Leaderboard

Now that Marco has his answer, I'll tell that when I read the title I thought a doctor's visit might be in order for the client's STD. We've had stranger posts....

I believe that many tax professionals today started out their careers at Block. They had the best training in the business, and potential employers looked for new hires who had Block experience. What has changed? I don't know about the training programs at the other two chains, but has Block's been diluted so much that their graduates don't know s**t? Methinks that perhaps what you are seeing is a shift in the workforce--attitude, respect for authority, work ethic. At our CPA firm we seem to go through one new hire a year. Most seem to spend more time on their smart phones than on their job assignments. I'm not talking about young kids but people in their 30s and 40s who spend more time texting and on Facebook than in the accounting software. Most knew tax or were easily taught and did a good job with it, when they actually paid attention to what they were doing instead of being distracted by their phones and personal lives. The best employee we had in the past few years was an undergrad accounting student who worked summers. He kept his nose to the grindstone and the only electronics I observed was ipod music. Alas, he graduated and went to work for one of the big four, where he is working 70 hour weeks even when it's not tax season. We must teach our children to do better. Begin with the forgotten fact that you must EARN your pay, not just show up. Your personal life, except for emergencies, goes on hold from 9 to 5. Next teach them to solve problems all by themselves. Too many parents today do not let their children fail at anything, praise them when they don't deserve it, and run their lives for them. No wonder they don't take work seriously.

My wife and I have a saying in our office....."SALY is a bitch". I hate the saying. Tom Newark, CA

This ^^ I must say the tax class my assistant is in now at community college is doing a good job of making the students both work on programs and doing forms by hand. Bookkeeping is the same. I learned on green accounting paper. I still don't understand how QB does the things it does. One of the reasons I hate it I guess.

Yes, I thought that too. Started to edit the title, but heck, it's funny.

I think that what changed was COMPUTERS. When we did returns on paper, by hand, we had to know what we were doing, what went on which form, etc. And Block did teach a pretty good course, and their students had to pass a tough test to get hired. Even when we started using computer software, the early programs were basically just 'tools', you had to know what forms to call up, where to put things, the program was mostly a calculator. Today, though, the programs call up many of the forms automatically, they 'prompt' the user, so it's possible for someone with minimum tax knowledge to think they are competent preparers.

My assistant is a friend that I knew had been taking classes at community college to get an accounting certificate. Was in her early 40s and has an unusual appearance that makes it hard for her to get work. She had done no tax work except for filing her own EZ forms. This is her third tax season, and she now does most of my data entry, knows more about same sex couple taxes than most practitioners, does all of the bookkeeping, and runs the payroll clients. Some returns I literally only have to review and hit print.

A couple of years ago I had a kid who wanted tax experience work for me. Had a Master's in Accounting. Too dense to pour sand out of a boot with the directions printed on the heel. This year (actually, last September; I wanted a chance to vett him first) I hired a kid who was a math major. Never finished his degree as he ran out of money, and wanted something that at least started as part-time while he figured out what his next steps were (laid off from his last job). He is *fabulous*. Works hard, understands everything the first time, asks questions that shows he has been thinking, and almost never makes the same mistake twice (and most of his mistakes are where *my* instructions were lacking or ambiguous). God willin' and the creek don't rise, he will take over my business in 5-8 years. So think outside the box. Take a chance on someone without the "right" degree (or even any degree) if they (1) know math, (2) understand they know NOTHING about the tax business, and (3) are willing to learn.

I once assisted a past client with hiring an accountant for their business and I was literally shocked when this girl said, "oh accounting is easy, you just enter the information into the computer software and it does everything for you".

I am considering creating my own basic income tax class for the public as well as Quckbooks training. Like Block maybe I can find talent who will pay me for the interview!

And Joan, when I am trying to figure out journal entries, I sometimes still draw t-accounts just to clarify my thinking. I agree that computers can be a "crutch" for people who don't really understand accounting or taxation. But I cannot imagine doing returns today without them - just having them to remind me about AMT is invaluable.

