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NECPA - I get it. You are being hammered from a number of different directions. And your husband's health is not the least of those. You know that he and I are somewhat alike - but his issues are more serious than mine. I cannot image the stress that puts on you. After last tax season, I told my wife that I honestly did not think I had another tax season in me,. I did not say that to put more stress on her, but to vent like you are doing now. Well, here we are on the cusp of another season. My feelings are the same as when I voiced that comment, but I will not burden her with that stress again. That was not fair. If your husband has not yet checked out www.pacemakerclub.com he should. As to meeting clients in the store, a few years back I went to a high school play that my son was in and ran into a client whose information was setting on my desk. The husband questionrd why I was not at work. Fortunately, before I could raise my fist to punch him in the face, his wife takes him by the arm and says, "leave him alone, he needs time off too." Well, in retrospect I realize the guy was just making conversation but I took it personal. We all need to guard against taking it personal. Now here comes my most potent advice I can give - BREATHE! That's right, take a deep breath. OK - do it again. And again. Are you feeling better yet? Sometimes we forget to breathe.

I think we have all felt your frustrations! Here is an idea... Implement a large fee increase across the board. This will cause some clients to go elsewhere. You will have lower client load, but the same or higher income. If you were closer, I would be negotiating to purchase your practice. However, being in Ohio makes that impossible. Hang in there and know that you have a group here that will support you, no matter what decision you make.

I took advice from the Geico gecko and saved 100% on stress. Thought I would share that or you can google it yourself.

Turn it around in your mind and view it as something positive. You get to work from home. You get to help others. You should get a feeling of accomplishment. You are bringing in revenue. You get time off after the April deadline. Even at my age, if I didn't really WANT to do it, I wouldn't do it. We all have to do something and we all face challenges both in our public and personal lives. I think in the beginning of the year we all feel a little trapped and despondent. Once the action starts, it gets better. My dad was a life-long auto mechanic. He always said he hated it. However, even after retirement, he continued to practice his skills well into his 70's. To a certain extent we control our own destinies. Something made us want to be tax preparers at some point. Try to find that "something" again and nurture it. I just talked to a Nurse yesterday who said she knew absolutely nothing about taxes. Well, there it is in a nutshell: I know absolutely nothing about being a nurse. NECPA, and all others on this board. I wish you the most trouble free and successful tax season that you can possibly have. As we have in other years, we will lean on each other and we WILL get through this and all be better preparers for it.

NECPA: I feel your frustration. Jack suggest raising fees. Always an excellent suggestion. As for the client at the supermarket? I just tell them "I decided a long time ago that I will run my business, but my business will not run me." And smile. And if I am at the school play or other social event? If *I* don't get away, then I am not a happy camper. Rich

I laughed and laughed at this post and I hope NECPA did too. SIL seems to me to be unhappy with her own life and finds great solace in trying to control others' lives in lieu of her own unhappiness. I love the flag up. Have you thought of telling all the other clients to put the flag down when they drop something off? That might further confuse SIL.....

Thanks everyone. I do feel better and even laughed. Ron, thank you for your insight. I have tried to get my husband to check out groups online or even locally, but I am the one that follows the ICD and heart failure groups. There are good groups for caregivers, but they don't know taxes and I desperately need to talk to you guys more. Thanks again. I'm going to go hit the treadmill for a bit, since I'm trying to use that instead of candy for a boost. It takes longer to make me feel good, but at least I've lost weight.

Only other tax people understand our stories. Vent all you want. OK, here's mine: Hired an electrician friend first of December to do a "little job" in my office. You remember December? It's dead in my office in December. He showed up Saturday. As in two days ago. That Saturday. I packed up and went home. Come in this morning and not only is his stuff still here but apparently so is the stuff of half the electricians in this town. Oh, he's not here, but that stuff sure is. And every single person coming in needs to talk about it, you know. Every. Single. One.

Naveen, First and fore most - I pray to the Living God that you and your wife will find peace in your situation. I pray to the Living God for a very special blessing upon your wife and you and ask that He will hold you and your wife in the palm of His hand at this - your hour of need. I will pray for you and her. As to cancelling Drake - at whatever the cost, you are better off staying with something you know at this time. I speak from experience, somewhat. I left ATX last year and on February 6th, 2014 my wife's step-dad (who was much more like an extremely very, very dear friend to both her and I) lost his battle with cancer and passed on. Frankly, my life would have been somewhat less stressful at that time had I not also been learning a new software. And with all of the extra nuances in the preparation stage this year, I would strongly encourage you to avoid a change right now with all the other things going on in your life. For the record, I would think that Drake would be the last company to hold your feet to the fire. Call them - and let us know how it goes. But more important, keep us in the loop about your wife! God Bless, my friend!

