Leaderboard

Ok...I thought I heard it all. My son lives in VA...and a co-worker asked about my services. He didn't want to use me because I don't have a refund guarantee. Do people actually guarantee a refund? And if the person owes...???

I often get the question about paying off the rest of their mortgage or credit cards. I have this response... "How is it smart to pay off 6% or 13% money with 40% money?" "When you called me, what did I recommend to you?" (The last one usually gets a total silence on the phone or they look away from me.) Most of the time the withdrawal puts them in the 25% bracket. Add 10% penalty and 4-5% for State and now you just paid 40% interest on the money you paid off those 6% and 13% loans with.

Yup. I'm getting a lot more clients that are actually asking my advice about such things.....in advance! Gotta love these guys. Then I can bill and the clients get advice that saves them money, even if it's "should I pay my tax bill with a credit card or do an installment plan?". I'm selling my knowledge more and more, rather than just cranking out returns, and that feels good.

I see the early withdrawals for stupid stuff a lot. And, Saturday, retirees with more pension income than I make, need an extension because they can't pay the $4,600 they owe until they take out a distribution. It's not early, but it's still stupid. They make stupid purchases. They are paying on seven, count em SEVEN, timeshares. Just pay a hotel bill, people. Or stay at the house. Geez. Saturday they remarked, "Well, in a couple of days you can take a vacation." I have not had a vacation since 2008. I don't even care. I enjoy my kids and my home and not being up to my eyeballs in debt. People need to work on having a life they don't have to escape from and get their together financially. Someday when I can get all three kids together, we ARE going to the Grand Canyon. Been wanting to do that since the Brady Brunch did. I think I told you all that last year, too...

Just did a Google search on 1099-R code U distributions. Wha Lah, best answer found on ATX Community 1099-R CODE U Started by MOBEE, Feb 15 2010 10:50 PM This is not the first time that ATX Community has had the best answer when I've Googled. Thanks everyone!

I am a one-person shop and this year I will do right at 300 returns which includes approximately 40 fiduciary and non-profit 990/990-PF returns. I'm not sure how many more I could do without some serious help. I tried hiring my 15 year old to do my filing but at this point I'm not convinced he knows his ABC's

Since today is Palm Sunday, I had to share a cartoon with a Biblical/Tax theme....

This was a weird year. I had an unusually heavy early surge and then got really worried as things slowed to a trickle. Then around March 25 they started showing up. About 40% of my regulars showed up on/after April 1! For the second year in a row (and third out of the last four) I'm going to have a record number of extensions. Next year I thinking about implementing an across the board $25 fee hike and then offer a $25 early bird discount for anyone who gets me all their stuff by March 25. I don't really want the extra money--just trying incentivize getting the materials earlier. I realize for some folks $25 is not a lot of money but in my niche, it's a prety good chunk of change. Does anyone else do that? How has it worked out? Any other ideas to accomplish the same thing? On another matter, I need someone to feel really really sorry for me. My home/office is in the middle of seven major egg farms. In spite of the horrendous winter, flies have been especially bad this year. As if it wasn't bad enough dealing with the joys of April 14, I have two of these demonic little critters flying around my office annoying me to death! I'd kill 'em if I could . . . but they've eluded me so far! (Argggh--just missed one of the little beasties!)

Same here - everything Yardley said so well...

So why does someone who makes $136,000 Need to make a early withdrawal from a 401k for $53,000. Year before it was 9,000 I see this all the time, especially with union workers, why is it? I have some people that make low wages so they make a withdrawal for a 1,000 or so to pay bills. But the number of people I see who make over $100,000 that do it, just keeps increasing. We're all going to end up supporting them when they get old because there will be nothing left in their 401K and SS will be bankrupt.

we actually posted the alphabet and filing rules in our file room for reference. Not sure what they are teaching kids now-a-days

The wealthiest client I have has done it two years in a row. Because he spends his winters in a warmer climate, he just came in on Friday to pick up his taxes. On their way to see me, they stopped to see their banker. He told them exactly what I wanted to tell them. "Stop spending so much money!" Thankfully, they listened to the banker who had the percentages pegged exactly as printed out in their 1040 Tax Summary. Today I received a short note from them in the mail. "Thank you Marilyn for doing the best you could. Next year will be much better." It was signed with a smiley face. Apparently having over $7000 withdrawn from their checking account for the second year in a row has hit home. They are wonderful people, but they admitted themselves that that they didn't even know what they spent it on. (So, there is hope).

