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Chowdahead - thanks for a detail and very informative dialog of your TT experience. I guess the only thing I would question is that your attempt to be an average taxpayer is tainted. You are too much of a professional to think like the average taxpayer. I imagine the average taxpayer is looking at the refund amount and clicking a bullet and saying "that increased my refund so I will leave that one clicked". Or, "that decreased my refund, I think I will unclick that bullet". You are, in my opinion, giving the average taxpayer too much credit. Just sayin'.....

So for the heck of it I offered to help a cousin of mine and his wife file their return though turbo tax because I was curious as to what the experience was like and what I am up against. It's pretty simple return, MFJ, one income, education expenses, one dependent. Getting EIC and Child Tax Credit. The experience was pretty shocking. First of all, it was not fast. It took me almost just over an hour to get it done. I probably could have done it 50% faster because I know all of the forms and rules like the back of my hand, but I read through pretty much all of the material presented because that's more than likely what the average taxpayer would do. I will admit that I skimmed some areas that I am already very familiar with so it would probably take the average person even longer. Here were my findings: It was absurd how little evidence is required to claim dependents or the EIC or child tax credits. Underneath the dependents name is basically several bullets that ask you of this dependent lived with you for more than 6 months, etc. I almost overlooked it. So while we have to detail with the 8867 and all the ramifications of that, Turbo Tax s allowed to simply put up a few bullet points. Claiming education credits didn't require a 1098-T or even the educational institution EIN. Turbo Tax just said the TP should receive it by Feb 15. He had one but it didn't require one because initially it let me go on without entering any info on the school other than the name, and it gave him the American Opportunity Credit. I am an experience preparer and I found it complex, as it should be because taxes are complex by their nature. But I cannot understand how an average person cold understand half of the material and make an informed decision. There are so many links and popup windows to sift through. There is dumbed-down language but even still, I can't see the average person just skimming through. The questions on the ACA were absurdly simple. It asked did you pay for health coverage? No. Did you apply for health insurance through a state or federal marketplace or receive Medicaid? Yes. That's it. No more questions on that. It wasn't cheap. The total cost of the return, including the state, was $119, and that was with a 30% "discount". To have the fees deducted from the refund, the total cost was $154.00. Total time for preparation, about 70 minutes. I'm pretty sure it would have taken a non-tax person about 90-100 minutes minimum. And this was for a simple return. The TP has to print the return themselves. I cannot understand why people bother. What I did like was how Turbo Tax offered options to track the refund by email or text message alerts. There is an estimated refund date. There is also a status bar showing the status of the return (i.e. transmitted, received by IRS, Refunded, etc). I like these options. I'd like to know why ATX hasn't incorporated some of this in the program. I'd probably be willing to pay for such a service because I think clients would like them.

Had an attorney in my office yesterday with a mutual client. I do not work with this attorney much but he was sharing with the client and me about his recordkeeping system. He keeps everything in a desk draw until it gets too full (and in his car console) then he transfers that to a big box in a closet and repeats that exercise until the end of the year when he goes through it paper by paper to get it organized for his tax return. And he went on to share what his wife does for a career. Are you ready for it? She is a CPA. Some people just can not be helped.

We have offered to do his return for free. I would do it, but I don't have the state expertise for where Eric lives. But I would learn his state rules if he asked me to. I think I am not the only one on the board that has made the FREE offer to Eric, and it is a standing offer. Tom Newark, CA

You guys are show offs, this is my humble office.

  I would consider myself an average taxpayer, but I am WAY too paranoid to take that route.  The closest I get is "it's unfortunate that I have to check that box, my return just took a nosedive" You're right though, they shouldn't show the average person their dollar figure in real time--it's probably irrelevant and just acts as a temptation to be dishonest.   I've never used their online service, which at the price mentioned seems awfully expensive considering their home and business software for doing a Sch C costs less than that, even if you include federal and state efile.  I find that it's pretty thorough, but it takes me FOREVER to get through my return.  I read and re-read every stupid box that pops up to make sure I'm getting everything correct, and then i leave my desk because reading that much gibberish makes my head hurt after a while.

This just in... Prior year efile- federal and state information We have posted new EF Info forms to 2012 and 2013 ATX to allow you to efile those two prior years. You will download federal and state EF Info forms This includes both business and individual returns that IRS allows to be efiled. If a form or field in a particular return disallows efile, the software will display text to you during diagnostics. For state information, please refer to the chart on this KB article to know which return types are allowed to be efiled for prior year. KB 14930 Posted by Stephanie Bradford at 10:48 AM Labels: ATX, Efile

You should allow one of the members here to do your returns. I would prepare them for you at a VERY REDUCED rate, just because you do so much for us on this board. Things you struggle with, are normal things we deal with every day.

