mcb39

Believe me, neither my husband nor my sons do any administrative work at their place of business. All paperwork, bills, sales contracts, checks and bills pass through my office. I do the inventory, etc even though I have no personal interest in their partnership. I make financial decisions for them, advise them and babysit them. If someone calls them with any question regarding finances, insurance, tax issues, etc; they get referred to me. This is not the way I would like it to be; it is the way it is. They do the buying and selling and answering of their phone. I take it from there. I would challenge the IRS to find a spot in their place of business where any administrative work is carried out. They are a client just like any other client who brings me their paperwork in a shoebox. They don't have a clue. Again, I would prefer it to be different but doubt that it will ever change unless I leave this earth and then they will be in a world of hurt.

Does all of this mean that when I get home from vacation I will have to remove all personal touches from my OIH Addition that was built exclusively for the purpose of conducting business and funded exclusively by monies earned by that business. I have a total of 504 sf if you count the basement under the new addition which is used exclusively for storage of files and computer equipment. I have three desks, three computer workstations, four chairs for clients and two workstation chairs. I have shelves for supplies, three printers, a copier and a fax machine. Even though I work alone most of the time, I use all of it in the course of conducting business. This may seem excessive for a one person office, but it took me over 30 years to earn it. OIH is not just Tax Prep. There is sales tax, payroll and payroll taxes, bookkeeping, etc. Since I do all of the bookkeeping as well as the taxes for my husband's business, one desk is used pretty exclusively for their checkbook and paperwork. That section of the house has its own insurance addendum to our homeowners policy, including liability. I guess what I would have to remove would be decorative pictures from the walls, the toybox for clients who bring small children along and two plants. I do not find this area excessive since prior to the addition, I was tripping over papers, research books, tax returns, etc. Also, I do have a part time assistant during the heat of tax season. My clients love my new office, but they don't like me any more or less because they came to me for years in the cramped quarters. They are just happy for me to have a much nicer work environment.

That sounds more like a bear than deer. Also, beware moles, gophers and raccoons. Ribbons are keeping the deer out of our veg garden, but turkeys are eating the blueberries. I caught a mom and eight chicks picking blueberries one evening last week (on camera). Always remember, we are invading their territory and they have to eat too. (Not that thinking that will make you less angry.)

We are into gardening big time; but nothing classy as that. That is a dream city garden. Mine are all cottage gardens and I do a lot with arbors, but we have forty acres with about five of it being lawn and gardens. The rest is forest. Good Job There MAS.

Depends on what zone you are in. IN Central, it is 7 PM

I do claim all of my monetary income. I don't have cross ventilation with the rest of the house. It is pretty much tied to the office which consists of two rooms separated by an arch; each of which has a ceiling fan. I'm really not worried about this particular subject. I have already been inspected by the insurance co and the assessor (DUH). The only issue I have had was with the zoning inspector who had me change the blueprint to read "family room" as they didn't know how to coordinate a commercial room with a non-commercial house. I kid you not.

Does this mean that I have to take down the picture of my Mom, Myself and my Granddaughter; the three initials that create the MCB in my business name? Rediculous! What about the corkboard that holds all the Thank You cards from my clients? What about all the gifts from clients that are sitting around the office? I do use the closet in the old part (prior to the addition) for my clothes. Would duct tape work to seal it if they prefer that I not wear clothes to work? In reality, I have never heard of the IRS checking out a home office, but I suppose it has happened. If they insist, I could carry my laptop to the kitchen to read my e-mail.

Don't hold your breath!!!!

Neither is a prerequisite as far as I know. Renewing is definitely not a requirement. As far as how much of the program we will see is still unknown to us.

Somehow, my brain won't let me connect the avatar with Jainen.

That may be so, but I never do a return for a new client without seeing the prior year return as filed. Also, looking at the amount of income this couple had which qualified them for Tuition Credits, EIC, etc; there is no way that anyone with any common sense would not question the taxpayer having over $4000 interest income. (Of course, it disqualified the EIC). This particular return was a mess and I would prepare their returns free forever rather than have them go back there. However, they are happy to pay me. I repeat: Common Sense! As for the Flow Sheet; most of us follow some sort of Organizer. That doesn't make it right to put an entry on the wrong line. How long would it have taken the IRS to discover this error (if ever, and if VITA had actually filed it) My guess is a minimum of 18 months. There is no way that this couple could have paid the tax liability in the meantime.

When my clients come to me with a CP2000 in hand and terror in their eyes; they certainly believe that it is an audit!

The best (or worst) one that I ever had was when the preparer entered over $4000 of mortgage interest paid on the line for interest income. This resulted in over $8000 of excess income. Jack is correct in that there is nobody to follow up at VITA. We amended it and it turned out that they had never even filed it. It took several months to straighten that one out. However, I know that they have supposedly competent preparers helping out. I have a colleague urge me to join him every year at VITA. However, I also know that he makes plenty of errors because I had him working for me for two days. This does not make me perfect by any means, but I am here to correct my mistakes if and when I make them.

