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21 would be filed in 22, and 3 years from 22 is 25, no?

That amount would have me (if were the TP) looking for relief from the previous "expert".

I've received the same thing--from all appearances it was from paypal. And as to the credit card expiration, a lot of scammers are relying on coincidence (i.e., you're expecting a FedEx package). 'O Brave New World' (Shakespeare prior to Aldous Huxley)

Looking at spam I have an email that came from [email protected] which is their actual email (I cut and paste it into the google bar and it's real and not a fake letter like your example). I keep getting emails from my web site host saying my payment was rejected and I need to update my credit card - email says it came from their domain - it is fake. The first time I saw it I freaked but thankfully I googled their website and went in that way and realized I'm all paid up. My heart sank that I could have easily clicked their link. I kept the email saved and looking at it there is no obvious sign it's fake. With the credit card thing - the real kicker was that ebay had just rejected an order because my credit card had expired. I'd updated my credit card so it was still on my mind.

Tax shelter fraud scheme leads to 16 years in prison "Two tax attorneys from St. Louis and an insurance agent from North Carolina will spend a combined 16 years in prison for running a fraudulent tax shelter resulting in a tax loss of more than $22 million. Michael Elliott Kohn, Catherine Elizabeth Chollet, and David Shane Simmons created and promoted the “Gain Elimination Plan,” a scheme that helped clients hide income and inflate business expenses. From 2011 to 2022, the group fabricated transactions using fake royalties and management fees. On paper, they funneled these fees into limited partnerships owned by charities, but in reality, the transactions were used to evade taxes. To further the scheme, they required clients to buy life insurance policies linked to their hidden income. The death benefit for the policy was directly tied to the anticipated profitability of the clients’ businesses and how much of the clients’ taxable income was intended to be sheltered. Simmons, the insurance agent, earned more than $2.3 million in commissions by selling these policies and shared profits with Kohn and Chollet. Kohn and Chollet received more than $1 million from Simmons. Simmons also filed false personal tax returns, underreporting his income and inflating expenses, which caused an additional $480,000 in tax losses. The court sentenced the three as follows: Michael Elliott Kohn: seven years Catherine Elizabeth Chollet: four years David Shane Simmons: five years The court also ordered them to serve three years of supervised release and pay more than $22.5 million in restitution." I am always amazed how gullible the victims are? I had a client about 10 years ago who invested $300,000 in a pyramid scheme that guaranteed a 12 % return. Most of the victims were here in the Pacific Northwest. The pyramid scheme was forced into a bankruptcy liquidation and my client ultimately recovered about $200,00.

Even when using proper representation, the TP should still have basic knowledge to spot something this and/or hiring out for at least a cursory review. I mean really, a S Corp which does not zero out each year? I am not discounting the allowed practice of things like holding checks, for even months, to defer income, but to what sounds like cash checks, but claim then as undeposited/unrealized? Maybe the bookkeeper is also a sovereign citizen :). As I sit in a home where I either DIY or pay licensed insured for repairs/maintenance, and next door, they are finishing up unpermitted window and roof replacement with unlicensed employees on a slow work day (and run an unlicensed, unpermitted, and not allowed cash business from their home).

It's always interesting, how many clients think they are saving money by avoiding Accountants and Attorneys and their exorbitant fees.

Kofax Power PDF may work for you. They are now Tungstenautomation they still have a free trial. Here is an old post with some details from a prior year. https://www.atxcommunity.com/topic/30243-atx-questionnaire-users/#comment-196790

I totally get that. In my office, I am the only one who does the e-filing. That is why it is necessary for someone else to be able to access my computer and the ATX program. Last year I was in the hospital for seven days and had my phone with me. Since the phone is tied to the computer, nobody else would be able to have access. My assistant does prepare returns, but she saves her files to a jump drive. I then import the info into my computer; go over everything and file the return. This is probably not your normal situation; which is why I had to figure out a way for her to be able to access my program, should something happen to me.

That's a fair point. I don't think I'll spend anymore time on trying to convert the pdf into a fillable pdf. Thanks for your reply.

Yes. When you log into the ATX tax program or the ATX Payroll program, you input your user name (Admin) but do not enter your password. Below that is a link that says Authentication Manager or Manage your Authentication. When you hit that link, you will be prompted to re-enter your registration number. When you do that, the QR code appears. This is what I needed, the second QR code for the Payroll program. You can then scan it with your phone and my MS Authentication app (only one app) then displays the security code for both the regular tax program and for the Payroll program. I didn't notice the link for managing the authentication and entered my password, then the security code window appeared which I didn't have. I only had one security code on my phone for the regular tax program. I hope this helps for anyone having a similar problem.

The client said about $700,000. She also said the tax was $78,000 although I'm not sure how she got that figure. I looked at 2023 1099R and back calculated the FWH to see the ratio. It looks more like about $650,000. I hope she gets the information from the bank as I asked. It will be tough for her going forward especially if she has to enter memory care with diminished assets.

Like the one below that I recently shared. Sorry it's so big. Look at the "a" in the portion for "bank" in each of the examples. Best practice is to never ever click a link in an email and never respond to a fraud phone call from a bank or credit card company that calls you because the thief can spoof the caller i.d. Always place the call yourself using the number on the back of your credit card or monthly statement.

Like $200,000+? These scams are getting good and I've gotten called a few times and it worries me I'll fall for them when I get older. I hang up on them quickly but the old standard that you can look at the email address and figure out it's a scam is pretty much gone. Some of those emails are shockingly good looking and the email addresses are spoofed / say the name of the company.

Here is a useful video to set up and also to reset codes. Unfortunately, no help with two computer. https://support.cch.com/oss/sfs/video/U7mpfMUm17s

Client brought in 2023 for me to take a look at. He has an S corp (100%) and personal. I was in shock at what the balance sheet looked like and asked him about the huge amount of cash it showed and large RE balance vs what he had on his bank statement and what he told me he actually had going on. Wow. The previous bookkeeper liked the "undeposited funds" account in QB along with the "opening equity balance" account. Tax preparer lumped undep funds into cash and credited retained earnings on the Sch L. Good grief it is a nightmare. So he brought in 22 and 21. I went thru 21 and he would have about 21K of savings on his personal return. about 2 months too late.