"The wages of sin are death, but by the time taxes are taken out, it's just sort of a tired feeling." -- Paula Poundstone

As we approach April 15th, I wanted to take a minute to thank everyone on this forum for their time and their sage advice. It's comforting to know that we can turn to this page, add our questions and receive feedback from a professional (some more than others ) group of preparers. I appreciate everyone's input! Thanks also to Eric for all he has done and continues to do for the site! I plan on sending my donation in the next day or two! I hope everyone enjoys a more relaxed few months...until it all starts up again!

Never been more ready for the fat lady to sing. And thanks to everybody as well. Don't disappear; I'll be lonely.

I agree. As a sole proprietor, I would NEVER make it through tax season without this group. Thanks for all then answers - even when my questions are just due to stupid brain flatulence!

I am . . . down to 2 returns and having a hard time getting motivated to push through them. Maybe pikester should send popcorn.

Ok -- GREAT news. It got itself into a snit with the "sleep" mode and I had to do some hi-jinks with discharging capacitors. Booted fine and hardware checks out OK. Will run some more advanced diagnostics late this week. But it all seems to work fine now. Phew!! I did spend the morning in "safe" mode extracting all my files so I could work from the other machine if need be. And I learned how to back up and restore from networked drives using Drake so that's good too. Oh, hallelujah! Thanks for the prayers - they certainly helped!

I've had a weird year as well. A lot like yours actually. Really busy beginning and then a period of time spent scratching my head wondering where everyone was, followed by "Holy cow, where did all these people come from!" I've gotten a new call as late as today! I try to do as few extensions as possible. I know it stretches the income out a little longer but I am so over it after April 15th. I still have non-profit returns due in May and a few fiscal year filers in June and that's quite enough. That being said, I will have more extensions this year than ever before as well. I think I will be instituting a fee increase across the board next year and I'm already implementing an extra fee for those who saw fit to wait so late this year. They can complain if they want but I don't really care. Sorry about the flies. They are so pesky! I don't know who said that a brutal cold winter helped decrease the insect population for the next season, but they totally made it up! The wasps are starting to buzz around here and we killed a snake in the yard last Thursday!

World's Cutest Frog

Why do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway? Why do banks charge you more of what they already know you don't have when you overdraw your account?

1. The distribution can be treated as housing allowance as long as it is designated prior to distribution. 2. The rules governing premature distributions would apply. 3. The distribution is not treated as SE income as a regular housing allowance would be. 4. The part of the qualified housing allowance that is properly used for housing would be entered on LIne 21 as a negative figure. This will balance out the taxable reporting required by the distribution code 1. 5. This could be a plan established by a church. It does not neeed to be established by a denomination. I cannot tell from the OP if this is an active pastorate or note. The problem we may have here is that the IRS position is you cannot be actively involved in ministry, receiving a housing housing allowance from a church for current services rendered and receive a contemporaneous housing allowance distribution from a 403(b ). The designation of housing allowance by a retirement plan is determinative in whether the individual qualifies only that the plan is designated as sure or the pastor has requested such designation. All the distribution docs I have seen have always indicated it is the pastor's responsibility to determine the correct taxability of any distributions, that is one of the reasons box 2 of the 1099 R is normally blank.

Oh, good thing you mentioned that! My 225 all include at least one and as many as seven state states as well. So, that ups the ante. Several Partnerships and a ton of Rentals and Sch C returns. My own return is on extension along with many, many more. That late start is a killer.

I've done 304, but that's very few state returns, only eleven Corps, Partnerships. Thirty extensions, probably get a few more before it's over. Would like to have more extensions; I'm here all year. I'm the entire staff. Well, my daughter will come in twice for an hour to put files back in the cabinets. I get overwhelmed and let them pile up. She gives me the look, too.

I will bet you a block of that AWESOME Real Wisconsin Sharp Cheddar Cheese that it will be the same next year.

And Patty just said I say the stupidest things. Tom Hollister, CA

Only a denominational pension qualifies to be treated as housing allowance and then only if the denomination has so designated it (most do). 403b's do not qualify for this treatment.

It would be easy to understand if it was a one-time thing, caused by some catastrophic event. But when its for something non-essential [new car, remodel the man-cave, vacation to exotic places, etc] that they could have financed any of multiple ways, it's insane.

