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Well I was new to ATX this year and this Group was a Godsend for me!!! I paid for the conversion from old tax software to ATX and NOTHING converted correctly so I spent a lot of time fixing depreciation, NOLs, etc. before I could even do tax returns. I have only been doing taxes for a few years so it was painfully slow for me; especially with new tax law to learn and new clients coming to me for the first time. I had a lot of clients that owed or saw very poor refunds, as well as multiple client deaths and other sad situations. I never realized the emotional side of tax season especially when your exhausted. I'm going to have to learn how to balance my schedule better because I'm wiped out and still have clients pressing me for there Returns that I had to put on extension. I will also have to convert to a new computer this year as I am in Windows 7......not looking forward to that either! I have a seasonal receptionist who only answers phones and does my scheduling and I do all the rest, including quite a bit of bookkeeping and payroll. It was my most stressful tax year yet and the last three were filled with a lot of stress already. I'm hoping next year will be much better! I am so very thankful for everyone's help and advice thru this tax season!!! Waiting for an hour+ on the phone for ATX is terrible so I'm so happy I was told about this group so early in the season. Thank you!

My season wasn't as bad as I expected other than the lost time to being really very sick. I really dislike the new 1040 and that was a time suck to explain it to each client with the schedules having multiple items combined into one number and looking like memo items stuck off to the side in the text instead of in the column of other figures. It's like a giant stop sign that slows the preparer down in multiple ways. I have some extensions, and except for two, all owe me information. I had to yell at one this morning to stop calling me multiple times a day every d@mned day, and told her that I am so frustrated by the calls that I'm on the verge of telling her to come pick up her pile of and take it elsewhere. If not, she will get a termination letter this summer.

Returns took longer to prepare and longer to proofread and a lot longer to explain. So, I have more unhappy clients on extension than in the past. My two-year comparison was a great tool for proofreading, but I still had to know the flow of the new forms to answer client questions. You know that phone call you get three days later asking where's unemployment or something? And, I tried to use the comparison in working with clients, but they wanted to see things on the actual forms. I put the comparison first in their folders. I really did not increase my prices enough. I need to work on that as I prepare extensions and get it in place for next season. Usually I'm back to work full-time by 1 May or earlier and not out of town until July for Appalachia Service Project and August for hubby's family reunion. But, this year, two grandbabies are due in CT in June and PA in July and baby showers in both states, so I'll be out of town earlier and getting more calls asking when returns will be ready. I'm not enjoying work as much this year! Drop-offs were about a month earlier this year, so I was backlogged and staring at that stack of folders for a month longer than usual. I did get a stomach bug that was going around and then back spasms that had me on heavy-duty muscle relaxants for nearly a week and not fit to work. And, our shower door warped or something and refused to close, so had to deal with shopping and measuring and workmen. At least I had my hip replaced 5 November to give me plenty of time to heal up enough to sit for long hours, but I'm still driving to a neighboring town for physical therapy, helpful but a big use of time. The SALT cap is huge in expensive Fairfield County, CT, so lots of complaints from clients WHO WERE EXPECTING IT. And, CT changed laws for passthrough entities during 2018 for 2018, so clients were NOT expecting my calls for their PEs to make ES payments last June. Not my favorite tax season.

I filed 318. Mostly 1040s with assorted schedules: A, B, C, D, E, F, H... A handful of entities: 1120S, 1065, 990). I filed 77 extensions. They won't all show up for prep, I'm sure. I have a commercial building in the [small] city limits, no staff. I work six days a week February - April 15. Office is open four days a week after tax season (bookkeeping / payrolls / putting out fires / maybe 60 tax returns). My office today looks like some crazy woman worked six days a week for 10 weeks. I send Posse approximately 3,876 emails a day. In the off season - 8,776 text messages. It helps me not cry. Also thankful for all of you - my friends and co-workers.

Soooooo…..does that mean no party at your beautiful home this year? I think I can take you in cornhole this time! Or not. Tom Modesto, CA

Now look forward to what is next for this wonderful atx community.......

Yes! I hate when there's an amount in the middle of page 2 added with an amount from a Schedule and the result is sitting there in the crowd of numbers on page 2 mocking me like, "Good luck explaining how I got here." So awkward. The WOAT.

You know ya'll are always welcome! You play a mean corn hole. I'm pretty sure you and Donna won, and you are too gracious to brag.

From what I know about you all the fires go out and there are no rekindles.

