rfassett

I agree with jfreinert and would simply add that my practice is not that far geographically from yours, schirallicpa.  We have always had Amish in the area and doing work for various clients of mine.  We also do several Amish families tax returns.  We have never had an issue getting their 1099 info (or tax information) other than the line of communication is somewhat restricted.  Obviously your client found a way to contact the Amish to get the work done.  He or she should be able to contact the same to get the 1099 info.  Keep in mind, this is not your problem.  Your client is the one that dropped the ball.  As to the methods of communication to contact the Amish, we have had to call their neighbors, send them letters or even stop by their house.  Today, however, a lot of them have cell phones so it is easier to contact them.  Good luck!

4562 is in draft mode and has an expected release date of 02/08/18.

Yes

Several years ago we did something similar to what the other preparer is doing.  We had a number of clients that were not paying their keep.  We sent out  a letter mid summer to that group and told them that our minimum fee going forward would be "$X" and that they were welcome to stay if they were willing to pay that.  Otherwise we wished them luck.  It worked out very well.  We were able to get rid of the high maintenance low pay clients and keep some that were willing to come to the party.  It worked out very well for us and we did not see any dip in revenue for it.

To answer your question directly (almost) we have a minimum fee that we charge for the basic return and it goes up from there.  The basic fee works well in my corner of the world, but probably not any where else.  So to tell you what my fees are would be meaningless to you in your corner of the world.

It is very early - at least for my practice.  We are still pushing through preparation of 1099s for our clients and still have four payroll reports yet to do.  Now that said, we do have one 1040 done and a fiscal year 990 so far this month.  My guess is that is all the returns we will get done this month.  We will begin preparation in earnest shortly after the first of February.  The rest of this month will be spent doing year-end financials.  Starting February 1st and running through March 21st, we are scheduled to take in 15 returns per day.  They have already all been scheduled and we are certain they will show up.

Thanks, Sara! No, I did not open the link. My radar was on high alert from the get go, so I was proceeding with great caution. Thanks for the concern!

This was in my inbox at 5:31 this morning:

Good day,

A friend of mine referred me to you. I want you to help us file our tax return this year as our previous CPA/account passed in October. How much will this cost us ? We would appreciate your soonest response

This is my response:

I am so sorry to hear about your previous CPA.  We are here to help any way we can.  However, without knowing more about your tax situation, I am unable to quote a fee.  I would suggest, however, that our fee structure is in line with the smaller CPA practices in the area and lower than the bigger practices.  I would be happy to give you a better idea if you could supply some details.

And here is the response I got:

See attached of my prior employer W-2 along with Health Coverage, Mortgage Interest and IRA statement upload via secure DocuSign.

Let me know what would be the filling fees.

My security settings would not allow the DocuSign to open without input.

I emailed back and asked for the name of the friend referral and the emailer's phone number. The first dialog took place over just a couple of minutes.  Since my last request nearly three hours ago, I have heard nothing.

The scammers are out there in force  Be diligent!

Before spending a great deal of time with that, call the Department of Revenue to ascertain just exactly what they are looking for. It is no secret that that department is way, way out of control. This week alone (and this week is only one day old) I have had two clients get notices like that. I will be calling the State tomorrow and tell them them to look harder. And I am certain they will find the “missing” returns.

Glad we could help!

Nature is phenomenal! I am jealous that i did not get to see this. I did once stand at the end of a real rainbow. No there was not any gold. But it is a sensation i will never ever forget.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas to each of you and yours! God bless us everyone!

The gross wages on the 941 do not need to match the social security \ Medicare wages. The first wage line will be grossed up for the health insurance and this should tie out to box 1 of the W-3. The shareholder then will report that number as wages and deduct the health insurance on the proper line.

