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IRS website Directory of Federal Tax Return Prepares https://irs.treasury.gov/rpo/rpo.jsf

Most of my clients are business clients, however for my non business clients I insist of payment at the same time as their efile authorization, no exceptions. I learned that lesson my second year in business when I let a business client get several months behind. I lost $1,000 (back when that was a significant amount of money) when my client filed bankruptcy. He ending up keeping a really nice house on the Mckenzie River and left everyone else in the lurch to the tune of over $500,000. Apparently he had a good Attorney because he was back in the same business under a different name as soon as his Chapter 7 finalized.

This is going to really hurt because so many adults are working beyond age 65 at least at part-time jobs. So, now we just get to unlearn a whole new set of rules.

The IRS offers a variety of e-newsletters, as do NATP, NAEA, and most of your professional organizations. Some of your favorite speakers would have newsletters, many free. Here's a free e-newsletter from a couple who are great researchers: David & Mary Mellem, EAs & Ashwaubenon Tax Professionals, 920-496-1065 (fax 920-496-9111). If you know of someone who would like to be added to our email list, have them send us an email with SUBSCRIBE in the Subject line. [email protected]

Follow up - IRS denied the EITC claim. We appealed. Just found out today that the client received their refund. If any of you find yourself in this situation, I have attached IRB 2020-14 which says the IRS will follow Feigh decision. I attached the IRB to my response letter when we disagreed with the IRS. Pretty sure that helped get this resolved. Tom Longview, TX IRB 2020-14 Feigh IHHS.pdfIRB 2020-14 Feigh IHHS.pdf

do you think this guy is going to hurt your business if he badmouths it? Then file it. If not...send him his paperwork back with a note saying that you cannot provide services for free. Life is too short to sweat these things. Do what you want to do in your business, for reasons that you don't need to explain to anyone. Even the deadbeat kid. Tom Longview, TX

Not to make light of your question, but choice of entity and elections and state LLC laws is a full week of CPE. You asked a big question with a lot of different possible answers. Depending on where you live, LLC formation can be much more simple than Corporate formation. Compliance can be less strenuous for an LLC than a Corp. S corp advantages versus disadvantages is individual choice based on individual circumstances and financial goals. You still need to run payroll for S or C if you are an employee of the company. All the PR stuff happens unless you form a partnership and have no employees outside of the partners. Businesses with ongoing revolving credit lines will make different choices. The number of current and future owners is a consideration. There are just too many possible outcomes to make a simple statement like "you need to be an S corp because....". Tom Longview, TX

Not really, and for anyone else I would file and not worry about payment. This guy is different. Loser son of a very nice couple (now deceased). His mom paid for his returns to be done for years, but she's gone now. This will be the last time I help him - he can go to the big box store of his choice in the future. Good news, though - he emailed me back (I had tried one more time) and promises to call tomorrow late morning with a debit card. If that happens, I can file. If not, I still don't know what to do.

That is the one, I am on a slightly older version. I believe there is a free trial on the Kofax website if you wanted to demo it first.

Just looked again at the site it only gives town and state no address or telephone.

NY has a state registry of CPA's with addresses on line

Does AICPA keep a public database? Does the IRS keep a public PTIN database?

Inside ATX, you print the Questionnaire to a pdf file. Open the file you just created in Kofax. At the top of the screen go to Forms. Select Form Typer (this converts to a fillable pdf). Save it, then upload or email it.

Quicken 10 is checkbook entry and does the bookkeeping for you if you at least know how to set up the categories. I have clients that I actually set up with paper spreadsheets because that is the only thing they understand.

Not defending QB, but if a person doesn't know about bookkeeping, how does using another program solve the issue?

Sneakernet for sure. I am not networked nor do I intend to be. I am the only one that is licensed and allowed to efile. Also, it is my business and I am responsible. Therefore, I have to go over every return before it is filed. Tedious, I know, but it's a small office and a lot of discussion goes on in between. I am grooming my assistant /s/ to perhaps someday sit in my chair.

Sounds worse than doing the entries yourself, and likely more costly for your customer. Funny though, I get comments from my customers that their tax person is “making” them change to QB. My usual comment is why, as the tax person likely needs the reports, not access to make or change entries, since the tax person is not likely being paid for data entry. My preparer, if they have a concern about a figure, make me explain or correct myself as they are not retained as my bookkeeper.

My clients use QB - I don't have a choice. Most of the time their P&L is a big lump of nothing and I need to get a back up and look into accounts - like Miscellaneous. Always a favorite. Both desktop and online are cumbersome.

So if you hate Quickbooks, what do you use instead?

You can put ATX on as many computers as you want, but you can only login to ATX up to the number of licenses you own, and each user can only be logged in on one device at a time.

How much help are these quickly trained people going to be? What we have learned over many years, they are going to have to answer questions that we don't know the answers too. I find that this announcement by the IRS holds out little hope. I want to think that I am wrong.

And CallENQ has this posted on their home page:

Can I change your I hate quickbooks to “I hate quickbooks clients that don’t know accounting”. I have heard of some accountants charge an arm to fix their clients QB mistakes. I also hate quickbooks but only the online version.