jasdlm

I just got baked potato with sour cream all over a client's 1099-SSA.  Sorry, Carol.  Hopefully she'll never pull it out of the nice packet I make for her.

I am blown away by the people who have a W-2 or 2 and maybe a 1099 INT and can't get their act together until April.  Unfortunately, I only have a small handful of these super-simple clients, but why can't they get here before 12 April?  Maybe the same reason they don't free-file their own returns.  Hmmm.

I have an antique fainting couch in my office that my husband bought me several years ago so I could nap periodically and save drooling on my keyboard.

3 hours ago, Abby Normal said:

You should always look at every page of a lengthy 1099. Sometimes the amounts in the detail are higher than the 1099 amounts for things like bond premium amortization, and sometimes there's a missing basis for a stock sold. Or they might provide a US Gov % for each fund and if that amount is material, you need to know the dividends for just that fund.

Or, like the one I got yesterday ... a 1099 Misc on page 9 with $9k in oil royalties!  Why don't they put that close to the front!!!  I do look at every page, but when something like that happens, I get a little anxiety attack thinking about how I could have missed it.  For some reason, the same thing happens to me every time there's a number in Box 10 (dependent care) of the W2.  I missed one in my early days of practicing and Client got a notice of tax due, of course.  I paid the interest/penalty, client paid the tax, I apologized, and I still do that client's return (kids are long grown), but I've been anxious about that box every since ;).  Sometimes it slides over to the far left of the W2 and is easy for tired eyes to miss.  For a few years, I made myself initial every box 10 on every W2 (even for people with no or grown kids) just so I could sleep ;).  

14 hours ago, jklcpa said:

Real hugs to you, jasdlm. I'm sorry this is so hard, and seems harder each year since 2020, plus having gone back to the original deadline isn't helping. Do what you can do, feel good about what you have accomplished each day, and don't worry about what will be unfinished. Much of that isn't our fault, and that's what extensions are for.  Come and vent here if it helps where we all understand.

I'm tired, and tired of feeling like I care more about the tax returns than the clients do, and I'm not going to do that any more.  

Thank you, Judy.  I really appreciate it.  I had a definite meltdown moment yesterday morning.  Trying to buck up today.  It's so nice to have friends here who understand.  I can't believe I've been haunting this board for almost 20 years!  My gratitude to all of you.  I hope we continue to help each other make it through the season for many years to come.

Doni

I emailed a client 10 days ago:  "I don't have your blah blah blah brokerage statement".

HIs response TODAY:  "I know.  I intentionally didn't send that to you because it is long".

Woe is me.  And tired is me.  Woe and tired.

I overslept this morning and consequently my son was late for a 7:00 am call for a school activity (albeit only 2 minutes late, but isn't everything magnified right now?); he's at the school with no breakfast and a pocketful of granola bars and a latte (mother of the year right here).  I yelled at my husband this morning for making a coffee mess all over the counter and not cleaning it up or throwing away his trash.  I used a few 4-letter words (which I truly NEVER do), so I think I scared him half to death.  Then I came to the office and thought I was going to break down crying.  This is ridiculous.  I think we don't realize the depths/effects this pace/pressure have on us.

One of my staff members gave me a pep talk which really helped.  'I've worked for you since 2008.  You've never not made it to the finish line.  You've got this.'  I pass this pep talk on to all of you.

We've got this.  10 more days.  Palm Sunday and Easter.  Renewal and rebirth and and incredible amount of Grace.

Client has 2 K1s from estates (father and grandfather).  Both hold rental property in MN.  One K1 includes a MN k1 attachment and one does not ... consistently for the past 3 years.  Both rental properties are in MN, so I put both on MN non-resident return, but it there something I'm missing?  Is there something I'm not thinking of that would cause one of the properties to not require a NR MN return?  I'm just perplexed.

42 minutes ago, joanmcq said:

When you indicate that the asset is disposed of in fixed assets, there is a box to check if it was also a personal residence. Then it goes to the personal residence sheet on the 8949.  I’m sorry I can’t give more help than this, I’ve had a rotten day.

I'm really sorry about the rotten day.  That stinks.

The karma of my talk of 20/day has circled back to me.  I just spent 3 hours trying to calculate an accurate basis for someone who sold 2 shares of stock he held in an S-corp for the last 17 years (I was not doing his returns for those 17 years).  At least he could look up the original purchase price of the shares and had all of the k1s going back to the initial ownership.  

The Universe is speaking to me.

I'm so sorry.  I feel you.  It's pretty bad.

I find that I'm not holding my tongue very well.  A client called me out of my office (staff came in and said 'client x says her return isn't accurate') to tell me something preposterous about why her refund should be larger (some 'folklore' tax rule).  I looked her straight in the eye and said, 'who told you that, your hairdresser'?  After a moment of stunned silence (from both her and me) where I thought she might take her things and leave for ever, she burst out laughing and apologized.

Another client emailed me 3 times this past Sunday morning and texted me twice (call me crazy, but I do not respond to email from the sanctuary).  After the service, I finally responded to him with 'why aren't you in Church'.  No response, but he did send additional emails later in the day, so I assume he's still okay.

I might not get so lucky next time.  I need some 'be nice' pills.

53 minutes ago, Sara EA said:

Next year we are sending an IQ test along with the client questionnaire.

Yeah!

1 hour ago, jklcpa said:

I've never done 20 in a day in my entire career.  Different type of clientele, maybe?  The returns that I have in now and the ones yet to arrive will each take hours of my time, and that's not including scanning, assembly, and possibly meeting with the clients.

