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Rita: About that "landing a plane" , "unprofessional looking", and "random thoughts" comment, let me add something appropriate: One time a question was asked of Gen Chuck Yeager - famous fighter ace, test pilot, and first man to break the sound barrier & live to tell about it. The question was - > "What do you call a successful landing ?" Chuck's answer -> "Anything you walk away from."

A bit of background won't make the dead horse argument seem so silly. Did you know that the Enrolled Agent credential was created by the Horse Act of 1884? Apparently during the Civil War, soldiers were running through the countryside begging, borrowing, and sometimes stealing horses so they could (a) get to battles, and (b ) fight them. After the war the owners who never got their horses back were demanding restitution from the government. There weren't enough lawyers to handle all the cases in a timely manner, plus back in those days attorneys called themselves "esquire" and were thought of as esteemed professionals. They didn't want to mess with missing horse cases. The Treasury Department (this was before the IRS existed) therefore created a new class of professionals who were permitted to represent taxpayers before the US government provided they had specific training to do so. (Before that, only attorneys could do this.) Thus was born the Enrolled Agent credential. The first EAs helped people get paid for their confiscated horses. Over the past 20 years or so, several bills to regulate tax preparers have passed one or the other house of congress but none passed both. (Maybe one did, but it was vetoed by the President at the time.) I used to follow the hearings on these bills, and there was always strong congressional support for regulation. After years of doing what Congress does best--nothing--the IRS decided to take matters into its own hands and authorize itself to go ahead with regulation. Their argument was that the Horse Act gave it the authority to regulate people who represent taxpayers before it. That is a fact and was not in dispute in the Loving case. The dispute centered over whether tax return preparation constitutes representation. The IRS unsuccessfully argued that preparing a tax return that is then sent to the agency constitutes representing the taxpayer's intentions to the US government, and the Horse Act gives the IRS the authority to regulate those who do the preparing. The Supreme Court ruled that preparing a tax return does not rise to the level of representation. The real problem is not incompetent preparers but dishonest ones. Not a week goes by when I don't read about US Justice Dept cases against preparers who ran EITC shops, selling dependents, creating fake Sch Cs, charitable contributions, employee business expenses, etc., each defrauding the government of millions of dollars. I do maybe 500 returns a year, all done to the best of my ability to be true and accurate. One of these shops does 3,000 returns a year, most inaccurate. It doesn't take too many of those shops to dilute my good numbers and make it look like paid preparers are dishonest and idiots. Even ones like me, proudly credentialed under the Horse Act of 1884.

Craig's List: Free to good home. My girlfriend doesn't like my dog, so I appeal to you. She is a purebred from a wealthy area and I have had her 4 years. She likes to play games. Not totally trained. Has long hair so she's a little high maintenance, especially the nails, but she loves having them done. Stays up all night yapping but sleeps while I work. Only eats the best, most expensive food. Will NEVER greet you at the door after a long day or give you unconditional love when you're down. Does not bite but she can be mean as hell! So........anyone interested in my 30 year old, selfish, wicked, gold-digging girlfriend? Come and get her! Me and my dog want her re-homed!!

I worked for HRB in my area back in 1997. We were told that due diligence with EIC wasn't necessary and to do what the client said and don't ask questions. This is why I only lasted a week and a half with them. I agree with KC with franchise thing and if the local owner could be dishonest and a crook.

I think we may begin to see IRS slow down refunds in the future. It's the only way to deal with the fraud problem. They shot themselves in the foot years ago, back when they used the carrot and stick approach by offering fast-turnaround of refunds to push more people to e-flinging. Now that they have progressed to the e-flinging mandate, there's no longer any reason to keep the carrot out there. From this point forward, it's more a matter of forcing tax preparers to be uncompensated agents of the government. They're already well on their way and now it's just a matter of gradually tightening the noose. At this point there is really no downside to slowing down refunds. After one or two tax seasons, the hysteria will subside.