It appears SS is telling IRS when a taxpayer/dependent is deceased on their system when the cross check of Social Security names and numbers are verified in the E-File acceptance/rejection process. I had a return to reject. A "surviving spouse" with all i's dotted and t's crossed was rejected due to fact that "the social security admin has reported that the number of a deceased taxpayer was used on the return"......well, I guess it was....the return plainly stated the taxpayer was deceased and the spouse was "Filing as Surviving Spouse". I don't think they have stopped all such returns this year, but it's probably going to soon be a thing of the past in being able to e-file any return that involves a deceased taxpayer/spouse/dependent. IRS has been criticized harshly for issuing refunds to taxpayers who were reported by "surviving spouses" that the person had died in a previous year. Just another example of IRS going from one extreme to the other!

As a supervisor/manager, I was in charge of screening resumes, making calls and handling interviews in 2 different firms when it was time to hire. All applicants were college graduates with at least a BS in accounting, some were CPAs or CPA candidates. In those that we hired, I saw everything from incompetence, inattention to detail, drug use during the day, psychological problems, belligerence, tardiness, and lackadaisical attitude just to name some of the problems. Some were good people that ended up being successful in a more structured environment in a corporate accounting dept, but they were not cut out for public accounting with the challenges it presents. A few also left accounting completely, and one of the more outgoing fellows has made out well working in outside sales. I agree with Ron that it is part of the society we live in today. One of our best and hardest working gals started out as our data entry person that didn't have any degree or formal training but had lots of common sense. She probably could have done some of our bookkeeping and reconciliations for clients, but she was busy enough with the computer work and loved it. She helped see that firm through going from outside processing of returns to bringing it all in-house along with all of the data entry for our bookkeeping work. She is now my client, is in her late 60s, and you should see the package of tax documents she puts together for me. Other than the income side that comes from the outside reporting through 1099s, she has her all of her disbursements summarized on a spreadsheet and all of the deductions tied in. It's beautiful. Freedom, I'd start the hiring process a lot earlier next year. Most firms around here have their staffing in place by November at the latest so that the new people are up to speed when the season starts. It also gives time to find out who's going to work out and just who isn't cutting it.

Awww, if I hadn't deleted mine already I would happily have forwarded it to you so you could immediately contact the sender and get another great client. Next time, for sure!

Well, here's a new one. Me: "Taxpayer, did you not work for Cumberland County school system in 2014? I don't see a W-2 here." TP: "Oh, is it not there?" (Uh, that's what I just said.) "It should be the same as last year." Riiiiight.

Truthfully, I am not sure why anyone would want to go into this business anymore. Maybe because I am tired, but I feel like I am expected to be an auditor for the IRS in addition to a trust financial adviser, marital counselor, psychologist, secretary, bookkeeper, insurance salesman, and oh yeah, tax preparer. All for about 10 - 15 dollars per hour. With no sleep. No home life. Okay, pity party is over. Back to work.

This is why I love you, Tom. SALY is indeed a bitch. Especially on a W-2.

I know, hahaha, I was going, "And they think I'm inappropriate..."

Maybe the STD was from a STD? Would you be brave enough to ask? Rich

I made a poor hire choice this year too. I started the person in November, full time. Very nice, had all the credentials, but just couldn't deliver the quality that we need. Let him go on Feb 13. Within days, we hired another CPA who hit the ground running. He has analyzed our work flow and made some great suggestions that have really smoothed out our process. We also hired two young part-timers who are helping to scan, print and assemble our finished returns. Every now and then, in the worst moments, something great just happens. We got lucky for sure. Sometimes we need to run through the deck of cards and pull a few jokers before finding the aces.

ONE of my staff walked today! My office admin is maddest as it is not me she is hurting but her and the other tax preparer that have to pick up her work load of phones, collating, receptionist. Said I was mean cuz I wanted her to make her apptmts early or late or when the other front desk person could cover for her. -LIke not at all during tax season - isn't that the best!! And that I needed her to continue to work 3-8 at night to help me out. She said I didn't have many night apptmts so she was leaving at 7 cuz she missed her hubby. I said it is only 3 more weeks. Don't we all miss our families? Took her chair, said mail her her check and rolled out - no good bye nothing, petulant child, pouted all morning .. We will survive!

