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I bought myself five bucks worth of flowers at Walmart today cause I am a little "tensor" than usual and sick of winter. Plus I'm worth it. That's my lesson in "adding" a smile to your face. Got milk and Dawn "Escape" Malibu scent, too.

Just like arguing with my wife - I never admit wrongdoing, but it doesn't change the nature of the punishment.

I try to get things straight from the horse's mouth, but sometimes I discover (too late) that my information originated from the other end of the horse.

Actually, any non zero number divided by zero is undefined; zero divided by zero in indeterminate. Why you ask? 17/0 or -13/0 have no possible answer, hence undefined. 0/0 could = 17 (because 17*0=0) or it could = -.34 (because -.34*0=0) or it could equal any number--hence it is indeterminate but not undefined. Math lesson over

Zero divided by zero is undefined, and zero divided by anything other than zero is zero, my star pupil. I don't know why the red screaming error that we gotta put in the miles, then when you do, they divide incorrectly. Grrrrr. Where's my candy bar?

I have had a couple of those and was able (thanks to my WIP spreadsheets) to tell them, "Yeah, but last year I had all your docs in-hand by Feb 10th and this year you didn't bring them until Feb 28th." And with some, "Yeah, and last year we had to amend because you got corrected 1099-B's in late March and we agreed to hold off this year just in case."

Q: Why did the horse cross the road?..... A: Because somebody shouted hay! Q: What do you call a scary female horse?..... A: A nightmare! Q: What type of a computer does a horse like to eat?..... A: A Macintosh

Oh my! So very sorry, Gail! Obviously my brain and fingers were not coordinating on that one. Lion, I then take it that you agree as well? Hey, we're all friends here, one big, mostly happy, family. I know my mother constantly called me by my sister's name. I think it happens in larger families like this one.

My husband says that most of the hysterically funny/*stupid* videos on YouTube all start with someone saying, "Here, hold my beer and watch this..." and he has a point!

Remind the callers that, thanks to ACA and other significant changes, it's complicated many returns, slowing you as you work carefully to be sure you provide all your clients with the best in professional, proper returns. And that accuracy is more important than speed, because you don't want your clients to ever overpay.

OK - teaching math and debating what 0x0 or 0/0 or 0+0 or 0-0 equals or means and going to Walmart and buying flowers while at the same time asking for a candy bar and making plans to frame a print? Am I the only one working on tax returns today?

Uh oh, two math teachers giving us lessons....

Do it right or send him back to his Other Guy! Ask him for his calendar, driver's license, etc., to see where he lives.

Be careful the top two reasons that accountants in public practice get sued are Business Valuations and Divorced Clients.

I think it's infinite business use or indeterminate form - right teacher?

I think that as long as he working on his first 4year degree, has no drug convictions, and otherwise qualifies, he can take AOC. If he previously had a bachelor's degree, then he would not even if he did not use up his four years of AOC. As far as taking it over 4 years, as long a he is considered at least a half-time student, should work. IMO.

Pubs are not substantial authority. Go with the tax court decision. If audited, the tax court ruling will win.

For me, the returns seem to be rolling in... Some new clients, but the production has been well ahead of last year. I expanded, by buying another two practices, but with the combined billing, we are ahead of the plan, plus, we are at a 47% completed rate compared to 21% last year. With twice as many returns in the door than last year. Sweet! Rich

Thanks, everyone. He gave up on the guns. He's looking for receipts for the range and names and dates of customers. I figured that he was just trying to turn a personal expense into an employee expense.

YOU KNOW WHO THIS IS FOR.......

You picked a fine time to, leave me Loose Meal.....

I've had some bad times, been through some mad times, I'm hoping the dirt it won't spill.....

My husband, back in high school, asked his dad for help on a beginning calculus problem. His dad looked at it and said, "You can solve that with tensors," at which point my husband declined and said he'd ask his mom (yes she knew calculus; she has an advanced degree in chemistry).

In fixed assets, if you override the bus% to 0.001 it works. Edit: the % at the top.

I echo all the thoughts above. be careful where you tread. In my neck of the woods, a typical valuation of a contractor would be something like 5 times annual cash flow. That is a very general rule. There would be adjustments to cash flow for owner payments, and other situations unique to the individual business. Assets are almost entirely ignored for contractor valuations, unless there is a very readily available market for the assets (think heavy equipment for highway construction, large land movers, tractor trailers, etc). For roofers, I would assume that they are holding a bunch of beat up equipment and some rolling stock. The balance sheet approach would be useless in valuing them. You would pound the balance sheet so hard that what would be left is cash on hand, discounted receivables and liabilities. Hope this helps. Tom Newark, CA

I'd be very careful about providing any information about this for the reasons already mentioned, plus there can be a wide range in a valuation for this kind of service business depending on its size. As Lion said, I'd point the roofer back to looking for that information through trade organizations that he can provide directly to the "requester" without involving you. Here's an interesting article about why these types of businesses have such low values, and at the end talks about how a roofer could increase the value of its business. You'll see from this that a roofer with a couple of trucks with signs on them and operating out of a small office will have a vastly different valuation than a larger one that has multiple levels of management, a sales team, a large number of roofers employed, etc. It is from roofingcontractor dot com. http://www.roofingcontractor.com/articles/84818-how-much-is-your-business-worth

There was also a case for a professional bowler. Tried for several years to make it on the bowling circuits. KEPT METICULOUS RECORDS. Changed coaches, went to different leagues and circuits to try to make a profit. Gave up after several years. One of the biggest factors the court took into consideration was that she quit after exploring all options, and before the IRS audited her. I don't have the cite on that one, it was part of an update seminar I attended several years ago and I never forgot it. I love it when the taxpayer wins. Tom Newark, CA

I would think that you would want to consider how it may affect the student's FAFSA application by including more taxable income. It may not affect too many, but I have several student client's that would not want to have much more taxable income added to their tax return and possibly not get another Pell Grant or other financial aid.

