Catherine

Avogadro's number is fixed; the standard deduction changes annually. Even if I memorized it, I wouldn't trust that I was remembering this year's number instead of last year's number (or the one from seven years ago, for that matter). So I just look it up, every time I need it.

GREAT article. "something that resembles reality" yeah, that's the trick, isn't it?

A friend gave me a post card of Latin quotes for Tax Day a couple of years ago. I'll try to remember to post them tomorrow; they are quite funny.

It's the equation of the ideal gas law. (Pressure) times (Volume) is always equal to (the number of moles* of the gas present) times (universal gas constant**) times (temperature in degrees Kelvin). * 1 mole = gram weight of substance equal to atomic weight of molecule, contains 6.023 x 10^23 molecules. ** relates energy to moles and temperature; used all over in physics and thermodynamics. Really useful equation; starting point for all manner of things. How much helium to put in your weather balloon so it won't pop until it reaches altitude X. How cold your can of duster will get as the gases expand when you push the button. How much escaped gas it takes to displace oxygen making a lab's air unbreathable. And more! Aren't you glad you asked?

And thermodynamics is always fun! PV=nRT forever!

Faxed. Always. And they always say "2-3 days to get in the system" and it has never taken less than two weeks. Usually much longer. And sometimes I have to submit two or three times before they get through. Three different fax machines from two different locations over the course of a decade - the one consistent thread is how LONG it takes to get them put in.

This is for @RitaB

You didn't get the "talking chickens" question? I just got a lame question that year on how many cats (zero) we had.

I've gotten the same arguments, and told them to take it up with the legis-vermin. I don't make the bleeping rules - but I *have* seen companies put out of business by DOL fines for mis-classifying employees. (Yeah, I had warned them, numerous times, and in writing with copies kept.)

Then why do mine always, *always*, *ALWAYS* take two or three weeks? Just sayin'... it's like my POA's all have "DELAY ME!" notes on them. Sheesh.

@RitaB and @rfassett -- OK you two... any minute now, you're going to start splitting infinitives in addition to ending sentences with prepositions. Then comes bad punctuation ("Let's eat Grandma!" -punctuation saves lives). Enough already!

I also have some older folks who prefer the single payment. But then I also get the calls in June, September, and December, asking if they have to send more money. I need to keep careful notes of who does what so I don't mis-advise them all... And there is an older couple that I worry about quite a bit. She has been fighting some odd type of cancer for some years. It's not curable, but it is treatable and they are managing to keep it in check. Every time chemo-latest stops working, they have (so far!) just come up with chemo-next. He has been taking care of her. But he also a bad fall a couple of years ago on an escalator and ended up with trauma-induced dementia which is worsening. Between the two of them, they make *one* fully functioning individual. It's really sad to see, and I worry about them. One loser son who would cheerfully rob them blind. One good son who lives far away. One excellent grandson (loser's boy) who has all the maturity (at 21-ish) that his father completely lacks - but who is also not that nearby, working (finished college early), and engaged, so a bit distracted with his own life.

Going "overpowered" is always better than "just enough" because once you get it hooked up, you'll realize you have smartphones and tablets that don't use data if they're on wifi; gee I can watch YouTube on my TV if I hook that up.... etc.

Mass had that law on the books since the original sales tax law was passed back when I was a toddler or something. No one bothered. So they put it on the Form 1, and have a "safe harbor" calculation. We used to use that a lot before Amazon started charging sales tax. We've gone back to mainly leaving it blank - because people DON'T track, and the safe harbor figure is wildly skewed in favor of the state. One of my persnickety clients who used to owe $75+ a year in use tax (pre-Amazon tax collection) went through last year and came up with less than $3 in tax due. We still ask - but don't worry about it as much when we get the blank stares and "I dunno" as answers.

I just got this email (no links). And no, I don't think I'll be contacting them. And just as a reminder to y'all, I am not a "sir". Sir, We are a construction machinery manufacturing company, with several design patents. Shenzhen Machinery Limited sales service network covers all around the world and our products are mainly sold to such regions as Japan, Mainland China, Thailand, Taiwan, USA, and Canada. We have many customers spread all over in the USA, and we think it will be more beneficial for us to establish our corporate presence there. This is why we are reaching out to you. We require your help with establishing our "branch" in the USA. We will like you to represent our interests, by acting as our Financial Administrator over there in the USA. We feel that as a knowledgeable professional, you have actionable professional insights that can bring our business to the next level in the USA, as we Plan to minimize investment expenses and tax. We wait to hear from you with respect to moving this subject matter forward. We thank you for your anticipated co-operation. Best Regards, Ms. Shan Kiyoko Public Affairs Director Shenzhen Machinery Limited 2-gokan 21-4, Kita Ueno 2-chome, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0014, Japan Tel: 81-3-45400923 Fax: 81-3-45400924

Here's one we can all probably agree on: lock all the legis-vermin (state and federal) in separate rooms, with sharp pencils, LOTS of erasers, and NO calculators. Keep 'em in there (oh, all right, we can feed them) until they prepare their OWN tax return correctly. Teach them how complicated it is and how many gyrations real people have to go through to "voluntarily comply." Plus, all the time they are locked away, they can't make anything *worse*. Looks to me like a win all 'round.

Then do that! At least, download the 2016. Play with it. They have sample returns (all start with 400 itin's) or put in your own client's information.

Well, yes, @Jack from Ohio - but there are also times we need to plan *anyway*. New baby, someone who expects their s-corp to do way better in 2017 (maybe they have a signed contract with payment schedule), maybe they inherited dad's mutual funds and know roughly how much more in dividends and interest to expect, get laid off mid-summer and severance package runs through end of September... and folks want to make sure they won't have a huge bill next April. All we can do is our best, with caveats about changes to come. But we still have to help with the planning.

The Tax Planner in Drake is an integral part of the program. From right inside the return, you can choose the Tax Planner and then an alternate current-year scenario or next-year scenario. Change things to your heart's content, and you can also *compare* the results between different scenarios. I really like it. The ONE thing to be aware of is that changes to the original return *after* you have made up a scenario do NOT transfer over: so it's worth it to make sure the base return is finished (or close as makes no never-mind) before adding scenarios. Unless the projections are for really different possibilities (say, couple is expecting and wants to figure if they can make it with wife staying home - no childcare costs and drop a bracket might make up for loss of income).

I have this printed and framed in my office. You just know what the cartoonist was doing the weekend prior. MacNelly 1040; 1977

I've seen SO many families ripped apart over the years, by bad planning, not wanting to admit lack of current ability, and greed. They far outnumber the ones where planning is done correctly, everyone knows what to expect, and those helping are content to help but not to help themselves (you know what I mean). And it doesn't take a big estate to produce the ravening wolves, either. Guess it's a lesson to all of *us* not to believe we are immortal, to address our own planning needs (*and* publicize them so there are no surprises and no possibility of someone trying to steal and hide, much as we hate to admit the possibility) - and also to warn our clients to address this decades before it becomes an issue. Sigh.

@RitaB I just LOVE your sense of humor!

Want to give us the link? Sometimes I think we're just all too nice and don't get rid of problem clients fast enough.

@Gail in Virginia - my deepest sympathies! Whether it's a surprise or long-expected - and even sometimes when it is a relief - losing someone so close is still and always a shock and sends turmoil throughout your life. We are here for you in ANY way you need us - take care of yourself, and your family. The clients can bleeping wait; compared to family they're just *not* important.