Leaderboard

My first thought was that this preparer turns out a lot of incorrect returns. He claims this is his average day. My last thought is that he turns out a lot of incorrect returns. Yesterday I managed to do six returns and talk to eight people in eleven hours, just me. Word, @ILLMAS. I had a fun conversation with a client about SNL and "Land Shark!" (He yelled that coming in the door.} He said SNL made more sense when he smoked marijuana. Also listened to a precious friend talk for one hour about the stress her family is under going thru a very terrible, terrible messy thing. I vacuumed the waiting area. Dishes are still in the kitchen area, but I'll get them today. My life is so good. I'll stick to it.

This was me listening to my precious friend talk for an hour on Friday afternoon:

OK, I am going to give this another shot. This is my own tax return. This is why there are people trying to secede from California and create the 51st state - Jefferson. So, I changed jobs in 2017. CA imposes State Disability Insurance tax on workers in CA. It phases out when your income reaches a certain level. When you change jobs like I did, it is possible to have paid in too much, just like SS tax. I had excess SDI withheld this year. So we file our taxes like every other year, and set it up for direct deposit. We got our federal refund a couple weeks ago, but not the state. We had just about got to the point that we were going to start looking up where our refund is when the letter comes in the mail today from the FTB. They held my return and are going to mail my refund in a check because they found an error. Me! An error! I don't think so! Especially not on MY RETURN! It turns out that the state of CA does not round when they match SDI withheld. Each of my W2's were xxx dollars and just over 50 cents on the SDI withholding, so ATX rounded it up. CA held up my return because they don't round up, they add the two together and rounded, and the amount I claimed for SDI was off by $1. I am sure the dumbasses in Sacramento feel really good about how they spent more on the letter, and postage, and the postage they are going to spend to mail my refund check, to save the overburdened taxpayers of CA $1. I kid you not. This is how stupid these guys are. Judy, I am counting on you to get me the votes for this post. I want my star! Vote for me...Vote for ME...VOTE FOR ME!!!!!!! Tom Modesto, CA

This is exactly what is wrong about social media, and about believing everything you see on social media. I've heard about gals going broke buying the latest fashions so they'd look good on their social media posts. People can brag all they want about their grades, the huge gains in their brokerage accounts, their number of scores, meeting famous people, and even the number of tax returns they completed in one day, and there is no one doing fact checking. To anyone who thinks s/he is a super preparer because of their volume, I'd respond that the accuracy surely suffered. I don't think a single one of my clients would return next year if I told them that. Heck, if 16 of my clients whose returns were all done, checked, and scanned brought in that single piece of missing info, I couldn't get them all printed and assembled in one day. And if I did, I'd probably be sleeping instead of bragging about it on Facebook.

As John Crist says: Work hard. Stay humble. Talk about it all day.

This me after completing a tax return:

Of course in a perfect world to get a lot done, we would receive a client's tax package with questionnaire and organizer adequately filled out. Then you would call or email with any questions and responses would be timely and you're done. My workload comprises of about 90% of those, they are longtime and well trained clients. But these next few weeks most of the PITAs surface. Working on one idiot, sorry, that's harsh....moron right now. Like pulling teeth to get SE expenses and documentation because he likes fairytales and has a wild imagination. Then it's the waiting, and having to go back over my notes, more than once. My favorite defense....surcharges.

This all reminds me of a former coworker who would hear things like this, about any subject and not just tax return volume, and he'd laugh and ask the person "bragging or complaining?" Thanks for the laugh and reviving a fond memory! Everyone has their own comfortable speed and rhythm at which they work best and most efficiently. Never make a mistake? Maybe the person is working too slow. Too many and the person is either incompetent, over his head, sloppy, or working too fast. We are only human, and each of us makes some mistakes now and again.

I don't have any clients with one W-2. Well, unless they also have a Schedule C and a few K-1s and sold their vacation home in NY. Even those college kids have multiple W-2s from multiple states. I do almost no returns with clients sitting at my desk. Prepared a couple returns for two cousins yesterday who always want to be here, because they drive a long way. And, one little old man early every season. Used to have a gal who brought me lunch; we'd eat and then prepare her return and then have dessert, but she moved to CA. I'll prepare her return next week; then we'll have a phone conference.

The mutual fund doesn't pass through its net losses to shareholders but carries those forward to offset gains in future years, so ultimately those will be "reported" by means of a reduced net cap gain in the future.

