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I used to get the post-season letdown until I learned to have activities planned for right after, that have nothing to do with taxes. Garden. Bicycle. Family. This year my younger daughter is planning an open house party for this coming Sunday, so I spent today out at her house, helping her get ready. It really helps to have a right-away reminder that there is a life outside of tax season. However, if you really start to feel hopeless, go see your doctor! There may be something wrong; don't discount that possibility, if tackling a new task doesn't distract you from the sadness.

I also work year round and agree that helps with the let down phase. But I experience it some, too. I have a pile of things to do yet, and I admit I have very little motivation. I think Gail phrased it very appropriately: we're in a pressure cooker during tax season. I know many of you are better business people than me, and for the most part I'm ok with that. I have a very comfortable life. I work six days a week for ten weeks, but I don't kill myself during tax season. I come out of it looking like death on a cracker anyway, I think mostly because I spend a lot of time chatting with clients, and I'm an introvert. I mean, come on, people are idiots, why am I chatting with them?? I wonder how these preparers do 1,400 returns, half of which are entities, single-handedly, twenty minute appointments, study for EA exam at the red light on the way to the testing center. Oh, and this is their side gig. I get a little jealous. Then I remember they are full of sh*t and lying thru their teeth, and I feel better.

Read the instructions: https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i2848 Revocation by taxpayer. If you want to revoke a previously executed power of attorney and do not want to name a new representative, you must write "REVOKE" across the top of the first page with a current signature and date below this annotation. Then, you must mail or fax a copy of the power of attorney with the revocation annotation to the IRS, using the Where To File Chart, or if the power of attorney is for a specific matter, to the IRS office handling the matter. If you do not have a copy of the power of attorney you want to revoke, you must send the IRS a statement of revocation that indicates the authority of the power of attorney is revoked, lists the matters and years/periods, and lists the name and address of each recognized representative whose authority is revoked. You must sign and date this statement. If you are completely revoking authority, write "remove all years/periods" instead of listing the specific matters and years/periods.

I agree with the majority of the posts here. The letdown is a really strange phenomena, and it can be overwhelming. I, too, have started to plan many things for the week or two following the end of the season so that I can ease in to regular life (which is very enjoyable)! The office feels a little strange now, but I have client meetings again starting next week, so it will regain its energy. Another thought, if you enjoy working as much as it sounds like you do, is to consider what types of work you might add to make your business 'busier' year-round. I do financial planing, and I'm a lawyer, so I do estate planning, M&A, and some financial mediation and forensic-type accounting for other attorneys. It seems to me that there is a fair amount of this type of business 'out there' if you open yourself to the same. You certainly don't have to be a lawyer to do most of the items listed. Sky is the limit on what someone with good 'bean counting' skills can offer! I might not be understanding how you are feeling . . . these are just suggestions. Jim, please let us know that you are okay.

We always defrost the freezer in the middle of winter. We put the frozen food in a box outside when it's colder than the freezer gets!

Thanks for the reminder Lynn, I owe you one.

I have lots of clients on extension and some year-round biz clients. But, I do get lethargic after the April deadline. I usually get to PA to spoil my granddaughter Avery. Prior to Avery's existence, we'd hit a beach hotel or B&B in Madison, CT, for me to unwind. This year, it's fitting in all the postponed doctors' appointments and trying to get a consensus re my pain. It's looking like a hip replacement is in my near future with all the rehab that entails. So, that will replace my Appalachia Service Project trip and maybe our family reunion on The Cape and even my usual CCH User Conference, this year in Miami. I guess that'll give me 2019 trips to look forward to with a new hip! And, we'll have to FaceTime or something Rita's BBQ. Today, I'm catching up on paying bills for my church and need to get some laundry done. Client is picking up her tax folder and bringing me a check after Church tomorrow. Client who moved to CA is in town Monday, so we're going to Westport Country Playhouse and having dinner. Payroll taxes. A funeral next Saturday. I never run out of things to do. I do run out of energy to do them after coming down off that adrenaline high of preparing as many returns as possible by the deadline while being egged on by anxious clients!

When clients don't know their total miles, just don't put the property tax on the auto worksheet but enter it directly on Sch A. So they pay a little extra SE tax, but at least the amount on Sch A is documented. This of course might not help people who already reached the $10k cap on state and local tax deductions in 2018. Thinking about that caveat, I am beginning to recognize that we have a lot to UNlearn.

It doesn't impact the deduction for mileage, but that is how I get the percentage for personal property taxes that are deductible. In our locality, it also impacts how much the personal property tax will be the following year - if business use is more than 50%, then the vehicle no longer qualifies for car tax relief on the personal property tax bill.

Withdrawal by representative. If your representative wants to withdraw from representation, he or she must write "WITHDRAW" across the top of the first page of the power of attorney with a current signature and date below the annotation. Then, he or she must provide a copy of the power of attorney with the withdrawal annotation to the IRS in the same manner described inRevocation by taxpayer above. If your representative does not have a copy of the power of attorney he or she wants to withdraw, he or she must send the IRS a statement of withdrawal that indicates the authority of the power of attorney is withdrawn, lists the matters and years/periods, and lists the name, TIN, and address (if known) of the taxpayer. The representative must sign and date this statement.

Catherine is right. Once a return comes under audit, you can not submit an amended return. What you can do is submit the corrected forms with an explanation.

