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I've had people tell me similar. I ask them if they have a bank - yes (of course). Well, guys, the IRS already knows about it. You're not telling them anything new. Had one client who did not trust computer systems; wanted to paper file for that reason. When I told client it cut down on transcription errors at the IRS - i.e., the info goes into the computer regardless - that "reason" went poof! like a soap bubble. My guess is the preparer is using personal software not licensed for e-filing more than a couple (all family) returns.

My son has worked on this project since he started with Spinlaunch while a senior in college. They just proved concept on a 1/3 scale kinetic launch system. Daddy is very proud of his little one. Tom Longview TX

Oh, yeah, 2-3 acre zoning, wells, septic tanks, no sidewalks, mailboxes on a post on the road. I have two giant propane tanks and a generator. Weston does have 1 stoplight now (didn't when I moved here). Didn't have lines painted on the roads when I moved here in 1978. 30 minutes or more to get to a grocery store, pharmacy, doctors, etc. Compared to NYC only 50 miles away, we are in the boonies. Heck, compared to Westport, CT, on Long Island Sound, just 30 minutes away, we're in the boonies!

Out here in the boonies, people steal out of mailboxes.

Had a client who had a lot of the same concerns about EFTPS. The more I tried to explain it to him, the more sure it was a government plot. I pay / file with coupons and physical forms on a lot of stuff but EFTPS just makes sense.

In this case, a very small estate with no need to file an estate return. Probate courts are still closed to in-person transactions, so very far behind. No court-appointed rep. But the will named daughter to deal with paying bills, filing taxes, distributing assets, etc. I think I did what was both correct and expedient. I did not mail anything with 8453. And, in my rush, I forgot to attach the signed 1310 as a .pdf; although, the 1310 within the return itself has the daughter's name printed on the signature line. And, I have the e-file Jurat for the 1310, signed by daughter, with the 8879. I think the main reason we'll hear from the IRS is that daughter could find no EIPs received by her deceased mother, but mother's 2019 income suggests she should've received both EIP1 and EIP2 in full. My next one may have different facts & circumstances. It's November and been two very long, run-on years. I think I served this client best by e-filing and not letting it sit in a mail truck for months. I'm doing my best.

They steal out of them here, too. They are driving around in broad daylight getting caught on cameras. I'm glad to be home most of the time so I see when the mail gets here.

The call in problem with the IRS FAR pre-dates Call EnQ's product. Don't blame them for the IRS' chronic lack of staff. I'm hoping they come up with a limited-call fee; I'd happily pay a small monthly fee for a couple of calls a month. One colleague here has had excellent luck with the IRS' call-you-back service, too.

Given the Equifax fiasco several years ago, the are reasons to paranoid about some things!

Paranoia.

Those are alternative facts!

I'd question whether the reason for the paper file is because they are using non-professional / free tax software. There is a guy who produces a free excel spreadsheet tax return. I'd wonder if they aren't using something like that or Turbo Tax for individuals.

You have to smile when you hear these types of responses from "professionals". When was the last time the IRS randomly accessed an individuals account electronically just because?? I think that preparers approach is a disservice to his clients. Processing returns electronically is more efficient and I believe more secure as well. I would never inform a client they should not efile, I actually encourage it and it's been quite a while since I prepared a paper return. There isn't much you can do to sway the opinion of some people, you just have to grin and move on.

Did the parents gift their farm to two brothers and file a gift tax return? Did each of the brothers gift cash to the third brother, each of the first two brothers filing gift tax returns if over the exclusion amount for that year? Is your client the third brother? Sounds like he received a gift. You'll want to read all the documents. Follow the money. If the third brother actually had an interest in the farm at any time and traded his interest to his brothers for cash or received 1/3 of the profits or...

Search ebay, Amazon or some software sites. I bought multiple copies of an older version of one program, for around 20% of what the new version cost from the company who makes it.

As long as even the tiniest percentage of folks give out their banking info, it is profitable for the nefarious types. No different than "I have left over asphalt from a neighbor's job" or "this is the most powerful vacuum on earth" (my fav, since an outlet only provides 15 or 20 amps, and IIRC, most UL approved vacuums are limited to 12 amps or something similar). I have a faint memory of someone trying to make email sending have some fraction of a cent cost - to try to make the large spammers find spamming unprofitable. We have about four no soliciting signs at various conspicuous places in our yard, and a locked porch gate. We still get folks who ignore the signs, and randomly a few who try to reach over the porch with a stick or other object to knock on the door. Funny to watch on security camera! On the other hand, my bank called me a couple of times last week. Even left a message. I called them back, and they were not sure what the calls were for in a timely fashion. The problem was actually real, they changed their electronic systems, front and back end, and my auto payments needed to be reset. I figured it out by not getting the usual notice of a payment being triggered. While I did complain to the bank, the responsibility is always mine to pay my own bills. The bank offered to clean up any issues with late auto bill payments, should they occur. In past times, when there were less jobs than employees, such mistakes described in the OP would have been good reason to start searching for a replacement employee.