Actually, it has been my experience that most certificates of insurance are requested by other contractors or customers who have employees because anyone they give a 1099 for non-employee compensation will be added to their workers' comp policy unless they can show they have insurance. That certainly would not be the case with E&O insurance. I would be suspicious that they are checking to see if you have deep enough pockets to be worth suing. But maybe I am overly suspicious.

This is an interesting question. In the contracting business, it is normal for customers to require proof of workers comp and liabiity insurance from vendors as a condition of awarding a contract. But the main reason is to protect themselves against worker comp claims and also because litigation is common in that industry when liability issues arise. Applying that same logic in a client situation triggers the thought that the client is already thinking about assigning blame if something goes wrong. I might be inclined to make the decision based on the complexity of the return. If it has the potential to be unusual in any sense, then declining to take them on as a client might be the best route. So agreeing to provide proof of insurance would probably best be contingent on the outcome of the initial meeting.

Showed hubby this thread, and he ordered all three of your cheeses Friday (Thursday? Days are running together). We do Friday night dinners as finger foods with a couple of different cheeses, smoked salmon, celery & dip, that type of thing. So, we love finding new cheeses. Looking forward to receiving our order!

I don't feel so bad now. I thought I was slow, long days, slow progress.

Sorry Rita, I quoted the wrong post

I really have no interest in doing more than 5-6 returns in a day. Today I did two 1041s and two 1040s and will likely do another 2 1040's before leaving. If I'm doing the return in front of a client - double the expected amount of time required.

Being an early riser I amaze myself what I can get done before 9am, then it slows the rest of the day. But some clients (and all my friends) know I'm in the office very early and think it's time to call and talk about the snow and their latest boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife and kids' problems and oh, some tax/financial issues. Cutting them off feels really good. And the smart ones don't call back until after April. In my next life I plan to be a therapist so I can talk to them and charge by the minute.

I was texting my very good friend, who is a pastor and is also farming now. too. I have read him the riot act about hobby losses (turns out he made money, I knew something was fishy with my other farmers). Anyway I asked him what the excavation was for. He replied, "Barn construction." Then, "Legit."

I could do 15 of those. Not 16.

Ok, I didn't, but I've seen that statement out of pros, and I just want to say: I cannot do 16 returns on a Saturday with the door locked if I manage to pick up the info for my only 16 clients who brought all their $%^&. I hope those people mean "my assistant and I," because even with a wine per diem, I can only make eight returns look like ten.

I hope from 3:30pm EST, until about 10pm on Sunday, to get 30 returns done. Lots of new clients this year, and some hiccups have slowed things down. Need to catch up.... Rich

everyone has their own business model.. with me, almost no chit chatting. client asks me how I am, I say welcome.. please have a seat.... lets' see what you have this year.. monitor facing them.. they can see return being built.. clients love it.. works for me... typical family return or set of returns.. 45 minute time slot. single person.. 20 - 30 minutes.. scheduled that way all day. almost every day. .if i return is more complex.. 1.5 hours.. can do rental property, self employment income, multiple states, all of those items in 1.5 hours or less. high volume.. clients must like me.. keep coming back and getting referrals.

all returns double checked for accuracy, responding to a thread which is of interest is not bragging, simply stating facts.

We have always thought that Austin address is actually to a great big dumpster. We all know that if a return is audited, the agents aren't going to try to recover those paper copies but will ask the taxpayer for them. Still, we send them so we are in compliance. I know one preparer who will report totals even if there are wash sales (adjustments) on "basis reported" sections. (Can't do this with "basis not reported" sales I guess.) In the end, the IRS computers list every single sale, total them, and only if there is a mismatch with what the taxpayer reported does a letter get generated. Heck, I've even responded to these CP2000s with a phone call, told the person the basis numbers, she entered them in while I was on the phone and said there was no tax due and closed the matter. It seems like we take this more seriously than even the IRS does.

Abby: You have to stay off of Reddit... Rich

I was going for clever street talk savvy there.

This is what is called BS, I don’t have a large client base like others, but if I get to finalize 4 or 5 days, it was a good day. FYI I dont don’t prepare returns in front of clients and have no help at all, word.

I've seen places with express lane (like in grocery stores!), you can sit/stand next to the preparer if you only have few W-2s and maybe some 1099-INT.

Ouch...I sad now for Rita...She need time off....Hugs just for her..... I haven't done that many returns, in one day since I did em wit pencils....