This might not apply in your case but it is a good idea for all of us to remember that if a student took the HOPE credit, it counts against the four times a student qualifies for AOC.

I think once it goes to audit, you have to go that route. However, if you do find one student took the credit five times, go in saying "we looked into this, discovered a mistake, here's the correction" and you may be done in a half hour. If it's a correspondence audit, do the same thing but on paper.

After keeping pace with all the hustle and bustle of tax season, when it ends, I just keep going. Many people depend on me all year, especially friends and family, so I need to keep myself healthy. I don't have time to be depressed or even to think about it, I have a plan for everyday and try to use time management to my advantage. I keep good notes to make sure I finish what I started. I work for a friend who has a small consulting firm with 2 employees that I run all the financial aspects of it, I guess I'm a controller, but the work is not challenging or time consuming, but it keeps me involved in the field. I have a lot of outside interests that I always try to fit in, all work and no play makes for an unhappy me. I do have some consternation about the future. I have a family member that will be needing me more and more as time goes on. I'll be there for her, but am I depressed, no, a little worried, yes, about myself. That's why I have to stay strong and I am doing everything I can to prepare for the challenge and live up to my purpose of being here, at least that's how I rationalize it.

After quite some time, I figured out to just be very thankful for any successes. I generally do not discuss my work with anyone other than a few close friends, as my "discussion" tends to be either about horrible/awful situations, or terrific successes. Many do not have much success to discuss, and can find it uncomfortable to hear my successes, or to hear the corresponding lows. The part I have constantly work on is to "let go" is how rotten some people can be, and not to be the guy who is always talking about horror stories... After a few decades, I accept my preference for the high/low style, versus the ride the middle. My actual stress time has been compacted into Jan and Feb, but issues can pop up anytime. My family has adapted to my schedule, and supports me. I have also, finally, learned to be able to turn off if needed, and accept the reality is there are no accounting emergencies, all things can be dealt with later, in a calm manner. Maturing in both internal and external age is a great teacher... the older I get, the more I can take life as it comes, and to remember to live it while I have the ability.

I don't feel like I slow down until sometime in May. We have put off bookkeeping for some of our clients that can, and have quarterly payroll tax reports to do, plus the returns on extension and the several 990s that I do that are due May 15. So I usually get to come our of the pressure cooker more gradually, which I think helps avoid such a sudden let down. This has been an incredibly hard season for me, however, and I am looking forward to some down time to recover and re-think some priorities. So many of my clients have been sympathetic and supportive when they found out that my mom (who was also my business partner and mentor and sometimes chastiser) passed away Feb. 1, but I really wanted to just not talk about it with them. Sometimes I find it very hard to accept sympathy without going to pieces.

A ton of firms break down the foreign source income for the foreign taxes. Mine sadly does not and most of my clients have a 1099 from my firm. I don't think any mutual funds I'm seen break out the foreign source but I could obviously be wrong. Actually, when I saw a ton of firms - there are really only a dozen or so firms that generate 1099s. Most brokerage firms clear through another firm and you have to read the fine print to see it.

When I enter total miles and biz miles, the program does the math re the car tax.

I go through a "withdrawl". Yawn the whole month of May (after payrolls)

Why not simply submit the 1098-T forms showing WHICH child the credit was taken for each year in addition to other proof of college expenses for each child? Once the IRS sees different children for different years, they'll back off.

I think part of the emotional letdown is that for months now you have been building up for the race, focusing all of your time and energy and thoughts into it, and now it's over and you've crossed the finish line. Think of those runners in the Boston Marathon on Monday. They spent months training, a few hours running, and now what? Go back to running their 5 miles a day or whatever they do, it's just not the same. The other part is that for these few months, we have been the most important person in many of our clients' lives. They need us, depend on us, confide in us, and now we're just another service provider. This can be a real downer. Think it through. No one can keep up the pace we do during tax season all year long. Would you really want to? Not me. And while it does make us feel valued and important that so many clients trust and depend on us, that responsibility is what overwhelms us as tax season draws to a close. I am so looking forward to a normal life after the past few weeks. It does take a little time to "come back down."

Thank you.. I am really struggling these last couple of days, but felt it coming on even before that, getting worse to the point of feeling hopeless.

No, you aren't alone. If feels just like the day after the last final exam. Sort of a letdown after all that work. Where's the parade? Hubby and I go to a special vacation spot every year after tax season. Takes me about three days before I'm really in the vacationy, beachy, boozy, (dare I say sexy) swing of the whole thing. I think it's important to take a vacation after working so hard. If I just stay at home and try to relax, I feel the same dejection and emptiness you seem to be describing. Have an adventure!

No, you are not alone. Every year I feel something similar to an extent, I have to re-learn how to have a life outside of the office, and have come up with a schedule to get back to some semblance of 'normal.' My plans include being off every Friday, starting tomorrow. Every Friday off I have a household job to tackle. Tomorrow's job is to clean the laundry room and dryer vent. One of my dogs is really itchy with the oak pollen so he needs a soothing medicated bath . I have not been on my bicycle since early January so will ease back into that Saturday for a short bike ride. Another Friday I need to defrost the drain lines on both my refrigerator and freezer. The closets in the spare bedroom, my late mother's room, need another cleaning. I have new gardens that need weeding, (big sigh ... ).