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Think I've got that guy now - he poured his box of expenses on top of the desk. I said "Great. Where's the income?" The astonished reply: "You want that too?"

Put a warm corona beer in your hand and people might mistake you for Chaz. Tom Modesto, CA

I know, EVERYONE forgets their income: biz, rental, brokerage statement, etc., even W-2 when there was a job change.

Our letter, in addition to a 3/15 cutoff for ALL docs (not some, not most - all - so that takes care of everyone, lol) states that any return not completed and FILED by April 1st WILL be put on extension. Saves people wanting to come in at 9PM on the 15th to sign. (Those are the ones who would then say "but where's the income from my Amway sales?" that they never, ever mentioned.)

I didn't realize until re-reading this thread that I'm out of style. For me, it's cargo pants with sneakers, and a casual shirt (usually one of the HABIT outdoor shirts from Sam's). I don't think a tie goes well with cargo pants & big-flap shirt pockets but what the heck - I may just try it and tell them Black Bart insisted it's time I dress up. That 1040 Tie from FDNY might just round it out nicely.

This not a slam dunk decision. There are many many tech articles out there delineating multiple problems with Win 10 updates since last spring. You can choose to ignore those problems, but lets's not pretend that Win 10 is trouble free and the best invention since sliced bread! In fact, a recent Win 10 update had no new features, but was devoted to fixing 77 known problems created by previous Win 10 updates !

A-r-r-g-h!

I prepared certification forms for my clients to sign who have CTC, ACTC, ODC, or OATC on their tax returens. I do not have enough HOH or EITC clients to worry about standardized forms. I have my clients read through the IRS garbage and then sign the certification, which I keep in my file as proof that I tried to be an IRS agent for a few minutes qand grill my clients. Most of the clients comment about the IRS language, especially about the definition of "dependent" for many of the credits. It gives them a new perspective of what we have to put up with year after year with more and more clarifications and exceptions to prior definitions. One client even said "Is the IRS nuts or what?" I just smiled . Anyhow, I have attached the forms I produced in case others would like to adopt them or modify them for their use. CTC, , ODC CERTIFICATION.pdf AOTC TAX CREDIT CERTIFICATION.pdf

Ditch the sleepless nights. Your clients don't appreciate martyrdom. They will praise you to the moon for getting them taken care of at the last minute, then repeat the same behavior next year. That's how they show you how little respect they have for you or your time. An intelligent, thoughtful person doesn't want a tired, sleep-deprived, frazzled tax preparer trying to rush through their return at the last minute. Common sense would tell them that's risky for them financially and seriously inconsiderate & disrespectful toward you. Lay down an extension policy that puts their feet to the fire. Then you can pick & choose whom you exempt from the policy based upon how simple the return is, how compliant they are in getting info to you, how much profit there is in the return, whether you like their attitude/hairstyle/whatever. The key is to get a firm extension policy in front of them and then do what works best for you. If you're in your office on Apr 15, you should be leisurely reviewing your extension list or surfing the internet. And you ought to be going home by dinner time that day.

Maybe I should change my letter to that cutoff. Since there is only one of me, it would save me some sleepless nights. I have people that just don't find the time to get me everything. Does that mean that you don't file any returns after the 15th or is that a just in case warning?

I do have a green dollar bill bandana...

I think the timing is a problem. It gives the distinct impression that the prescription was written as a favor to a client.

Sorry, thought this title had something to do with my forehead. Is 1310 really the applicable form since no refund is being requested? The Personal Representative / executor / their attorney can sign a final tax return and the courts don't have to appoint one. The attorney should want to cover his rear that no tax liability is due before any final disbursements are made. As long as no refund is requested, I've never had the IRS question it. I'd save all your work and make notes. A tax return really should be filed IMO.

Never trust what an attorney, stock broker, or RE agent says about taxes. Always verify!

Actually, its only the end of free support. It was only several months ago that the number of Win 10 units exceeded the number of Win 7 units on a worldwide basis. As a result, Microsoft recently announced three more years of additional support for Win 7 on a paid basis: Year 1 support - $ 50 Year 2 support - $ 100 Year 3 support - $200. This old horse is far from dead !

