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Rita, if I ever meet you and you try to hug me, please don't be offended if I politely decline. Or even if I run the other way screaming "Somebody save me!"

Don't you just love it when insurance people give out tax advice? I still feel privileged that our Government has seen fit to appoint me to be the enforcer of their absolutely atrocious insurance laws.

I found out how much longer I can be Nice, yesterday. Had a woman in tears (literally) because she insists that because she got married on Dec 12, she HAS to file single. Husband just sat there shaking his head. Neither one of them were prepared. He did not have an accounting of the estimates that he paid and neither one of them had their papers from the Marketplace. She said the lady from the Marketplace told her that it didn't matter how she filed, but she would end up with a huge penalty if she didn't file single. I see an extension on the horizon. After they left, I waited for one more pickup and then took a nap. Never came back to my computer until this AM. Right now, I would like to tip the desk over and let the papers fall where they may.

$40 fee increase. Then very graciously honor the $20 off Tax Preparation coupon. Win-win.

Just don't run toward her backyard.

This is the first I've heard of student loan repayment schedules being lower when people file MFS. Maybe it's because most of my clients are old (like me), and student loans aren't in their financial mix. But I've never run across this even among my younger & middle-age clients. Anyhow, here's my question. Does the lower payment come with a lower interest rate? If not, then that means they are probably paying more income tax solely for the purpose of getting a lower monthly payment. Sounds like false economy to me, since the additional taxes are essentially an increase in their 'effective' interest rate (their true all-in cost of borrowing money). But I guess if they fall for that, they are the same people who routinely sign up for 7-year auto loans or fool themselves into thinking that leasing a car is more economical than buying. Or those who do serial refinancing, paying exorbitant transaction costs to ratchet down their home mortgage rate a few points without regard for the payback period. I guess there is a pattern there.

Client dropped off a $20 off Tax Preparation coupon from H&R Block with his tax 'bits'. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to take that, but I think a $20 fee increase is in order .

Three out of three of my Surprise! repayment of PTC (which does not break my heart, BTW) went to the same insurance salesman in this town. He got a little attitude with me when I spoke to him on the phone, saying he wasn't making any money on these ACA clients. I said, "Well, imagine how accountants feel. We're actually having to learn about it."

The repayment system has a flaw. If the person files separately, only their income is use to calculate the payment they can afford. One spouse could be earning $200K, and the one with student loans earns $30K. If they file separately, the repayment schedule is based on the $30K income. I personally am offended by this type of action. These people game the system and cause the rest of us that pay according to our actual income. Same for the spouse that wants to file separately so her husband's unpaid child support does not snag her return. When did it become a smart move to marry a man with multiple thousands of dollars in unpaid child support? RANT OVER!

My guy had about $3,000 withheld. Chase the identity thieves getting $20,000 refunds!

This is the situation with one of mine. He was/is furious, went into the Knoxville office to inquire as to why his refund was held up. Mentioned that his kickass preparer thought it might be the large SS withholdings. Refund is 14,492. IRS agent says, "Nah, people have big refunds all the time, it's probably preparer error. You were mailed a letter on March 23 explaining but I don't know what the letter said." Well, the next morning the agent called him and said, "It appears to be the large SS withholdings... my supervisor will be calling you..." 1) Probably preparer error??????? 2) Communicate with SSA already. C'mon. 3) Client has not received any letter. I guess that's preparer error, too.

Lady brings her very nice summary of business expenses AND THE GOOD OLE ACCORDIAN FILE WITH ALL HER RECEIPTS. She goofs around I mean sells crafts. I see an asset on the sheet mixed in with everything. Me: When did you buy this sewing machine? She: Oh, the receipt is in there. Me: When did you buy this sewing machine? She gave me a date. It could be wrong. Neither of us cared. I was sorta "Nice" not giving her a hug, right?

I think it's on the CT drivers' exam to stay six car lengths away from any MA license plate!

I can get any accent within a day, good enough to fool natives in anything but a protracted conversation. Except Italian. I grew up hearing that ALL the time and it just does not register in my brain. Somehow I grew up speaking English with no accent (Italian or Bostonian) and was made fun of in school for "talking funny" I kid you not. And for @FDNY we could use Massatuckians, or the more-common-around-here "Massholes" although that usually refers to drivers (not me!).

Lunch? I have a new partnership that I thought was complete, uploaded K-1 for one partner and prepared 1040 for other and am waiting on his mileage. Now get an email from the gal that recommended them and her CPA asking for her K-1. They didn't tell me they added a partner; she wasn't on their 2014 return that I reviewed. I did ask about their relationship to her since she recommended them, and they talked about a side agreement where she paid some of their bills over time and they'll start to repay her during 2016 since money is starting to come in. No loan on the balance sheet; no 65K in their bank account; expenses aren't anyplace near that high. Does your LLC have a joint venture/LLC/partnership with her LLC? They say No but do say they have an agreement on paper and will bring it by Sunday afternoon. I didn't quote them nearly enough for more than a week's worth of work and asking for more information. While my continuing clients wait for me to finally get this one off my desk. Frustrated. At least I'll stop right now and move on to other clients until tomorrow afternoon when maybe I can see what I'm working with. These guys self-prepared their 1065 for the last couple of years, but put all their expenses on their Schedules Cs, including expenses dating back to 2011 that must've been start-up expenses! I did NOT offer to amend, just told them what they did wrong.

Whatever amount he stiffed you for was well worth the investment. If he cheated you out of $500, you learned enough about his lack of character to insure that he would never have a chance to cheat you out of $5,000 (which he probably would do if given the chance). That's valuable information to have about anyone with whom you might be doing business in the future. Some people are are so insecure that they simply MUST get things over on others, usuallly as a way to validate their own self-worth. Best to identify them early in the relationship and steer clear of them forever afterward.

I know. I listened to my attorney and his attorney friend discussing which accountant they could hire for cheap to prepare exhibits for court. While he is charging me huge fees, he is talking about trying to find a cheap accountant. Hello? We already charge less than you, and that's if you invoice in human hours, not dog hours, which is what I suspect you do. Anyhow, he says to other lawyer, the guy I've been using is good, but he's not as good as she is (pointing to me). I wasn't smug at all. And I hugged him. And I meant it. I really did.

I tried that exactly once. It was a lawyer -- who bills as much per HOUR as my entire fee was -- and he paid half. I did not invite him back the next year and frankly if he offered $1,000 per return going forward I wouldn't take him back. The level of disrespect shown to another professional was astounding.

I've only had a few clients over the years who actually questioned the bill. But in those cases I've always followed the advice to ask them "What do you think it should be?" They never have an answer, other than to say it should be less. So they don't have any idea of what's reasonable, but they are absolutely sure the existing charge is unreasonable. How stupid & illogical can someone be? (Don't answer that...) Anyhow, my response has always been to tell them to decide what's fair and send a check for that amount. I think in all these years only one person actually sent less than the amount billed. But in almost every case I made sure they went somewhere else the next year. If they didn't do so voluntarily, I took the initiative - usuallly by calling it to their attention next time around (if there was going to be one), and pointing out it will be larger the current year if all work is about the same as the year before. They need to know & acknowledge you're in the business to make a profit, not just to earn a wage. I don't want to do business with someone who doesn't trust me to charge them appropriately, and I don't want to do business with someone who is opposed to me making a profit. No sense being bashful about that.

I have five that I'm aware are missing info. There are 21 others here that I've not started, and knowing their track record, half will be missing information. I'm asking one time. Then my energy is going to be spent on those for whom I have everything. And making sure I don't miss an extension. Or lunch.

