Leaderboard

That's scary. Met with a new client on Tuesday who was referred to me because her husband died recently. As I'm ready to leave I mention to be careful - she WILL be getting scammers calling her and she needs to be careful. She and her brother laughed and said she knew it. She called me late yesterday to tell me she'd already received two calls since our meeting telling her she hadn't filed her taxes. It's getting scary how efficient these people are.

Now this IS scary. Thankfully Catherine was wide awake. What do we do? Never open any attachments without calling client to confirm s/he really sent it?

This one from the NAEA page on facebuck (sic): John R. Dundon Yesterday at 2:07pm Scammers almost got me and my team today. We are very particular but these scammers are getting increasingly clever. Email title was innocuous enough reading 'Help with Tax Issues' - we get about 5-6 of these per day originating from my tax blog. Most are deadbeats but this particular email referenced that they were a referral of an existing client, asserted that we had met briefly at a social function, referenced a bike race in which I participated and included links as well as attachments for 'efficiency' purposes because they 'knew' me to be 'trustworthy and forthright'. The email completely disarmed me and I almost bit... Before reaching out to the 'prospect' (or clicking on any links or opening attachments in the email) I called the client to thank her for the referral only to learn that her server had been hacked. Turns out yes indeed the email originated from a scammer intent on getting into my server. This is the 3rd type of incident of attempted hacking that has happened to me and my team in the last week or so all with increasing sophistication. Tread lightly y'all. This shit is getting scary.

The only links I ever click on are yours.

I almost clicked on one the other day. It was from a client and the link was to a Google drive file, even when I hovered over the link. But her AOL email account had been hacked. So, yes, best to never click on any links or attachments, and use good malware protection.

This type will likely be the ones who need zero assistance, other than maybe, if they ask, to "not" enter any figures in 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9. --- There is simply a large amount of misinformation about W4 already. I recently had the "privilege" of teaching a local quasi government agency. They provide supported work training. Their clients earn min wage, for a short time while training. Most, if not all, do not work enough to even be required to file a return, and most do not have the knowledge to do so even if they were required (meaning they are likely paying someone to manage their affairs, or are conserved). The agency was not even asking for W4 forms, somehow thinking it was easier to use single zero for all. (Probably true, as asking for a W4 would no doubt have involved office time.) I had one person submit a proper form marked as exempt. This caused a phone call, where the agency was not so subtlety asking me to not use the form, since the agency would have to send it to the IRS because it was marked as exempt. I could not hold back, and ranted about screwing those who need the couple of dollars now, not later, and that their "policy" was likely costing their clients money, as many would not file a tax return (for the refund), or those that did, were having to pay for (in money or time) an unneeded return, which could cost more than the refund. I then pointed out it has been years since the IRS required any employer to forward a W4...

HP printers are my workhorse printers since my first that hubby still uses now (HP PCL 4 or something like that). Have three HPs in my office currently, all years old: large color laser, small very fast black only laser for tax returns, and an all-in-one color inkjet for when I need a stand-alone fax or glass-plate scanner (my workhorse scanner is a Fujitsu). Never had an HP break down; every HP printer I've ever owned is still in use by my business or my family. I have had to throw out a couple of Brother printers.

Try this: SuppliesOutlet.com (877-822-8659). They're in Memphis and you get a five-pack for $85 less 10% discount. Good merchandise, quick delivery. http://www.suppliesoutlet.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7f-orJXB2wIVDrXACh1HyAVREAAYASAAEgKdfvD_BwE

Ditto with Lion. I'm running out of room with the 4 HP printers I have, one still used with my XP computer that I continue to use from time to time. When she goes, they both go.

My point was, that flat dollar amounts are only good for salaried people, and hourly people with a steady schedule. It's crazy for people who work overtime one week and very little the next week. For them, a percentage would be better. Also, the instructions say to just leave 5-8 blank if you want to use a flat amount. It's gonna be messy at first.

