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Wow, we are really getting in deep doo doo here ! How many internet based apps and functions will we have to avoid in order to keep our data safe and secure ???

I received 2 Docusign emails spaced 4 hours apart. When I tried to delete the first one, my email client completely froze so I had to shut down and reboot. I immediately updated virus defs and scanned. Sure enough, a Trojan labeled severe!!! What really ticked me off is that the first one cleaned out my inbox including several saved emails, not all of which were still in the cloud. Grrr... At least the second one was caught before more damage occurred.

Too inconvenient.

At least with the 2018 W - 4, most employees ignored pages 2 thru 4 and filled out page 1 the same way as in prior years. Bookkeepers and Payroll personnel will be pulling out their hair with millions of employee questions.

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.

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...

LLCs usually file articles of cancellation. Corporations dissolve. Almond Joys have nuts.

ATXKristin CCH Small Firm Services Posts 5,955 Re: state tax withholding more than 4 states Just to let you know, we have expanded the W2 input worksheets for next year to accommodate up to 10 states instead of just 4.

New phishing emails from scammers are posing as state accounting and professional associations to lure tax pros into volunteering sensitive info, the IRS said. Tax professionals have reported getting emails that tried to trick them into disclosing their email usernames and passwords. Cybercriminals targeted tax pros in Iowa, Illinois, New Jersey and North Carolina. The IRS also received reports about a Canadian accounting association.

It may help for the remainder of 2018, but for 2019, there will be the new W4 form to deal with... For most here, it will be learning how to assist clients in filling out the new form. While I do not do many tax returns, the new W4 form appears easier (for a tax preparer) to provide numbers for, since the employee can include exact figures of additional income and credits to consider for withholding calculations. Yes, it is different, but change does equal income, for those of us on the business side...

There is a webinar on 06/21/18 for "Understanding How to use the IRS withholding Calculator to check and correct Withholding". May this will help.

Thanks, Catherine. I saw that on Tax Talk. He was a reliable and knowledgeable contributor and will be missed.

I just re-read the instructions and I'm confused about how this is going to work. In the example of a married couple with 3 jobs, you choose married and report the 2 lower paying jobs on the highest paying job's W4. Then the middle paying job, reports the lowest paying job, which means it's been reported on two W4s. And the lowest paying job reports no income from other jobs. It seems like they're going to increase the withholding on the higher paying jobs to make up for the under-withholding on the lower paying jobs. That's 100% opposite of how I think it should be done, but if it results in reasonable withholding in total, I guess that's ok. The more I think about this, the less I like it.

I have 2 Savin 3300d printers that are 8 years old and still going strong. I bought them because Brother printers didn't always do envelopes well and the two employees who have those printers do a lot of envelopes. They were only 279 each. One has the Savin label on it and the other says Ricoh, but they're the exact same printer.

I'm currently using a Lexmark T644 and have been for the past 5 years. It's been a true workhorse for me. With the exception of replacing the toner every couple of years, it just provides printed sheets one after another after another. It can only be purchased used but there are other Lexmark models that are comparable. Good luck!

This is the draft form for 2019.

that is the same one I use. I love it. It's a work horse, not supper fast but fast enough for me. I buy toner from several different places. who ever has a sale. 101inks.com

The only links I ever click on are yours.

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.

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.

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?

Mounds' don't!

Of all people, how to accountants and tax preparers fall for these scams? Aren't we always warning our clients about this sort of thing? If not, we should be. That alone should raise our own awareness. The sneakiest thing I've seen was a "Docusign" document I received via email. If I had been in the process of completing a real estate transaction, insurance, or other activity which involved exchanging e-signed documents, I might have fallen for something like that.