Leaderboard

It's becoming car buying. No need for it. Stand by your product and provide the renewal amount in the email.

Yep, I agree. I reamed NAEA for sending out their membership renewal email a few days ago. What I wish, though, with the ATX renewal email is if they would just tell us the renewal $, instead of making us call the fricking reps! And the renewal invoice is nowhere to be found in my online account. Color me grumpy

10) I know you're really busy, BUT . . .

Sorry about the downtime. A MySQL database table crashed, and had to be repaired. Should be all good now.

You people should send me emails when bad stuff happens. I was telling Judy that if it's a hosting/server issue, I get emails and text messages, but if it's site/software related, someone has to let me know it's broke! [email protected]

My email last night: "Would you like me to file an extension for you?" client emails reply this morning: "thanks for the note. Well i probably should. We just moved and I got really behind this time. I have everything but probably would be good just in case. I don't want to get you the stuff too late" Hey Pal, it was too late two weeks ago.

If I'm doing the work to determine they don't HAVE to file - I'm charging. Just because they are under the income threshold doesn't mean they don't have some other reason that requires them to file. As an example years ago I did the taxes of an old lady who was in a debt forgiveness program and had to prove she didn't have income of a certain amount - providing a copy of her tax return was required. so my answer: I'd charge and when they pick up - tell them that next year they may consider the fact that they do not meet the income threshold requiring them to file. This year I did the taxes for a lady - new client. Her husband was in a nursing home and they were forced to withdraw all of their retirement funds to get on Medicaid. In passing she mentioned they hadn't filed in 10 years because they didn't reach the income threshold - which she thought was $40k. Woops.

I understand the reasoning behind striking while the iron's hot but I still think these types of solicitations should wait until after April 15th. Received the following today: The finish line is in sight, and you’ve conquered another tax season with ATX! We hope that your year so far has been productive and profitable for both you and your business. As we close in on April 18th, we’re excited to inform you that your early renewal offer is now available. It’s the best time to renew your ATX software for the 2017 filing season, simply call your Account Manager at 800-495-4626. This opportunity is set to expire on Tuesday, May 31st. When you call, be sure to ask your Account Manager about how you can: Simplify your office workflow with CCH iFirm Practice Manager Securely share important documents with CCH iFirm Client Portal Increase your tax knowledge with industry leading CCH Research and Learning options We look forward to speaking with you soon to discuss your needs for the upcoming year. Best regards, Your ATX Team

It's like the special shoes that are so special, you gotta add em to the special cart to see the special price. The very last thing any of us want today is a renewal notice from software. Or any solicitation. Ok, except cookies, cookie solicitations are ok. Everybody else, get outta my life. Also time to change my greeting: "Hey, this is Rita. Come pick up your #$%^."

59..... 58..... 57.....

Great work getting it under control Eric. Thanks! Whew! Now I don't need that second glass of wine, no wait, I need it to catch up on my post reading.

Translation: "I don't care that you're busy, here's what I want you to do." My favorite.

Ok, I like this. Fair enough. Of course, their situation could change, and they may be required to file in the future. No, of course, they won't know, and we're still having to discuss, discuss, discuss. This is why everybody should have withholdings. Just kidding.

We have a senior credit that folks can only get if they file. Filing starts the SOL. Filing also provides paper trail should it be needed later for nursing home evaluation of income. And these days, it can provide warning of identity theft, too. If I do the work, I charge. Full fee always shown on bill but for those who don't "need" to file the discount is frequently very large.

Yes. We all have these borderline situations. In PA there is a very low threshold for needing to file, plus we have a property tax rebate program for seniors and disabled people, so we must still enter everything just to be able to prepare the PA & tax rebate forms. If we don't charge, then word of mouth will clog us up with more of these (same with dependent's returns). It's much ado about nothing. I tell the clients to stop federal withholding, and next year go to VITA and they can probably have it done for free.

5) Are you about caught up? 6) Guy who just whined about my fee: So if I move to FL [to avoid $2,400 in TN income tax and pay far more than that in additional property tax], will you still be able to do my return? Yeah, if you figure out how to use USPS and/or email. He actually makes a trip to NY annually to visit his financial advisor. 7) What time do you go to lunch? 8) If I sell something in 2016, how will that affect my 2016 taxes? This is just a bad question now, not next month. 9) What time do you close?