Too many people who are employed and earning more than a living wage are living above those means. The constant bombardment of advertising for the must have latest technology, clothes, cars, you name it, feeds into a mindset that says they 'need' whatever. That and gambling which has become ubiquitous. It is very sad, indeed. Pensions may have been a drain on some businesses but, as you point out, there may now be a class that will have nothing left but the remaining taxpayers. My family has always lived pretty well below our means sometimes to the dismay of our son as a youngster wearing clothes from K-Mart instead of name labels. He is now grateful and lives much the same actually in a better position with his retirement than we were at his age.

And I was going to give up visiting the forum for lent, but I decide to give up drinking better. MAS

Took tech support, too -- but the engineer in me understood the issue.

I can't find in the instructions for 1040X but have a nagging suspicion that it must be received by IRS by 4.15. Anyone know for certain? Yeah a last minute and he can carry to IRS. Grrrr...

The engineer in you saved the day! Congrats!

My "vacation" is to put the phones (back on) forwarding to Ruby Receptionists, and spend part of the day catching up on chores, part in my garden, and part sorting accumulated detritus. Will do that for a week or two. We actually take a one-week vacation every year. Bought a time share up in Stowe VT in the early 80's and have been going just about every summer since. Great vacation spot.

This form doesn't appear to be calculating if you want to use anything but the 2013 taxes for 2014 estimates. I have had to calculate the tax manually when changing the income for 2014. I have not contacted ATX yet, because I am buried, but wanted to let anyone else that may use the form know. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but they have had trouble with this form in the past.

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."

Guaranteeing a refund is one of the first 'warning signs' of a scam, according to the IRS.

Oh, Catherine, I'm sorry. In the middle of the night last night, the big return I was working on would not save. The data seemed to be there except for the HSA I'd just revised. But, the few things I knew to try didn't work; and the return didn't appear in the lists I knew about. And, I needed it to be right to do kiddie tax for the kids. I skipped church and called tech support, and the problem seems to be solved for now. In fact, he solved a problem with my not being able to create new folders that I was going to call my local IT guy about in a week. But, there was the year I bought this computer when it malfunctioned until the end of March when they finally believed me and replaced most of the insides. Computers are time savers when working right but huge time wasters when they fail. The best of luck to you tomorrow.

100 - 110 (business (LLC / S-Corp) & personal. This includes the ones I don't charge for (family). I also work full time for an insurance company which has it's busy season January - May. I really need a full time job that is busy June - December. Fishing / hunting guide sounds just right! I'll have to suggest that to the wife.

That's because I got it from you, Ken! You posted it on Facebook. Why didn't you post it here, too, and save me the trouble?

My grandmother used to say, "Cuando Palma pioggia, Pascua e bella" which means, "when it rains on Palm Sunday, Easter will be beautiful." However today had both rain and sun, so I'm not sure if that means good weather next Sunday or not...

I have several that do this. They paid for their daughter's wedding, bought a motorcycles and cars, just stupid stuff. Then they get tons of 1099C's for credit cards. Gambling is a huge issue and means that I have to file a lot of out of state tax returns.

Happy Birthday!!! I was there to see the start!

Thanks! My husband is 86 years old and had a stroke 11 years ago. We have been married 43 years and he has been with me thru over 35 tax season's. He has been basically in his Hoveround now for the last 4 years, and now his heart started acting up! (not a heart attack, but Congestive heart failure with afib) Always something new each year. We just take life a day at a time these days... Be glad to spend more time with him later next week. Pam

Running on adrenalin! "Zausted" I like that... Had to take my husband to ER Monday nite... slept in hospital everynight until I got him home Thursday. My family and friends are playing tag team with me taking care of him at home. Ah, April, What fun! He kept saying as he was having shortness of breath: That's, Ok, don't worry about me, I can wait till after the 15th. I told him "get in the car". Got his heart settled down... but many Dr appts to come rest of the month. Ugh... Taxtrio Pam

Warning:Rant ahead! I am........... amazed at the number of married couples that apparently hate each other and don't bother to hide it when they come see me. I about jumped over my desk and punched them both out. I am tired, crabby and so don't want to hear them bitch and moan about each other and their problems. I have had several couples this year that were positively oozing hate or disgust when they came in. Suck it up until you get out of here and then go at it!

Melting, sorry. The size of the banks is what's falling, although I wouldn't be surprised to see another small storm or two. It's been a long winter... the cold and snow have been just relentless. So glad it's (mostly?) over.

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....