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I make clients drop off information. I try to only meet with client where it is absolutely necessary. I just don't think I could prepare a return with a client sitting there. It would inhibit my ability to get on this site and post comments regarding said clients :).

My preference is to not start the return until I have everything. Sometimes, I am in the middle of the return, before I realize I am missing something, which is a timewaster. I prepare only a few returns while my client is in the office, too easy to make a mistake. At my age, multitasking doesn't seem to work any more.

99% of my clients are returning clients so I know their situations and the due diligence is a little easier, but I NEVER prepare returns while clients wait...that just invites technology Karma...printer will jam, PC will lock up, etc....not t mention, I don't like the stress of clients waiting on me.

Requiring frequent pwd changes defeats the purpose. With frequent changes, many fall back to sticky notes... A proper password should not have to be changed, unless the data has been compromised.

I just move on to the next client and put the client with missing items at the bottom of my stack. When he gives me the last item, I'll pull out his folder and complete his returns, as soon as I complete what I'm working on at that time. IF, and only if, he had an honest omission, such as the new DD requirements. If it was someone who was missing items he well knows from prior years are necessary, then the date on his folder becomes the new date the last item is received; therefore, he sits at the bottom of the stack. I had to wait on him; he won't make me fell guilty now that he has to wait.

I don't do any returns while the clients are here. I rarely have anyone that brings me everything the first time. Especially with the new due diligence.

This has been kind of a pain to put in a password every day multiple times. But now it's going to expire! Really? Because I have so many gremlins here in my sole proprietor office with me stealing data........This is really irritating.

This is entire password required thing is complete BS.... It's just me...in my home-office. I'm OK with password required upon opening the program, but the entire timing-out thing and now being required to change the password? c'mon...tax season is filled with enough tantrum inducing stressors as it is. I'm having a drink

And if they call a few days latedr asking "How's it going?", here's the procedure. 1) Pull their file from wherever it is in the stack; 2) Check to verify you've received everything else you asked for; 3) Answer their question; THEN.... 4) Put their folder at the bottom of the stack. Usually only takes a couple of calls like this to get them to leave you alone so you can get some work done.

I used to just pass these around and tell them to shut up until I was finished......WoW!... after an hour... they loved the results....

Cynthia, welcome to the UNOFFICIAL forum that is not directly associated with WK, CCH, ATX or any other vendor. This forum is privately owned with members that still mostly use ATX, or are like me that did in the past and have moved on to other vendors. Since we were overrun with spammers/scammers more than once, the owner of this site decided to put in the challenge questions to make sure that bots weren't getting through. Sorry the questions were not to your liking. Using the link Elrod provided will allow you to log in for access the knowledgebase, support, other areas related to the program and your acccount, and also the official forum if you'd rather pose your questions there.

also...almost none of the cities can be filed electronoically...it is still the old paper returns with W-2s and 1099s attached.

Thanks for all the responses. It's funny, I get emails alerting me to every new post on this site, but never get notification of responses to my own questions. I got slammed and haven't been back to check on this. The filing status was MFJ until the divorce in 2015. I'll put this off or pass on it all together. It is looking like she will be a very needy client. I never get paid enough for anyone who sucks a ton of time from me. I enjoy what I do too much to have a new client take a chunk out of my fun factor!

Let your cat walk around your desk, batting the mouse around.

I guess I've gotten used to this because I've been changing passwords at IRS eservices and ATX website for years, and more recently QuickBooks. I just have to keep a password protected spreadsheet list of all my passwords because I can't remember them.

Same here. Makes you wonder how many more hoop-jumpers "they" can come up with; the triple-column 8867, the long just-so password, the annoying 30 minute time-out (haven't tried that workaround posted here yet), and the password-change notice that just now popped up. Between engagement letters, affadavits swearin' it's all true, privacy notices, and this junk I sometimes wonder that there's time to do any actual tax-work.

My client is a US Citizen, yes. I am on the right track, then. I told her when she sold it last year that I would need exactly that. FMV on date of death and improvements.

DITTO on everything JB said!! Preparers that live in a non-taxing state have no idea....

If you do resort to sticky notes, just show enough of the password to jog your memory. For example if your password is $t1ckyw!cket22 just write down $t*****22 so no one can decipher it but you. Besides, if you forget your password you can always reset it or change it.

Preparing returns in Ohio does NOT pay well when you factor in the number of taxing authorities that need to be considered. 99% of my clients have Fed, Ohio, School, and city returns...then there are the ones that move mid-year, so there are multiple city and school returns. I'd wager that I spend more time on local tax returns than I do all Fed and State returns combined

Surviving spouse. If you are the surviving spouse, the year your spouse died is the last year for which you can file a joint return with that spouse. After that, if you don't remarry, you must file as a qualifying widow(er) with dependent child, head of household, or single. For more information about each of these filing statuses, see Pub. 501. https://www.irs.gov/publications/p554/ch01.html https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf

If you are reading this topic, you probably have a backup system in place. Remember, your backup very well could be worthless unless you try it and prove it can be restored from... (Just had two customers, within minutes say they cannot find data and asked if we had a copy to send them... One was relying on some sort of network backup some long ago IT person setup for them, which apparently failed or was not setup properly, the other assumed all programs sent backups somewhere on the cloud "for them".)