I think the dead poinsettia is a nice touch, yes?

Spent 5 days in Key West, FL...ran the half marathon...now back home. I feel refreshed and ready to take on this season...at least that is what I am telling myself.

The taxpayer is cash basis. I will issue a 1099-MISC to the vendor. However, I think the expenses are invalid as deductions as those three checks (one big, two tiny) are now too old to be cashed; they were all written in March 2014. But I will dump that portion of the problem into the tax accountant's lap and let him wrangle over it. Many thanks to all! I was thinking myself around in circles and now think I have it straight. As usual, the way I first thought before I started second-guessing myself into confusion.

Eric, many have offered their services, and if you don't feel the need or comfort for all that would entail, please know that we would also be happy to help with any questions you may have.

Issue the 1099. The vendor received the money. Your client's issue is with the bank, not the vendor. If the vendor claims he received the money, issue the 1099 to remain compliant. The checks are still outstanding and it is assumed that they will at some point clear the bank. So your client is entitled to the deduction. If for some unexplained reason, the bank never ever clears the checks, then your client would need to pick them up as income at some point in the future.

I don't have anyone prepare my return because I keep terrible track of my expenses (doing my taxes involves an extensive and careful search through my email over the past year for receipts). 3/4 the reason I don't claim OIH is because I'd have to dig through EVEN MORE records. I'll do the simplified OIH method this year though. With the amount of money we spend renovating our home, and the size of my office, I know I could get more, but I don't care. I can't be bothered. And I'm sure that's the worst kind of client to have, so I'll save you all the trouble--seriously. The shameful disorganization of my finances should be my burden to deal with. The level of discomfort that I feel when dealing with these things is so high, that there is no tax refund amount that could get me to file before April 10. I could win 100 million dollars in the lottery, and I would put off receiving it as long as possible due to the paperwork that would be involved. Nice of you folks to offer though, thanks anyway

I am SO jealous. Cleaning Lady? You can't even see the top of my kitchen table which still has the Christmas tablecloth on it. We had the carpenter who is working on our enclosed porch and my assistant for lunch today. Had to move around papers so we could all sit at the table. My assistant actually furnished the lunch of homemade bean soup and homemade bread. What a blessing. My office is the cleanest room in the house because it is the newest. One of the few things I insisted upon when we were building my office addition, was a deadbolt lock in addition to the other lock. Also, the full door glass has the blind between the panes of glass so it can be opened during the day and closed at night and on weekends. NO dust on THAT blind.

So Illmas, that surely saves you a lot of time! Hopefully it isn't the one used by the clients too - how awkward!!!

Bob, I coach with a new group, Queen City Running Club (have also coached with Roncker's Running Spot and TriState Running). We will have a tent so if you need to drop off belongings or just hang with some runners, find a like-paced companion, meet me look us up. When I know the exact location, I can let you know, if interested. I will be with a run/walk group and may or may not be doing the whole thing from start to end as we usually go back and forth helping participants. Jeff, good for you, too! Guess I will have to find a way to work that one in and get in some quality diving afterwards, too!

Never mind. I got it fixed. .

Back to the point of the OP, the price TT charged for that return is in line with what my fee would be on a similar return, including fee collect. Tom Newark, CA

I will stick with the earlier article from Forbes (this one you mentioned above makes me "groggy" again. Also, the Forbes seems to be more recent and incorporates changes made since the "groggy article here" was written. Please let us know which way works out for you (I believe the one employee is correct but do not know if there is a "deemed" employee mandate under less than 50 employees based on total PT hours worked or not).

That is precisely the reason I gave up thinking several years ago. (My client think I have a lisp when I say that out loud and they think I am saying I gave up DRINKING. If they knew the truth they would probably bolt. )

Bob, I would have loved to met you down there !!!! I did the kw half also. great for you on finishing. hope you had a good time in paradise. jeff

This sounds like a situation that one of my clients had about a year ago. In his case his bank balance mysteriously dropped by about $2500. When I did the bank rec., I found a check image that was from another business at another bank. The clearinghouse had mis-routed it to my client's account. The bank president claimed that he had never seen that happen before, but a few months later the same thing happened with another clients account at a different bank. Oh the wonders of modern technology!

