Catherine

I must say that my new office is staying visually tidier. With the MA privacy regs, I am supposed to have EVERY piece of client paper locked away if I step away from my desk for ANY reason. Yes, that means if I wander to get a drink of water (or get rid of an earlier drink of water). Never got too cranked up about it at the home office - after all, if the doors are locked and I'm the only one in the building, all those papers ARE locked up at all times... But at the new office I have to be far more careful. What that means is that all my stacks are in locked drawers, and I am trying to get everything scanned and paper OUT so I don't have to buy more file drawers! Lion -- I think the last time I vacuumed was after we took the Christmas tree down. It hurts my back and makes me sneeze for hours; I'd rather Swiffer and toss (that only makes my hands itch, and that only til they get washed up). Cleaning lady... now that sounds nice. Maybe after 4/15 I will investigate.

Welcome back!

nom nom nom nom nom ...... time to pull out the reserves: a pack of Junior Mints in my desk drawer.

Hit reply. