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I'm actually not new - I've been reading this forum for years. At the end of every tax season I swear I'm going to join and donate and tell all of you how you helped me get through the last few months. Then I'm too tired. We're all tired. So that's not a good excuse anymore. I've done taxes for 32? years. On my own for approximately 28 of them and the hardest part has been not having anyone to bounce things off of. Well. That's not entirely true. The hardest part is the fools who walk through my door who make me wonder how they managed to find their way from their house to my office......... My biggest challenge this year was a client who I've had since day one. Two family rental totally gutted in a fire. Okay. What does this mean? How do I report? What is the impact? Involuntary conversion, right? Wait. Is there a casualty loss? OMG! Oddly enough - Bulldog Tom (who beat himself up for missing something on a return) gave me the answer in a post from 2015. Bless you Tom. And know that last year I finished a partnership return on 4/17 and forgot to e-file it. Yeah. Totally forgot to hit "send." At least the extension was filed on time and it was "only" two months late. I still suck as a preparer and I ate the penalty. Tom and all of you keep me sane. You make me laugh. You make me feel like I'm not alone. My sincerest appreciation

"This is the worst" with a smile on our faces. Yes. Hahahaha, oh my, that's me. And what is it with people doing tax planning for 2018 this week?? It happens every year. Every. Single. Year. And by May 1, I memorialize everything: Do a fake "planning return," send a copy of it with Forms 1040-ES, and this time next year, they will still be completely shocked that they owe.

Rita.....Many feel your frustration, as the season draws closer to the end... .........

New client this year had 22 forms 8283 last year, and the icing on the cake is the description fields are jam packed with quantities and detailed descriptions. It must have taken hours. 90% of our descriptions are "household & clothing".

"If I sell my rental, what is that going to do to me next year?"

Before or after the Tornado picks it up and drops it on you?

I have one elderly couple who get a corrected 1099 form (broker name escapes me) EVERY May. So we put them on extension every year, and file the original after we get the corrections. /sarc on It's nice when they (brokerages) as SO reliable. /sarc off

I’ll drink to that, actually I’m already drinking

I told him if he gets any more 1099s, just throw them away.

well I have his/her permission wait are you even related?!

i second everything Patti said. I don't post much here, but over the years I've come in for those nagging questions that a sole practitioner just needs to bounce off others. Or to help figure out what behind-the-scenes did I miss that isn't sending info to the form I know it belongs on. So thank you as always to Eric for having kept us all together when ATX kicked us out one April, and to all of you for your knowledge and senses of humour!

Welcome Patti (Alex already had his welcome wagon). I'm here only a few years and just reading the posts I've learned or reinforced so much knowledge that I couldn't be more grateful to the veterans residing on this forum. The humor and hearing about the trials and tribulations we all go through, that's just priceless.

Hi Patti! I'm a newbie too! This forum keeps me sane (or as sane as one can be, during tax season)! You're all wonderful, amazing people.

Use those artificial tears type of drops (probably a saline solution). Close your eyes. Sleep. Blink. There are apps for your computer/phone/smartwatch that you can set to remind you to blink. When staring at a computer screen we blink less often. A lot less often. So, use an app. And, if it continued into today, please call your eye doctor and get in immediately.

Oh boy, someone is looking forward to that stiff drink on the 18th. Better give one to the front desk person too.

This reminds of a misfortune a former client went through, neighbor house burned down and the flames burned my clients wood porch, smoked damaged all their belongings and the insurance reimbursement them for every single item: Plastic cup .01 cent Console TV $2.00 Fly swatter .02 cent etc About 60 pages totaling around $4K, I had to explain to the client the FMV and how they were not entitled to the original cost.

I can't even..... omg

This is my virtual water cooler.

I get "optical migraines" that are painless except for this weird squirmy "fireball" thingy around whatever I'm trying to look at. They are harmless and go away in about 30 minutes. I get them from dehydration, not enough sleep, too much computer screen, and bright sunlight during the tax season when I'm a mole person. The sun! The sun! It burns!!

And you can have the floaters without the torn or detached retina. I have always had some floaters, but if they suddenly get worse I still RUN to the eye doctor for reassurance. So far it has always been nothing, but it is a classic sign of damage to the retina and should be checked out. Just like the aura you are seeing may be nothing but should be checked out. I consider those peace of mind visits.

You need to take card of yourself. Forget the stress and how far behind you are. Admittedly, I have had a difficult time focusing for the past couple of weeks but it comes and goes and is totally related to my stage of exhaustion and that ridiculously small font they use on some of the source data. Mine will go away with a little rest. I am not seeing rainbows. Yours may not go away. As the others suggest, get your rear-end into see a doctor TODAY - rest this weekend and call all of your remaining clients on Monday and Tuesday and tell them that due to a health issue of your own, you will need to extend their return. Those that need to be your clients will understand and want you healthy. The other ones you don't need.

