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I Will definitely use that on next "shopper". I really do not want anymore clients.

Taxpayer Karen, you can avoid interest and penalties [maybe not entirely if you've not paid quarterly] by paying what you owe now, before July 15, and here's a Form 1040-ES. I will get you an extension today, and prepare your return as soon as I am able. I will complete your return even before my own, provided I have everything needed to prepare yours. I understand you don't know what you owe; I don't know what I owe either. That's why I estimate as closely as possible, and pay in quarterly what I think is a little too much.

"I can e-file an extension for you or you can take your information back and look for another preparer."

As another Looong Time AAA member, I have used the tow service as well as lockout, flat tire, dead battery etc.. The no rider policy must be something with "social distancing" or something. I have never had an issue with riding with vehicle, Had one occasion where the operator asked me to leave my dog in the towed vehicle as he was terrified of dogs. I would definitely inquire at AAA corporate. I have noticed a few changes in the last couple of years since they moved call center to Northern California. Limit to 4 service calls a year was first. The call operator wanted a credit card to provide service. when I got a little agitated she gave me to supervisor and dispatched tow truck without a charge. I do have several "classic vehicles" that are subject to needing help home.

Yeah, extensions are a huge waste of time and money. The extension ought to be truly automatic, where if you don't file by 4/15, it's automatically extended to 10/15 without any effort for taxpayers or the IRS. Essentially this would make the due date 10/15 with payments still due 4/15. At least with efiled extensions, the IRS doesn't have to manually enter 10's of millions of paper extensions.

I remember the midnight rush and also the August 15th and having to do another extension, only then you have to "reason" to be approved. My pat answer was always "more time needed to complete an accurate return" Never failed, always received the accepted extension back to us in the mail stamped "approved"

I will do my best. Tom Modesto, CA

None of states I deal with have late filing penalties, only late paying penalties. And refund returns don't need extensions anyway. For science, try to efile the federal extension now and report back to us.

I used to mail paper extensions in a box. It was a lot easier for me to put 300 sheets of paper in a box and it seems like it would be easier for the IRS too. #ExtensionsAreStupid

I can bake a good cake. I'll come visit. At least we're not running to the post office. When I started in this insane business I was the runt at the firm. There was one post office in the area that would stay open til midnight on the 15th and guess who was appointed the midnight run? We would have trays of envelopes to go. That's also when the extension was until August 15 and we had to turn around and make up another pile of extensions for the next round.

That's right. We all do that. We just don't realize it until NOVEMBER! LOL

It happens. We're human. We're all dealing with this crazy environment right now and doing the best we can. Don't beat yourself up.

Oddly, our robo call volume is WAY down lately. Knock on wood. We were getting 3 google listing calls per day. ATT would call daily. Since moving to VOIP it has dropped dramatically for some reason. 25 years ago we switched from Southwestern Bell (they made me mad) to Birch telecom (switched to VOIP last fall). We were getting 1-2 calls per day from Southwestern Bell (now ATT) to get us to switch back. That's probably over 5,000 calls from them. I told a guy one time from ATT and he claimed it wasn't possible until I mentioned we had 9 phone lines and said yeah, that's possible then.

I too seem to have received a lot more robo calls this week.

Obliquely related, but this past week we have been INUNDATED not with tire-kickers but with goggle listings type calls. I've learned most of them come through Caller ID showing a town rather than a name, and that answering lets them know the number is live. I've started instead using the speakerphone and humming "Scotland the Brave" or some other tune. The algorithms don't know what to do. Eventually the calls slow down. But I am seriously sick and tired of them this week.

I've had my share of 'em too but the best story I ever heard was third-hand (both parties are now deceased). In the early eighties I worked for an accountant who had once worked under a CPA in a nearby large town. My boss (an honest and truthful man) told me he was an actual witness to this scene: A regular customer, grouchy and notorious for his chronic complaining, came in to pick up his return. The CPA quoted a reasonable fee. The patron promptly threw a fit, let out a string of curses, and roundly chewed them out for all manner of excessive charges, slipshod work, along with many outrageous slurs. My boss said the CPA simply sat there through the diatribe; then calmly stood up, picked up the return, tore it in half, then quarters, threw it down on the desk, and said: "Now, get your a$$ out of my office!" I've always wanted to do that.