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The original intention of the Trump tax plan was to do away with all itemized deductions and most credits. But the lobbyist got to the congress and congress told the president that they would not get rid of Charitable, Mortgage Interest and Health Deductions. They were also not getting rid of EITC and CTC. That is where the negotiations started from. Trump got nearly everything he wanted on the corporate side, and Congress got most of what they wanted on the personal side. Make no mistake, this was a corporate tax bill that was sweetened just enough for individuals so that the base would support the incumbent party in the mid-terms. Politics as usual. Now the next act of this drama is going to play out. IRS will (at some point) issue guidance on how to interpret and audit the upcoming returns. Then the tax pros will figure out the best ways to save tax dollars under the new law and we will see the unintended consequences. Which will give some politicians the motivation to either try and fix the tax law (depending on their point of view) or campaign for changes in the 2020 election cycle. As we wait to get to the 2020 election cycle, the IRS is either going to take a hard line on audits or is going to try and work with congress to mitigate the unintended consequences. Look at how the IRS worked with Obama and congress on the implementation of ACA tax rules. They were pretty lax in enforcement the first year or two, then ratcheted up the compliance. They could do that again, citing taxpayer fairness and the inability of the service to handle the workload of compliance. Or they could hammer taxpayers with letters. We have not seen how the new treasury secretary and IRS commissioner have worked with the administration yet, so we don't really know how this will play out. Sorry if this sound political, but it is a political process of writing these laws. I tried to be neutral in presentment. Sorry if it offends anyone. Tom Modesto, CA

Well, today I sold my practice to a very capable young man! I have taken down my shingle and have entered retirement. I just wanted to stop in and say so long for now and to express the deepest sense of gratitude for each and everyone of you and the sense of comradiry we have had here. It is with the most sincere part of me that I say I wish the each of you the very best of luck and success in the days and years to come. May the Lord of all creation be your ever guiding light! And until we meet again.................

Some of you will remember my spectacular failure on a client where I missed a quarter million dollar 1099. I correct the return, and my client sent in the check with the full amount we calculated included with the return. The check cleared April 24th. Client gets a notice this week saying he owes the same amount, plus interest and penalties. So I call the IRS PPL and I ask why the notice does not have the payment applied. We expected interest and penalties, but the tax has been paid. Their notice of tax due matches my client's check amount. I also noticed the interest seemed to be calculating from the date of the return to the payment date on the letter, not the date the IRS cashed the check. The lady at IRS was very polite and informative. She said the tax was still not assessed, even though they processed the correction and the amount of tax due matches the check the client sent in. And because the tax is not assessed yet, they could not apply the payment, even though they know we paid the tax that was not assessed and our amount was the same as they say we still owe. And because the payment is not applied to the tax that is not assessed, they have to calculate interest to the date the letter says we have to pay the tax that has already been paid but not assessed. So the interest amount is overcharged, and they know that, but they will fix everything when the tax gets assessed. So, after digesting this information, I started wondering how many people get letters from the IRS with tax due and interest and just pay it without checking the calculation? Or making sure that payments made have been applied? It seems to me that the IRS, when they got the same number that I did, would say we all agree and lets put this puppy to bed. Calculate the interest correctly, assess the penalties, send out one letter, and get paid what is owed. I guess I have to make a mistake on a return every once in a while to remind me why I spend so much effort trying to get everything correct on the returns I produce. It is a BITCH working with the stupid rules of the IRS. At least when it is my client who screws up and I have to fix things, I get paid. This was my screw up, and now I have to eat this time. Sucks to make mistakes. Tom Modesto, CA

Oh retirement I’m just slowing down, I hope not too much...

If you want to keep them, then tell them right now that they ARE going on extension and that your fee will be substantially more due to the state-to-state interactions. And to make an estimated payment or two, to avoid underpaying.

Just fire them now....save the headache. They can't be worth that much stress. CA is going to have a boatload of non-compliance with federal law. That PY return is going to take some time. Your fee is going to have to cover that. But....they are getting a lower federal tax rate.... Tom Modesto, CA

At the TNSEA conference I went to, the speaker told us every time people complain about negative effects on their tax returns to tell them...."But your getting lower tax rates!". Not sure if that will work this year, especially in the high SALT states....like mine...CA Tom Modesto, CA

Maybe we should make a recording and set it on a loop. Clients start to complain, hit the "play" button and sit back.

Congratulations! Keep visiting us -- to help or to laugh at/with us or to reconfirm your decision to retire or all of those! Godspeed.

One of my MA clients just became a PY MA and PY CA client. I (yes ME) will also need chill pills to get through the tax season!

Damn, your clients are all targets of the Trump Administration (maybe not PA? not up on that state). You will need to send out "chill pills" to all your clients at the start of tax season because you are going to hear the same thing over and over again. Good Luck. Tom Modesto, CA

We got a notice - I forget for what - from the IRS for a deceased client some years ago, over something resolved years earlier than that. Yakking about non-response (ignoring letters we'd sent about the resolved situation) and threatening to do something. I sent the new address - cemetery name, address, and plot number - as the forwarding address. Never heard back...

I don't see how the deceased can be 'responsible' or even responsive.

seriously?

Trying to tell a spender that they should be a saver is just whistling in the wind. Giving a spender financial advise as if they are a saver can be very dangerous.

#1 rule: Ain't broke, don't fix.

Yeah, you won't get rid of me when I retire. I will still come hear to taunt... harass... stay in touch with old friends.

Jack...I think people were saying you were crazy, but it had nothing to do with you not wanting to use WIN 10.

Congratulations on your retirement. You will be missed.

Congratulations, Ron! I hope that you'll always think of this place as a home filled with friends, and please stop in and let us know how you are enjoying retirement.

Congrats on your retirement! And best wishes in all you do. You will be missed!

Congratulations....and boo hoo..... You will be missed. Stop in and chat sometimes. Tom Modesto, CA

The day the IRS (or any large bureaucracy of any kind) operates in a sensible fashion, I will need smelling salts. I remember the tale, and sympathize! I have also eaten the time and effort to fix quite a number of errors over the years.

No matter the reason for the outcome, most unhappy clients are going to blame the preparer.

Actually, it was deliberate, remember all the talk about how much bigger everyone's pay check would be . It was an attempt to pump up the enthusiasm for the TCJA and to juice up the economy.