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Like Sara, I had so many not completing the organizer that I only send to a few now. I send the questionnaire and eng letter to all. I had hoped ATX would have added some of these questions but I'll add some.

I do the same as Sara ^^. I will definitely include questions about the stimulus payments. Already have one about crypto. Will also ask about advance CTC.

I've been pushing that since a client mailed an IRS check to the state, and the state cashed it, but never told us there was an overpayment on the account (thieves!).

I really dread this tax season. I was going to spit out a letter to my clients with children that they need to bring me their letter from the IRS and confirm the amounts reported. Which you know won't be right........... Which you know the letter won't get out til March................

I always have signed engagement letters - every year, every client. And my questions are on the questionnaire, not the organizer as full blown. Similar to Sara, I send select organizer parts to those who are self-employed or have rental property so they can see the prior year categories and amounts. While those pages are seldom completed, they serve as reminders. Often I use them to fill in the totals from original documents provided and, of course, the multiple emails with answers that have to be consolidated in one line. I think I am the only preparer that has clients like that, right? /s

We send a client questionnaire to everyone and an organizer to those who use them. (We got so many blank ones back we stopped trying with everyone.) This year's questionnaire will start with a warning that "Your return will not be started until this questionnaire is completely filled out and returned." First questions will be the 2021 stimulus amount and the advance child tax credit received. We already have virtual currency questions as well as foreign accounts, changes in banking info or address, etc. Last year we added a question about cash charitable contributions and a blank to fill in the FMV of noncash contribs, with an explanation that FMV is the amount you paid for new items like toy or food donations or what the charity will sell them for if used. It saved a lot, but not all, phone calls when clients claim $4k in used clothes.

Not for 2021. It appears Section 9661 of ARPA 2021 eliminates the 400% FPL repayment cliff and replaces it with a max. repayment of 8.5% of household income for 2021 and 2022.

After so many lost returns and lost payments over the last few months, whether I like it or not, I'm full on-board with electronic filing and payment.

I'm with Abby. I never upgrade an OS on an existing machine. As long as all of the software supports the OS, why upgrade and risk something not working properly or being unstable afterward? In other words, I don't fix something that isn't broken, and I'll get whatever the latest OS is the next time I purchase a new computer.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at my stepdaughter's with SIL and 2-year-old grandson Everett who requested I sit next to him and gobbled up his dinner. We then returned to the little inn where we stayed for a few days. We had no refrigerator there, so couldn't take any leftovers. But hubby planned ahead and ordered the Stew Leonard's Thanksgiving dinner for pick-up today, so we can eat turkey and stuffing and all the sides all this week. My son and his wife live at her mother's inn in PA; DIL is the executive chef. She's been on her feet for over a week now. Usually she starts with "Bah Humbug" about the Thursday before Thanksgiving. This year she's been wishing everyone a "Thanksgiving" and if questioned, tells them she did NOT forget the "Happy." We don't visit them until the week between Christmas and New Year's when the inn empties out. We'll try to get the granddaughters on FaceTime.

I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday. We had ribeyes on the grill and saved our bigger meal of a small turkey breast for today b/c my husband had just finished the latest of his most recent medical treatments on Wed, and we wanted to make sure he was feeling well enough to enjoy the turkey.

We had two Thanksgivings - one by ourselves and one with younger daughter & her family (older daughter was working on Friday and could not join us). First one featured ribeye steaks and homemade sweet potato fries, with blueberry cake for dessert. Second was smoked shoulder and green beans slow-cooked together, with cormbread and herbed baby potatoes, apple crisp for dessert. Yum. Hope all my friends here had a wonderful day (or days)!

Latest is ATX seems to work in 11, but isn't "officially" supporting it in 11. I need to figure out how to block windows from automatically upgrading until after the season, without blocking all the win 10 updates too.

I have a client who applied $1500 to 2020 tax return. The IRS is dunning him for $746 dollars because that money was never applied. That leads me to believe that they have not even processed all of the 2019 returns as we went deep into his IRS record and they are saying that he never filed in 2019. However, I have proof of the date of filing and the date of acceptance by the IRS. Since we have not been able to talk to anyone, I sent detailed instructions and copies of all forms to them. In return, he just keeps getting collection letters and so we have decided to sit it out as he does not owe them any money and somewhere in their chaotic world, he has $1500 that he applied from 2019. Therefore, I would not use that ploy. I would ask for the refund.

A strategy I use for amended returns (dunno whether it is smart or not): If the amended return results in a refund, apply the refund to 2021 estimated taxes. That way the IRS must wait on itself to validate payments, and has to deal with the amended return to get closure on taxpayer's liability or refund. Serves them right.

I don't understand the rush to send in your money. I do it every December as part of getting ready for tax season.