10 Things to Consider on a Form 990 05/01/2014 By Brooke Karafin, Ralph Citino and Stuart Katz As most exempt organizations know all too well, preparing a Form 990 can be a time-consuming and complicated process. To help them have a better understanding of the form's importance for both compliance and marketing, we have compiled a list of 10 things to consider on a Form 990. 1. Good governance: Form 990 requests information regarding an organization's governing body and management, governance policies, and disclosure practices. Although federal tax law does not mandate these policies and practices, there is an expectation that a prudently managed organization would have specified policies around conflicts of interest, whistleblowing, document retention, determining compensation and joint ventures. 2. Review of the Form 990: An organization is not required by federal tax law to provide a copy of the form to its board or governing body, or to have them review the form before it is filed. However, the IRS believes board review is a fiduciary duty and encourages board members and executives of nonprofits to review and understand what is being filed each year. 3. Not all tax-exempt organizations are charities: There are more than 50 different 501© classifications that organizations can be, depending on their purpose and activities, from business leagues to social clubs. 501©(3) organizations are exempt from federal income tax as charitable organizations. The major difference between charities and other tax-exempt organizations is that contributions made to charitable organizations by individuals and corporations are tax-deductible. 4. Not all income earned by nonprofits is tax-exempt: Even though an organization is recognized as tax-exempt, it still may be liable for tax. The organization may be subject to unrelated business income tax if an activity is regularly carried on and is not substantially related to the entity's exempt purpose. 5. Functional expense allocation: Form 990 Part IX reports expenses in three categories: program service; management and general; and fundraising. Proper allocation of expenses between these functions is very important. The amount of funds spent on program services (when compared to total expenses) is a measurement of the organization's effective stewardship of its assets. 6. Public support test: Part I of Schedule A requires an organization to indicate why it is not a private foundation by checking the box for one of 11 categories of public charities. Many publicly supported organizations must describe their revenue in either Part II or III. This information allows the IRS to determine whether an entity meets the applicable public support test. For those organizations whose exemption category requires performing the support tests in Parts II or III of Schedule A, failure to pass both of these tests may result in their loss of public charity status and being characterized as a private foundation. 7. Lobbying vs. political activities: Many nonprofit organizations mistakenly assume that it is illegal for nonprofits to lobby. To the contrary, federal laws actually exist to encourage charities to lobby within certain specified limits. Knowing what constitutes lobbying under the law, and what the limits are, is the key to being able to lobby legally and safely. Unlike lobbying, Section 501©(3) organizations are prohibited from participating in a political campaign. Schedule C provides the IRS with information concerning political campaign activities and/or lobbying activities of Section 501©(3) organizations. 8. Unreasonable compensation: Unreasonable compensation is one of the IRS's most active areas of inquiry and enforcement. To avoid loss of tax-exempt status and/or intermediate sanctions, the organization should use a process for determining compensation that includes review and approval by a governing body or compensation committee, data-based salary comparisons, and careful documentation and record-keeping of compensation-related deliberations and decisions. 9. State requirements: Most states require nonprofit organizations to file one or more documents to give them permission to operate and solicit contributions in that state. Each state has different requirements; therefore it is important to consult with a tax or legal advisor. Filing requirements may include annual reports, annual financial returns, periodic renewal of state nonprofit tax-exempt status, and registration as a fundraiser. 10. The Form 990 is a marketing tool: The Form 990 can be a valuable marketing and development tool. Once the Form 990 is filed with the IRS, it becomes a public document that potential donors, sponsors and grant recipients can use to obtain information about the organization. Information can also be accessed by state regulators and the media. The organization should consider Form 990 disclosure as an opportunity, rather than a burden. Use it as an opportunity to tell the organization's story by effectively stating its mission and program service accomplishments. The IRS and various watchdog agencies encourage the public to review organizations' Form 990 tax returns. Brooke Karafin, Ralph Citino and Stuart Katz work at Shechtman Marks Devor PC, a Philadelphia-based accounting firm that specializes in working with nonprofit organizations. Reach them at [email protected].

MY thoughts are never random.

I have heard more than one say the equivalent, Carol, and I'm seriously thinking I'll do the same. It's a shame how dinky the letters are. Or, in the alternative, how much trouble it is to change the letter. I mean, really, it's like landing a plane to me. Yes, very unprofessional looking. And about random thoughts - that's what we are all doing, keep it up!

I agree, 2013 was much better (but I also had a better PC to use than 2012 - Both Dell's, but for 2013 Win7 Pro and 8Gb RAM vs Win7 Home and 4GB - Go Figure it would make that much of a difference). Both Stand Alone except for Wireless Printer (Color) for my letters). HP LJ 3015P for all else. I also hate the letters, cumbersome and they look unprofessional in ATX. I setup a template in word to use for my letters, copy pasted most of the ATX letter with the refund or balance due info, then tweaked it in Word. It did not take but a few minutes to tweak. Had my letterhead, etc and it looked much more professional than the lame ATX Letters. I also waited to the last minute to renew and I paid a down pmt in January and the rest in February. Actually received a better price than 2012. I never renew early as they take the money ahead of time with free use for a measly 10% (wow $100!) discount. Not worth it to me. I also remember prepaying for software back in (1995 - 1996?- had 2 girls 1 and 2 so memory is foggy) and then the company went belly up and lost the prepaid amount. I tried ProSeries Intuit that 1st year - Very Expensive, then I switched to ATX for 1997. I have never renewed early since then. Just my random thoughts - Sorry!

No cheerleading from me this year. I will go to all lengths necessary to make ATX work properly for me and the firm I work for. This year I will defer all requests for help to customer support at ATX. Since they were given the award for one of the top 25 in the field, I must not be doing something right. My observations and experience do not support the "top 25 award" scenario.

