Leaderboard

Eh, I will charge what I charge, they'll just like it better after a few days on the Struggle Bus.

I have a "retread" client couple (I prepared returns for them for 8 years. I did their 2016 return) that chose in 2015 to allow her daughter to do their return. They received a notice from the School District Tax department. They called asking for my help with 2015. I suggested that they go back to the person that prepared the return. (I can fix the problem with a simple letter) I told them I could help them fix the problem, but there would be a charge for my work. I have not heard a word from them since. The daughter has no clue how to fix it. Seems that the Struggle Bus has more passengers.

Jack, sometimes you are too absolute. I feel strongly about this as well, but man, you don't know the circumstances. I do, and I will not share them. The client came to me for representation before the IRS. It is my job, should I choose to accept it (do you like the Mission Impossible reference?), to explore every avenue available to this client who wants and needs to clean up his tax situation. Based on where he is, and what he earns in his business, I don't see him paying off the balance owed before the statute expires. That is one of the things the IRS looks at when considering an offer. If I can get him on a payment plan on the 941 taxes (both trust and employer), there will be nothing left to pay the personal taxes because of the balance being so large on those taxes. That is just the simple math. So I am looking for a light at the end of the tunnel to give to both the IRS and the client so they both can see that someday down the road, this taxpayer will be back on track and paying his taxes regularly and properly. If the client never sees an opportunity for this to go away, they will not have the heart to work toward that goal. If the IRS does not see that keeping this guy in business is the best way for him to pay them back, they will not work with him. They will take what they can and leave his life in shambles. This is my job, to mediate between the two and find a win-win for both that will in the long run get them both to a spot where this is behind them. So yes, he does deserve consideration for an OIC. He may or may not get one, but he is entitled to the opportunity to explore the option. Tom Modesto, CA

And a lot more to charge them!!

It's kinda funny now. After 24 years of this. We do have the same clients. I even had a pair come in yesterday who DIY'd and wanted me to affirm that they understood the problem IRS had with Turbo Tax. Uh, no, you are not even in the same ball park. I pointed out three errors, one of IRS and two of theirs, without taking a breath, and they had no idea what I meant. Wanted to know what I would charge to fix this mess that Turbo Tax made. (That @#$% Turbo Tax). I just smiled and started walking them to the door and said, "Oh you can probably handle it. I'm covered up right now anyway. Take a shot at it and come back if it you really, really feel like you need me. Psssshhh, you got this." They can't handle it. They don't got this. Not in a million years. It was like the Karma bus let me drive for ten minutes there. I figure I'll see them again next week. Which is more convenient for me anyway.

In all the years I have dealt with ATX (going back to the early 90s,) I have not experienced any of the difficulties with ATX tech support that some seem to have. Maybe they just like me more.

When the IRS announced their new "no bid contract" with Equifax, they said it was because Equifax had a "unique set of capabilities." LOL

Neither do I, @Jack from Ohio - BUT. I've seen a lot of cases that are not the employer stealing from his employees. Employers are between the devil and the deep blue sea: they are required, by law, to pay their employees by the end of seven days from the end of the pay period. They are forbidden, by law, to pay their employees unless they have, at that moment in time, enough money to pay net pay and all taxes (withheld and employer portion). They are not allowed to assume the payment from Customers X, Y, and Z - due tomorrow - will actually arrive. They are not allowed to spend any of the tax funds on extraneous items - like the web hosting bill and phone bill that keep them in business, like the rent that keeps their doors open, like the employee health insurance that will be canceled unless paid now. I have seen all of those items cause an employer to get behind on his payments. What about those cases where the customers never pay? Then there is indeed theft - but not on the part of the employer, who paid his people in good faith, but on the part of the customer who took possession of goods or services and then refused to pay for them. I have also seen cases where the bookkeeper showed the payroll tax payments as made: check numbers (back when payments could be mailed in) and entries that matched to the penny. except those checks were made out to the bookkeeper, who later changed the "pay to the order of" information in the books. So yes, no sympathy for "thieves" - but lots for those stolen *from* who somehow have to make up for it.

"The Internal Revenue Service issued a new warning Tuesday to users of its online e-Services cautioning them to beware of a new phishing scam that attempts to trick tax professionals into “signing” a new e-Services user agreement. The phishing scam is actually trying to steal passwords and data, the IRS warned in an email to tax professionals. The IRS has been trying to migrate to new e- Services technology with improved authentication and security abilities, but has faced repeated delays. The IRS said that all tax professionals should be aware that as e-Services begins its move later this month to Secure Access authentication and its two-factor protections, cybercriminals are likely to make last-ditch efforts to steal passwords and data prior to the transition. The scam email claims to come from “e-Services Registration” and says “Important Update about Your e-Services Account” in the subject line. In part, the scam email states, “We are rolling out a new user agreement and all registered users must accept its revised terms to have access to e-Services and its products.” The email asks users to review and accept the agreement but takes them instead to a fake site !" Be careful out there !

I downloaded an update a week or more ago which included the organizer. As I've been completing my extended returns I've also printed the organizers, though it might be a mistake to hand them to the client this early. Last year I didn't get the organizers out to clients until late January - in retrospect that was too late. Too early - too late - something in between.

Well, with the IRS using bleeping EQUIFAX to "verify" who we are, they might as well just open all their systems to all and sundry, fer gosh sake. *WHAT* were they thinking? (More to the point, *who* got paid - and what, and how - for that one?)

The internet can be a dark and scary place....

Well said, Tom !

Tom was not suggesting OIC for the trust fund taxes. He stated that he knew that was not an option. He is wondering if the employment taxes get put on a payment plan can the personal taxes be OICed. I don't know the answer to that but I would have my doubts. But all it costs is the application fee to find out. In my opinion, only because I like to see how different things work, I would be inclined to submit the OIC with the agreement to installment payments on the payroll taxes.

I*'ll just add my 2 cents worth. Abby said the magic word 'IF". Before you do anything, find out what type of trust this is, get the trust instrument and read it. Doing so will give you all the details you need regarding what the trust is, terms, and tax filing requirements. I never touch any trust of any kind unless I have the trust instrument. There are trusts that have exhorbant penalties to do this any other way.

QB allows online payments.

I still use my trusty copy of QuickBooks pro 2003. I have my reminders set up to show me my outstanding invoices when I log into it. Keeps a nice set of books for my business when I do my own tax return. Print it out and put it in the file with my Tax Return docs. Tom Modesto, CA