Couple of points: if client is accrual rather than cash, then if the money is ever coming out of the bank he should definitely go ahead and take the deduction in the year it was incurred. Assuming that he is a cash basis taxpayer, items charged to a credit card are deductible when charged, not when the payment for the credit card clears the bank. I would not see this as much different if the bank has paid the check without deducting it from his account but intends to deduct it at some point. So that leaves they have paid the check out of someone else's account and are really not interested in tracking and correcting the error, and therefore your client is never going to pay this money. In that case, it would be best to not recognize the expense since it will never really be incurred. That's just my opinion, your mileage may vary.

Agree, issue a1099 and take deduction for outstanding checks.

It is not possible to have a simple questionnaire to such a convoluted and complex situation. Mine it two pages and I don't consider it "complete" for all possible situations.

I have a problem with an S-corp who wants his return soon but hasn't looked at his December statements. We took a peek at the payroll account statement yesterday as we knew one payroll bounced back and forth while between lines of credit. Well, pay went to employees and then back into bank (this was all about 12/2) but never back to employees per statement !! Bookkeeper is sure she got December direct deposit, though. It's going to be a mess. And, this a multi-million dollar corp where I really need to research and probably file 3115s, so not happy that I have another issue to research when he flat-out refused to go on extension -- a conversation we've been having for months, but yesterday his wife said No. He's already looking at new banks, so I think the bank may have messed up royally with the December 2014 payroll not actually getting paid until January 2015.

Office Home and Student 2007. Acquired the same way Catherine said.

Go to ebay. Buy a new, registerable, version of Office that is two or three versions old, for small money. You're golden. I still run Office 2003 on my home office Windows 7 machine. For the new office/new machines I bought Office 2007 - brand new and registerable! - from ebay for like $45.

The dust is really bad. I keep a Swiffer duster under my desk, but don't use it as often as I used to. The blinds are especially bad, so I try not to have clients in during daylight hours! I can't remember when I vacuumed. Forgot I overflowed into the family room too, especially hubby's cubby. He couldn't reach his own files, so moved my things out. Cleaning lady coming tomorrow morning. She doesn't clean my office, but does vacuum the family room. So, have to figure out where to put those boxes. I was doing OK with each stack denoting a client, but a bunch of stacks went into various crates and boxes when I did have clients in. Now I need to sort those boxes back into stacks and hope they're still chronological via due dates/promised dates/etc.

Lion, it looks like you are doing work there while still being orderly. Many years ago when I worked for a firm, I kept everything cleaned up and put away in my file cabinet all the time except for the thing I was working on, and more than a few times I was asked if I really did much work or was busy because it was too neat and tidy! That habit came early in my career because I once called a client's wife for additional documents, a doctor's wife, that accused me of losing some of their office's pension plan statements. Later she admitted that she found them at her home and brought them in, but she never apologized to our office or for blaming me, and she knew her accusation almost cost me my job.

Oh! UM! It's time for that poinsettia to go! Otherwise, that is the way a good working office is supposed to look. I would have felt right at home there until I added an addition. Now, I just have that much more clutter. But, where is all the dust that I have?

Office:

A cousin had a defibrillator implanted. Surgeon told his wife they test it while he's still on the table via remote control. Wife asked if she could buy a remote. As far as we know, the answer was No.

AND as far as penalties, DOL trumps IRS (only because the feds get more money). So is the IRS guidance --- good or do you use the DOL guidance. Thanks Rita for the article --- I was groggy before BUT with that article, understand a bit better.

I don't mean to be pedantic, Pacun, but I can't agree that the starting point is to put a pointless educational load on the tax preparers. The market should be selecting these people out anyway, and those who aren't selected out, are then selected out by the IRS actually acting to enforce what the PTIN actually means. The PTIN implies that the IRS can disable it or revoke it, hence disable or revoke the tax preparer, hence suffice as enforcement. I guess what I'm trying to say is that if the IRS won't act against bad PTIN holders now, then why bother adding another layer of regulation that won't be enforced anyway? The IRS required a registration number, but almost nothing happens to you when you screw up. So the IRS wants to require an education base, but again, nothing will happen to you when you screw up. Prediction: Service for the clients will not improve; in fact, it's slightly likely to worsen, since added expenses will make preparers more desperate to make it up with "unreasonable" positions.

