Leaderboard

We rarely take new clients and the ones we do are referrals from good clients or others we don't want to disappoint. However, when a potential new client asks how much it will cost in the initial phone call, we typically say we aren't taking new clients. If price is the first thing on their mind, we suspect that will not appreciate the service we provide and the relationship will not be a good one. This week I have had to tell a number of clients that they owe big time, that I tried this and that but nothing helped. Every one thanked me for the effort I put in. Those are the clients we want. I had a client today who wasted so much of my time that I kept silently going into his bill and raising it. By the time he left it was up almost $100. He offered to pay even though his return is not yet completed. I suspect he fears losing me more than I fear losing him. I have heard many practitioners say that they purged their client lists of problem clients and enjoyed their jobs more while their income didn't suffer.

You can't NOT report income just because you got it in cash and did not get a form for it, although I have had people tell me that they can. So i don't generally get suspicious just for that reason. Now if that was the exact amount needed to get them in the sweet spot for EIC, I would definitely want to ask more questions. Or I had a potential client this year start to hand me his papers and tell me how much he wanted his income to be total since he was applying for a loan. I handed the papers back and told him that was not how we did returns here.

Just file it. The IRS doesn't get around to matching until November at the earliest. I just checked wage transcripts the other day and they were still blank. The shutdown really screwed everything up.

Just had a situation similar. Parents specifically said they would not be claiming son so Medicaid in California would cover him. It was one of those situations were they thought they were getting something for nothing but ended up losing out on a big education credit. I would file the deadbeat son as if he could be claimed by someone else and just don't claim him on the mom's return. The rule is even if no one does claim him, if he could be claimed he cannot claim self.

Q> "Why is the accounting firm 3 states away late?" A> "Because they don't have it done yet."

I always quote a high cost in April because my guess is they are going to be a PIA to work with and they . Prices are always higher if you deliver in April. Grouchy clients are my new pet peeve. Client was waiting multiple K-1s and he brought me a gift certificate when he finally delivered yesterday because he felt bad. Next set of clients are still waiting and somehow the fact their accounting firm 3 states away are late became my fault and I needed to explain why they were late.

I think this might help: https://blog.foxwealthmgmt.com/2016/08/15/tax-planning-with-a-266-election/

I don't have to imagine - a few years ago the CEO of a local bank (people seek him out for financial advice) said to me: CEO: "Why am I paying so much tax (many K's +) this year when my associates tell me they pay practically nothing for the same?" BB: "Well, see; when you make the kind of money you're knocking down and you have those side businesses that are dragging in a ton, then you're gonna owe lots of tax. Too, everybody's different - I doubt your pals' earnings are the same as yours. More importantly though, last time you personally sent off all four estimates. This time you sent none. So, it's pretty simple arithmetic." That was a little too plainly spoken for the fiscal analyst. The meeting ended abruptly and I haven't seen him since.

I have clients who make money dog-walking, babysitting for children/disabled/elderly/even pets on an occasional basis, handyman work for individuals/one-time-type work, and other paying gigs for individuals, seldom for businesses, and very seldom over $600 for a person. So, no 1099s expected or received. The clients report their income, some keeping better records than others. I report all income. I might suggest better recordkeeping &/or depositing it in their bank for a better paper trail. But, if I have no suspicions, I prepare their returns. Your client's work for a restaurant should've been on payroll or at least a 1099 for sporadic, casual labor. Urge her to talk with the restaurant this year. Explain to her what to say &/or print out some plain English explanations.