Well - I averaged 87 hours per week in Jan and Feb and ramped up to 94 through March and the first week of April. We pre-schedule all of our tax returns so we have a very smooth and level season. That is how I got to this point on April 11. It is not for everybody - but it works for me. I will do that to avoid the panic mode at the end of the season. Have had that approach for years. I am slowing down though. There were several years back to back where I averaged 105 hours per week for the whole season. The titanium in my chest is probably a result of that. I do not recommend those hours to anyone. It sure was nice, though, leaving the office at 4:30 yesterday to get in some quality porch time. The sign over the door to my porch says "Heaven is a little closer on the porch". And there is truth therein. Good luck and smooth sailing to all those still fighting! Congrats to those who have called it a day!

Ron: Congrats to you and your team. You tend to front load things, I tend to back load it.. 600 in the system for me, 78 to go as of this moment to get done. That is 25 a day. Slice of pastry. Everyone is extended. Of that 78, 9 have not been worked on and 24 waiting on info.. Rich

She must have! Oh well, I’m not saying a word. LOL

That's a darned good question! Did the wife sign the e-file form FOR the husband? ("Hang on, he's waiting out in the car, I'll just run this out to him so he can sign...")

We usually hold broker statement clients to about now, but this guy was in FL and just got back to a stack of mail. But he's one of my longest, best clients and he absolutely loves me... and his wife just died.... so I didn't bill him for a redo.

Welcome! It is a great group of folks. So much so we laugh, cry, and more with each other and are grateful for this board (and Eric!!! Yay!) which enables us to bounce things off each other, support each other, know we are not alone. So glad you joined us!

Done here too (well, except for that one 1120 extension I'll fill out on Monday). But since I'm scaling back, there's no reason not to be done. I have several corps and individuals on extension, but in most cases the ball is in their court. Looks like Mon and Tues will be payroll tax report days. Maybe we will head down to the beach toward the end of next week. Hope everyone has a productive and profitable end to this filing season. If you're still sweating the deadline, I feel your pain (for whatever that's worth).

A couple of year ago, I had floaters during tax season and let it go. When I started seeing darting lights in the outside edge of my vision, I saw a specialist. Turns out, I had a tear in my retina with 2 more coming, and 2 holes in the other retina. I hope you will see an ophthalmologist. Or a retina specialist.

He's in the car.... in Italy....

HHMM I just counted and marked who is an extension and have 80 I "have " to do -some owe, and should get a voucher, some just" I really do not want an extension".. 5 days? 16 a day - averaging 6-11 right now.. I find I cannot type and really slow down when I do not sleep more than 6 hrs - 5 I am cranky - front desk person went home in tears today - but I think it was her family not me!! I hope I really did not yellllll I do this why? the cash I guess - and yes I claim it all.. but I like money - no I guess I like them getting lots of $$$ back or paying less !!

he should have E & O for the penalties etc.. that is why we pay it correct?

Good News! I have my computer back. They think that it may have been a Windows update that went crazy last night. I knew that there was one there, but I had not told it that it was OK to update. They did it for me today and everything is working. I am paranoid, but I am definitely getting my extensions done early. The really nice thing is that they didn't even charge me. They said that there was no sign of the hard drive failing and that if it happens again, to unplug everything but the essentials and see if they are causing a boot problem. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts. The Serenity prayer did come in handy even after I got up and running. We found another carpet beetle in the house after we have spent probably 36-40 hours total moving furniture, pulling up carpet and spraying everywhere. We had not seen one in over a month. I told my husband that this time, it's not Pinterest, we get an exterminator and find someone to watch the cats Lion, I really feel for you. I hope that your computer makes it through the next few days and that your hip replacement goes well when you find the time.

Aaaaannnnnd, that's why you were awarded the first-ever Tax Stud Star! And, yes, when they love us it goes a long way.

TP reached out to me in early February and told me by email and over the phone she had been separated, divorcing over the last two years and that TP would be claiming the kids because she had them most of the time. Based on these: Can a married person claim the Head of Household filing status? The Head of Household status is designed for single persons with dependents, but in some cases, married persons can claim the Head of Household filing status. To qualify for the Head of Household filing status while married, you must: File your taxes separately from your spouse Pay more than half of the household expenses Not have lived with your spouse for the last 6 months of the year Provide the principle home of a qualifying dependent Claim an exemption for your dependent If you meet all of these requirements, you may file as Head of Household while married. TP qualified for HOH, today I get an email forwarded from the ex-spouse saying TP has to file MFJ or MFS and based on his facts, ex-spouse is correct. I probably won’t be moving a finger since my invoice has not been paid, but who else hates when this happens?

