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I have averaged 24 returns per week this season. (Beginning last week of January.) I've worked six days a week, but missed two Saturdays and a Monday. Wow, it puts you so far behind. I have a lot of chatterboxes, and I may or may not be one myself, and a few bookkeeping/payroll clients that I see every week. No support staff, except the Lord. He's good, though. Y'all are correct; the ones in the stack right now are stinky and/or the "Oh, that [W-2] should be there..." Uh, huh, and do you think I didn't look five times before I asked you for it?

I put the info in myself. I found on 2 other forums of people having same problem. One of the responses was from an "IRS employee" that IRS is aware of the problem. I think it was the Intuit forum. That's good enough for me to tell clients to have patience, I have too much going on now to deal with this further. I hardly ever check WMR for clients and tell them to do it themselves, but clients saying there's an error just added more stress to an already stressful year.

"I ’m so glad for your sake that your deadline isn’t as tight as usual this year." I so wish this were true. Trying to muster the strength for 17 more days (16.5 but who's counting). I have to finish 10 returns/day to make it, and the returns I have left are stinky :(. They're actually mostly all stinky; why don't I get clients with 2 W2s and a 1098? Pity Party, right here at my desk. I'm drinking a latte and a soda at the same time!!!

Never mind, I was using the wrong search terms. Found it, 8948.

If the earnings are $18K the HOH standard deduction would wipe that to zero amd leave the TP eligible for child related credits , without using form 2555. Take FTC a for taxes paid to Spain, if any.

My oddest current situation is a client who ignores my questions about virtual currency transactions, even though I've sent multiple emails. Makes me strongly suspect the answer is "yes". So he goes on extension until he replies.

Fifteen returns in a day! You are superhuman! The only times I can do that is when they were all done and checked and finally that last bit of missing info came in. Even then, I don't think I'd make 15. Missing info is the worst. Email a client with three questions, and you get two answered. Heck, tonight I emailed a client with two questions and got an answer to one. Really? Most of my returns are fairly complex--even the "easy" ones turn into hours of work when they leave a note that they sold some land or hunting cabin they've had for years and the stock their grandfather gave them when they were born. Tonight I picked up a normally straightforward return and found that she had her daughter's and boyfriend's in there too. Will it ever end???

I am winding down, but have about 10 returns in various stages of done-ness. Working on a couple right now in which they have HUGE noncash charitable. I have warned them for years about donations. Now you need to get an appraisal of any amounts over $5k of similar items to get it through e-file. Yay, a reason to winnow it down. (Although you could say that some of it is 'art' & some is 'household stuff' and some is clothing)

Three or four, assuming I have ALL the information. But there is almost always something missing! Then there is the long process of writing it up and chasing the client for all the answers NOT yet provided. Or the "wait, what about my second job?" when you think you're done and it turns out they never gave you the new W2. One year a client forgot to tell us about a new baby! Picked up the return, brought it home for signatures, called the next day "where's the baby?" when she never gave us any info at all. Between three of us, we do about 700 returns in a season (personal and corporations and entities). Except for *some* of the dependent kids with summer jobs, almost all are a long hard slog.

I can't even imagine. I get anxious when I have 10 returns in my to do stack!

Not my client but my associates, his client received a letter from the IRS informing them that the state of IL paid them around $9,000 in interest for back child support, his client didn’t even know about it, just thought it was part of the child support. Now for the bad part, taxpayer income is very low and due to the interest they lost around $6,000 of EIC and need to repay it back. This is an unusual case, interest income is interest income but it’s not like the taxpayer was saving the money from their earnings, would other income work? Thanks

You cannot take ACTC and also file form 2555. Are you sure you understand what is involved for filing taxes for a U.S. citizen working abroad? Form 2555 is not something to experiment with.

My memory is fried, but wasn't there someone going for confirmation who owed taxes and gave the TurboTax defense that he didn't know he had to pay SE tax as an embassy employee?! Not that that helps you figure out how to make it work in your software.

Well, I guess so long as the employee is aware and you can override where needed, it must be acceptable. I suppose the embassy is a special employer in this sense. Perhaps you should counsel this client about making estimated payments. I do see where there is an additional 'allowance' included to mostly cover the employer's portion even if taxable. At least it is something. And by deducting half of the se on the return, that's about the same as being taxed on the full amount of salary/wages but having 7.65% withheld. So just paying some tax on the extra amount included for employer FICA isn't too bad. I will assume employee is well enough paid to accommodate this extra effort and gets a portion of tea and crumpets daily.

I think they're screwed, at the technical level, but it might be worth an appeal.

The bill is full of exemptions from special interest lobbyist including: real estate, auto dealerships (goodwill), timber, agriculture and other "small business". There is a $250,000 general exemption. Sounds like the main target will be sales of stock, bonds,...etc. I have a few Washington clients that were former Oregon residents, most likely they will not feel the 7% sting.

I agree. You have to look at the "origin of claim test" to determine if the legal cost are related to the capital asset or operational expenses. I believe a case could be made that by reducing the amount of interest paid, the taxpayer is attempting to cut expenses and increase the profitability of the activity. In that case, the origin of claim goes to back to operational expenses and is currently deducted. If on the other hand the legal fees were incurred to defend the title of the property, the origin would be capital in nature. That quote sounds like it was made in reference to section 212, which basically applies to investment expenses which are itemized deductions currently suspended by TCJA.

Use the foreign earnings worksheet , which should flow to the line for wages .

Maybe the real "art" is in their valuation method...

How many returns are people usually able to get through in a day? I can do maybe 15 on a Saturday or Sunday, but weekdays are much less productive. I think Jim on this board does 1000 per season by himself. Unreal! Curious to know how others pace.