Terry, I called Keystone Collection and confirmed that the out-of-state credit should be based on the full rate for this township is 1.25%, as I thought, and to not limit the credit by excluding the portion of that tax rate that is the school district component. I've had 2 frustrating convos with Drake support. First the rep told me a could override the rate globally for that municipality. The rate is correct and no override is needed. Next, she said Drake monitors rates, and maybe the rate has changed. Uh no, at the end of March 2015, PA isn't going to be changing the 2014 rates!!!!!! Then she said that I could override the rate on only that TPs return. The rate shown is correct, only the credit is wrong! Then she said I could override the credit.. Right, I tried that before I ever called, and overriding the credit deletes their worksheet so that it won't print at all. Then she said I could override the rate on the credit worksheet. Nope, doing that cause the incorrect credit to still be shown on the return, and 2 worksheets are created, both wrong!!!!! Then she said I should send their PA team suggestions to improve next year.. Uh lady, I don't mean to be rude, but I'm trying to get a lousy 2 page form completed that I could have finished by hand in about 2 minutes. I don't have time to teach your PA programmers or repeat myself for the 3rd or 4 time about these errors. It worked fine last year, why'd ya have to mess with it????!!!!! So my plan is to override the credit amount to correct the main form and print it out. Then I'll override the worksheet amount and print one worksheet that is correct. Paper file the stupid little form. Now back to the grind.

End result: It was a disaster. I can't wait for April 15th to kick these people out the door. I'm kicking myself daily for hiring them (note: I'm not the owner so I didn't have full control of the hiring process). Clarification: I was served up drama, lies, endless incompetence, refusal to obey or follow orders, and militant defensiveness when the least attempt was made to criticize or correct errors. The capper on the deal today was in FINALLY getting a response from the IRS about the alleged EA certification for one of our hires. I sent email to [email protected] to check on the person's EA; I gave the person's first and last name, and their address. The IRS page for this matter assured me that they had a policy of responding within 72 hours. I followed up two weeks later, and still no response. Finally, 38 freakin' days later, I get a response: "Based on the information provided, we have no record for this person." Translation: The employee lied about having an EA. The IRS being impossibly late in responding is one thing. If this is the standard response time, then it's impossible to vet in time an employee candidate when they claim to be an EA. But that's just the icing on a lot of dysfunctional cake. What the heck is out there in the land of tax preparers? It looks like legions of dramatic liars and prima donnas... people who are doing tax preparation work since they can't hold down a real job. The sad thing is that this year we paid $300 to register on monster.com to get qualified candidates. At first, that's what it looked like. Then a lot of little things kept arising during our training period, and then during the actual tax season, it's like people pulled off their fake skin-masks and revealed they were horned demons within. Do any of you run in firms, and so how do you search for and properly vet candidates? Are we pretty much doomed to get insane princesses since this is seasonal work? The two people we hired for part time work, who had real jobs during the day, gave us no problems whatsoever. They wanted to work in tax prep to get some experience in the field.

C'mon people........ If clients knew what was needed to do a tax return...they wouldn't be clients. This is far from the stupidest question I ever heard. Sometimes I think some people are truly brain dead. Client had 2 teenage sons...who went to college. Child tax credits ended....college tuition credits ended in 2014. Dependent exemptions are ending. Try explaining (to a brain dead person) why the refunds used to be about $4000/year...now they are almost $0...and next year...if the recent grad gets a real job....they will be owing about $2000! I tried explaining this twice in the past 3 days...and it still hasn't sunk in. It's "not the same as last year"!

It never gets easier; only more complicated. When we first started, we thought that we would be young forever. In some ways, I still feel that way, but know that it is unrealistic. Finding someone younger with our dedication is not as easy as it should be. Coming up the hard way is not part of the current makeup. Those with a small amount of experience want to start out at the top with the pay that goes with it. That will never happen here. A few years ago, I had one gal work for me two evenings. That was her attitude. Needless to say, two evenings is all she got. After I added on to my office, she wanted to come back and I HAD to turn her down.