Easy on that. I have a high income couple with a 20K refund this year. I have not heard it is in examination, but I expect it to be (probably not, this is the IRS we are talking about). Here is why the large refund. Income over 200K every year for the last 7 or 8 years. 6 years ago, when the babies were old enough to go to school, they moved to another school district in the same area. Rented out their home because it was so under water from the Recession. With their high income, the passive losses on their rental were suspended every year. This year they sold. Not only a loss on the property, but also all those suspended passive losses released. Dropped their income down to a level where they actually got their child tax credits as well. That is how you generate a 20K refund in 1 year. And I am damn glad for them as well. They have been my clients since I started my practice 17 years ago. I remember when they got married, right after she graduated from college and started teaching. They worked hard, do everything right, get great jobs, and get screwed out of credits and deductions because they are successful. They could have walked from their mortgage when the recession hit, but they did not. Solid people doing the right thing. When I sent them the return, I got a 1 word reply "WOW". This is when I love my job. Tom Newark, CA

I was pretty fed up with a separated couple, professional counselors mind you. The husband couldn't get his head out of his own @$$ long enough to realize that you are super "Nice" and appreciative to the tax lady that saved you from tax suicide. Do not have an attitude with me because your wife picked me. She picked you, too. Their friend, my client, referred them to me. She called me and said to send the invoice to her because they were fighting over that, too.

Damn, I just did an MFS/MFJ worksheet because this couple keeps income separate and they want to see how much of the tax is generated by each. So all of a sudden, MFS is lower by a substantial amount. Think it might have something to do with the AMT fix that through for 2014. MFS requires so much more work in ATX. And I was about to shove this one off my desk. I'm doing several MFS already because of student loan repayment schedules and high medical....more than I've done in all my years of doing tax. Argh! I just want to get the damn things done at this point! Why do I have to be frikkin meticulous at this point!

This is the best group therapy, thank you.

Little old man who rents and has SS with the exact same w/h as years past. Called a week or two ago that he hadn't received his refund in a month; Where's My Refund says Processing. Today calls with an IRS letter demanding he send them his W-2s, 1099-Rs, W-2Gs, etc. The only one he has had for years is 1099-SSA. The numbers on the letter match the return exactly. Don't you think the IRS has access to the 1099-SSA? Wife and son passed away years ago, sold house years ago, moved into a retirement community (rents) years ago, same SS w/h for years, same refund for years. Spend your time chasing the crooks or at least looking at returns with a big change to make sure they're right.

And she doesn't even know how nice you were, or appreciate not getting to see the backyard.

My strategy, I hammer them with emails and phone calls as I do my best to clean out the backlog that is waiting for a piece of information. It helps me to feel better seeing less in the racks. This time of the year it's all about you and me, transfer the stress from us to them. Don't you just love it when they think there is no rush because they owe or they have until 4/15. While I'm always nice as pie to them, I will let them know how inconvenient and un-productive it is for me to wait on them, and maybe they will realize how inconsiderate they have been, usually takes a few years.

I even manage to understand the difference between the singular and plural Y'all, at least for the month of July! Besides Safety and Stewardship, we're well trained in Sensitivity to the culture of the counties we serve.

Just can't go a year without giving him a shout out. Jainen, if you're lurking, hello and all the best to you!

And KC, and my pal Wendy.... those who prove the case by the exceptions!

EXACTLY. Well worth losing half the fee to get rid of the bozo before he tried causing more trouble down the road. Funny, every time I think my opinion of lawyers can't sink any lower, something like this incident proves me wrong.

Yes, like the Eagles song says, "lunch will keep us alive."

When the kids are done with college, we are thinking about leaving California. All of my family has left (AZ, OH, VA and CO), and the kids are probably not going to stay in this area after they graduate (oldest is interviewing for a job in the DC area). I don't really like the political and social scene in California anymore. I would like to go somewhere that has a little more "common sense" and has a government treats people with a little more respect. The one time I went to Nashville for some training, I fell in love with the place. I just drove around looking at all the water, green grass, nice large lots, and cheap housing prices. I think I could do that as I grow old. When my mom moved to Richmond, she could not believe how polite and nice the people were. Nothing eminent, but I did see that job and it got me thinking about what it would be like to live in the south. Tom Newark, CA

Never. Not my Tom. Or any of my tax buddies here. You get real hugs not designed to measure for graves.

But NOT the back yard kind of hug!

I think the "Loos Ends" title is very appropriate and illustrative. The creative spelling is what attracted my attention to the topic. I actually I thought it was intentiona

My other "still processing" (I think I have three that called, but can't remember the third right now) is my own kids who had a baby and worked less due to enforced bed rest, closing their bakery during the bed rest, etc., so their return had a lot of changes: family size up, income down, EIC for the first time, etc. I can see why it would be looked at. If a real human being checked the SSN to see that a baby was born during 2015, the rest would fall into place, though. They really need their refund after lower income for months. With mom's health, they are not reopening the bakery until May.

I'm wondering if one of my older clients will get a letter like this also. He has a lot of income on his return but he also still has an S corp with a W-2 to himself that has been the same amount for years; same gross, same withholdings. He adjusts for the balance of his taxes by paying estimates. Same preparer too.

"Jello Shots"

I agree with your rant. It should be trivial - and mandatory - to hold a return for investigation when the name and ssn do NOT match last year's data. Even if name and ssn match but address has changed - might be worth a peek. But to do NOTHING about egregious differences and then hold a refund for folks with the same demographic info for years running is just a bone-STUPID waste of resources. And the time taken investigating this means dozens of frauds WILL go through because the investigators are busy doing things that should not be done.

Do you also welcome former New Yorkers and Massachusetts-ites (Catherine, help me out here) to your beautiful tax-free state?

I know you meant to say 'excluding jasdlm, who is top notch, always' and brings a breath of fresh air to the legal profession!

Then I guess I better have some lunch. It may not keep my partners alive if this gets any more complex. Lucky that one of them is in TX. But, the other is coming Sunday afternoon so I better start digging now.

I wonder how my lack of an accent would play in TN? Or if they would think I have an accent? Do they say "Y'all" in TN or is that just a Texas thing? Tom Newark, CA

Oh, I love when my couple who's been adding huge amounts to their withholding for years, due to those situations with all the phaseouts and extra taxes to fund Obamacare, finally get a big refund once in a while. I was thinking about the thief that stole my identity and made up a bunch of dependents and got every credit imaginable that all of us paid for with our honest tax dollars.

Ah, the buzz words: "artisanal" "authentic" and "hand-whatevered". I bet your bum would be pretty raw!

So I check with my doctor the other day to find out what's ailing me. He said I had IT'SAD, Income Tax Season Affective Disorder. This malady was first recognized by Dr. Walter N. Cluer of the renowned ATX Institute or the Amsterdam Taxpreparers Xfile Institute in the Netherlands. Some of the indications are, Fear of missing something if you don't visit this board daily. Grief, when opening a tax package and seeing a crumpled, sticky, coffee and spaghetti sauce (or blood) stained documents. Headache, from breathing the odor of tax documents that smell like a pack of Marlboros. Sadness, when receiving a long fax with 50 pages of a year end brokerage statement with instructions. Anger, when realizing you are out of fax ink and machine keeps beeping. I'm sure many of you have other symptoms. I asked if there was a remedy and he said "No bunky, just therapy from a support group". I hope everyone here gets the help they need if they are affected, and it is good to know we have a great support group right here. Thanks to all, I feel better already. Don't let the April fools get you down, they all just realized what date is fast approaching.

Happy that it came out well, Terry. That makes it just a tiny bit better for them. It's really horrible when the outcome is that the IRS in effect 'piles on' with more taxes due. I just finished helping one of my sons with his return. Guess this old lady still has some value, he was going to do his own this year, for the first time ever. called me to review it, because he owed so much. So I logged in to it with his password, and got to work. He had done a pretty fair job, but I still reduced his final amount owed by 4K. So I'm feeling pretty good about that.

My son showed me the engagement ring he bought for his lovely, sweet girlfriend Monday. They have almost finished building a house, she knows it's coming, and it's been a long time coming, if you know what I mean. I asked when he was giving it to her. Friday, but first I have to ask her Dad. (Awww.) Is that April Fools' Day? No, but, wow, you just gave me a great idea. Me: NOOOOOOOOOOO. Do not do whatever it is. Do NOT.