mcb39

No, we have no intention of taking on these clients. Sometimes there just isn't enough money.

I just thought I would post this experience here to see if others encounter this very often. I figured if people wanted to do "shaky" things with their return, they just did the return themselves with an off the shelf program.

I believe that they think it is safer to pass the buck to the preparer even though they are responsible for signing the return and the information they give to the preparer is all that he/she has to go on. However, most of us are experienced enough to know when things are not what they should be. Yes, we all run into these from time to time, but this is an extremely flagrant example.

Run away from these folks!

taxbilly

They probably need you, but YOU don't need them. Just the fact that you asked indicates that you know what the answer is. You don't need to run as you don't owe them anything; but don't get involved...IMO

Or, they could be saving some or all of it for his future education. I, also, wondered why they weren't claiming him as a dependent in the first place, but you all have offered some good arguements pro and con. The true test lies in the facts which only the family and the preparer may know.

Everyone is blaming the housing market and I am not qualified to answer your question. I just know that my "best" stock just came in with its 10th straight quarter of record earnings and is still paying dividends; yet the stock price has plummeted $$$$$$. The past couple of days have shown some improvement. I have never felt that I could count on money that I have in the stock market. I manage my own account and buy and sell as I see fit; but also have safe investments in conventional IRA accounts. My advice is Hold.

My dentist recently retired at a fairly young age, which got me wondering how long one can expect to do the delicate type work they do effectively. It would seem to me that a dentist might need to factor into his retirement plans a high probabilty that he/she would find in necessary to quit once the eyes, hands, back, etc start to give out, possibly well before a normal retirement age. And that, in turn, would factor into what their expected earnings & retirement preparations would be, which directly impacts the fees they charge. I've known a few old dentists, but I'm not sure I'd want to see a shaky hand coming at my face with that huge needle or a high speed drill screeching full blast.

So it must be important to them to think about such things, unlike we accountants and tax preparers who can just keep going until we become unbalanced.

You called that exactly right, John. Having worked for a variety of dentists for about 25 years total, I have seen most of them retire early and none of them work more than a 4.5 day week. Physically, it is an extremely high stress occupation. When you see them spend nearly 2 hours performing a root canal with extremely tiny files, you know how precise they have to be. I don't work in the dental part as that is not my thing. I am at the desk; but even that is pretty high stress and certainly never boring. I had one dentist retire at 45; come back to work at 50; work another 5 years and then retire for good at 55. BUT...he is not happy! At least, until we become unbalanced, we can continue to do what we do. From 1/1 to 4/15; we all become unbalanced to some extent. Most of the time it isn't permanent, though.

The first date was totally stupid, as it gave those who are affected almost no time at all to respond. That was especially dumb as it required that it be done using specific software that some who are covered might not own. So those folks would have to not only rush to buy the software, but learn to use it, very very fast. I'm glad most of us will not be affected at all, and glad that those who are have enough time to deal with it.

I totally agree. I had also picked up on the software issue as I, for one, don't own it. Thanks to this board and its members, the requirements of the IRS ruling have been clarified. Hopefully all preparers have access to some board or point of inquiry which can clarify this confusing situation for all.

>>reservations as to how far I will go<<

I would limit it to information I could look up in a minute or two in the Quickfinder. If he needs more detail or anything in writing like a list or spreadsheet, I would at least ask him to allow me to log time spent. That will either scare him off or lead to a formal engagement.

Because of the existing business relationship, I would treat ANY contact with the same Circular 230 issues of being a paid advisor.

So far, I have limited information to anything that I can look up in my head; and his questions have not been more than basic. It isn't that he isn't willing to hire me on a monetary basis to help him manage this business. It is that I have reservations about getting involved, for several reasons. I have been both an employee and a paid SE advisor and accountant for a business in the past and it worked out well. That was RE and Appraisal and ended amicably.

All of this because someone said that they would like the chance to have a dentist for a client. Yes, it could be quite a "plum"; and, yes, they DO know how to charge, but being on the inside, I know a little more about what is involved in arriving at their fees. The main reason I work there is the dental benefits rather than the money; though the money is good.

My big dream is to get a dentist for a client.