And, sometimes the "result" is NOT present but then gets added/subtracted/exported to yet another schedule. Takes SO much time to explain to someone and prove I really did include their unemployment or whatever. A time suck when client is here and I can point & highlight; a larger time suck on the telephone; and a huge time suck trying to type it out in an email (I refuse to answer via text; I just text them to check their email). I think the "postcard" should have built-in color coding to track the flow.

Tracy Lee, welcome to the Forum. With the exception of information not converting correctly, what is your impression of ATX after using it for the season?

If you have an AMEX card, they will run offers on Dell products during the year. Last year, I was able to score a 10% credit on the purchase of my laptop and desktop computers, after I beat up Dell to get the price I was happy with. If you are signed up to see your AMEX account online, there are always offers at the bottom of the page. You just add the offer to your card that you will use to make the purchase, and a couple days after the charge to Dell goes through, the credit shows up on your card. My Dells are pretty awesome. Hope to keep them for 5 years. Tom Modesto, CA

The big surprise for us was the number of people who were better off as married filing separately. One slow down was checking to see if MFJ/MFS was better (Drake does a good job at that, at least). The comparison pages showing total tax versus withheld tax was great - that really helped people understand why their situations looked different. LOTS of late forms, LOTS of questions on withheld tax tweaks, LOTS of questions about QBI. I can read the new forms right side up and upside down (depending on where the client is sitting), but sideways is still giving me trouble.

My season went well, with the exception of the vast majority of my clients coming in later than normal. I thought that I had lost a lot and then they all came pouring in. The damn brokerage statements coming so late with one or two amended ones just infuriate me. My deadline is much earlier than most of yours, but I don't know how you manage to get them out by 4/15. My February is so filled with appointments, that I only get anything done at night. My new attitude that life is too short and to spend time with my family during tax season didn't help my workload, but I was much happier. ATX worked well for me . QBI really slowed me down. I never felt confident that I had a handle on it, so I was continually researching. ACA is still terrible, but I did find that when everyone else left the Nebraska market, but Medica, that the premiums went up so much that if was considered unaffordable for almost all of my uninsured clients. Most of my uninsured had paid penalties in prior years. I am very worried about having to upgrade from Windows 7 for next season. I am not a fan of 10 of my laptop and I have seen various reports both ways from people with running ATX 7 or 10. I will be here all year, because I have extensions and all of my backlog to catch up on. Thanks to all of you and have a great summer!

Overall, I think this tax season went more smoothly than I originally anticipated. It didn't take that long to get used to the new 1040 format and ATX worked relatively well all season. Sure, there were some hiccups and a learning curve but it all worked out in the end. Thanks very much to all the members of this forum who give their time and lend their experience. It's such a great resource and one I value very much. Enjoy the "off" season!

I'm still trying to trace a difference of about $180 from a schedule from a worksheet from a who knows what to page 2 that left me and the client baffled. Fortunately it wasn't enough to make penny's difference in tax but made me look, well, less than the stellar professional the client thought I was

SSD is the biggie; and as much RAM as you can usefully cram into the thing. Whatever the requirements are NOW, they will be HIGHER in future years!

I have, problem was solved by sending a copy of the RE bill only, try calling on behalf of your client

Great info. My Dell is old and was going to replace it last November or so, but replaced my hip instead. I've had issues with this Dell which Dell sent to replace an earlier Dell that had huge issues. I might go with HP this time. One of my techies likes HP. But, I'm not in a rush to replace, still lots of extended returns to prepare. Please, all of you continue to post your research, prices, decisions, etc., for me and any other tech-challenged preparers to learn from during the off season.

It is going to be a much better fit for me than the old tax program. I'm VERY pleased I switched. I have been very disappointed in the ATX customer service but this group has made all the difference for me.

When we have a tax return picked up we explain the signature pages and have the client sign. One of the pages verifies their bank info. We have them initial by the account number and sign and date at the bottom. Had a lady who is separated from her husband. His account was listed on her return. Her $800 refund went into his account and he will not give it to her. He is due a $1200 refund. She was really upset with us and wanted us to list her account on his return or call the IRS and have them take it back out of his account. She did sign the form verifying the account.

I’ve always been happy with my desktop Dells, while not being a computer techie, I’ll get the latest with as much Ram and speed available as I keep them until old operating system loses support. My current one is an i7 that is 6 years old, fast and never a problem. I always buy them striped of bells and whistles and just use for work. The only thing I will now include is an SSD as Abby recommends. So I will be getting a new one this year with Win10, and looking forward to, as Bulldog said, “beating them up over price.” Now if I can only find my AMEX card, I’ll be golden.

