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Sounds like a perfect place to mention ---- have this in your engagement letter or at least as part of the policy you share with the client --- I will keep documents until you pick them up //// up to 3-4-5 whatever years and then destroy them /// this protects you should they then come back complaining ---"I did not know; was not informed, etc.. In today's society -- protection is the way to think ---- (again, an enemy is less likely to harm you -- because you do not normally let them close /// while a friend, family will -- because of who they are --- they have access).

Bet their fine was peanuts!

http://www.engadget.com/2016/05/18/microsoft-windows-7-service-pack/ I find this interesting: Going forward, Microsoft will offer monthly non-security rollups for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8.1 via Windows Update. In other words, a single monthly patch will cover all non-security related fixes, while security releases will roll out whenever they're needed. ...but I don't look forward to multiple security updates during the month.

She should claim innocent spouse, I bet she didn't have a clue what kind of monkey business he was involved in.

Yes, some of the IRS numbers answer into the evening, and many people stop calling by 5 p.m. or earlier thinking the IRS keeps normal office hours. Some of the more specialized numbers close by 5 p.m. But, I've had good luck in the evening. Also, early morning as I'm on the east coast (but I'm not a morning person).

Looks like the one on the right is sorry she ever listened to him. A common mistake made by many.

I agree with you both and am aware that this will all be taxed at the regular corporate rates. I realize that the covenant isn't part of this corporate sale, but I included in in the detail of my post so that Tom could see that it wasn't part of the figures I was discussing. I also included the details of goodwill to show that it realistically can't be attributed to the owners and will be part of the sale within the C corp. Inventory will be determined at the close of business immediately before settlement for the sale and will be plugged in to the final breakdown so that, because the sales price will not be increased for inventory and the class V asset allocations will have been decided on, the effect will be that using the residual method will cause the goodwill to be reduced by the amount of the inventory value. They're working on revising the figures for the class V assets after I sent the owner an email about F&F being allocated too high, and too low on improvements. I was just there this morning explaining all of this to the owner, and then came back to the office to find an email from the corp's attorney asking about the same issue.

Oh, wow, I have one or two every year that take forever to pick up. I had one to pick up today whose return had been ready two months. Got another one laying here, and I don't have a clue when they'll come in. I got both extensions, so I wouldn't have started worrying till October about either one of them. Yes, I do have one in the back for whom I did three returns a couple years ago who has never picked up. I guess he's in the dead file. Bill, yours is in the Nursing Home, or Hospice care, not dead yet, there is hope!

Virginia would have also cashed the check.

You're lucky NY sent it back. MD would have cashed the check and refused to send you a refund. One of my clients did the exact same thing several years ago. so we had a canceled check, made out to the US Treasury but MD had the money.

JUST BUY SOMETHING, PLEASE!

Haven't seen this survey ? However I did just receive an email urging me to renew my Taxwise software. Very curious, since I have never used or subscribed to Taxwise ? This maybe the shotgun approach to marketing & communication ?

Turn off automatic windows updates and do them manually when you are bored (or leaving for lunch). Too many times I've been leaving for a meeting or trying to avoid rush hour traffic on Friday afternoon and my laptop went into update mode. Now I do a manual monthly update when I go to lunch and I know what's being updated.

I had good luck Friday evening around 7. I think it's because it's payday for most people and many are shopping, dining, drinking, etc.

Suggestion: Try around 8AM or late afternoon and avoid Mondays and Fridays. I have made hundreds of calls to the IRS and this seems to work best. Even though they weren't on the 1040 number, the results should be about the same.

It's not just for complaints. You don't even have to comply. I just hate my legal name and only used it for my certificate and not my PTIN or corporate name. If I didn't comply, they would take my name off of the IRS preparer's website. That would just make me happy for the same reason that I won't let QuickBooks add me to their Pro Advisors website. I am one, but I don't want people to know it.

I agree with Jack. We have some in the back drawer that are 3 years old. Just waiting. We do the work and then one day they wake up and say "this is the day". Or they get a letter from the IRS or State and they have to do something. They show up, we get paid. I show no judgement. But forget about it. They don't care. No telling what's going on in their life right now. I had one last month that I've been sitting on for 2 1/2 years. I did 3 years for the client and then he dropped off the face of the earth. He calls pays me $1200. I thank him. And everyone is happy. The problem is we care, they don't. Remember it's only business.

Taxxcpa and Lion, perhaps suspicious returns were filed for these clients? The IRS sent a letter to the fraudster requesting additional info and wouldn't process the return until they received a reply. When your clients filed, their accounts were already flagged and that's why it took so long? We had two clients receive letters asking them to verify returns they hadn't filed yet, but both of those had to file their actual returns on paper. Your clients didn't receive letters, just experienced a delay, but there must have been a reason for it. The IRS filters are definitely getting better.

