Leaderboard

In my office, that 1040-A-MA return would be $175-$225 (or more), depending. Depending on what? Well, lots of stuff. The big one being, did they give me everything at once or did I have to email them multiple times asking for the same %$#@ information? And even that simple return might be harder than it looks - was the A interest and property tax only, or did they contribute to 23 charities that have to be investigated for political contributions mixed in with the list? Did they refinance a mortgage and take out extra to buy a car? Did they have one job all year or were there five W-2's from temporary jobs plus unemployment? Did I get the Mass. 1099-HC along with the 1095-A? I won't give a price without seeing the prior-year return, and even then it is estimated high and given with the caveat that the price is subject to revision (up *or* down) if the situation is substantially different. And I'm sure we've all had folks call asking for an estimate with "my return's pretty simple" (uh, no, or you'd be doing it on ttx online) - and then they "fail to mention" the three rental properties or day-trading as a hobby - and then get miffed when you tell them the fee is going to be more than the original quote.

I never have decided on the best response to "what do you charge?" Maybe, "If that's the first thing you have to ask, then you probably don't want to pay it." My next best is, "I charge by the question. The answer to the first question is free, but there's a charge for every question after that." Then if they ask "How much for each question?", I'm home free. My answer is "$100 each. What's your next question?"

I have been dealing with this for 5 years with my kids. We have them download the transactions on their account every year and keep them for backup in the file to show actual payment dates and dates the scholarships were applied to the charges. The transaction history page is really helpful. Tom Newark, CA

When it comes right down to it, HOW can you prove the kids lived with the parents? They might live with grammy and grampy three blocks away, and still go to the same school, see the same doctor, have Sunday school at the same church, heck even get their mail at the parents' house. At some level, we have to be able to believe what we see. Or close up shop and go home. Hmmm..... y'know, if we ALL (every preparer in the country, not just our little forum) did that, for one tax season, we'd collapse the tax system. Ooh, tempting!

My fee varies depending upon the complexity, the client's ability to pay and their personality. Some people get charged $150 for all that. Someone else might get charged $450. It all depends. I hate to charge someone $200 if I know they are living on social security. If someone is a jerk and a pain to deal with, I'll put up with them for 20 minutes if they are paying me the $350. 95% of new clients are of the belief their return is really simple, they get along great with their ex-spouse and life is grand - until you meet them.

Illmas I think one reason people don't complain about the big box company fees is because they are getting refunds larger than their withholdings due to EITC, CTC, etc. - it's not their money to begin with, so what difference does a higher fee mean when in the long run they still have more $ in their pocket. If I am totally off base here, please call me out on it.

I do, too. But *everyone* sees the full charge on their bill, and then the discount. Sometimes that discount is based on nothing more than me seeing how tight their finances are; sometimes it's based on how thorough they were in their preparation for me. But everyone loves a discount! I have gotten thank-you letters over the discounts. But that's some of the reasons why I charge by forms and set that bar high: so that I can give a break where needed, and not have to pad a bill to compensate me for not "Rita-hugging" a PITA client.

All I know is that I don't charge enough, if big box companies can charge XXX and people don't complain, makes me think I don't know how to run a business.

Our firm charges by the form and sometimes we adjust the price for that form depending on the number of entries. We have a minimum of $155 which includes a simple 1040, PA and local return. After that, the price can quickly reach $225 or more. We try to be consistent in pricing so that no matter who in the office prepares the return, the price is the same. Drop-off return or in-office interview, no difference in price. We have a similar pricing structure for business returns, but have an extra line item charge (hourly rate) for any work required to organize information before starting the actual tax return entry work. It works for us. We are busy and we all make a good living. When people call asking about price, I have no problem going over it with them. Mostly they just want to talk a little and don't know what else to ask to get the conversation started. I don't mind doing a little telephone sales work to bring in new clients. With a little reassurance, most of the callers end of scheduling an appointment. Cha-Ching!

I am not interested in new clients that call and the first thing they ask is: "What do you charge?" I have a drawer full of one hit wonders...

Me too - about $110 to $125. Exactly right. You can charge what you want. It's up to max $6,269 EIC (MFJ/ 3 kids/ earnings $14-24K). Add $3K CTC + all W/H back & you're pushing $10K. The used car dealers are rolling in dough.

You also need a statement from the Bursar's Office of charges and payments, *and* the clients' proof of payments made (to show it was parents who paid, and not Uncle Joe or whoever). That will give you the info needed to put in the proper charges and get the proper credit amount. You might also want to attach those other two as pdf's to the return. But just the 1098-T is utterly insufficient for proper calculation of those credits. And far too many of them are candidates for the Great American Novel, as well.

I got one here with two children qualifying for CTC. One child lives with them and one does not. Kinda makes is difficult to answer 10a. But I am giving it the old college try and hoping the next directive is not to complete an 8867 for each child. I noted my dilemma in Additional Due Diligence Information.

I thought if Uncle Joe paid the tuition, that was all figured in total support but whoever provided over half the support and claimed the exemption got the tuition credit. Is that not correct?