Alright, I realize yesterday my client is under the filing threshold. (Barely, if that matters to you, but easy to see, pension and SS.) I text him and explain, hoping to avoid the whole drawn out discussion, but noooooooo. He calls back, yak, yak, yak, and FINALLY asks what I would do. Well, of course, I would file (but I get free tax prep). I really think that's what he wanted to hear. He says go ahead and do the return. $75, ok, yippee, I'm glad he said that, but I could have done another return in the time we spent talking about it. It would be easier, not necessarily "right," to: 1) Do the return, charge, and not mention it (Yes, I've done this) 2) Do the return and not charge (Yes, I've done this, too) And, honestly, I don't have a rule here, it's based on my mood, and maybe, ok definitely, the degree to which the client has been a PITA in the past. Sort of interest on my misery costs. BUT, next time I'm inclined to do #1, and move on. I'm not gonna lie. Who's with me?

I knew it would be back soon, but it still makes me lonesome when the site is down.

11) Got a minute? My answer, yes, one minute.

We're on opposite schedules. If we were in business together we would have a 24 hour tax practice with large deductions for electricity.

My boys favorite movie, the third time they watched it, Don and I watched it with them, I laughed so much I hurt! I've watched it multiple times since, but I still love it. Rita, you must watch it. The famous line, often used in various memes today, repeated multiple times in the movie "I don't think _______ means what you think it means."

You should prepare it, but NOT file it, unless it actually goes down to the last week. Before that you should talk to the auditor's supervisor, explain frankly the problem, and ask for their help in resolving the remaining issues. The prepared 1040X can be used in that discussion.

I just got an email from Drake. I haven't read it, it just starts with Change for the Better.

Judy, Thanks so much for that link. I should have used better search terms on Google or something. I relied on the pubs and instructions too much. After reading a bunch of garbage, I did find that my client's partnership ended up being terminated. It would have been nice, it they would have just put them in their packets or easily found on their webpage. I would be so lost without this website!

Eric, I would have sent an email but didn't have your email addy - now I do and will make sure it's in my address book.

Yay! I was starting to have withdrawal symptoms too.

Thank you, Eric, for getting us up and running again.

Whew! I was almost having panic attacks. I didn't realize how very often I check this as it is my home page. It's different when we have a heads up for maintenance and are prepared. Thanks to those who began the FB page so I knew we were not alone. And thanks again, ever so much, Eric, for providing this space for us. Maybe a little bit for you, too...True thanks!

^^^^^^ This is why everybody should have withholdings. Just kidding.

Y'all is SOUTHERN, not any one state. As CA keeps moving more extreme left, plus higher and higher tax, they are going to lose more of the people who actually pay those taxes, while the ones who live off the taxes keeps growing. Not a healthy trend. TN, TX and FL all look better all the time, with no state income tax and still better housing costs. Plus friendly people.

Who needs a reason. PITA fee - we assign those as needed (or deserved) in my office.

I *never* get tired of watching that movie. The very first scene where Inigo shows up (at the river side) he is actually a printed cutout! If you look closely, you can see the photographic shine. He wasn't available that day and he's only in the shot for a couple of seconds.

Well I don't know about the "Old Lady" thing because I have never met you personally and no I'm not saying you are an "Old lady". Regardless, you do still have a lot of value and your knowledge of the tax laws and experience is immeasurable. Over the years, I have appreciated your input and advice immensely. Also with these amendments, after all is done, these folks will end up with an extra $1100.00 they had no idea they could get. They have brought me three other clients with the same situation. While doing amendments at this time of year isn't something I would normally do, I will at least get the 2012 taken care of for each of them due to the expiration date of April 15. Each situation is different and maybe I'll get lucky and find out that an extension has been filed.

I did a search, but you know what happened with "SIMPLE". Wages 60,000. Net income from self-employment 30,374, no employees, has contributed $2,600 to SIMPLE IRA and I have been directed to figure the ER match. It's $911, correct? (Match dollar-for-dollar up to 3% of net Sch C income, per page 10 of Publication 560, chapter 3.) My take on this is: He's MFS, so maybe wife is covered by retirement plan at work, otherwise this is nuts, he should just contribute to Traditional IRA, and my life would be easy. But this is my first rodeo, so if you have another idea as to why this is a good idea, please tell me. Obviously, he may be stepping up contributions next year.

Seriously!! This is going to kill him, and it's the first year I've done the return, also the first year he's married. Congratulations, I wish your wife didn't have "an issue" so you need to file separately. She may get healed of the issue when I tell him what he owes.

The property tax credit in my state also works for rent. A renter can get back $750. That client who hadn't filed in many years didn't qualify for any of this - made too much which is sort of hilarious considering she didn't think she made enough to file.

