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Yes, that is a great "hook", but he already is a client and has a feeling that his prior 3 years might be incorrect. In my mind, I think we will take a look anyway. A few hours of input could make me a hero and he is a really nice guy.

This was my "hook" for getting new clients. I offered to look over the prior years, free of charge. It helped me to understand the clients situation more completely. The data entry has to be done for any year, so why not the oldest possible - then rollover? I almost always found mistakes. Some small, some big, usually in the government's favor. Any corrections that "should" be made, I left to the client to decide (and pay for). Every client that took me up on it, is still a client to this day.

"Recently, a FinCEN representative acknowledged that only about 20% of the millions of businesses that need to report have filed. " With everyone waiting to file, their website may get overwhelmed and crash. Calling their help line may end up being an exercise in frustration. I guess I better file before Thanksgiving

I'm a C corp and filed mine last month. It was very easy and quick.

I would give him a high price that must be paid in advance and let him decide.

The cost of new preparer amending may not be all that different if the old preparer adds an "aggravation" fee to the bill. Also, this person shouldn't expect the former preparer's fees to be in the same range as it was before because all of our costs and pricing have increased since he left.

The OP did prepare the original return, so no biggie to amend it. We have occasionally taken back fired clients. For the most part they were grateful and changed their ways once they realized they had crossed a line and we meant business. It won't hurt to amend the return, see how it goes, and then decide if the client has improved his attitude.

Is he still rude? I feel like it is never a good idea to ignore a client request, it just feels yukky to me to ghost a former client. Be professional when you decline or accept the engagement. Why is he coming to you and not his current preparer? Ask him. If the answer is something like "I realize I made a mistake in how I treated you and I would like to resume our relationship" you will have a client for life. And he won't be rude anymore. If his answer is rude, politely decline. Tom Longview, TX

I would not, unless they prepay cash/check my PITA fee. Someone taught me our job is to get money, and even the most PITA person we get money from has a price which makes us happy to take said money. A good example is taking back someone who posted nastygrams on review sites. Something powerful about being able to show that person returned.

I agree with Lee and Marilyn. As a general rule, I almost never want to work with a former client again because one or both of us were unhappy enough to terminate the relationship. Of course, these decisions depend on the circumstances and what may have changed in the meantime. I would weigh all of that and also consider what the amendment involves and why this person's new preparer is declining to prepare the amendment.

If you do decide to do it, have him pay up front and then quietly and politely amend the return. You have the software and the original return, it isn't that busy yet, you can make some quick cash and then send him on his way. IF you decide to do it.

You're the only one who knows the answer to this question

I would wait. Watch for a 592B withholding form in the sale documents. CA withholds on out of state sellers of property in CA. If CA withheld and the trustee does not know to to give you that doc, you may be leaving a refund from CA on the table. The 592s are generally given at closing and not mailed the next year. Check the TIN on the 592B because it may be the SS# of the decedent and not the EIN of the trust. Look at the sales docs if you can and see if there was withholding to the state. Tom Longview, TX

So that this topic can continue with advice on solving the original problem, I've started a separate new topic for best practices of verifying and using client banking information. I did this quoting the various posters to keep them in the order they appeared, and I've hidden or edited posts within this topic to not derail it further. New topic is here

Oh boy, my first thoughts are these - First, you have to figure out the basis to know whether you're dealing with a gain or loss since the sale price is so low. If a loss then you would report the entire in 2021, the year of the sale. If a gain, was this family cottage ever rented with depreciation taken? Then you'll have the recapture in 2021 and (possibly) no income again until in 2024, but with it being a sale to related parties you need to know if the brothers have already disposed of it before she got all of her money. If they have already disposed of it, then this client must recognize what they realized as if she received it herself. You can check out the IRS Pub that deals with installment sales for more on this. Also, if the transaction results in a gain, then you definitely have to use installment sale reporting which is the default method of reporting. The opportunity to elect out of installment reporting is gone because that election has to be done on a timely filed tax return, including extensions, for the year of the sale. Will this woman ever receive the money from the brother that is technically in default, or will his non-payment ultimately result in the terms of the installment sale being redefined? With installment reporting, it sounds like you are looking at 6252 and Sch D for 2021 to document the transaction on the return with no payments in that year, and then in 2024. If it was ever rented and depreciated, then you possibly have recapture income for 2021 and add 4797 into the mix. If no installment reporting because it's a loss, then only 2021.