I am going to be way up this year but that is attributable to the fact that I moved my office out of my home this year to a highly visible location downtown. Most of what I've done thus far are new returns. My regulars just started rolling in last week. It could get a little tricky in the next few weeks.

A lot of forms haven't been sent yet. I have a huge pile...all waiting for "one more thing...........".

I have been utilizing Drake Software for two years with no regrets. I find it very computable for large and small businesses. Considering for years I had transferred from Lacert to Proseries. Preferably for me Drake system outweighs the intuit software.

...or not entertainment, at least not in terms of how we describe it for tax purposes.

I'd like to see uniform sizes that are readable, plus NO DECIMALS ALLOWED, ALL NUMBERS ROUNDED. That would avoid a lot of errors on both ends.

Every year. This guy comes in with his W-2 only. Me: Hey, remember you itemize? You have mortgage interest, real estate tax, church contributions? Guy: Oh. That helps? Yes, and it has helped every year for seven years now. Guy makes $95k. I don't get it...

I usually think a blank receipt fro Goodwill is worth about $10. Clients usually thinks it's worth about $110.00 We usually compromise on $11.00

Short trip?

With four dumps trucks waiting, and more dirt in the field....

The blank receipts from goodwill drive me NUTS!

Yeah, and the $230 "tithes" and blank receipt from Goodwill. I heard THAT!

Speaking of Tennessee girls, guns, and getting married up reminds me of a story. A Tennessee girl comes home one day to find her husband sitting on the front porch weeping. She says: "That's so sweet. You remembered today is our 25th anniversary." Her husband replied: "That's exactly right. I still remember the day your daddy burst into our house, stuck that shotgun in my belly, and said 'Either you're marryin' my daughter or somebody's gonna die right now!'. I've been thnking that if I'd managed to wrestle the gun out of his hands and kill him, then allowing for time off good behavior, today I'd most likely be getting out of prison a free man."

OK, I wrote hubby a Dear John email. (Realize he thought he sent me his tax info Friday via email (no matter how many times I tell clients to use FileShare on my website) but nothing was attached.

People who call to leave messages on my *home* office machine at 8AM on *SUNDAY* get put on the bottom of NEXT week's stack. Cause I can...

My extension date is later but not by much. Does anyone/everyone else have clients that RUSH to get info in by the date -- and have it be incomplete? Thinking that gets them finished for sure, when my letter clearly states ALL information received by March 15th (or whenever) or no guarantee. Just your W-2 and nothing else guarantees *nothing*.

Lion: I believe the only thing we can do to protect our shelves in these situations is to be upfront with both parties. If one of you tell me something, then I am telling the other. There are no secrets here. Is that a Circ230 violation? Maybe. But the IRS is never gonna sue me, Opposing counsel WILL. Therefore, I would tell the Wife that Husband is pushing for an appointment. I would tell Husband that Wife is ready to go. And to REALLY protect myself, I would choose one or the other, and tell the other one to find someone new. Have that going on here right now. Husband is out of state, and has been for years. Can't ever seem to file on time. Last year? He filed in March. Guess what? Never asked his WIFE about that filing, made up numbers for her Schedule C, etc. As far as the Wife knew there was no filing. So we filed a MFS return for Wife. IRS says that HER return doesn't count..... Her attorney is LOVING this. Makes Husband look really bad in the local court. Choose, then move on. Rich

I had two of my divorcing clients come in today. When they first arrived, they both were so tense that I could almost see the daggers shooting out of their eyes when they looked at each other. The more we talked, I could see both of them became more relaxed with each passing minute. Finally, I told them that I needed to keep them both in my office for as long as I could and maybe they might not go through with the divorce. When they both instantly yelled "NO", I knew it was a lost cause. As the mom is the parent who the child will live with the majority of the time, and the court order calls for alternating claiming the child, I explained to them both that the mom will need to sign an 8332 for IRS to recognize the dad's ability to claim the child. At this point I also explained that as far as IRS is concerned, the release by her for the father to claim the child is strictly up to her whether she signs the 8332. I also told them both that if she claimed the child when it was his turn, then there was the issue of the dad being able to take her back to court to charge her with "contempt of court" and she should think twice before she would not follow what was agreed on and ultimately ordered by the court. So for the above reason alone, I'm glad I had both of them for the tax year of 2014. After 2014, if they both come back, they know their returns will be prepared according to IRS rules and regulations. Hopefully, my speech will eliminate one of their "friends" convincing them to disregard claiming their child in alternating years which will eliminate extra work for me....and also less disputes with each other as well.

Clear to me you need to lose him this year. He seems to be telling her something different than he's telling you, so probably stalling her so he can file first. I'd tell her you are getting conflicting messages, without any details, so only if they come in TOGETHER and discuss it can you do the return.

Lion I have simple thoughts. If you feel uncomfortable ....or think it will complicate your life....walk away. This one sounds like too many variables....too many potential issues.