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13 composers fighting over the last slice of cake. Very well done. Seven minutes.

I'd rather blow $3.49 each and get EFileMyForms to take care of it all. I know for certain-sure that their system works.

If you don't fund it, you just spent a heck of a lot of money for raw materials for a fleet of paper airplanes.

Like every time they stop at a fast food joint for lunch or a package store classified as "meals and entertainment"? I prefer the clients who classify half their entries as "ask accountant." My least favorite are those who don't have separate business debit/credit cards and just give you their bank statements. Everything is in there--groceries, gas, shoes, dating services, and of course cell phone payments for the entire family. Bookkeeping can take a LOT of time, but if you can charge enough for it, go for it. The answers are more black and white than positions on a tax return--if you can get the details from the client.

We will see how it shakes out. Almost sounds too good to be true. I hope it is as advertised. Tom Longview, TX

My experience on the tax side is many have trusts set up but don't understand what they are, how they work or the tax implications. Grantor, revocable, irrevocable, living?

There is no "one size" fits everyone's situation. Every client has different circumstances, needs and preferences. There is a wide variation in probate systems from state to state. I have had several different Attorney's tell me that in my state a well written will is a good choice.

Copied from Accounting Today: "As a result of Section 2102 of the Taxpayer First Act, the IRS is launching an online portal that will allow taxpayers to electronically file both small and large volumes of Forms 1099, according to Mankowski. "The new portal, known as Information Return Intake System, will launch in January 2023 for tax year 2022," he said. "It's a means for smaller practitioners or small to midsized businesses that only do a handful of 1099s to go in and upload data. They will know that it's been filed and has been received and isn't just sitting there." With IRIS, practitioners will be able to: Submit small or large volumes of the 1099 forms series, and the system will retain the records from year to year; File electronically without software; and Choose an electronic filing option." This sounds promising since it's free, although it doesn't say which 1099s will be available?

I attended on 1 Hour online CPE class this morning where Nina Olson, the former National Taxpayer Advocate was the main presenter. One thing she said really caught my attention, that the IRS has a current Backlog of 10 Million Non Filers waiting to be processed. Unbelievable!

Were you on the Eric Green class? I was there, too, and heard the same information.

About 90 % of my annual income comes from 7 monthly Write up/Payroll/Business Entity Tax Return/Business Owner Tax Return clients. Five of these clients I have had for over 25 years. Including these clients I did less than 40 total tax returns last year. It's a very viable practice niche with less hours and a lot less stress.

Both our family practice Doctor and our Ophthalmologist have retired in the past two years; both relatively young men. In my practice, I am seeing more and more clients opting for early retirement as well. Some have a side line; some just want out. (Of course, some of them want their wives to continue working and carry health insurance); not always a happy situation. On the other end of the spectrum are those of us who have no plans to ever retire until absolutely necessary. Huge retirement plans are fueling some of this; some just think they have enough wealth accumulated. I am finding myself asked to help with more financial planning than ever before. I have had some clients lose thousands by following careless advice from their professional financial planners. There appears to be a severe lack of work ethics in some of the generation that is currently moving into the work force. On the other hand, I have grandchildren making more money than we ever dreamed possible when we were their age and with only trade school educations. I don't know the answers, so I just quietly and happily continue to build my cushion and hope that we never have to use it.

Us boomers have not done a great job of raising those who follow. Also, we are just getting farther and farther from the greatest generation... There is hope, like always, at least if we try to make a difference in our own circles and trust that those folks will build their own positive circle. Politics aside, folks like Mike Rowe, and creating more trades people, and showing the pride in being in the trades, may turn things around. I am a product of shop classes in MIDDLE school, and actual job training in high school. I was a paid mechanic at age 14, and GED'd out of HS to work full time at 16. I eventually taught myself computer programming so I did not have to rely on what I could produce, every hour, spinning wrenches, or how/if I could shortcut book time. (It was great when I was contracted for a specific race team though, since it was not hourly rate.) If we can make trades strong and proud again, the the white collar jobs will follow. Not everyone can work at home in their PJ's.