Hey, SFA, where are you located? I'd hire from your students if you teach. Heck, I might take your courses myself. Especially QuickBooks. I had an assistant when I started. High hopes. Single mom with first of three in college, so thought I'd have her for a long time. Day job in outside sales, but not very well paid. Took HRB Basic Course, but decided she could make more money as a Block receptionist (or whatever title they used then). She was in my HRB office then, and I admired her intelligence and practicality. She was good the first tax season at data entry, figuring things out, calling customers for information, even going out to my elderly to make sure they had all their documents to bring in. (She was very sloppy at assembling and filing; so I took back anything to do with delivering the product to my clients.) I gave her a huge bonus. Hubby often cooked breakfast on Saturdays. Treated her royally. By her second next tax season, she had a boyfriend who wanted to stay in NY; she lived in CT. Constant last-minute calls to miss work, mugged, car vandalized, kid sick in out-of-state college, mysterious surgery, more outlandish excuses each week; very sporadic attendance (she was only one night and Saturdays per her choice, anyway, even though I tried to start her with the three nights plus Saturday that she had worked at HRB). She did very little besides her own, boyfriend's, all her kids', and her best friend's returns, and a little data entry. I did get her back for an intense time before 15 October. Third tax season I did NOT contact her. She needed to retrieve info to help with the older daughters' financial aid, even used my fax machine to send. She moved to NY. A couple of years later, I heard from her again wanting info when her oldest was teaching English in Japan, or some international issue. I gave her IRS Pub. #s and suggested a US Council office. In the meantime, I had another potential assistant who couldn't start as soon my first year. When she finally was available, I started her with going to two different elderly clients to help them pay bills once/week or at least twice/month. She reconciled their bank statements, gathered their tax documents, caught a theft from a bank account by a former home healthcare worker and trafficked it through until the bank returned the funds to our client, organized a couple of my "shopping bag" clients, did some pick-ups and deliveries, and was good with clients. She was a bit messy, and I don't read her writing well, but she could organize a bag of papers with green ledger paper, pencil, and adding machine tapes. Even though HRB trained and an office manager, she wasn't really up to data entry and is never going to progress to complete tax returns. I lost my elderly gentlemen (one to an out-of-state home near his son, and one passed) but I still have my gal in a few times/year to organize the bags from clients and also to sort through our own documents (the shoemaker's children syndrome). A gal from church came to me wanting work. She did a lot in QuickBooks. Bright, managed a family business, and had been expanding her QB work on both PCs and Macs. I had a new client using QB Mac as well as several on PCs. Self-employed husband and two small kids and lived really close in my town. We talked about her doing QB for me and learning tax from me and taking over my business. I thought it was a great fit. Well, after a QB project or two, she got a job in a town with a very long commute with very thick traffic (something she was trying to avoid with two small kids) but it had benefits, especially medical that I told her I could offer in the future as our income increased but not at the beginning. Then I gave up on people! Trying to scan more and need to do the "flow" part more. Do have most of my investors' brokers giving me Excel spreadsheets to import. And, getting more clients to accept extensions (those that came from HRB were not used to extensions) to spread out the work load. Hubby does some deliveries and schmoozes my clients. I have a mail slot in my front door for drop-offs. Maybe hubby can learn the scan & flow.... I'm drowning. Every envelope I open up includes new things. College daughter now works in three states, spouse started a biz out of state, parents died and need returns done, between jobs for a few months so got really active in investment accounts, marital problems so having to go over everything twice, forgot to tell me they have a trust, grown son on a ship so here's his info too, didn't notice they withheld for a wrong state, etc. No one's financial life gets simpler!

Catherine, Thanks for that info.......I sometimes think about going back to ATX. But I almost had a stroke with all the problems in 2012. Terry

Isn't this interesting? The girl I had for two years could have stepped into my shoes some day. However, in two years, she learned absolutely nothing. ZERO! This year, I have my cousin who is my age working WITH me and doing a fantastic job. She doesn't savvy computers much, but she is awesome with the calculator and green paper spreadsheets. She got a $20 tip the other day from a client who brought his stuff in a grocery bag. She says she never got a "tip" before in her life. The downside here is huge. We will go down together unless we find a data entry person next year or the year after.; or she picks up the pace. This is no time to be teaching anyone how to prepare a tax return on software. She totally "gets" the paper and pencil aspect. Nevertheless, I am counting my blessings. By the time some of these returns get to me, they are so organized that I can just input data. If a contractor or any business person has a pack of gum mixed in with his business supplies; out it goes. Taking it one day at a time in Wisconsin!

That was my question as well, but then I read the OP closely and it clearly states 100% from the employer, so I let it slide. I assume from the OP that they checked that out because of the way the OP was worded. Tom Newark, CA

ATX screwed up the MD 502CR this year and I've let everyone I can know that they should have left it the &@#( alone because it was perfect in 2013. Programmers waste time 'improving' forms that don't need changing, instead of making real improvements because THEY HAVE NEVER PREPARED TAXES and they don't know what they're doing.

Must have had the estate as beneficiary or no beneficiary on the IRA. One of the things we can do for our clients for added value is explain things like this. Either when we are delivering their return or as off season planning income.