A typical client will have usually a k1 or two, maybe a few rentals, a fair amount of investment income (w/ foreign tax, 199, sales, etc.), W2s if not retired, a random schedule C (because they are often profs who consult as outside business), the younger ones have kids, older ones retirement distributions (many exempt from State tax because of an agreement between the State and the governing board for the Universities), maybe an energy credit of some sort, stock gift to charity, etc.  There are, of course, returns that take me hours and hours.  I'm super lucky because I have someone who pre-enters many of the returns and gets better every year at doing so ... it really helps me get to the meat of the return after I quickly proof the data entry, and I have an amazing staff who do all the scanning, copying, delivery to clients, etc.  I think this is part of the reason I can sometimes knock out several.  I also don't take client meetings (with very few exceptions) during the season.  I don't need someone to hand me a document and tell me it's their 1099 ;).  If they want to do that, they can, but it has to be early in the season or on extension.  Corporates/partnerships take much longer, and I'm not always hitting the 20 on personals (as I said, until this season it was 12, which I could pretty consistently hit).  It might be a pipe dream ... and it's more likely on a weekend day when no one is interrupting me.  It's just the straight math for what I have to do to finish everything in house by the 15th :(.  We'll see.

There is someone on the board who by himself does 1000/season.  I think his name is JIm.  Does anyone else remember that?  I'd like to know his system!

5 minutes ago, TAXMAN said:

I can't do 20 a day. My partner tells me I mess up a simple return(what is that these days) quicker that a hard one.

I can't really, either, consistently, but its the goal I have for myself from now until the 15th (not the 18th).  If I can come close, then given the extra weekend (sans Church and family meal on Easter), I'm hoping I can get done with everything that's here.

Goal in the past has been 12 a day once corporates were finished and the individuals one can get done before the corporate deadline, and that has by and large been manageable, but with added clients and the first 'real time' season in two years, that increased to 17.286/day (I know, I know ... but we're bean counters, right?).  I figure if I aim for 20, maybe I'll make it?  Hmmm.  Not going to lie ... as I get tired, I start picking up returns out of date order (line jumping) so I can do easy ones (clients kids, etc.) to boost my numbers for the day so I can sleep at night.   Works until I run out of those :(.

I can't believe how we (tax preparers) live for 65 days out of the year.  96 if you count January and everyone's year end mess.  Eeegads.

Curious about others' daily averages, or if I'm the only weird one who plays this numbers game to try and motivate/encourage myself to work harder/longer.

Was there a resolution to dissolve/liquidate?

I always think that with enough espresso I can power through 20 returns a day at full capacity ... until I spend 15 minutes of my day (that I will never get back) trying to figure out why there's no place to enter/flow through the basis from a 1065 K1 to form 7203, which I actually went to the trouble to manually added to the return (the form adds automatically for an 1120s k1, of course, as appropriate).

DUH moment didn't come for a full 15 minutes.  Called myself an idiot, deleted the erroneously added form, and finalized the return.

Oy Vey!

I hope I'm not the only one.

I told two different clients yesterday that I was going to help them find an accountant who could better meet their expectations.  First one said, we want to use you ... sorry I was a b****.  Second one sent a very nice email asking to stay.  

My son and husband both have Covid, and by best count, I have 250 returns left to do.  DON'T even think about messing with me.

I don't always do a Schedule C; sometimes I take it straight to the 1040 but subject to SE Tax.  Maybe I'm not supposed to do this, but they don't have a 'trade or business'.

Why does it always take me 2 hours to calculate this ... you would think I could follow my spreadsheets from year to year.

Why don't I just trust the ATX calculation and move on.

Why am I trying to force the capital gain to fit an exception so I can distribute it and avoid the surcharge.

Why did people create complicated, restrictive trusts in 1998 and then never update to simplify when the laws changed.

Why didn't I pay better attention that day in Class.

Woe is me.

I have done summary entries with wash sales for years and never had a problem.  If I'm doing it incorrectly, the IRS hasn't bothered to fuss about it.

Happens to me multiple times every day.  It's a total drag.

14 hours ago, Sara EA said:

Was the prior year a Turbo Tax return?  Clients don't know what to print so print the whole dang thing (125 pages from a client recently).  I print what is important or informative, like 2-year comparisons, sometimes worksheets that show how much their qualified divs saved in taxes or how much of a pension wasn't taxed.  When a client has an easy return like the one you describe, sometimes I'll print more so it looks like they got something for their money.  On the other hand, if the return is already 50 pages, I may print only the 2-year so as not to overwhelm.

I'm so buried in returns right now, I feel like just printing it all because it's easier than picking and choosing.  I won't, but it's tempting.

I assume not turbotax.  It didn't look like what I usually see from turbotax, and it was done by a local preparer.  I just thought it was excessive and wondered what others do.

16 hours ago, MDCPA said:

Are you saying that for DocuSign there must be two unique emails if there are two signatures requested?

 

That has been my experience on joint returns.

Sorry.  It's really late, and perhaps someone already figured this out on another thread that I can't find, but on the elections tab, the 4th tab over is PPP Loan, and you can generate the statement there (in ATX).

I am using docusign.  It has worked pretty well.  A few of my older client couples share an email address, and that's a problem (2 signatures = to email addresses for docusign verification), but other than that, I have liked it, and so do clients.  It also gives them an electronic copy of their return.  It's not super expensive.