The humidity was 90% so my time suffered, but it was in Key West, so it was amazing. I try to get at least three runs in per week during tax season...more than anything as a stress-reliever. I will also be doing the Flying Pig half in May. I ran my first ever half marathon last September and ran 4 more after that...Air Force (Dayton) was quite the experience (HUGE crowd) but I think my favorite was the inaugural Grand Lake Half...along Grand Lake St Marys from Celina, OH to Saint Marys, OH

Customize Master Forms. Check the box to decline.

Take your pick...............

Honestly, why? Regulation isn't the problem with erring and fraudulent tax preparers. The problem is that the IRS is nowhere near where it needs to be in providing consequences to tax preparers. For example, PTINs should be put on hold if there are too many erring returns submitted under them; the PTIN hold could then be noted in the efile rejection process, hence alerting the ERO. Regulation as indicated by the RTRP program is the IRS model for what's supposed to happen. So we already know how 'effective' it will be. Clue: Telling a fraudulent tax preparer to take 15 hours of b.s. online courses just so he can keep filing his frauds, changes nothing except to provide yet another financial opportunity for yet another parasite (the trainers and certifiers) who feeds on the industry and taxpayers. The fraudster preparer will just slap down the $200 and take the courses and keep filing EIC and Sch.C/E, as well as outright identity thefts. The erring preparer may have a better idea, but he was always supposed to be kicked in the butt by his clients and the IRS anyway.

Someone please send a truckload of chocolate to TN in a hurry. There is a storm brewing out there that might do real damage if there is not an intervention. Tom Newark, CA

Knock yourself out, John. And if you see my slacker client, knock him out, too.

I just did a return for a lady who had no insurance but was under the filing threshold. She has been my client for ten years. I didn't charge her anything to check that box on Form 8965. I feel fine with that. It's best for me to play it by ear. Just like I don't have a set fee for Schedule C. It's all relative. Now, when somebody comes in here with a new $40,000 pickup and gets $5,000 EIC I feel fine changing it up.

We will also be held liable for verification of these. All this study and requirements for due diligence were thrust upon us by Congress, the Senate and the President. I am making sure that all my clients know this. I have no remorse in charging extra.

For my practice in a small rural town, minimum of $25 additional (check the box only) to a max of $100 additional if through the marketplace or no insurance. I will have a separate line with this additional amount. It will be designated: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act surcharge. I am considering including the phone numbers for our Representative and both Senators in the line below it.

There was a post on ATX board regarding how to print a 2nd copy of the engagement letter when printing the 2013 organizer. A respondent suggested simply copying the letter in its entirety, add a page break and then paste the original engagement letter to the letter. I never did locate a page break button or command in the edit routine, so I simply hit the enter key and added lines until the letter printed on 2 pages. I share this as a possible answer for you to consider: Save the current version of your Federal letter as a customized template labeled "short version" Edit the Federal letter master form by copying and pasting all those customized letters and forms to the Federal letter as additional pages. This will force the program to print out the customized letters and forms for every client. To a smaller extent I've used this approach to enter the Privacy Policy wording I want included in my letters. It was easier to me than trying t edit the Policy paragraph verbiage in the ATX template....

For the 8% exemption, the taxpayer has to apply for an exemption. That Exemption number (ECN) would then go onto form 8965. The 13 page application asks for financial information and substantiation. The Marketplace will determine if an exemption is granted. There are no calculations for the preparer to make. • Unaffordable Coverage Options- People who would have to pay more than 8% of their household income (MAGI) for the lowest priced Marketplace Health Insurance after subsidies qualify for this exemption. or if employer insurance is unaffordable, costing more than 9.5% after employer contributions for self-only coverage, you will likely quality for this exemption. You must apply for this exemption. Remember that your MAGI is not your taxable income; it includes the amounts you invested into non-taxable savings accounts, income from Social Security, and educational expenses. NOTE: If your employers coverage is considered affordable (less than 9.5% of your household income), you will not qualify for an exemption from the fee yourself, but your uninsured dependents will be. The fee is 1/12 the fee per month for each family member without coverage.

In my ACA update class last night, the instructor showed the chart from page 2 of the Form 8965 instructions with 8 Exemptions Claimed on tax return only, 6 Granted by Marketplace only, and 4 that can be either. In addition, the Income below filing threshold Exemption needs No Code See Part II. All the Exemptions that can be Claimed on tax return (6+8=12) have the letter Codes to use listed in the chart. The 6 Granted by Marketplace note Need ECN See Part I. The instructor in another class said, "If you can't find an Exemption, you're not trying hard enough."