Thanks, Lion. That's where I sent him to make this one. Perhaps he will see that option but I will let him know. Communication - I specifically state to 'confirm bank accounts and payment options' in my cover email for the pdf returns. Alas, like my engagement letter and cover letter for same, it seems the eyes glaze over or get misty and ignoring text prevails.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of early renewals. I see it as potentially gambling your entire tax filing season on the equivalent of the fees for a couple of tax returns. Risk is greater than the reward. I was certainly glad I wasn't locked into ATX when the 2012 debacle struck. I simply moved over to Drake and found my only regret was not having done it many years earlier since it's a superior product (software and customer service) overall. But even though I now have a high level of confidence in Drake, I won't commit to them either until I see the software working. Anything can happen with any vendor in a given year. (I do realize that one could prepay with a vendor, find the program is unacceptable, and move to another vendor by either sacrificing the prepayment or gambling that the original vendor can be browbeat into funding all or part of the prepayment. But prepayment creates too much pressure to stick it out and hope the original vendor can rectify their problems. Meanwhile, there are those pesky clients wanting their darn work done, and they don't give a hoot about our vendor issues.)

I will also buy one for me but in November. If you wait, I will share my DELL specs and price.

That last piece is what makes it worth while. The program itself - while I like it very much in many ways - still has spots that are rough. But that customer service gets you over them quickly and with little trouble. MUCH nicer than floundering on your own while waiting on hold for way too long!

If those become the ONLY options, I will go back to pencil and paper. NO ONE owns my data but ME.

Tragic as this is, the Cathedral will be rebuilt better than before. The aging structure has been undergoing renovation for years. It has survived so much, and will continue on as this fire has now become a part of its history. When the stone walls are considered safe the new roof and nave will welcome visitors to see the blackened wall from the Great Fire of ‘19. I think I heard there is already a billion dollars in contributions. Imagine how beautiful this church will be. The original walls will be there and the artifacts once restored will be placed in their updated home. The Paris Fire Department chaplain and 1st alarm units were brave and risked their lives to save artifacts including the Crown of Thorns. PS. There will probably be a state of the art sprinkler/fire suppression system installed.

If your program was crashing multiple times, you need to check anti-Virus and other "system protection" software to see if it is causing the shutdown. We have done 2,500 here at the firm, and have experienced crashing, only when I tried to open 3 returns at a time. Maybe 20 times, all season. Also, if your computer hardware is more than 2 years old, REPLACE IT WITH NEW EQUIPMENT that has all the specifications to handle the new program. Do NOT SKIMP on the system, due to price.

I thought the season went really well until yesterday. Yesterday was nuts! I went home Sunday evening feeling totally prepared for Monday, but Monday came, and it was brutal. The software (ATX) was slow this year and crashed multiple times a day, but once I started shutting it down after every few returns and restarting (a suggestion from Abby, I think), that problem mostly went away. As always, I was super grateful for this Board. Working solo, it's nice to have a 'firm'! I have amazing staff, but no other preparer. I hope each of you gets a little down time this week! I'm curious . . . I filed 365 returns (all types) and have 70 extensions. I know there are people here who did many more returns. If you're so inclined to share, what does your practice look like? Jim (who did 1000, I believe, and briefly outlined his system in an earlier post) might need to do a seminar ;). Best to all of you!

Generally it went well. Few problems with the program but no need to call in. Under withholding was a big factor and spent some time explaining, but sending the highlighted Comparison sheet with the return was very helpful. Some clients didn't do so great with the new tax bill but most had no problem accepting it. The 6 schedules slowed me down in the beginning so one day when I had nothing to do I sat down and memorized which is which. Also, next year should be a breeze with knowing ahead whether schedule A is needed or not. Thank you everyone for your valued input, I've learned from you and grateful for your help. Always and Forever.

I had a very good season, and I'm really thankful for the Comparison forms in ATX. Really thankful. I didn't have any trouble showing people that they got a tax cut. I think I had maybe three that would have done better with 2017 laws, and two of them were having meals subsidized by the rest of us, so I think losing the 2106 was a good change. People with legitimate EE expenses need to get help from the ER, not the tax code. I feel so badly for those of you whose clients came up short because of under withholding. Mine didn't have that problem. I suspect returns with AGI of five figures had fewer problems with that. And that's where I live and work, and we're not broke. Anyway I really still hate the new forms. Really, really. Hate. Them. So glad I had the Comparison forms. I usually started there. The alternative was going to be saying, "Trust me," a lot.