I have completed 13 once - on a Saturday with nobody present - but it was an awfully long day. (We do not have office hours on Saturday.) I have heard of guys doing nearly 1,000 returns in a season. The other day I figured out how they do it. I had the opportunity to do a return for a Florida resident. It took me one-third the time that it would take me to do the same return for a PA resident. That would explain why I can not put out more than 500 in a season and whey they can do over a 1,000 in a season. Everything is relative to its perspective.

I haven't ordered yet - trying to find a spare 5 minutes. I just hope I don't lose track of this thread in the meantime!

1. Yes, I would feel distespected. Your skills, abilities, experience and knowledge are not dependent upon the amount of liability insurance you choose to have. 2. Just say NO to giving them a copy. 3. Reconsider your choice about this person becoming a client. 4. He thinks he knows more about these things than you do. 5. RUN FORREST, RUN!!!

I would tell them to first show evidence of the referred to mess. In this highly litigation society we live in, I would be cautious of any potential client that asked to see my e&o before even meeting me. Even after meeting me i would probably send them packing.

If a potential client asked me face to face, I wouldn't have a problem showing my policy to them. However I wouldn't send them a copy Unless they are a third party certificate holder who receives notices of coverage and cancellation, showing or sending a copy means nothing.

If you do 2014, and then have a carryforward into that year, you amend and get another fee from the client. This isn't the preparer's mess, it is the client's. But, if you take them on, you need to preserve any potential refunds from an expiring year. Tom Modesto, CA

Despite only claiming 30k of his total income, he's still a grate righter and grammartician. Speler. All that.

I can't agree with this. If you are too busy send them walking, but if you accept the client then you have to do right by them and if you lose them a 2014 refund they could have a claim against you. I had one of these and we got the returned filed 1 day before statute ran out and it was a 90k NY refund.

https://www.irs.gov/faqs/capital-gains-losses-and-sale-of-home/mutual-funds-costs-distributions-etc/mutual-funds-costs-distributions-etc-4. Here is a helpful link

I think you mean you could do 61 of those But I prefer to work on those when I'm on a break from the ones mentioned by Lion EA.

From all my clients, I would say about 5-8% are 1 W-2 only, it's mostly my clients kids.

Even when I was at a Block Premium office, only four a day was usual. Maybe eight near deadline, but that would be finishing up returns begun earlier and awaiting info. I think I completed ten one day. Just got the partnerships and S-corps and a couple extensions completed the 15th. Those businesses break my stride, slow me down. Now I have to pick up speed. Working on two TN siblings with kiddie tax, so waiting on parents' info. Seems like everyone sold a house this year, or their teenager was a ref for sports for cash or had multiple part-time jobs, or they sold some of their PTP units, or changed jobs to a new state (the college student dependent on CT parents, working at school in MA, and summer job in NYC), or moved to a new state.

The one I'm thinking of is in NY and can lap me in the mile run. And I'm no slacker. I'm also very happy with how I run my business, so there's that.

The cheese arrived today; I tried the Ewemazing today. It is FABULOUS! My daughter described the flavor as a mix of Romano and Gruyere. I'll report on the Lacey Lamb after I try that one.

Thanks, I'll look it up. I probably bypassed it then as not applicable at the time but now's the time!

The client is a police officer and he knew all about looking up the property! LOL I could use HIM in my business! The other client with the black mold in the house is the one I will do next. He's coming up on the roster today. He has also been paying back for several years after he was forced to leave the property. The bank paid him about $3k to move out. I'm confident I'll set him free, too. He has been doing his own return. New to me.

Have you looked at the county assessor's web site to get a history of the property? I took a quick look at a VA county for example (Fairfax), and it was chock full of information. Once you identify the property and go to the property card, there is a menu at the top left quadrant with a complete history. It listed annual tax assessments and dates & amounts of sale, for example. Don't know if all VA counties are in the data base, but it would be a great source of supporting documentation. In my state (NC), I've gotten in the habit of checking the real estate lookup for missing info on a routine basis. I often use it to get missing property tax payment dates, amounts, etc rather than waiting for the client to provide it. Plus, when there's a purchase or sale of a rental property I routinely pull the property card and print out the info as supporting documentation for purchase/sale dates, calculating land value, etc.

Thanks for all your help on this!

I spoke to the client and asked her to gather all her 2014 information and I can at least look through and determine what needs to be prepared. She responded by saying, "I had no income in 2014". She is disabled. With that said, I still asked her to pull whatever she had for 2014.

Thank you for the feedback! savor.. and had lamb chops for supper tonight - hubby cooked decadent!

You mean to watch with Ms."Cheri"; not to cook?