I didn't lose anybody over the 2012 mess. But I sure did lose a lot of time and energy for a few weeks there, both of which translate into dollars, because I was working under increased pressure for a reduced wage. Did anybody die? No, but, I didn't really have time to hunt them down. Yes, if they weren't willing to cut the price with the 2013 software, it's never going to happen. I will say this, I found the 2013 program to be just grand, except I hate the letters. It was plenty fast, and I had no desire to kill anyone. None at all. I'll renew, but I think I'll wait.

No good deed goes unpunished... Jack, knowing the extra lengths you went to in an effort to help other ATX users, plus the feedback you gave the company on their problems, CCH should give you the software for this year and several years to come. The fact that they don't recognize that (yet spend hundreds of thousand of dollars to advertise & promote their product) speaks volumes about their corporate philosophy.

That sign indicates the real meaning of the response I received when I asked for more than the typical price break for the 2013 software. The 2012 debacle cost me and the firm I work for money and clients in 2012, but it has also cost me personally, the loss of 12 new clients for 2013 that I gained in 2012 because I could not process their returns in a timely manner. I took a survey, and that was the overwhelming answer why they did not return. No numbers yet from the firm, but I am sure the same thing happened there. Bottom line, the 2012 debacle caused damage to my business both in 2012, AND 2013. I believe I was able to stop the bleeding with the clients that stayed with me for 2013. Not sure how my conversation with the sales department will go for the upcoming year. For the record, my efforts to support using ATX, and helping with problems, had NO impact on their attitude about pricing. "...such a small subset of our customers..."

In my experience with this type of case, the levy will not be lifted. The IRS will go after the most accessible party. They will take the money owed from the easiest source. In many cases, it is the wronged spouse who ends up paying the bill.

There must be another CCH SFS Call center than the one I used...

I heard it could happen if you get the account manager who lives here:

I think there is some poetic justice in the IRS having to refer to a dead horse statute to try and defend a power grab of this magnitude. Wonder how Judge Boasberg kept it together without bursting into hysterical laughter the first time this came up in open court. At least the IRS was smart enough to skip the spectacle of stinking up the Supreme Corral by flogging this thing all the way to the top.

If they want to do it, they need to do it the right way. Work with both parties to get a bill written that can be passed, not try 'dirty tricks' to try to impose unlawful requirements.

Last week I finally got the one where the guy calls from "Microsoft" to tell me that my computer is infected with viruses, and wishes to help me to "clean" my system. I started up a Windows XP virtual machine, and let him walk me through everything he wanted me to do so at the very least the phone call would at least cost them some money.

Here's one I need on occasion, plus a second for general usage:

I always say there is a real need for a sarcasm font.

ATX offers the deferred payment in the fall, where you pay a processing fee, and balance of the payment is deferred to December with no discount. The last two years, i've waited to the last minute and paid about a third in January and the balance mid February.

Well, I waited to renew last year. I guess they extended an olive branch of sorts with special terms on paying. My kind of olive branch is a huge discount. Just saying.

My Lord ! Well I finally received my quote and have decided to renew with ATX. When I said form entry I meant entry on the W-2 ,1099-Int or whatever. I review the 1040 line by line as I progress. I may opt to change vendors down the road I simply was not familiar with their system and will need time to make myself comfortable with it . Like many of you I started in the pen and ink era with the tax computed manually or from the IRS tables.

Yep. So few were taking advantage of the advanced option that it was eliminated.

My kids wouldn't dare take my flip phone away from me. I have a tablet that does everything a smart phone will do. I have a flip phone to make and receive telephone calls. For $10 per month, my tablet can access the telephone lines if WiFi is not available. My phone fits in my pocket if I am out and about. End of Story.

Heard at my house on Mother's Day 2014: "Welcome to the 21st century, Mom." My kids gave me an iPhone. I took it in to Verizon yesterday and the kid in there heckled my flip phone. I happen to love my flip phone. It has been a rough 20 hours. RIP, Flip Phone. Rest. In. Peace.

Those were the good old days. The beaters or the bowl!

My wife worked at HRB for 6 years. She came home all the time upset that she would sit down with a client, and when the return was done, they would compalin that the EIC was not high enough. After my wife explained why the return came out the way it did, the client would pick up their papers and walk. They would go to another preparer and tell them a different story until they got a big enough refund. One time, the clients even came back to the same HRB office and had their return prepared by a different preparer, the very next day! She came to work early and the clients were back and they miraculously ended up with 2 more children living in their home! From my wife's experiences, MOST of the preparers at the office she worked for only cared about the commissions they were getting from preparing taxes, upselling Piece of Mind, selling IRA's and selling RAL's. That may not be typical, but it was for 6 years at the office she worked at. Tom Hollister, CA