I agree with Possi. By the end of tax season I was navigating the new form fairly well, but I know that it slowed me down A LOT. And it seems like every year the brokerage firms get just a little bit later sending out their information and I wind up more crunched at the end trying to get things out for people. I hate to set a deadline for getting paperwork, because many times it is out of my clients' control. But I don't think I am going to have any choice but to announce that if information is not received in full by the end of March, returns will be place on extension as they arrive just to keep my sanity.

The new forms and reduced withholding absolutely slayed me. Having to sit with every client and go through the stress of their disappearing refunds OVER AND OVER AND OVER, with caring and compassion was emotional and exhausting. The new forms sunk my performance time in each return. And time is money. Overall, the business of taxes was awful, for me anyway. If this was my first year, it would be my last year. And, I'm generally an upbeat person. I am going to close my office tomorrow and not looking back until May 1st. The up side to all of this is that God already knew what was ahead of me, went before me, and didn't let my spirit down. My assistant does all the processing, opens all their mail, scans all the documents, and together we create some kind of "fun factor" in every day. It might just be lunch, but we work something in. I'm really very blessed to have her. That's part of the "God" thing. It's a good spirit here, just tired from it all. I'm truly grateful for this board. Truly. Grateful. You all have become real friends. Another "God" thing, I'm sure.

Yes. What little problems I did have I was able to post on the Drake forum here on this community and was helped. The only real problem I had was with a client who had multiple rentals and for some reason ATX had empty spaces (Numbering of the properties), but all I had to do was reassign the proper for number and everything worked ok. I won't kid you, there is a learning curve but I found Drakes knowledge base very helpful. The one problem I did have was in using the portal that is available. I had a small issue with files that were restored from my laptop not wanting to go into the working portal, they wanted to go into what is called an archive portal. But I called Drake (spoke to a live person within 3 rings) who tried to figure it out. He promised a call back and about a week later he did call with a fix. Very impressed with the program and customer services! Plan on early renew which I haven't done with ATX since 2012.

This Has Been Bugging Me My Whole Life..Abby....

This may clear up the above confusion. From the treasury direct site: " Unlike EE bonds, HH bonds are current-income securities. You paid face value and receive interest payments by direct deposit to your checking or savings account every six months until maturity or redemption. ... Do I have to pay taxes on my interest earnings? Yes, you must report your interest payments on HH bonds as interest income on your federal income tax return each year. This interest isn't subject to state or local income taxes. The U.S. Treasury issues an interest income statement (1099-INT) by January 31 of each year showing the interest you earned the previous year." However, if you purchased the HH bonds with matured E or EE bonds and deferred the interest on those, that interest is reported in the year of redemption: Is there any tax liability when I cash HH bonds? If you (or the original bond owner) deferred paying federal income tax on interest earned on EE or E bonds you exchanged for the HH bonds you're redeeming, you will need to report this deferred interest for the year in which the bonds reach final maturity or are redeemed, whichever occurs first. You will receive an IRS Form 1099-INT showing the deferred interest, which is reported to the IRS. That appears to be the case with your client, since the 1099 showed deferred interest. The cleanest way to do this is to file an estate return and pass it through to the beneficiaries. At least you can deduct the cost of the tax prep (which is allowed, even if not paid in the fiscal year), which may save the Bs some taxes on the interest. There may be some other expenses too, like probate or attorney fees.

If father died in 2017, I believe you can either elect to report the interest on his final personal return or file a fiduciary return and report the interest there. If the income is all distributed from the estate account, the beneficiaries would get K1s for the part of the interest distributed to them and pay the tax on their share. You can elect the fiscal year for the fiduciary return with the filing of the first return. So if dad died in, say June 2017 you could elect a fiscal year ending May 31. If there was no income for the fiscal ending 5/31/18, no return would have been due. If the bonds paid interest sometime in late 2018, they could be reported on the fiscal year ended 5/31/2019, and would go on the beneficiaries return for 2019. Just as an example, and I think it would work this way. Hard to say without actually know all the facts and circumstances. And someone may know more about this and why this won't work.

If the father died in 2017, and bonds cashed out in 2018, I believe there is an estate tax return due.