Leaderboard

Dear Client, Yes, I know that you are a used car salesman and your time is much more valuable than mine. To that end, let me save us both some time and tell you that yes, I am quite sure child support is not deductible (even if all your buddies are doing it), and regardless of what your employer told you, the shirts, ties and khaki's you wear to work every day are not "specialized" clothing and therefore not deductible, and oh, you were also grossly misinformed by whoever told you that the 5 miles you drive from your home to work every day are deductible. They are not. I also seriously doubt that your cell phone is being used 100% for business since in the short time we've been in this interview you have used it to a) call your wife, b ) text your church's treasurer for info about your charitable deductions, and c) look up your babysitter's address. I am painfully aware that you do not want to "take it up the tailpipe" from the IRS as you so eloquently stated. This is not my first rodeo. I will do my best to make sure your return is done accurately and in a way that best benefits you within the limits of the law and tax code. Give me a little credit here. Geeez! That is all. Thank you and have a nice day.

Hey, a friend shared a video the other day on facebook that might be a lot like what I'll sound like on 4/15 after going over and explaining the tax returns to my clients for the billioneth time. I finally found the link directly to the video, and actually I might be sounding like this already and I'm definitely not this wide awake:

Dear Client, Thank you for telling me you are going to owe "them bastards" $10,000 when you dropped off. I would have never known that if you hadn't clued me in. Also, thanks for explaining to me what a 1099-R is cause I would never have known that you took money out of your 401k early from these forms and the fact that you are 45. It's like Mission Impossible deducing what these strange looking papers mean. Thank God I have you to help me muddle through. And guess what? It's more like $15,000.

Best one ever. Tailpipe. I'm dying. OMG, I may laugh all day.

He's 45 and taking money out of his 401(k)? Probably an advanced tax planning technique. If he does that on a regular basis, he won't have to pay tax on any of his Social Security benefits when he reaches retirement age.

I don't know anythang about rednecks, but I was wondering if I was the only one with a quiet office today. I love it. Got my stack here of patient people's stuff and peace and quiet. So of course, I am using my time wisely and chatting it up with you guys.

I would send the e-files, assuming they signed the 8879, and act like you don't know a thing about the goof. And it is ok to kill that client.

Change the automatic update settings to download updates and allow you to choose when to update. This will stop the overnight reboots for updates. Find the settings in Control panel.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=v9YiTIYO-2A#

When you find that one cartoon that says it all!

I live very close to the Tesla plant in Fremont CA. With both of my kids studying engineering, we frequently talk about Tesla and the advantages and disadvantages of electric vehicles and what advances are needed in technology to make the vehicles mainstream in the US. There is always press releases and news about what Elon Musk is up to in our local news. So we are watching Nascar this weekend when we started talking about how it would look if there was an electric vehicle Nascar race? In other words, challenge a bunch of rednecks figure out how to make them suckers go faster and farther with faster charging of the batteries and I think they would blow away the wine sipping Silicon Valley nerds who are trying to make this happen. That is all Nascar is about - going farther and faster than the guy next to you. If you think about it, it opens up a lot of possibilities. Dale Jr doing donuts in front of the grandstands at Daytona after winning in his Tesla model S and there is no sound coming from the engine!!!!!!! They could get Tesla to sponsor a circuit and call it the Tesla cup. Nissan Leafs competing with Chevy Sparks to see which one can get to 200mph on the backstretch? Nascar as the leader in the environmental movement? Tree huggers filling up the stands at Sonoma Raceway every year? Just some random thoughts for a slow Wednesday morning..... Tom Newark, CA

On a better note Dear client, thank you for thanking me and mentioning you are going to give me a bonus for getting you a refund. Maybe I should of told them, I do this to all my clients that over paid taxes

Microsoft just did it's update thing - why the hell don't I get a warning before it decides to shut down my computer dammit! - as I was composing the email to my client that owes $4808 if I don't get any more deductions. Now you can only deduct what you paid in your therapeutic pool loan for medical. And no, it didn't exceed 10% of AGI. Got another 6k of medical?

Made me think of this, for some reason......................

The issue is not the management fees, it is the vehicle from which the funds being used to pay them are coming from. All the expenses in a retirement account are generating deferred income, hence they are not deductible. Fees in a brokerage account are for the generation of currently taxable income, and therefore can be deducted to offset the currently taxable income that they are creating. Tom Newark, CA

No

I spent my morning texting and talking to my son who was sitting in airports on his way back from spring break in Panama City Beach. He started in at 5:30 and kept it up so that I only got an hour of sleep until I went and picked him up at the airport so that he could hightail it down to KS to see his gf. I'm not complaining, just really tired. My husband says I'm nuts and should tell him to leave me alone, but he's almost 21 and it won't be long until he won't bother with good old Mom as much. I think that life is too short to put everything else in front of family.

I think it's more of a "Mid-Life-Crises-How-Many-Cars-Can-I-Buy" technique as he has provided me with the sales tax amount for three vehicles purchased in 2014. But I ain't judging or anything.

Rita, it's also called professional development and we all need it, you know?

I had a *wonderful* nap for a couple of hours and took it easy tonight. No tax work; I finished reading a book in beta (out for edits and commentary but close to done) for someone, added my final comments, and sent it off. And I also had the most delicious cup of tea and slice of well-buttered toast this world has ever seen. Ready for bed now! Tomorrow is going to be a long day.

You will love them. My remaining IRS stickers and my new printout from Marilyn's template:

I prescribe naps for both of you.

