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Right now I take your word for it. But let's fast forward to 2016 and think about a hypthetical . ->> Sorry, I can't take your word for it any more. IRS told me that beginning this year I must verify marital status for all clients. I need to see your marriage license and you need to sign this statement for my records that you haven't divorced since that date. I can't just limit this due diligence to same sex couples, or even just new clients, because that would be discrimination. So I have to do this for every client, even though I've known you for years - maybe even attended your wedding. Otherwise I'm subject to a $500 fine for each failure. (or substitute whatever fine you think is likely. The EIC due diligence requirments might give you an idea of how far they feel they can go). <<- IRS has already done a very good job of making tax preparers unpaid data entry clerks. I see lots of preparers who ae very proud of their efficiency at this clerical task. IRS has made the preparer responsible for getting the returns filed on time - another clerical task having nothing to do with tax prpearation skills. They've begun to make preparers unpaid auditors, at least for EIC. So why woudl they not just keep tightening the noose? They have everything to gain and nothing to lose. You, on the other hand...

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....................................... ...........................................................................................................................Y'all have fun............................................................................................................................................... Ya'll have fun.............

AFAIK there is no system to track anyone's marital status, so it's not verifiable, which means we pretty much have to take their word for it.

Postal addressing standards: http://pe.usps.gov/text/pub28/28c2_001.htm I get on my employees when they don't follow the rules. Edit: The post office reads addresses from the bottom up.

If you follow the USPS recommend address protocols for ALL instances of using addresses, they will all be the same. I was taught proper address protocol in High School. Although USPS has changed some of them slightly, the basic rules are still the same. This is NOT rocket science. With us, as professionals, dealing with important and personal financial situations for our clients, I believe that knowing the proper protocols for addresses would be something that a professional should know, keep updated on, and utilize at all times. This is NOT rocket science. Working at the firm for 11 tax seasons, (over 30,000 returns) and at my private practice for 18 years (over 2,000 returns) we have collectively seen 3-4 instances of CP148A. Rant Over.

I'll be driving a van full of teenagers to TN for Appalachia Service Project along with 185 people from my area: www.JesseLeeASP.org

IRS won't need to go to those lengths. All they need to do is devise a penalty to assess against the preparer for failing to follow due diligence in verifying marital status. That solves their problem nicely.

JM, that is scary. At first I thought these posts were only showing the incompetence at the USPS. I have an elderly relative who moved recently and we filed the standard change of address with the post office. The notice they sent (usually to old and new addresses) was only delivered to the old address because someone must have gotten tired of typing and the new address field was blank. So he changed his address from the old home to.....no where! It took three trips to the post office to find the right person on duty to fix, but now he gets his mail with the little yellow stickers showing the new address. It is my understanding that when a taxpayer files a return with a new address (particularly one with a refund), the IRS checks with the USPS change of address data base. Good luck with that, if my experience with the local post office is any indication. But to realize that jerks are requesting changes willy nilly smacks of some form of terrorism. This can really throw billers, payers, banks, the gov't into a whirlpool of a mess, not to mention the unsuspecting victims.