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That will be sweet if that law passes. Do you own a house? NO Do you have a letter from your church for donations? NO. "Then you will get the standard deductions... please put away that CVS bag full of receipts"

Uh oh! We're getting dangerously close to a politics thread! Danger, Will Robinson, danger!

It will be a race to the bottom if graduated tax rates go away. Can you imagine the reaction of someone whose entire income is taxed at 25% instead of 10% because she earned $1 too much? I would like to see a lot of the social engineering rewards and punishments be taken out of our tax code, though.

I cannot wait to start paying for luxuries I use to enjoy for free (parks, highway, street lighting, public shools etc...)

I would be happy to see the lower tax rates for 'qualified' dividends and capital gains taxes go away. Maybe we could get brokerage 1099s in early February instead of late March, like the good ole days.

There is a reason that the last major tax reform bill occurred 31 years ago after 2 years of hearings, negotiation and compromise. This really isn't a bill, it's a wish list, that already has made some major players very unhappy.

I have this printed and framed in my office. You just know what the cartoonist was doing the weekend prior. MacNelly 1040; 1977

Yes, I've been leaving it as long as the topic stayed with taxes. "Don't make me pull this car over..."

I'd like to think this proposal is a rough draft. The last time rates were cut and corps allowed to repatriate their profits with reduced tax rates, the money saved went into the bonuses of the CEOs and never did "trickle down." Studies have proved that G W Bush's repatriation effort did not have the intended effect but just allowed the rich to get richer and the income gap to widen. So how will this plan be any different? Didn't Einstein define idiocy as doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result? I thought about that saying recently when the IRS was ordered to use private debt collectors...tried that TWICE before and lost huge sums each time. A very thoughtful, bipartisan tax reform plan has been waiting in the wings now for a couple of years at least. Why suddenly start from scratch? Did anyone ever think through what will happen if all business income, including Sch C, is to be taxed at low rates? Heck, I'm telling my employer I want to be paid on a 1099. I believe once the economic impacts are calculated and reality becomes apparent, none of us will have to fear for our livelihoods.

Then do that! At least, download the 2016. Play with it. They have sample returns (all start with 400 itin's) or put in your own client's information.

Well, yes, @Jack from Ohio - but there are also times we need to plan *anyway*. New baby, someone who expects their s-corp to do way better in 2017 (maybe they have a signed contract with payment schedule), maybe they inherited dad's mutual funds and know roughly how much more in dividends and interest to expect, get laid off mid-summer and severance package runs through end of September... and folks want to make sure they won't have a huge bill next April. All we can do is our best, with caveats about changes to come. But we still have to help with the planning.

I am trying to keep it shorter, because I think they lose all letters over three or four sentences. Dear (Ex) Client: It's me, not you. (It's you.) I am writing to inform you that my business is going in a new direction (away from you), and I be unable to provide services to you in the future. Good luck (with the next poor fool you make miserable)!

My dad passed away last Wednesday. A lot of people are on extensions this year. Anyone that objected was told they were welcome to go elsewhere. Only one person gave my staff any trouble about that, but she left her stuff for me to do. I am going to get what I can do done this week, although payroll reports are going to get priority, and then I am taking next week off. Some things are more important than others. Always.

Review (them or the attorney they hire; not you) the trust docs to make sure whatever is done is in accordance with the original agreement. After that, I freely admit I am clueless.

I'm not advocating skipping out on your obligations, and I realize Jack's client has a special case. My daughter is in grad school, I am paying for it, along with the Nashville rent. She has classmates who owe 2 1/2 times what tuition and rent have cost me. They are paying living expenses and maybe living it up expenses with loans. My daughter says they should be whipped. She's a hugger too.

Has this happened to anyone? A man goes to see his doctor to complain about some knee pain he's been having, the doctor tells the him, your left knee hurts because of age, the man replies, BS my right knee is the same age as the left knee

While the law concerning the SRP penalty has not changed, taxpayers are allowed to file without indicating whether or not they have coverage. That means a correct and accurate return can be filed without checking the box. The taxpayers need to know what their rights and possible consequences are. I have filed one that way after a thorough oral and written explanation I drafted was signed by the client. I can not force them to check a box they which they are not required to check.