I believe it. They are backlogged, period. It was not always great pre pandemic, but pandemic will take years to get past. Personally "waiting" on a deceased filer's 2020 return to be processed... --- So many entities struggle to get caught up, and are still falling behind. Even if there were enough skilled workers who returned, there is not yet enough (maybe not for a long time) ready to step in to replace those who moved on, or to actually add to the number of folks processing/working.

These things are a reason why I have pondered (here I believe too) why more do not ask things such as what OS is being used, what security measures are in place, etc., of those I need to trust my data to. I absolutely have customers, who prepare payroll for others, who are most definitely not keeping their OS/system up to date. Sometimes, those customers even complain that I warn about using an outdated OS. Or, like one a few minutes ago, they had a computer issue, no backups, payroll due out today, and no options other than to rebuild all data from scratch.

Thank you, all. And, thank you for the above, which I remembered but could not find. Where did you get that cite?

Me too. Never had is questioned yet, could provide the doc if ever asked. Tom Longview, TX

I keep a copy on file and have them sign as POA. “Taxpayer name, by so and so, POA”

I recently handled (2 years of time) two intestate estates. neither required estate tax returns. If, down the road, I get a nasty gram, I will add to this topic.

Yep. I've had many cases over the years where someone applied for the EIN and the IRS mailed them a letter 2 years later wondering why nothing was received. I spend more time on the letter than I do a 1041 showing $1 of income.

If they applied for and received a tax ID number, I would. IRS might want to know why you got a number and never filed a return, and if they ask, you are going to have to spend time on the account anyway. Tom Longview, TX

I wrote our own trust agreement. Found a Stanford Law book online which had sample trust documents and modified it for my own usage. As with all of you I had a bunch of copies of some client's trusts and I compared them, they are all exceptionally similar except for special issues. Some are in easy to understand wording and some use ol English phrases but the crux of it are all the same. If you have a lot of assets, special assets or special situations (disabled child, step children, dependents with special management needs...) you should meet with an attorney.

Rocket Lawyer has a 50% off deal through the end of the year. An Estate Plan, a POA and a Living Trust and a online consultation with an Attorney for only $19.99 per month.

Exactly,I have two clients where it's just paperwork to be filed away. Then I have to try to keep them from screwing up because they don't understand attorneyspeak and won't ask questions. aarrgh

Ours is a Grantor Revocable. Obviously, you must fund the Trust. If you don't fund it, it's useless.

I recently posted about this very topic and received some excellent feedback. With that in mind, my wife and I decided to move forward and establish a Grantor Trust. We are literally in the very midst of completing it and should have it all set by Christmas. One of my clients is an attorney with a large regional firm and I requested a reference from her for someone within the firm who deals with estate planning. After a Zoom consultation and a few follow-up meetings, they were able to prepare 2 sets (one for me, one for my wife) which we had to have notarized: Living Grantor Trust Documents Pass Through Documents Personal Property Memorandum Living Will Will Power of Attorney Certificate of Trust They provide all the completed forms in both an electronic version and a binder of paper copies. We'll keep the binder in our safety deposit box. We've sat with our children and explained what we've done and how it will impact them. God willing, we and they won't have to deal with this for many years. One set fee of $3,000.

In CA, probate takes about 9 months, or longer. It is wise to have an inter vivos trust (also known as Revocable Living Trust, or Family Trust) as this will avoid probate.

Your question is like asking how much we charge for tax returns. There are many factors that go into pricing any personal service that will vary by region, urban v. suburban, the size/reputation/expertise of the firm, and the complexity of the trust. I would never suggest DIY online documents for a trust. Too many pitfalls. To answer though, around my area a few years ago for basic planning and setup (suburban of Wilmington DE, and definitely less than Philly or Baltimore) I've seen a range of $1,500-$2,500 and more.

MeF accepts the current and prior 2 years for e-filing. You are correct that the e-file for 2019 was rejected because of the shutdown and will need to be paper-filed. IRS will reopen the MeF system again in late January, 2023 for the 2022 tax year. At that time, the 2020 tax year returns will be the earliest that can be e-filed (current year 2022 and two prior of 2020 and 2021).

Yikes, just looked and mine goes back to 1994.... I will say the 1994 is half the size of the 2021 MTG! If I dug in some drawers, I am sure I could find earlier ones....