Leaderboard

OK, boys, remember to take your blood pressure meds...

I see what you mean. This may be considered a second home and it would be OK to claim a home office deduction if he meets the criteria. You say exclusively as an office, what is his occupation? Boat seller? Lobbyist? Drug dealer? Caviar tastings and transporter? So many questions.

How much for the so-so?

Well, I really question the 65% personal. Is it his home? Does he have a home otherwise? Does he have another office? Why is the boat not 100% business? What does the taxpayer/owner say about its purpose and use?

While these clients are not very good, or not very bad, with some good qualities and some bad, I would have to say a so-so increase would be appropriate.

"I am not a robot "

I can see you now Max.....What a fun time tax prep. will be for you... But....It will be hard to concentrate with this on board.....

And then there are the clients who come in with their check already made out for the same amount they paid last year.

It depends upon the client but all things equal, the rate goes up a little every year for most. the really high paying clients - I'm actually fine keeping it where it is since they are so high above my normal rate. Some clients as they get older actually get far easier returns so I don't raise. Really poor clients (I have a few) I'm fine charging a small fee. Consider it a karma investment.

I assume you are joking, although your math is correct proving the most basic of economic laws. But our clients are people that we know to be good, bad, and ugly so a blanket across the board large increase would not be appropriate in our business. I do small increases for the good, more for the bad , and large increases for the ugly, hoping they will leave.

I follow pretty much the same system as Possi on raising prices. Several years ago one lady left over a $5 increase - oh well. But each year I increase my fees by roughly 5%, except for the simplest of returns or those who I feel have already maxed out their fee based on the return.

Double your price. Lose half your clients. Earn the same amount of money doing half as much work.

If it were my client, I would send the "missing" forms, the e-file-forms-sent listing from the computer with the "missing" forms highlighted, the e-file submission ID/ack, and would also make sure that if there was a 1040 requested, that the client SIGN it. I had a request for a 1040 for someone *just* as backup - forget the details - and the idiots rejected the backup info because it wasn't signed. Took another letter to dope-slap them into admitting the signature wasn't actually needed. I'm seeing more inexcusably incompetent foul-ups with the IRS and have actively been trying to give them no excuse not to do things MY way (because that's the right way, of course - no pride here, nope, uh-uh, no sirree... lol).