Catherine

Look at Drake single-user full license. 

Not worth any small price "saving" to me if I'm going to spend dozens of hours learning a new software, converting returns, checking every single bleeping depreciation item (those are most likely to get mucked up in conversions), every single carry-forward amount, etc.

I have easier ways to hurt myself, and easier ways to save a couple hundred bucks. 

YMMV.

46 minutes ago, BulldogTom said:

Stepping down from my soap box now.   I feel better.

I feel better just from saying "YEAH!" to everything you wrote.

On 5/1/2024 at 5:19 PM, Terry D EA said:

One thing I want to know is if there is a way to stop a client from becoming the host once I create their account. I have had clients do this which prevents any signing

Only the one who creates the workspace can control signatures. I had a client do this, and I started a new workspace for her & her husband, saying it was the only way for me to get signatures. It was a mild annoyance only. Next year, I'll start her workspace early, so she does not.

On 5/1/2024 at 5:19 PM, Terry D EA said:

Verifyle gives the option of choosing a digital signature or a handwriting signature so a mark can be made.

The client can type their name and choose the font they want displayed.

I bumped to the single-user and that also kept the price down a bit more. Everything is going up. Time to raise my prices!

And the recording still qualifies for CPE credits.

14 hours ago, Lion EA said:

So, I really don't want to be involved in these filings. Less and less the more I read. I'm sticking to tax!

I like to say, "I have easier ways to hurt myself!" and Eric has (or had?) a GIF for us on that exact topic. 

18 hours ago, jklcpa said:

I wasn't asking if the preparer must send two emails. Based on what Margaret said here:

...what I meant was, for example, must each party signing the 8879 have his or her own separate email address.

I have one couple who share an email, and I send to them twice - once for him, and once for her. I suppose in theory one could sign in both spots, but for that you'd have to know the clients, I guess. I had emails in the workspace sent by each of them (signed by name; different 'voices'), and so knew both were on board and spoke with each other about the returns regularly.  If it was a couple where I had contact, mostly, with only one of them, I might be chary of using a single email address.

I did get a renewal notice from Drake, with different options. I'll be looking at them soon. Still recovering from bronchitis.

2 hours ago, jklcpa said:

Does a form requring 2 signatures need to have two separate emails?

As long as they are in a Workspace thread with both people, you set up the two signers. It goes to #1, automatically to #2, then back to you once signed.

On 4/19/2024 at 7:50 AM, Joel said:

I might add the following:  If you really want to  learn a subject, prepare to teach it to others.

Old college professor of mine said "You only start to understand thermodynamics about the third or fourth time you teach it."

I ended up sending a letter for my case. we're now past the "response date" of the letter and I started mine out stating that I've been trying to get through from about a week before the response date. If the IRS never answers the phone, they cannot then say the t/p is SOL because they did not respond in time. 

Might not matter where they still had their residence at the time. 

States vary, but over time more are taxing full-year income regardless of where earned. Then they adjust based on % earned in what state, or $ earned in each state, or they apportion by date. Home state will give credit for tax paid to another jurisdiction, usually up to the amount they tax on that same income. 

You'll need to research what KY and WI want for part-year resident reporting.

An office support place like Staples or Kinkos, or a local stationer, can make those for you in whatever format you want. Talk to a local shop to see what format they want you to provide, and about options. 

Hubby needed some specific type of scorebooks that were commercially available 30+ years ago but not for a long time. He took an old one to a local place, asked "can you make me more of these?" and they could not only make them, they gave him the choice of glue-bound or spiral-bound, paper color, page count per book, quantity, etc - all for what he considered to be a VERY reasonable price.

Thank you, @Eric, for everything you do for us.

Do you need any donations at this time to fund the new server? If so, please let us know!

Wow!

I've tried to call several times for a trust issue; letter response call number X and use ID number Y. No one has picked up, in an hour and a half, any time I've tried. Yesterday I got disconnected after 47 minutes; my shortest call yet. Very, very frustrating.

1 hour ago, BrewOne said:

When refunds do not match calculated amounts, correspondence will follow.  Unfortunately for us, the money arrives before the explanation.

Not always! I've had a few over the years where no letter ever followed to explain discrepancies. The states tend to be worse about that than the IRS, but the IRS does it too. I'd call. Next week.

The forms may also insidiously end up being issued years afterwards, when the taxpayer is no longer insolvent. Then it can become taxable income.

41 minutes ago, Gail in Virginia said:

I can't figure out how to share a copy of it, but the April 13 comic strip Frazz was very on-point if you can look it up.  And if someone better at this than me can share it......

Here you go, Gail.

https://www.gocomics.com/frazz/2024/04/13

Maybe institute a per-call fee, so you try hard yourself before calling. Even a small fee of $1 to $5 per call would make a lot of folks look things up themselves first.

I definitely have a few in mind to fire. However, I'll wait until I've recovered a bit before making final determinations. Drake tracks time on a return (so I leave the client's return open when I'm doing anything with their documents) and one of the things I'll do is go back through 'em all and compare what I charged with what my time-billing fee would have been. Anyone whose time-bill is substantially more than the per-form charge is high on the list of candidate for firing.

On occasion I'll send an extension form with recommendations, or (for those internet-savvy) a link to Direct Pay. Up to them, though. I'm not their mommy and they're supposed to be grownups!

5 hours ago, BulldogTom said:

"What the hell happened, how the law tax law applies,

I cover these two in the upcoming webinar. Don't know about ATX any longer 'cuz I bailed in the 2012 filing season. I always learn more from case studies than the ivory-tower practice cases where all the numbers line up perfectly.

4 hours ago, Corduroy Frog said:

Will you be doing another live one later this year?  A long distance for me, but I remember one year you made it down to Tennessee.

Will there be more than 2 CPEs?

This one is online and 2 CPEs. No plans at the moment to go somewhere live. Got a group that wants to invite me?