And I survived my root canal but need a nap before I look at *anything* to do with taxes.

Nah. Don't tell them - that takes a little of the shine off your halo.

Judging? Us? NEVER

My assistant just left, the pick-up clients aren't here yet, and I am enjoying a quiet office myself. Root canal went fine but I still want another nap and don't feel much like talking. At least I can think now! Couldn't last evening.

Save your time. Paper file the returns. This is the short answer.

Microsoft will occasionally send you a "warning" that your update settings need to be changed. Microsoft WANTS you to update automatically. I do not and never have - it's the first thing I change. Too many times one of their "updates" breaks something else. I wait a day or three and make sure there are no reports of "latest update causes Adobe Reader to become non-functional" or whatever. THEN I deign to install. So when you make the change and then see that message - ignore it.

Well, hmmm, obviously I didn't know that. Wow. Thank you very much. I'm a little amazed. Not the first time, probably won't be the last...

Rita, in a community property state, if the ownership is joint, you end up with a full 100% Federal and State step up in basis on the first to die. If the stock was worth 100k and the basis was 10K, the surviving spouse steps up to 100K of basis. Tom Newark, CA

Oh my, how people are different! The latest return I just finished was for a recent widow and former coworker of mine. Her broker had her cash in all of her EE bonds in one year, and the interest on those totaled a little over $168K. Last Nov when this happened and I told her she'd owe about $45K, she very calmly said "oh well, I knew it would be a lot". She opted to wait to pay it with the return knowing there'd be no 2210 penalty due. Have I said lately how much I love some of my clients? The broker mistakenly thought he could convince her to contribute $70K into PA 529 plans for each of her 3 grandchildren. Sure he did....

Dear Client, You owe $584. $584. $584. Does that warrant cussing? You are an officer of the law. You need to calm down and not do your tax rage thing here in my office. Are you kidding me? $584 does not warrant that kind of response from someone in your income range. Oh, and BTW, a good portion of that $584 would represent my fee if I charged you what your return is worth. Geez! It must be getting late in the season.

Dear New Client From NY: No I do not want to buy a T-shirt from you.

My return always gets extended too. It is in a mostly done state, but if tax season is good to me, I might do a last minute IRA. before I got the employee, it was a last minute 401(k). I am feeing much better today! Watched The Voice last night, then my head cleared enough to finish the clients that were mostly done Saturday night. Then went to bed, another 9 hours of sleep (that's got to be nearly 20 hours in the last 48). Almost ready to see all the client booked for this afternoon. But I hope no one asks me any complicated questions.

Our version of Thelma & Louise?

Dear Client, That was your last straw. You have stood me up one too many times. Now I am sending Rita and Catherine out to take care of you! Good bye!

Ahh, here's the thread. I'll get a donation. And then another will follow an hour later. I wonder "coincidence?" And then a another couple more. "Naw, someone is talking about donations on the forum" Thanks everyone Some big changes coming soon! (after things quiet down)

I have a calf that looks like an Oreo McFlurry. And, yes, I do think about food all the time.

I did add them! I'm totally jazzed. I needed this boost on 25 March! How many years have I been posting to this Board without realizing I could upload information???

Sounds like a great idea, Tom! As the proud owner of a 2006 Prius with over 150,000 miles, an all electric might be my next step. And seeing it on the Nascar circuit might just push me over the edge. QUIET!!!!??????? Not in my office. It has been just another tax season day. Started out with my data entry person walking in the door this morning all rattled and asked if I saw what just happened. I said no and she went on to explain that she lost control of her vehicle turning into our parking lot. Somewhat perplexed, we were talking when a car went by the office going west (which is somewhat uphill) at a very slow rate. I looked down the hill and there was a car half way up the hill in the ditch and cross ways in the east bound lane. Within just a very few seconds, the rain had turned to ice on the road. When the dust settled, we had three vehicle in the ditches, a couple of fender benders, my wife (who always wants to help) falling, the first policeman that arrived was fish tailing all the way down the hill, a pickup truck sliding into the back of the ambulance - it turned incredibly slippery inside of just a couple minutes. I had arrived at the office not more than five minutes before without incident. My wife had made her way down to the first accident and fell crossing the road. She did get to the other side. When she had made her way back up our way, she called me with her cell to come out and help her across the road. She says she figured out how the chicken crossed the road. It called the farmer. And the rest of the day was not quiet either. Returns are still coming in at a good pace - with six coming in by 4:30.

Totally makes sense now!!! Really appreciate it.

Unless they're working odd hours, you could connect remotely with TeamViewer (my current favorite) to their computer and transfer files your exports directly. Do exports contain all the same info a backup does?

Buy the Clear labels and really impress people!!

I know. My computer overheats, so I don't reboot in case the error lights start flashing. Hate it when I come in in the morning and find it rebooted and is waiting for my password. Now, I'm watching the white light to make sure it doesn't go to amber while wasting time for everything to load.

I agree with the neat professional looking folder. These things do tend to get a little costly but they are more than worth it. Many banks in my area comment on my client's organized tax returns.

Thanks. After 4 phone calls to Drake, I found Bridgette (sp?) who solved my problem.

Crying.

I tell my clients that an extension does not increase the chances of an audit and that I always file an extension on my own return. After all, I don't get paid for doing my own return. Paying clients come first.

Done. This is a great forum. I appreciate all the help and free education. As a one man shop it's nice to have a place where I bounce things off on.

I turned that over to my client last year to do himself. I think someone else suggested it last year as not wanting to take the responsibility. I still have the 8938 with the return.