time you sell it."

I'm just going to give up on him. He will never understand terms like liabilities. I'm thinking of this example. A company has $100,000 in the bank earning no interest so they buy $100,000 worth of stock. Is that a $100,000 expense, if he says yes, I'll say I cannot help you

Joan, I am with you. Yesterday, I had a woman who has a very prestigious equestrian center contact me for tax and accounting services. So cool, because I have horses and do accounting work for several other stables and show barns. I love clients who are in businesses that interest me; I can learn from and they provide year-round work. A+++

Check the box to mark and then file/delete efile

Ditto. Happy B-day to this community, KC & SCL. I can't believe it's already been 7 years. My how time flies.

Happy Birthday KC and SCL. I too remember when CCH gave us the boot. Thanks to Eric for keeping us all together.

Different scenario there. In that scenario there is a 1099-R code G received by the taxpayer. In this one, there is no 1099-R at all. There is no rollover so a code G does not apply. If this was a direct rollover from say a 401K to an IRA you would have a 1099-R box 7 code G. Because it is a trustee-to-trustee transfer from a Roth IRA to a Roth IRA a 1099-R isn't required. Transfer vs. Rollover. Not the same thing. In the rollover scenario I agree that if a 1099-R is issued you need to include something on the return even though it's a rollover.

$10. Put it as a line item so the client sees the charge & next year will remember earlier. I figure it at least covers toner & paper.

I charge 1/3 to 1/2 of original fee for an amended if I did the original a pure rerun because they found another item is $25-75

I am betting a lot of those refunds went on those cards. Get rid of the cards and problem solved since the others require an address and not just a PO Box. Better yet, If it is a PO Box. Those get held up in review while they contact the taxpayer

Hey, Rita, I tell my clients they're lucky I don't charge by the pound of paper. I do have one now that hasn't returned signature pages; if they ask for another rerun with more "found" deductions, I'm going to charge them for the rerun. Or return their papers.

Psshhh, gimme a Band Aid, I'm good. But I had to reprint the bloody tax return.

My experience is that clients can forgive mistakes easily....even the embarrassing ones. They've all made mistakes too...we're all human after all. What really matters is accepting repsonsibility and offering a solution, even if it means that you need their help to get it done. I offer the same respect/compassion to professionals that perform services for me because thats how I want to be treated when it is my turn.

...schizophrenic and I am too!!