SFA

Just a few hours left of your birthday. I like to claim the whole week for my birthday. You can too! Happy Happy!!

Good point Michael. For crying out loud, why should we be riffling through somebody's medical bills! We do however, need to know that our clients understand what is deductible and give them some guidance on how to organize their information for us so that we can complete the medical input fields in our software. Our client base is aging and so we are expecting to see more of them trying to itemize medical expenses--even if it ends up being a waste of time--as it so often does.

John, you are right. That's the high road. But keeping good notes in the file is also important in these situations, and I would not be worried about returning papers and invoicing when the client asks for their paperwork back after having us prepare a return. I would not give them any of our work papers or draft copies of the returns. Nothing except their original papers. We do not and should not work for free, unless it is our choice, not manipulation by a client using us. If concerned, write a notation on the invoice that includes a disclaimer. I'm back to "make em pay" and sticking to it!

Make em pay. Make em pay a lot--for the expertise and time that you have already spent reviewing their taxes. They get nothing except their original papers. And you get the satisfaction of getting rid of them.

Yes. We all have these borderline situations. In PA there is a very low threshold for needing to file, plus we have a property tax rebate program for seniors and disabled people, so we must still enter everything just to be able to prepare the PA & tax rebate forms. If we don't charge, then word of mouth will clog us up with more of these (same with dependent's returns). It's much ado about nothing. I tell the clients to stop federal withholding, and next year go to VITA and they can probably have it done for free.

We had one of these as well. They really are bummers. A lot of entries, all for a lot of nothing! Argh. What broker encourages his clients to buy these dumb things! Ours was a merger with a foreign PTP.

WOW

Well, Grace, why don't you just drop them? I have worked my ass off this tax season, and am now at the point that unless I like the person and the project, I am ready to let some clients go. Just go. My Dad always said, "Take your fist out of a bucket of water and guess what? There's no hole." I took that to mean that there will always be something or somebody to take their place. Next. I've made enough money this year, and have cleared out a few clients who just bogged me down in the past. I feel better for it.

OMG. I would get whip-lash just trying to scan the screen. Looks like his neck is going to get a little stiff from looking at the screen through the lower half of his bi-focals. Well, anyway, it's good for a laugh.

Thank you Eric. This is the only forum that I follow on the internet. I really appreciate those who contribute, and the way that you and the moderators keep the site professional (and fun). I love "Laugh of the Day." I also have found important answers to issues that come across my desk--usually at just the right moment. So now I have just contributed my two-cents, and $$! Keep up the great work.

Today I felt bad for a client who gave me all the detail documents to support all of their charitable contributions. Included were several "donations" to an organization holding a carwash, the other was for a sub sale. So what do I do? I carefully deduct the value of the car wash and the sub from each of the donations. I felt like Ebinizer Scrooge. The next client that I work on, had a business with over $30,000 of office supplies and expense. I inquired if there were any significant purchases, and also asked him to groom through his records in case something was misclassified. His answer: "No big purchases, all good." Sometimes I feel sorry for the clients who bring in all their receipts and details.

I have PortalSafe. For some clients it works great and is very easy, while I have others who just don't get it and give up trying to retrieve and/or upload files. Because of that, I switched this year to ShareFile, which is more expensive but is so easy to send and receive encrypted files. I almost forgot to cancel my monthly PortalSafe subscription, until I saw this topic, since we were holding onto the service while we tested ShareFile. Thanks for the reminder!

Thank you for that reminder. I called the client, and decided to return all his materials. The minor income was from new billings, and he is an attorney who should have known better. I did not e-file an extension. We have parted as friends. This one is not my monkey, not my circus.

Just received papers from a Michigan client. Looks like he has continued using his corporation in 2015. He had directed us to file final returns for his s-corporation as of 12/31/2014. Now what? Should I e-file an extension request to see if the IRS still recognizes his company and EIN? Not sure what will happen in Michigan. I don't want to create a Schedule C because some of the money he received were payments from clients that were written off as uncollectible by the corporation as well as new billings under the name of the s-corp. Of course no payroll returns were filed. He paid no wages to himself. We must decide what to do by 3/15.

it's our money . . . not THEIRS

Crank, I had to think of you a few days ago when I struggled getting the balance sheet to work on a VERY simple rental LLC. It was a new client for me so I did not have any history except the prior year tax return's balance sheet. I had to keep emailing questions to client until finally all the pieces came together. I felt like I was being punished for being so hard on you in this topic. What goes around . . . comes around! Quickly!

What about the late filing penalty for the partnership returns?

I feel for you Terry. You knocked yourself out to nail that tax return and the clients just think that it was data entry work. Surely someone else can enter the same data and come up with a better answer. Abracadabra!! Wow!!! Wouldn't that be great. Keep moving on and see how quickly they disappear in the rear view mirror. Next.

MsTabbyKats: if you regret selling to this man, confront him. Sounds like he is in over his head. Do you want some or all of your business back? The clients trusted your judgement when you turned them over to him. I disagree with the others on this forum. I believe that we do owe the clients a fighting chance to have their work done by a qualified professional when we sell. The clients believe that you have encouraged them to stay with the practice after its sold. Tell the buyer that he either delivers the quality that matches his credentials or your endorsement of his service to the client list is over and whatever he has paid to you is his loss because you are not going to back or endorse him any longer. I might even call him a fraud for taking on work he was not qualified to do and because of that he has breached the contract. How's that ?!

Just because you don't need to reveal the balance sheet doesn't mean you don't need to bother with it. Raise your skills and push through. If you throw your hat in the ring for the work, then step up to the plate and know how to do it. Ask the Clients for the bank balances, the liabilities, for their Guaranteed payments, info on any partner loans to and from the partnership, etc. Get it right. Use the easy returns to build your confidence and your reputation. Or you can turn the work away. Remember, we don't need to be all things to all people. It's ok.

Easytax good points. It is sad but I have witnessed families of the deceased act as if their inheritance is a winning lottery ticket or an entitlement. In my opinion whatever a beneficiary of the estate receives, it is a generous gift no matter what the amount. Turn the matter over to a Higher authority and accept the outcome. Recently I received the life insurance after my sons tragic death. I cried because the money is no consolation or substitute that can make me feel better. Cashing in a loved one is a terrible process. We learn a lot about ourselves when put to the test.

Since it is the executors duty to protect and preserve the estate assets, in my opinion, the executors have the complete authority to determine if the estate will pay the taxes or distribute the income. The beneficiaries do not control the ultimate decision. If the estate pays the tax, then ALL of the beneficiaries are affected because there is less money to actually pay out. Some decisions are not to be made committee style.

Business client applied for and received an "open-end mortgage" (line of credit). The closing costs for appraisals, legal, etc., were $1,600.00. Question: If there is no specified loan period, are the closing costs immediately deductible?

That's funny. I just threw my college accounting books from the early 70's in the trash this past week. They were on the office bookshelf. It felt good to dump them.

My son recently died in a tragic accident. We are six weeks away from tax season, and I don't have the heart for it anymore. If anyone is interested, please private message me here on this board.