When I read the online articles in regards to the Affordable Care Act, I always look at the comments people post just to get a sense of what other folks are experiencing all around the country. The best one so far, they quoted the famous Nancy Pelosi statement about passing it before we could find out what's in it. A Doctor commented and I quote: That's what I would call a stool sample." EXACTLY.

I tend to file. One of the triggers is "federal or other state change" and they DO share information. Without a CA-6 (and I also DETEST that form) having been filed you are almost certain to get a nastygram from MassDOR. File it, making sure to append the federal changes, put in the explanation that there is NO change to MA tax. Another important bit on the CA-6 is ALWAYS, ALWAYS, to check the box requesting a statutory hearing. That way, if MA pulls some bone-headed stunt, you have an opportunity to protest it. Without checking that box, if some bonehead mis-enters information and sends a demand for $1,000 additional tax, you will have ZERO chance to protest. (They are more likely to pull that kind of stunt with no CA-6, one reason to be sure to file it.) I have rarely had to request a hearing -- but without checking the box you are poop outta luck.

Morning? I haven't been to bed yet!

First time in the 10 years I've been doing taxes. Sure, I have had dreams (and occasionally nightmares), but never this. Walking around the house in the middle of the night asking everyone about whether or not I checked the box on the 1040. " Did I check the box?" "I better take a look 'cuz I don't know if I checked the box on the 1040." "Do you know if I checked the box on the 1040?" I am undoubtedly referring to the health insurance box. The next day, I had no recollection of this incident.

4) Guy with $37,000 in dividend income (and SS and pension): How can I pay less tax? Me: Put your money in the bank at 0.45% interest. Or the stock market may take care of your problem if you're lucky. This type client is so annoying to me. Came from NY where he paid $360 for tax prep in 2008. I'm just now getting up to $350 and he's bitching about my fee, too. This is one of those days. Glad I brought cookies.

TAX HUMOR They're only two people who ever have understood the Internal Revenue Code in its entirety. One is dead, and the other still is in therapy. As an EA I have learned and continue to learn that I do not know what I do not know and that buying technology to help me get there faster is akin to using speed dial to dial wrong numbers faster. Tax law is a funny thing. I think it fair to say that most CPAs know something about the federal income tax; many if not most lawyers do not. . . . I'm continually amazed at the attitude people have toward their tax refund. There seems to be in most people's minds -- and I'm talking about intelligent, educated people who understand the tax system -- a disconnect between the refund they get and the amount of taxes they pay. It's like a lottery. People want that check! In connection with the payment of taxes due, no person shall fear that he will suffer, at the hand of perverse and enraged judges, imprisonment, lashes of leaded whips, weights, or any other tortures devised by the arrogance of judges. Prisons are for criminals. . . . In accordance with this law, taxpayers shall proceed with security. -Emperor Constantine It is the small owner who offers the only really profitable and reliable material for taxation. . . . He is made for taxation. . . . He swarms; he is far more tied to his place and his calling than the big owner; he has less skill, and ingenuity as regards escape; and he still has a large supply of "ignorant patience of taxation." Feeling stressed out before your audit? Relax and enjoy this new stress relief method... Picture yourself near a stream. Birds are softly chirping in the crisp cool mountain air. Nothing can bother you here. No one knows this secret place. You are in total seclusion from that place called "the world." The soothing sound of a gentle waterfall fills the air with a cascade of serenity. The water is clear. You can easily make out the face of the person whose head you're holding under the water. Look. It's the IRS agent who caused you all this stress in the first place. What a pleasant surprise. You let them up...just for a quick breath...then ploop!...back under they go... You allow yourself as many deep breaths as you want. .. Gleim Accounting

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 .

Unless it's egregious enough to make headlines. Then we can break out the popcorn!

Tom, this'll get you partway to TN. Rita, will this help us Northerners?

Yes, you are welcome here, too, Bill! Catherine, all, y'all. And can you imagine the fun we'd have if we on this board were in the same office???

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

>>the spot to put the NOL carryforward (I'm told through software) is in the "other income line 21" which is outside of the schedule C.<< That's the same thing IRS says! According to Pub 536, "If you carry forward your NOL to a tax year after the NOL year, list your NOL deduction as a negative figure on the Other income line of Form 1040." As you observe, that is outside Schedule C so SE tax is simply not affected at all by an NOL carryover. It is even clearer for a carryback year where tax has already been calculated. "While it is necessary to refigure your income tax, alternative minimum tax, and credits, do not refigure your self-employment tax."