I work part-time for a dental group. They aren't "foolish" enough to ask me to do their tax returns. They just think that I am a bottomless well of free information. However, I don't elaborate on any information that I give them even though most of my dental work is gratis. One of them is purchasing a sideline business not related to the dental field. Since he is the kindest of the bunch, I have been helping him out to get started; but have reservations as to how far I will go. And don't jump all over this and say that I am bartering because my dental benefits are a contractural benefit in my contract of employment.

Agree with Old Jack. I like to see who's logged on, but knowing about the last clicks is unimportant to me. And I've never had Google appear.

I read many of the posts. I try to learn something. When I see a post that may pertain to my practice, I'll use that info to further research on my own. Many times I read and the answer is already posted. Just because a user is reading and not posting, does not mean that the member has the knowledge and is withholding it.

And if you really want advice from a specific member, there's always the option of sending a direct PM to that individual.

I agree with both of you. I like to see who is active on the board at any given time. I read all posts that are of interest to me. Many times the question has already been answered and there is no sense adding any additional comments. Sometimes, I don't know the answer right off hand and don't have time to research it or do not have access to research materials; depending on where I am. All in all, I find this board to be the greatest of the great and constantly improving. We are closing in on 300 members and all contributions to date have been polite, knowledgeable and timely IMO. Thanks to all of you....

ATTN: Software Developers, Return Transmitters and Authorized IRS e-file

Providers/E R O's

The IRS extended until September 10, 2007 the deadline for certain

Authorized e-file Providers to submit the URLs of their web sites to the

agency and clarified who is affected by the e-file rule issued on July 30,

2007 and available on irs.gov

Authorized IRS e-file Providers (E R O's, Intermediate Service Providers or

Online Service Providers) NOT affected by this rule include those that:

1) Do not have an internet website that obtains taxpayer information from a

taxpayer or third party via the internet for the purpose of e-filing

returns,

2) Have a website for informational and/or marketing purposes only,

3) Only receive or send taxpayer information via e-mail,

4) Do not use websites to collect taxpayer information and transmit the

returns through third party transmitters,

5) Prepare returns and use Provider?s website to e-file their returns, or

6) Only provide a hotlink to another company?s website that allows taxpayers

to input taxpayer information

The above does not cover all possible scenarios. Additional information can

be found in the Frequently Asked Questions located in the e-file section of

I R S.gov

Questions regarding this requirement may be addressed to [email protected]

VGA cards can become loose as a result of heat and cold, starting and ending power.

Thanks Old Jack. I knew perfectly well what you meant. I will try that as it is the most sensible and economical answer that I received. I learned years ago that when it comes to computers, try the easy things first. I just don't (before today) know anything about VGA cards. I certainly don't consider my barely 3 year old very fast system a throw-away and I certainly don't want to swap XP for Vista at this time. Much appreciation to all who replied.

Monitors are not expensive anymore, buy a 19" LCD. If the problem is your computer, them just order the CPU since you already have a new monitor in stock. Do not spend those $50 on used monitors.

I was pretty much thinking the same thing as for just a little more than twice that much, I can buy a 19" flat screen. My feeling is that all of you who have replied are leaning more toward monitor than CPU.; as I am. I have a few old 15" in the basement; if need be. Pretty hard to regress after 3 years with 19".

For past several months, monitor has been blacking out inrtermittently for just a second. Sometimes does it several times then stabilizes and works fine for weeks. Seems to be worse when system has not been used for a while. I have run CK Disk from both windows and DOS. Have run PC Doctor. Hard drive checks out every time. This past Sunday, after being gone for ten days; monitor went out and stayed out. Could only get it to show "Power Saving Mode" as if it were going into standby. Since restarting the system, everything has been fine. Any ideas as to which direction I should head. Hate to spring for a new monitor if that is not the problem. Any input will be appreciated. <_<

Sorry for the repeat...having a hard time editing prior post. Where is delete when you need it?

I might make a suggestion here....make sure your backup is done or kept offsite. If you have a fire/earthquake/flood/etc. and you backup is located at your site and it is destroyed or severely damaged, there goes your data.

I do a complete backup of hard drive on the first of every month with Rev drive and Ghost software. Use alternating disks which are kept in a safe. I also do incremental timed backups daily with the same hardware and software.