All great advice so far. I'll add that you should also consider finding some way for clients to drop of documents without having to see you. The drop box I installed has cut down on some appointments, and it's convenient for those locals to return the e-file signature forms. It's definitely freed up time that I've been able to work on returns more efficiently during the day without those pesky interruptions. My vent is about that very same drop box and the one business client that is supremely annoying with it. I've been getting her papers around the same time each month for the last 16 years, and she calls to announce the impending delivery even though I can see the driveway from my desk and the dogs bark when they hear the car pull in. She puts a red flag up, and then about an hour later she calls to make sure I retrieved the papers. If I don't answer or call back, she might drive back later to see if the flag is up because she's only a couple of doors down from me. If flag is still up she calls again later. I've told her every. single. time. that I check that box twice a day and all of this is NOT necessary and to NOT put the flag up. I am ready to rip that stupid red flag off the box! What did I do with it instead? I've left it in the "up" position all month to aggravate her so that she'd tell me I had papers to retrieve and ask why I hadn't gotten them yet. I told her the box was empty, and when she asked why I'd left the flag up, I simply smiled and said "because I wanted to." Best part of all, this is my sister-in-law that complains about everything, just everything, and there was total silence. Not a peep, and all of this nonsense has stopped for now... until her next major area of dissatisfaction.

In Virginia, SOL can be either the steaming pile or the Standards of Learning. Wait - is that the same thing?

Yes, I have one. Don't ask me to explain it, but I love it. Just like bacon.

Just to confirm, every time I see "SIL" I read it " out of luck" the first time, think "that can't be right," and laugh some more!

Sorry to hear about your frustrations....and glad to know you're laughing about it today. I used to "never leave home" during "the season". Then I remembered....I'm not in prison. About the supermarket thing...probably the person was joking? You are allowed to breathe. Another option...plan a trip for April 16th...it will be like the prize at the end of the game.

Funnier yet was my other SIL's first time using the box. She could not figure out that the front's top portion is a hinged door because it looked like all one piece that included that bottom locked part. She's very intelligent but without too much common sense, and she decided that there MUST be a slot somewhere on the back. So where did she put her envelope of documents? She stood in my flower bed and found a small 1/2" gap between the bottom of the box and its mounting plate for the post!!!! We both laughed when I showed her the little hinged door on her next visit. I never envisioned having to instruct smart adults on how to use a mailbox!

Thanks for the explanation Terry. I, too, wondered why you would add those things to the basis of the building. I agree on the replacements of the garage door and the toilet.

I am so tired of needing to stay home and work my rear off until at least May every year. I did take 3 days off in February two years ago and paid dearly for it. My son is going to San Juan, Puerto Rico tomorrow and I could have gone with him with his non-rev benefits. This is happening more and more often and it's really getting me down. Now that I can finally get on a plane and not be terrified, I have to stay here and be terrified of tax season. Now I know why so many of my friends have gotten out of this business and gotten office jobs. That's not much of an option for me at my age and my husband's health is an issue. I made the mistake of taking an hour and went to the store Friday and ran into a client that was amazed that I was out of my house. I almost cried. Thanks for listening to my whining. I don't have any local friends that are in the business anymore.

Too, too funny!!!!!! I was gone for two days (TWO DAYS). Came home to a crammed drop box. I don't know how some of that stuff got through the slot. I might not even have checked it except that one client was going out of town and called and told me he would be dropping some of his papers off. The punch line is: My red flag wasn't put up by anyone.

I used it two seasons ago to print the 2012 tax returns to as a pdf so I could print them to paper more efficiently. I had quite a set up here. I had my multi monitor computer here at my desk doing tax returns and another computer on a table here in my office with paperless plus open and I would print a return to it, run over and print the return to the printer from there. It solved the slow printing problem in the 2012 software. I liked Paperless Plus and would be using it today except that we already had been using a paperless software package which my staff really likes and I could not justify teaching them the new package. But again, I liked what I saw.

I understand your frustrations! I also feel the same way from time to time. I do not have an office in my house, but in another town! I am there from 4 am to 6 pm. Even when I am home, I eat, sleep, and dream ( nightmares really) taxes, taxes, taxes.