The new form, to get a flat dollar amount, one could enter a large figure in 6 and or 7, enough to get withholding to zero (based on the calculations), then enter the desired amount per check in 9.

I'll advise married two-income couples to both choose single and just list their own wages. With the married brackets being twice the single brackets, it should get them close. If not, adding a flat additional amount is an easier solution than playing around with allowances.

I just submitted a comment to split line 9 into 9a-flat amount and 9b flat %, that you can choose one or the other. It will never happen but I had throw my two cents out there.

I was discussing this at lunch and threw out $45, but that's more for low wage hourly workers, that you can do in 5-10 minutes. The problem with a flat amount per paycheck is hourly workers whose hours can vary a lot. So unless the dollar amount is prorated based on hours, smaller paychecks would get crushed.

I love how this form is right up our alley, I can probably fill out this form with my eyes closed, but I really doubt employees won't know what to do with it. Has anybody established a fee yet so when the calls start coming in?

Ha ha, it will never get easier... Looking only at the form, my guess is employers will have to have a way to input - in addition to the current ability for the employee to ask for additional withholding - additional "untaxed" income (which will then be added to the earnings before tax calculation). Annualized Wages + Line 5 + Line 8 = Annual taxable income (as earned and declared by employee) Calculate withholding (annualized) Less Line 6 and Line 7 Divide by paydays per year Add Line 9 to get withholding on current check ---- Or, by pay period after dividing the W4 annual employee figures by paydays per year. --- No "allowances" means the "old somewhat allowed" way of indicating a specific amount per check (high allowances, desired amount as "additional") will be gone.

I used Supplies Outlet from someone's suggestion on here (or another tax forum I don't remember). They actually sell via Amazon so I still use them.

I see that the option for "Married, but with to withhold at single rate" was removed

I also get tone supplies from Supplies outlet. They deliver fast and will replace any that you find defective with no questions asked.

Whatever happened to the Paperless office we were all promised back in the late 70's and 80's when PC's were coming in to use. I had a retail business at that time with over 15,000 SKU's. The computer really helped with inventory control, but to get reports a printer was essential. It was one of those 128 column IBM jobs and it put out reams and reams of paper. Instead of less paper there was more than before. The large reports on that wide, accordion folded paper were awkward to handle and stacks just piled up in the office. Since it wasn't suitable for printing sales receipts, a small, second printer was put to work. I went through several Canon's and Epson's as they were all prone to breakdown, even with proper maintenance, so I had a second ready to go, in case the one in use brokedown.

It looks like an improvement, but the on-line calculator isn't working. It keep asking for a salary and three were tried together. It looks like it may do a good job of determining withholding for people with multiple jobs.

It looks as if just marking a reasonable "status" will be a safe course. The withholding calculations appear to factor in the standard deduction (the reason for the status, and for deducting the standard deduction if using line 6. For most, meaning those who do not seek professional advice, the new form will be harder to get to a balance due situation. For those seeking advice, it appears no more difficult to get accurate than current. I have increased my "harping" on employers requiring a federal W4 form, and a separate form (W4, or whatever the state requires). For safety, NO MORE one form for both! Separate forms remove any conflicts, since it will take years for states which use any part of federal calculations to come up with their own changes. One state has already screwed up, since they are saying to use the federal W4 with additional entries, which actually invalidates the form for federal purposes... (Note, my perspective is heavily tilted towards protecting employers, and using invalid W4 information can cause harm to the employer.)

I love that you can now just enter an amount you want withheld and not bother with the rest of the form. I tell my clients all the time how much they need withheld per paycheck and they always ask how they do that. Now they can just put that amount on a W4 and be done. It will be interesting to see the withholding calculations that accompany this. Will it be difficult to calculate manually? Married people with other income are likely not going to choose to let their employers know those amounts. I wanted a redesign of this form but this isn't it. I would have just two lines for withholding, one for dollar amount you want withheld and one for % you want withheld, and you choose whichever works best for you. I like the idea of everyone knowing what percentage their taxes actually are.