Bless you, cbslee, for putting this info on the board. I signed up and used the service and it was great. Of course, the "journalists" at the LA Times don't like it, but who cares what they think. Finally, a tech entrepreneur has come up with an actually useful idea. Thanks again.

Article in the LA Times: "This being the land of opportunity, an enterprising Florida company has come up with a solution — for a price. The company, called EnQ, swamps the IRS’ switchboard with its own calls, then sells desirable, time-saving slots near the head of the hold line to accountants and tax preparers willing to pay up to $1,000 a year. By subscribing to the line-cutting service, EnQ says, tax professionals trying to reach the IRS can slash their waits on hold by as much as 90%. The service also is available on a monthly basis to ordinary taxpayers who may be having difficulties resolving a problem with their return Have you ever put money in a vending machine, made your selection, and as the product was about to fall, it got stuck? No amount of shaking or button pressing could free it. Not only was it a waste of money, but it was also frustrating. Andrew Valiente, the founder and chief executive of EnQ, says he’s just turning the IRS’ customer-service lemons into potentially lucrative lemonade. “When there’s a problem, there’s an opportunity,” he told me. Basically, Valiente has come up with a business that’s a lot like somebody offering, for a fee, to wait in line on your behalf outside Best Buy ahead of Black Friday. “Calling the IRS is very painful,” he said. “We make it easier.” I learned about EnQ from a Baldwin Park certified public accountant named Arturo Pedroza. “As a tax preparer who’s up against the wall with deadlines and client demands, this is a great service,” he told me. “I don’t have the time nor the manpower to keep calling the IRS just to get through, and then wait over an hour to be able to speak to someone.” For that reason, Pedroza, 32, said his tax firm is now weighing a regular subscription to EnQ. However, as a taxpayer, he said EnQ’s moneymaking scheme “doesn’t sit well with me.” “It seems that they’re monetizing something that should be free and available to everyone,” Pedroza observed. “They’re making a problem worse, and the IRS hasn’t done anything about it.” Raphael Tulino, an IRS spokesperson, declined to comment on EnQ or its business practices. He did point me, though, to a transcript of IRS Commissioner Charles P. Rettig’s testimony to Congress in May about the agency’s operations. Rettig said there’s been “record-breaking and unprecedented phone demand this year.” On March 15 alone, he said, 8.6 million calls — about 1,500 per second — were made to the IRS, compared with normal filing-season volume of up to 3 million calls a day. Needless to say, the vast majority of those calls went unanswered. Rettig told lawmakers that the IRS’ ability to handle calls “is significantly less than where we want to be.” This is great news for Valiente and EnQ. “We can help people get through to an agent,” he enthused. Part of me is impressed by Valiente’s entrepreneurial gumption. As they say in business school, find a need and fill it. At the same time, I agree with Pedroza that there’s something unseemly about not just exploiting a public agency’s shortcomings for profit but also making things worse in the process. Valiente wasn’t pleased when, during our conversation, I characterized EnQ as using autodialing technology to overwhelm the IRS’ switchboard and snap up limited spaces in the hold queue. Rather, he prefers to see himself and his company as providing a much-needed helping hand to frustrated tax pros and taxpayers. “The poor level of service is an IRS phenomenon,” Valiente insisted. “It’s not caused by EnQ.” Maybe not. But the company isn’t helping. It’s taking a woefully congested phone system and clogging it up even more for its own gain. Again, Valiente says he’s not to blame for the IRS’ phone woes. The problem was already huge before he (and his autodialing machines) showed up, he said. Be that as it may, EnQ is forcing tax professionals to decide whether they should do their best to get through to the IRS on their own or whether, for competitive reasons, they should pay for the company’s service so their clients won’t get left behind. “As a tax preparer, I have to provide good service for clients,” Pedroza told me. “I can see how EnQ helps us do that.” But he said it’s “a little disconcerting” that if he doesn’t pay for EnQ’s service, his clients might switch to an accounting firm that does — and that can claim to have better odds of reaching an IRS staffer. “EnQ has set itself up as a gatekeeper to tax services that should be free,” Pedroza said. Moreover, he noted that if he does sign up for EnQ’s queue-jumping technology, he’d probably have to pass along that cost to clients. “This is especially tough for smaller accounting firms,” Pedroza said. I’m not sure if there’s a solution to this. Valiente, who declined to comment when I asked if privately held EnQ is profitable, isn’t breaking any laws. He recognized a business opportunity and ran with it. Then again, so did those massive ticketing firms that buy up all available seats for concerts or sporting events, and then turn around and resell them at hefty markups. That’s not illegal either. But maybe it should be. I’d argue that whatever convenience ticket scalpers provide is far outweighed by their aggressive price gouging. So too, perhaps, with EnQ. It’s an interesting and clever service. But its entire business model is predicated on taking a bad situation and making it worse. Not ideal"