More information is needed before an accurate answer can be given. What type of IRA is this 1099-R for and what is the code in box 7? Is box 2a filled in with a -0- or is it blank? Any boxes checked in 2b? If it is an IRA with taxpayer having basis, you would need to fill in the 8606 for ATX to carry the correct amount to line 15b. Roth IRA also might need the 8606 filled in to arrive at the correct answer.

I use another line, unless all the improvements were done before placing it in service. If the improvements are a different UoP, like replacing all the wiring, then I think I'll always use a separate line.

Tom, From Pub. 463 To meet the directly-related test for entertainment expenses (including entertainment-related meals), you must show that: The main purpose of the combined business and entertainment was the active conduct of business, You did engage in business with the person during the entertainment period, and You had more than a general expectation of getting income or some other specific business benefit at some future time. Business is generally not considered to be the main purpose when business and entertainment are combined on hunting or fishing trips, or on yachts or other pleasure boats. Even if you show that business was the main purpose, you generally cannot deduct the expenses for the use of an entertainment facility. See Entertainment facilities under What Entertainment Expenses Are Not Deductible? later in this chapter. You must consider all the facts, including the nature of the business transacted and the reasons for conducting business during the entertainment. It is not necessary to devote more time to business than to entertainment. However, if the business discussion is only incidental to the entertainment, the entertainment expenses do not meet the directly-related test. See below link. http://www.irs.gov/publications/p463/ch02.html#en_US_2013_publink100033852

That is one return completed. Schedule C, no assets. Very clean. Health insurance coverage for all persons on the return with same health insurer for the whole year. Would that they would all be like this. Amen? Oh - and BTW - it is really nice to be back in familiar territory!

YES, Definitely!! Prices are reasonable now. Boot time from pushing the button to my desktop, 7 seconds.

Really? Come on man! That is just too funny! LOL out loud!

NECPA you have to make time for yourself. From time to time we all need to recharge those batteries. You might want to consider getting yourself a helper. I have a couple of them and it really frees me up to do other tasks.

I will be thinking of you and your family.

Naveen...here's hoping that your wife is on the road to recovery. I hope all goes well for you and for her.

My prayers go out to your wife and to you and to her whole medical team.

I never had more than one or two extensions before last year. For 2013, I have a bunch. I used to hate extensions; now I am grateful that is an option. I try to save returns that I know won't have to pay until the end starting about April 1. (just in case)

Share your mistakes so we can learn not to do what you did. Trial and error is very common on computers and tax software.

Naveen: I hope that your Wife's illness passes quickly. Rich

I appreciate those kind words and, of course, would be willing to help in any way that I can. I, along with others, would be more than happy to respond to any posted question. If you want to contact me directly, you can do so at [email protected]. Be advised that if you do contact me directly you will lose the benefit of peer review that this message board provides.

​I resolved this. I misused a box .

Thanks very much.

Make sure code 1 is not entered. Your issue is with the code, so play attention to it and you will be OK.

Yes, ATX does have the de minimus safe harbor election statements.

Ur rite & imma tryna B morr pra fessa null and crap. Their r sum gudd spel Czechs out their 2.

I use the uni-forms too. I bought one batch years ago & still have a lot left.

This is why I still have a landline and a corded (NOT a handset) speakerphone. I just let the music play while I work on other stuff. So I only charge for the time I'm with the agent.

Good grief. I have to start reading all over again. I guess the least that this does is make only one 3115 necessary per taxpayer even if both automatic and non-automatic consent issues apply? But, still a 3115. Was really hoping for a cut-off date with going forward with new repair regs only and not backward. Elections but not a 3115. I can dream!

I'm operating on less than my usual amount of sleep, and reading that today feels like it's written in some alien language!

You gotta love it. As if we haven't got enough to deal with now this.

Ain't we got fun? I can't imagine why everyone doesn't want to be in this profession!

Don't rollover the clients, rollover the payers. Also make sure the payer manager is checked in preferences.

Good question, for the last couple of years, I hold off on rolling over any clients until I have their paperwork, so no, none as of yet.

I don't know if there are additional updates recently. I printed out my organizers in early December and mailed them last week. The 'simple' organizer (don't know why they don't have distinctive names) is vs 5 on my program and the multipage (8+ mailing slip and Custom) organizer is vs. 7. If others have later versions, you and I are in the same boat with outdated organizers. I will live with it, though, as I use them primarily to prompt folks to recall what they need to provide and what last years' figures were without having to dig out the returns.