When it comes to tax returns and bookkeeping accounts; I back up as I work onto Zip disks. Just cannot stress enough how important all of this is. Have never had a hard drive fail; but have had other kinky things happen when I was able to restore files and/or programs from one or the other of the backups. Also never go anywhere between computers (desktop and laptop) without one or more jump drives on hand. May sound like overkill and probably is, but the freedom from worry is wonderful and the trauma of losing your information can be devastating. My safe is fire and waterproof and all recovery disks are kept there as well and offsite. Night all. Hubby came in from fishing and appreciated the fresh homema de bread.

When a laptop freezes... (all the time) I hold the power buton for 35 seconds and when it wakes up, but FAT and I are FAT.

I gave my old Thinkpad (not so old, but no longer compatible with ATX) to 10 year old Grandson. He had it 2 days and called in a panic because it froze. That is when I learned about holding in the power button for 5 seconds or more. Sometimes it pays to read the manual and sometimes it pays to have a good friend or relative who is computer savvy. This will also work with desktops if CTRL ALT DEL fails you.

I have had a UPS for years. The only time I really needed it to do it's stuff, it failed me and that is when we found out the batteries were dead even though the green light was still glowing. Have new batteries and have not had need for it since. Computer was not damaged. Computer is plugged into good surge protector which, in turn is plugged into UPS. You do the best you can and hope that your equipment doesn't let you down. However, I still and always say that you must BACKUP religiously. That is your safest safety net.

Am baking bread today and can smell that it is ready to go into oven. Greetings to all. :rolleyes:

>>I like when Jainen comes hard on some of us <<

One of the problems of typed messages on a tax forum is that it is easy to misinterpret the meaning behind a statement. One person may consider a statement as insulting while another may consider it as harsh, whereas someone else reads it as constructive criticism or informative. We should all be more aware of what we say and how we say it, likewise we should take note of what we ask and how we ask it.

I did think that the original response was a little harsh, but have learned to recognize that different posters have different presentations. However, I, also, learned something new today as a result of the response. Also heartily agree with the itemized deductions discussion. :unsure:

Taxbilly's post containing e-mail from IRS answered ALL of my questions. Thank you so very much. :)

Good for you! A lot of help we were. Of course, we couldn't see your form.

KC is correct; something else is wrong. I have been e-filing the adoption credit for two years now for a family who adopted three special needs children...6 year old twins and an 8 year old boy. No glitches either year. BTW, after 15 years of marriage and right after the adoptions were finalized, this family found out they were going to be welcoming a natural child....the sweetest little girl and adored by all. Born in Dec of 2005, the couple who had no children in prior years; suddenly had four childred to claim. Made the filers nervous, but all went well and this is one of the most heart-warming returns that I have ever done.

Hey, Eli....I just got a letter offering me a franchise for Liberty Tax. I told my husband and son that they could be Miss Liberty and Uncle Sam....alas, they declined. In any event, it is not an option. Apparently they want to move into my territory....There is already one North of the City and I am South...que sera

WI is also mandatory over a certain number; but it matters not. Piggyback and without a hitch. I can also E-file CA; and do, as well as MI, MN, IL....We are now required to E-file auto license and title paperwork.; which is my husband's business. He, who doesn't know and will not learn how to turn on a computer. Lucky for him, he has good staff which would be me and two sons. Requirement is sales of 48 or more per year. Even if you fall below that number; you have to pay an additional $15 to paper file. And...if you don't comply, the fee is $65. Up side is that titles and tags arrive in less than a week. Also, once we got the hang of it, we kinda like it. So, the trend is definitely electronic, whether we like it or not.....

Go to "My Controls" at top of log in page. This will take you to a page with lots of choices. On the left hand side, as you scan down, you will see "Edit my Profile". Click on it and edit away....

KC and I feel exactly the same about Intuit; although I DO like and use Quicken, but purchased the

"Quicken for Dummies" book which I use for support. I have also renewed Max for ONE more year. Also, like KC, I have other options in the outfield in case this game becomes too hard to play.......

E-filing is very acceptable. However, you still need to furnish paper to the recipient of the W-2 or 1099. I think that is what we have been referring to in re the uni-forms.