I try not to give prices over the phone. That Schedule A could be mortgage interest and property tax or it could be unreimbursed employee expenses where you have to teach them about business mileage/clothing/lunches. Or "charities" as Catherine said. And oh yeah can you compare MFJ vs. MFS? I just rent out my Cape home when I'm not there, don't really try to advertise or anything, don't make any money on it anyway. And, I don't make any money selling cosmetics either. My wife and her girlfriend sell clothes but don't make any money on it, so you won't charge extra for that, right; yeah, they did form an LLC together. And.... If they ask, I say returns start at $500. That gets rid of most of the shoppers. If their real question was what can you do for me/help me with/plan with me instead of how much does it cost, then the conversation usually continues and the final price might be much, much lower.

When someone asks "How much do you charge for a tax return," I tell them that most returns are $100 to $500. They hear $500, and most don't pursue it further. If they ask how much, they are shopping. Someone once told me "That's pretty steep--last year I only paid $15." Maybe they wanted someone who woud only charge $10. .

Lynn, You may not be off base....But, he is....

Same here. I though I would lose some clients because of this but so far it does not seem to be the case. I am right about where I was last year at this time. I actually feel that some have procrastinated because of the news and think why bother filing early. I guess only time will tell, but I have a horrific day schedule for tomorrow!

I generally use this wording and it has worked for me in answering those questions about the dependents, "Personal Knowledge".

Can't believe it. Same guy brings in another IRS letter about the above topic. To recap; he sent 1040 payment 10-15-16. IRS cashed check around 10-25-16. Nov. 8th they send bill saying "pay up" (same amount as the cashed check). Nov.16 I write back explaining it's already been paid (to speed things up). Dec. 6, he gets letter advising they need 45 days to resolve (this weighty matter of cashing a check). Today he brings in a 1-24-17 letter saying they need an additional 45 days to solve the mystery. Next will probably be a notice of garnishment.

I do have the Bursar's transaction sheets. The Billed amount is correct for 2016. The scholarships are the problem. They applied 2017 scholarships ( in addition to the 2016 scholarships) in late 2016. Therefore there is a year of billing and a year and a half of scholarships applied to 2016 which makes the scholarships exceed the billed amounts. They say they cant do anything about when the scholarships are applied but I think thats bull. They are applied manually and come from the school directly so its not like they get them from somewhere else. I really have no idea what to do about this. The school is wrong in my opinion and the TP is not a happy camper missing the credit he deserves and getting taxable income to boot.

Can Uncle Joe not pay it and the student or parent use it? Not that Uncle Joe would do that, but I figured it would be ok.

Agree with my esteemed colleagues. You might as well chuck the 1098T. Keep proof of everything, cause even though it is worthless, IRS may send a letter cause they don't think the student had net expenses. Just happened to one of mine. Paid more in 2015 than was billed in 2015. (Paid expenses billed in Nov 2014 in Jan 2015. You count them in the year paid.)

Here is a link to the NY tax preparer registration that will walk you through requirements. https://www.tax.ny.gov/tp/reg/tpregmore.htm ALL (even one return prepared) preparers must register (there are exceptions - of course, it's government) BUT with only one, you would not be considered a "commercial" preparer, so CE's will not be required.. The good news is - registration is about 10-15 minutes and easy. Have a nice one today and from now on --- all is fun in tax land..

I was thinking of the affidavit atop of collecting as much documents they can provide, not just the affidavit and that's it.

Not enough information given. Did section 1038 apply to repo? (Sounds like it did). If so basis equals: (1) basis of note at time of repo (2) + gain recognized on repo (3) + repo expense see examples at Reg 1.1038-1

In the past, I've called the local storefront tax shops and asked what a 1040 & Sch A with state would cost. Might be time to do that again. Gotta know your competition.

I don't think there is a way to cancel it, but once it has been accepted, you can efile the corrections in ATX. The program help is pretty straightforward. You have to correct the amount in the same return that you originally submitted, then when you click efile, select the corrected 1099. The additional 1099 will require a separate return.

My dad used to tell me "Charge what the market will bear"

My scanner is the older ScanSnap S500. It's 10 years old.

Basis before sale plus taxable gain(s) reported, less non-taxable capital payments received (with interest payments) equals new basis.

$273 for a 1040, Sch A and One State? I find that to be high, but I'm sure others are charging at least that if not more. For me, who prepares returns "on the side", that return would run between $150 and $175.

I think the number was $273 for a 1040, Sch A, and a state return. Can't charge that here. I often wonder if professionals surveyed respond "evangelistically". I had a pastor who would joke about the conference exaggerating numbers. It got to be pretty funny. He started doing it, too: "Well, evangelistically speaking, we had xxx in attendance for Bible School..." Or whatever. He was counting all the parents and church members hanging out in the kitchen yakking and eating snacks and not working. We all understood what he meant.

That's another good 8867 question. Questions # 9a and 9b are asking if we explained tiebreaker rules and advised that kids must live with the taxpayer. Since they don't apply to the childless who qualify for EIC on their own, we are forced to logically say "No." And, again, it seems (to me) that the tone of the question is "Did you properly follow the EIC rules and ask or did you not?" While the question's absurd under the circumstances, you still kind of get the feeling you're "in the wrong" because of the way in which these questions are posed. Oh well; maybe there's somebody at IRS who will later exclaim "What idiot posed this question to all EIC recipients?"

There was some confusion at the beginning of last tax season as to whether PA was requiring it. By the time the confusion was cleared up (PA is not yet requiring it), we were well in the habit of asking all of our clients for the info. We continue to do that. And now that Ohio is requiring it, we are ahead of the curve for a change. We have only had a couple of clients even question it. When we mention it is another effort to cut back on fraud -they are all for it.