Why wonder why? Breaking News: IRS Announces Major Drop in Filed Tax Returns As of January 27th, total returns received by IRS were down 32.9%. Early season refund numbers and dollar amounts are affected by the new law requiring refunds involving the Earned Income Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit to be held until the later part of February. Many taxpayers claiming these credits traditionally file during the opening weeks of tax season. See the chart below: Is your business down this year? Knowing the national trends can be helpful in planning for this year and years to come. Be sure to sign up for our March 30 webinar with more up to date information. If numbers are still down in March, that could mean a big rush of customers in April! Timur Taluy, CEO, CERCA Board Member has a message about the dramatic drop in filed tax returns.

With tax software the way it is, why do you require 100% of the information before starting a return? It would take me longer to try and determine if I had everything prior to starting than if I just worked through what's available.

Your client lives in the US? Your client is a US citizen, or green card holder? US citizens, no matter where they live, and green card holders are required to report their worldwide income. Yes, your client must report the sale of the house in Norway. She needs to provide you with the FMV on the date of death of the person she inherited it from, the cost of any improvements or renovations, and a copy of the sale papers (translated into English).

Autosave has not worked since 2011. That is the best joke I have heard so far this tax season. Talk about OUT OF TOUCH with reality....

Of the (1) return I have seen done by Ohio preparers, they don't charge near enough IMO.

If only some kind soul would show up here and present me with just an ordinary "gray/either-way" ethical tax problem. That way I could at least entertain the possibility of solving it, acquiring, and retaining a steady client. Nicest folks for quick $75 "short forms" are late-50ish people, computer-shy (think Turbo-Tax is a washing machine), don't know anything about taxes and aren't likely to, maybe with grand-kids (raising them nowadays, of course) which will run the fee up to $95-$115. Anyway, a Prospective Client (in this category, but no kids) showed up Friday. Said he was single; gave me his docs (two W-2s, small pension, bank interest) which I plug in the computer and give him the refund amount. After a pleasant 20 minute chat I told him to come back in three day; he starts to leave, turns around, and says: PC: Oh, it don't really matter, but I guess I'm supposed to tell you - I sold a house last year. BB: Your house? Your personal residence? PC: Naw, my uncle died and left me his old, fallin'-down rent house. It wasn't worth but $10,000. BB: Oh, well, uh; we have to put that down. PC: No, no, it's okay. See, I let this guy have it for just what my uncle owed the bank on it. I put it on a land contract between him and me. BB: Well, we still have to.... PC: No, you don't understand. He cain't pay for it all at once, so I'm helpin' him out. He pays me exactly what the bank payment is ever' month and I turn around and give it to them until the $20,000 note gets paid off. I never get no money to keep and so I don't make nothin' off the deal. Failing to grasp this irrefutable logic exasperated him. He guessed he'd have to go somewhere else where they knew more about taxes. And out the door he went.

Ha-ha. Reminds me of a joke (think I already told it here, but it's worth telling again). I once had a doctor client and he overheard me complaining about a PITA client who'd just stormed out of my office. Doc said the guy was also his patient and "I'd like to refer him to Dr. Kevorkian!"

I agree. That was anything BUT an "Oh, by the way" comment. If it had been truly innocent, he would have taken your advice. Bart, the client was clearly making a feeble, amateurish attempt to tag you with some responsibility if the issue ever came up in an audit. The first thing out of his mouth would have been "I told the preparer about it, and he said it was OK to ignore it." Then he would have been harassing you to pay any penalties & interest (maybe even the tax liability itself - some people are funny that way). I can't help but wonder if he had already visited another preparer, received the exact same advice, and so you were his next stop. Eventually he will figure out that the only way to get away with this is to just not mention it. But even then, it's likely he will try to shift blame if he's ever audited. I feel sorry for the last preparer in the chain - you should be glad you're not that person. Sometimes the most profitable thing to happen in a business relationship is when they take their business elsewhere.

and change taxpayer name to FUTH459TRYG8

I entirely agree. My computer has a login and password and, of course, the program once - I wish still! But it's just me in my home office. Changing every 90 days isn't too awful but this time out thing is driving me, well, I'm ready for a drink, too. You know, sometimes you just have to look through some papers, maybe answer the phone, look up a reference, double check something in last year's return and BAM! locked out. Grrrrr.... This is about the umpteenth time I've said retirement is looking better by the week, sometimes by the day. I do want to get through this and 2 more tax seasons to wring out the most from my license but am sorely tempted.....

Sounds right except that the child tax credit follows the dependency exemption.

Yeah, that guy who posted about autosave didn't even understand that it has NOTHING to do with backing up.

Awesome. Did not think to look there. That is exactly where it is. Thanks rfassett. Tom Newark, CA

I did not see it in the tax software, but it is in ATX's Payroll Compliance package.

Sent you a PM. I am not as good looking as RitaB, but I have RITA experience.

I just got the fact that this is an Ohio tax issue, not a request for help from RitaB.....No wonder I did not understand the post when I read it. DUH! Tom Newark, CA

I don't charge em to walk thru the door, but there's a couple I would pay to leave...

Just to be sure we all understand each other, I am well aware that fees differ somewhat from area to area. But I will state this - I am in Podunk USA - population 5,500, with the nearest "big" town (pop 20,000) twenty minutes away, and the next "bigger" town (pop 105,000) an hour away. My clients would have a lot of choices to go elsewhere. We have the big box places in town, other professional offices, etc. My point is - don't sell yourself short. And I also recognize that not all are in my position. I have been doing this for more years than I care to count. And my plate is always full. I would wish the same for all of us.

Yeah, every single person that ever sold real estate in this town thinks that. Every. Single. One.

I don't know why people think we are here to help them cheat. But many of them do, and they manage to find a Loophole Lefty down the road a ways. Oh well, we are the cat's pajamas for waving good bye to these "taxpayers".

I thought y'all were talking about my issues again.