And the dilemma is whether those accelerated expenses might be more beneficial in the year they are being stolen from. Tax planning from my perspective is not a one year item. I try to evaluate what affect actions will have on as many years as the plan will affect.

i agree with those that state that we do not have new law until the ink is dry. Accordingly there is not much we can do tax planning wise beyond which we KNOW the law to be.  I have been in this business long enough to have seen some very strange things come out of Washington, both good and bad, in the eleventh hour. And I have seen enough times where NOTHING was done in the eleventh hour.  We will not know until we know.

We also print a copy of the compete 1096 / 1099 and W-3 / W-2 packet for the client.  We do not use the red version though for the client copy.  I have not used the red version since we started e-filing 1099s several years ago.

And like Jack and Tom, we do the same. I guess one pertinent question would be “how many of each will you be doing?”.

And me as well!!!

My comments still stand.

The loss that FIL incurred when the property was sold to daughter and son-in-law should have been disallowed under the related property rules. So your client would assume some of FIL basis. The remaining question is whether your client can report a loss on the sale. My thinking is that there would be no gain or loss for your client.

The other thought that comes to mind is with the sisters sharing in the proceeds. It is beginning to sound like your client never had constructive ownership of the property.

The self employment tax - the great equalizer. I would chase that client away. It sounds like he wants his cake and eat it too. What are the facts? Is he a sole proprietor or is the business being operated as a corporation? That should not be hard to ascertain. When you determ8ne that, the facts will dictate the filing requirements.

Goggledegook!

I have been in this business for thirty plus years and not a year has gone by that I have not heard a cry to tax simplification. If the post card idea works for a bunch of folks - Great!  But as long as there is taxation, there will be opportunity for you and me. And my firm belief is that there will always be taxation.

28 minutes ago, mriina said:

We charge the little guys $110 quarterly for payroll services.  However, there are the "owner only" entities who don't believe it is worth it, and for those, I suggest they inquire as to whether or not their bank offers that service when they open a business checking account.  More and more banks are offering payroll services at a very low rate, and I would rather have my S-Corp owners do it that way than not at all or have them fight over the bill.

And that is one of my best pet peaves.  If the bank wants to be in the payroll service business does that mean I can be in the banking service business.  Just saying - they have no more business doing that than the man in the moon.

Payroll is one of our profit centers. It is the lowest part but we have about $30,000 per year. And they are all small businesses that we do it for.

1 hour ago, ILLMAS said:

So what do you think about government employees that connect via wireless (hotspot) modems? 

I kick them out and tell them to come back when they can do things without connecting to the internet.  If they cannot do that and insist, then I insist that they accept our mailing them copies of paper they request.  Had one that said he would then just go visit the taxpayer.  I told him to go right ahead but before leaving my building give me the number to his supervisor so I can report his insubordination and lack of respect of my POA.  I can be the nicest of guy most of the time - but don't ever challenge me to play hardball - you will usually lose.

PS - it is not written in any of the rules and regulations that I have read that gives anyone in or visiting my office unfettered access to the internet.  The day that happens, I will pull the plug and they can figure it out on their own.

Precisely the reason I hard wired my office building when I built it - and we still do not allow wifi on the property.  Some clients and government examiners whine and tell me everyone else has wifi.   I excuse myself and go out the front door then come back and tell them they have the wrong address - this is not "everyone else"!

9 hours ago, jklcpa said:

Oh no!  Dental trouble...*shudders*.  You both have my sympathy.  I've had a lot of dental troubles over the years and am a nervous wreck in the chair until I'm numb. The numbing is a big part of my problem because it takes multiple shots and more time for me to get fully numb than the dentist would like.  After each appt, I seem to continue to get more numb when I'm on the way home, which means it is still taking effect after he's finished torturing me.

 

I have a great dentist.  He and I both know that I paid his son's tuition to go dentistry school.

Every time I walk into his office we review the rules.  Rule number one - do not hurt Ron!  All other rules - refer to rule number one.  Ever since I mentioned 1-800-break-a-knee to him there has not ever been an issue.  Rule number one has completely been followed.  There is a great big red X on the top of my chart - I am not sure why that is there.

I have a great dentist!