It's more like a combo of the (old) tie and a new-not-improved big giant clown bow tie with the expansion to include up to six schedules. lol

I've been doing something pretty close to 1 March each year. Now some simpler ones come in after that and get prepared, but I don't announce that. I think I'm stopping with what I have right now. As it is, I have a 2017 that I promised, partnerships and S-corporations with 15 March deadlines, and a taller than normal stack that arrived as early as 1 February. That's right, I'm a month behind already. My usual flurry is 22 February when a dozen arrive in a day, 20 in a week, leaving me weeks behind suddenly. This year the flurry arrived 12 February, and I've been buried every since. I'm making sure that everyone knows from now on that they ARE going on extension. I don't care if they upload or drop through my mailslot and run, I'm tracking them down to tell them they are on extension. (Well, I do have a couple of March appointments that I rescheduled from February that I guess I have to prepare on time.) The problem clients are the ones that remember dropping off in February and don't remember bringing me more stuff in March; they complain that it takes me three months to prepare their returns.) I answered the door this week in my pajamas to a client dropping off. Well, leggings, tee, and fleece top, with fuzzy slippers. That's how I work when no clients are due. With clients, I still go for comfort: leggings, long-sleeved tee, long vest or sweater, but with actual shoes and socks. I might wear jeans. I might even wear dress slacks. But, I've really lived in leggings since my hip replacement. No tie and blazer, but the long vest or sweater does tie the outfit together a bit.

You're a hard man, Captain Bligh.

"Here are four tickets from the Salvation Army. You see I took 12 bags to them. How much will that help?" "What was in these bags? Did you make a list?" "Clothes, some kitchen appliances... No, I didn't make a list; don't you have a general amount that you can claim?" To myself: "Oh yeah, I have an amount in mind...."

Did you verify the bank information in the program? In UT, you cannot do direct deposit or debit if you forgot to mark that you verified with the taxpayer.

I would be nervous if the letter says that because it might well mean you did not check the right box on the Efile Info form, payment tab. You can restore a letter with green curved arrow, or just manually edit it.

If the account is closed, or there is insuffient money in it to make the payment, you do not have to do anything. Thr payment will not be triggered. Just make the payment on-line, or mail a check.

Are you referring to the client letter included with the return? Is it possible the letter was somehow overridden, forcing it to print that the payment should be mailed? I know there are options that you can check mark on the letter to make it indicate it will be efiled, etc. As long as the return was efiled and accepted with an electronic payment option, the letter shouldn't matter...no?

Ringers, I was trying to prepare a document like yours, but I was getting frustrated. You did a beautiful job. Thank you very much for sharing.

Just do a google search, you will find multiple legit sources for both the OS and computers with Win 7 Pro installed. Last time I looked Dell was still selling certified refurbished computers with Win 7 Pro installed.

Well then, who went to courthouse and recorded the will? I agree keep the workup as it may come back.

This new provision states that the spouse of a service member may now deem the service member's home of record as his/her own, even if that spouse never set foot in that state. https://www.army.mil/article/216845/acts_offer_benefits_to_miltary_family_members

I have a new client that sold a rental house in 2018. So I'm entering the depreciation schedule and voila! House has 39 year depreciation and the furnishings are 10 years. It's been a rental since 2012. Where do people come up with this stuff? And these were pros preparing. I got the client because the original preparer sold the practice and client didn't like the new ones. So that is two groups of tax pros (latter a CPA) that ignored/created this mess.

Thank you!

Ringers, THANKS! These are, in my opinion, things of beauty. I so appreciate your willingness to share even as I have only 4-5 that need something like this. It still irks me that I can't just say that, for example for one family, that I've known them since the kids were babies, one parent and one child even worked for me, we live a block apart, I vouch for them.

Based on the CPE classes that I have attended, a 3115 can reach back as far the incorrect method has been in use. The classic situation is the correction of a incorrect depreciation method going back for as many years as required.

Yes, IRS is definitely accepting the paper return with both forms on the same page.

I'm not sure I understand. If IRS accepts it in paper form printed on a single page, what is the reason for saying the lower half is supposed to be blank? The way data feeds into the mail form is a little awkward at times, but after tracing the flow on a few returns, it becomes easier to understand.

I use Drake, and I just assumed all professional software was doing this.

I've read on other boards a lot of other programs do this. I'm not surprised ATX doesn't.

Drake does it! I switched this year and love it!

Especially for clients who don't even have brokerage 1099s until March 15th or K1s until April 1st.

The new 1040 would be a bow tie.