The thieves already have a handle on obtaining PINs and last year's AGI. I too had a client who received an IP PIN this year and his return rejected because one had already been filed. Seems the crooks stole enough info about those whose identities they used last year to answer the "out of wallet" questions on the special IRS tool (use reserved for those issued IP PINs) to pass as the real taxpayer and get a new IP PIN. For others who just forgot their last year's PIN or AGI, they just had to log onto another tool, enter their SS# and birthdate and get a valid PIN issued. The thieves actually programmed computers with that info they had stolen and robotically requested PINs. Once the IRS noticed over 700k inquiries, a "tad" over the usual usage, they shut down the site. The "get transcript" site was shut down for similar reasons. The IRS has tried all kinds of ways to verify the identities of the "real" taxpayer, but the criminals are always two steps ahead. The IRS knows they are dealing with international criminal gangs who have the brainpower and resources to get what they want. It's no longer some guy sitting at his home computer with the info his girlfriend stole from the dentist's office where she works. I have long argued for removing the EITC from the tax system and putting it back into Social Services (where it used to be and was called "welfare"). At least there the applicants have to meet face to face with someone. They have to bring documents to prove they are who they say they are, their kids are really their kids, really live with them. People have to do that to apply for food stamps, housing assistance, etc. People should bring their documents and completed returns to the Social Services office and then get approved for the money. Tax preparers and IRS agents are trained in accounting and law,, not social work. So let the social workers do their thing, which they are way better at than we are. That said, removing EITC from the tax return won't eliminate the fraud. Sure, there are the folks who hide income, hide spouses, claim kids who aren't theirs, change addresses, whatever it takes to max the EITC. But a lot of the organized criminals don't even claim EITC because they know it gets extra scrutiny. They make up W2 info, often with employer EINs they obtained from discarded or intercepted or purchased W2s, and file away. A fake return filed for one of my clients last year showed income over $60k--no EITC there, but a hefty refund with the excess withholding reported. (The clients makes over $600k and if she gets a refund always applies it to her estimates.) Only holding off on all refunds until matching can be done will solve this one. Or will it? In CT, the Dept of Revenue Services said crooks were going so far as to register fake businesses (online of course) to obtain EINs so they could then make up W2s. If these same crooks then file the W3s, 1096s, etc, they'll still outsmart the IRS. Maybe the only way to stop the theft is to stop refunds. In PA, if someone is overwithheld for local taxes, they actually have to give an explanation. The amount withheld is always the amount due (except for self-employeds). There are no refunds.

I put the clients folder in the hold drawer and we email them once a week to tell them it is ready. I have 15 folders going back three years in the drawer. If they call I tell them they can pick up their stuff or they can pay the bill and file.

Sara's first post is correct that the OP's client gifted the property to the cousin. Since the OP also brought the topic of loss into the discussion and the gain/loss issue was further expanded upon in Sara's immediate reply and by others, I'll add this to clarify: In general and not including properties acquired in like-kind exchanges and their dispositions where there are additional rules - the basis, and holding period, for gain or loss is determined by its acquisition and additional subsequent costs, (purchase, build, inherit, gift, exchange, etc) the character of the gain or loss at disposition is determined by the property owner's intent and reason for holding the property and by his or her use of it during the time of ownership, not by how it was acquired. (personal primary residence, 2nd residence, vacation rental, other income-producing use, 100% rental with no personal use, other income-producing use, investment property held for its appreciation, etc.) With respect to gifts of property, we're hopefully all familiar with what is commonly known as the carryover basis rule where the donee "steps into the shoes" of the donor with adjustments for gift and GST taxes paid. That is true except for those gifts whose basis has declined in value below the donor's cost, and those are the cases where we end up with dual basis triggered by code sec 1015(a). Sec 1015(a) is how the tax code places a limitation on the gifted basis so that a loss cannot be transferred by gift from donor to donee, and no one can ever deduct that portion of a loss. If and when the recipient disposes of the property and does incur a loss using the lower basis under the dual basis rule, the loss is limited to the the amount of loss beyond the reduced (dual) basis for computing the loss. In other words, the recipient would never get the benefit of the decline in value from the original donor's cost to its lower FMV at the time of the gift, but CAN take loss beyond that once in his or her ownership.

Send a postcard mentioning that you need for them to verify some information. Put their file in the back of a drawer and go on with your life. The situation will self-correct within 24-36 months. Just keep an increase of your fees growing as time goes by. You are NOT A BABYSITTER for irresponsible people. "Lack of preparation and planning on your part, does not create and emergency situation on mine." This is a sign we should all have in our offices.

I've never had that happen and there are hardly any (I found 2) posts about it on Drake's forum. One reason that may happen is if someone is processing with more than one computer. Sometimes it is resolved simply by processing the acks again within the program, and sometimes it requires Drake to rehang the ack or rebuild the EF database. That can happen with any of the tax software, and it has certainly happened with ATX. I don't see that as any big deal, and the difference with Drake is that if the user does have a problem, they answer the phone and will almost always be able to solve the problem quickly. If they can't find the solution quickly, they WILL further research it and make a follow-up call back to their customer.

It sure does. I only remember looking at those sticky notes from when I first got my computer with Win 7 and did the "tour" of what was new with that OS, and I didn't remember seeing those additional formatting options. I might have been inclined to use those notes had I realized I had the ability to make the font bigger and use strike through on them!