Let the lawyers fight it out. They get the big bucks. Tax preparers are a little busy 12 April. Their agreement might require them to trade tax returns. But, it can't tell you how to prepare tax returns. Make notes/save emails from your client describing her situation and your choice of filing status. Good luck!

Thanks, I won’t, the ex sent my client an email and it was forwarded to me.

You cannot discuss your client with the ex-spouse.

Can't keep me sane, I have never been there....

Your symptoms are not the same as mine, and I don't mean to scare you. I was just saying that I didn't think it was anything and it was something. Everything went well after a few laser treatments. My eyes are perfect.

Abby, Carbonite backs up automatically to the cloud. My Windows backup does not work at all. It broke when Windows downloaded 10 on my machine, evern though I told them no constantly. Then they had to remote in and put it back to Windows 7 Pro. Backup never worked again. Easeus is a separate backup program that I use to backup to flash drives and external hard drives.

Hi Bonnie, nice to see you on here again. I hope you are back to enjoying good health and enjoying your retirement!

Just WOW!

Just a sample of how this guy communicates: (honestly....can anyone believe he is in business?) Hi Bonnie, Thank you so much for getting back to me even though you didn't have to. You are such a nice person with so much integrity. After trying to contact David from past two days, he finally called me today (about an hour ago) and instead of being apologetic of his mistakes he was verbally abusive to me. He used the words such as "pain in the ass" and mimicking my voice as to what I was saying. He also called me bitch in the past. He hung up on me few times without even letting me complete what I have to say. Even though he made these mistakes but I was still polite to him understanding that people make mistakes. Anyways, you will be surprised to learn what he told me. He said why do you want to update your return? Do you want to pay more taxes? You can just leave it like that and not be be worried as IRS has not contacted me yet for any of these returns. I was shocked as to how a professional can given me such an advice. The conclusion is he has agreed to file my amended return but I am not sure if he is going to pay any interest and penalty (if applicable). I asked him that and he was not clear if he is going to take care of it or not. I just need your advice about the interest and penalty. Since, I did not have to pay any penalty for several years and filed all my returns on time, do you think IRS might waive the penalties for these returns? If not how I can make David pay for it? For 2017 return, I think there will be no penalty anyways if I file the updated return before the due date (April 17th) but there might be for 2015 and 2016. Finally, I have decided I am not going to do my taxes with him any more as I am disappointed and shocked of his behaviour and rude attitude. His behaviour was completely unprofessional. I am so sorry that I had to write to explain all this to you. You did such a good job in the all the years you did my return. I missed you all these tax seasons so much. Thank you again,

Nice hearing from you, Tabby. Enjoy your retirement. Don't worry; be happy!

Oh, no. I have a bunch of clients with MS. In fact, out broker moved to MS during 2017.

Thanks. I hope that it's hardware and an easy fix. I just hope that Carbonite and/Easeus restore easily if that's what I need to do.

Congratulations to you all that are finished. I have one last return that was completed days ago and will be in the client's hands this afternoon, and there are a couple that I need signatures forms back that I'll e-file. Everything else is on extension at this point.

You are retired, you don’t get involved and let the friend who found the mistake handle it. People have to respect your space and their is nothing wrong with informing them, I just had a last minute client send me their information thinking they are getting priority, who are they kidding

Ok, I think I've managed to get these folks' returns done and will be able to e-file both. I hope this post will help someone down the road, because this is the most frustrated I've ever felt reading directions in my entire illustrious career. I had to keep telling myself there is a solution, keep going. I had to allocate something more than 0% in the parents' Form 8962, lines 12 - 23, column f, because ATX does not recognize zero as a number. (Not sure if that's ATX's fault, but zero is a number.) So I allocated 1% of APTC to parents and 99% to kid. The other columns on 12 - 23 on the parents' form are blank because their MAGI exceeds four times the poverty level. It took me a very long while to figure out that on line 30, e, f, and g are the allocations for the return you are working on, NOT the allocations for the return of the person whose SSN you just entered in 30 b. I stumbled onto that one because of the Joe and Alice example on page 18 of the instructions for Form 8962. I don't know how else I would have known that because ATX does not use the percentages; you have to manually figure your numbers for 12 - 23. This loophole seems too bad to be true, and the taxpayers paid BlueCross and BlueShield of TN $17,000 for these folks' policy that we would not have if my clients had known that the kid was no longer a dependent. It is a great consolation to me to know that these people are just oblivious - they were not trying to game the system, and didn't even use the insurance. They only signed up for it because they were terrified of the SRP. On second thought, that may be exactly why they are allowed to allocate as they wish. Maybe the lawmakers knew mistakes would be made in applying for the subsidy. H*ll if I know, but I have never felt more like Loophole Lefty, and I'd just as soon not.