I had ONE UPS guy who kept ALL of his paystubs, and ALL of his paperwork on the ESPP. [Guess why he was one of my favorite clients?] I found that, although the W-2s did not indicate it, all of the discount that the shares were purchased for was included in his wages, so the whole thing was LTCG.

Yes NOT the return of the deceased. Under the dependent in onedesk there are a bunch of boxes that you can check, such claim exemption, student, and on is deceased, so I checked it, then a place to enter the date of death popped up, I entered the date of death. The when I finished the return I got a message that the return had to be papered filed due to a deceased dependent. I just unchecked the recessed box and I'll efile the return. I knew it had to be a onedesk issue. I have been having a lot of issues this year. Thanks

I've looked at Drake's input and at the old ATX input, and I don't see anywhere to even indicate that the dependent parent has died. The only thing I see is in ATX that asks if a dependent child was born and died in the year and does not have a SSN. Is there really an input in OneDesk that asks if the dependent (parent) died? You are asking about the client's return itself and not the 1040 return of the deceased, correct?

Our industry is no different than any other industry in this country. I hear the same theme over and over the whole year through from my clients no matter the industry, it is almost impossible to hire qualified people who are drug free, want to work and have good work ethics. I believe it is the society within which we live. The best advice - fire fast and hire slow. I am on the look out for a highly qualified individual to take the work burden off my shoulders as I move slowly into semi-retirement over the next year or so. I have been looking for about four months now. I am hoping to have someone secured by May 1st, but that is looking less and less promising. And mine is not a seasonal position. This would be a very good career move for someone. I am trusting that the best person will present soon. As to hiring seasonal people, I have no experience with that and don't know what to tell you other than what I have already said. Good luck!

Catherine, Sure, glad to help. 1. Assets / Sale tab; 2. D2; 3. Part III Beneficiaries boxes. I'm still not liking "Data Entry". I couldn't find this. I think that Drake's 1041 needs to be made better,

That would be a stock redemption and no 1099 required. Just my first thought. Tom Newark, CA

https://fbcdn-video-c-a.akamaihd.net/hvideo-ak-xat1/v/t42.1790-2/11060432_951703181531257_1712241889_n.webm?oh=1a347e3b3669481d9b239d90f4fc76cf&oe=5515AEF3&__gda__=1427485107_200673da5209487299655cb575775f9d

This kitty goes into warp speed if you pay close attention, right after it touches the empty flower pot it vanishes.

Kitty got even....Huh!..

Yes, the whole loss shows on the 1040 and then you calc the NOL and can carry that back 2 years or elect to only carry it forward.

You are correct. Contributions from Jan.1, 2015 thru Apr. 15, 2015 can be designated for either 2014 or 2015. The client just needs to be sure that the person taking the deposit notates it correctly.

I wouldn't blame ATX. The scammers probably got the contact info from the IRS's public preparer directory. I got the same email and haven't used ATX in some time. Is there a way to opt out of the directory? I don't want or need and can't handle any more new clients. Especially the cranky ones who come in this time of year. They're disorganized (which is why they're so late), typically owe lots of money (which is why they avoided coming in earlier) and IT'S ALL OUR FAULT.

I followed up and I now have a new client named Beth from Sidney, OH...she is wondering why none of you other losers wanted her.....Beth has yet to exlain why she did not contact a Sidney area preparer to begin with....instead choosing a preparer in Wyoming.

If they were ISOs, ESPPs, or RSUs, no code V. Some companies reported it in box 14, some didn't; you'd have to go to the paystubs to glean the wage component. The supplementary statement is probably correct.

If the school participates in the Federal Student Aid program, the answer is Yes. International Schools That Participate in the Federal Student Loan Programs (this list is updated quarterly, so check with your intended school to be sure it currently participates) You will get a spread sheet of over 800 foreign schools.

Have your client follow the instructions on the letter precisely and immediately. Add form 14039 to his return. Fill it in and be sure he signs it as well as the 1040 when you paper file it. Make sure he sends the required identity documents requested. If you e-file it WILL be rejected. We are up to 17 clients having their SS# compromised this year.

My employer reimburses me 7K, but the IRS has a limit to about $5,600, so my employer gives me the first 5,600 (as a scholarship), which is tax free and it is not mentioned on the W-2, the other $1,400 is added as salary to my W-2 and I get taxed. So If I pay for school $10K, I can use $4,400 for education credits.