First of all, my post was tongue in cheek (sort of). Of course, there are limitations. But you also reminded me of another freebie. I do all kids of clients free while they are in school. This is for a couple of reasons; Continuity, so the student doesn't go online and claim himself and mess up the parents return; Next, a free child now becomes a potential client once they start working. I have been at this long enough to see it happen. Clients that started out with me with young children are now retired and those young children are now married with families of their own. Where do they go to have their tax returns prepared? You guessed it! (most of the time) If a student comes in and asks me to do their friend's return and the friend is not a client of mine, there is a very small fee!

I keep getting these e-mails from the IRS asking for preparers to volunteer their time to help the poor taxpayers who cannot afford to pay a preparer. I wonder if the IRS has ANY conception of how much pro bono work many of us do in our own practices. I never charge an active military service person. I rarely charge for Homestead Credit returns and if there is extra work; it is only a pittance. I know most of my clients well enough to know who can afford what and I truly believe that it's not all about money. (Not that I don't like money)! I have amended enough returns prepared by VITA to know that I don't want to go there. These amendments are also done pro bono. Also, does the IRS ever consider how many children, parents, brothers and sisters that we all have? I do my volunteering at home.

There is always FREE FILE; both federal and state. Believe me, if you want to exercise your brain, go there. I've used it a couple of times over the years when the state module wasn't ready through ATX. How any self-preparer gets his return done correctly using online filing is beyond me and certainly makes him smarter than I am. This is only to be used if you want a backup to a backup. IMO

I had one two years ago. The client had borrowed the money for the basis. I know it was a complicated deal and computation was done at the request of the state. I had to create the calculations starting with beginning basis, add or subtract for end result of each year going forward. The remaining debt was allowed as a loss. Fortunately the accountant who did the business returns had a P&L for each year. Therefore, because money was borrowed and principal payments were not deductible yearly, she ended up with a loss. This may not pertain to your situation ; but gives credence to the fact that sometimes you can't over think these things.

They said "late August, early Sept" right from the beginning. I have heard nothing different.

I agree with Jack and Lion.

My experience, under audit, has been that the IRS does not want you lumping unrelated "businesses" together. For instance, they didn't want snow plowing combined with construction. Your client must have some method as to how he arrived at the total income for each endeavor. The burden of proof is on him. We all take in cash payments. Reporting them is on our honor. I would put the roofing and the music on separate Sch Cs. The waiting tables should produce a W2 or I would think that his employer is being remiss. Have him dig, dig, for deductions for the roofing and the music. He should be able to construct miles for both jobs if he kept any kind of records as to where he was and when. Not surprisingly, there are many clients these days who are trying to get by in this manner. I have an artist who also plays in a band and works parttime at a Hardware store., etc. Other than the construction worker with the snow plow, I have never had any issues with any of these. Have him be as honest as he can. My audit issue kept terrible records, but by the time we got through with the second IRS meeting, his memory came alive and he produced a pile of receipts and a decent mileage log. This one also involved children and EIC. Therefore, I would do the best I could with your friend and not worry about it too much.

Funny you should say that. I just switched to a new hairdresser who is a client of mine; I am extremely happy with the results and hope to remain friends with the old one; who is also a client, but overburdened.

Being Lazy Time! Wish we would get some of Catherine's rain. Our berries need it. Have been getting hubby's VA papers in order and now have to fill out his paperwork for the "Honor Flight" to DC in October. Got all of our Doctors' appts behind us, (knock on wood)! I need to do some "serious" cleaning, but that has no appeal. Am working on bags for GoodWill. Our closets are running over with things we haven't worn in a long time. OUT WITH IT! Waiting for first Great Grandbaby in Oct. So exciting! Flower gardens are at the peak of beauty (as can be seen on Pinterest). Getting supplies lined up for next go around with tax clients.

Raspberries are just starting here. Blacks are totally green and if we don't get rain, they will dry up. Flowers are at their peak of loveliness. Everything is very late this year. Last year, everything was early. My daughter-in-law cans and my Granddaughter is getting very domestic; but expecting first baby in Oct. Also works full time. Freezer jam is THE BEST!

Ah, yes. I still can tomatoes to this day, but do it in a large,airy kitchen wearing shorts and a T Shirt. As for the rest of your post, "Where have all the good times gone?"

We had days and weeks like this when we were kids, but nobody had heard of air conditioning or ceiling fans; so nobody missed them. The summer storms seemed to be so much more terrifying then, too. I don't remember ever seeing my Grandma without a dress AND apron, long stockings and shoes on. She also cooked three meals on a wood stove and I don't remember ever hearing her complain about the heat. Things were what they were. If you got to go to a pool, you were lucky. More likely it was a pond or a creek. Nevertheless, those were the happy days of summer. Air conditioned homes, schools and workplaces have us spoiled. And, who ever heard of a heat advisory. Come to think of it, who ever heard of a TV? We've come a long way people. (Not that I'm complaining)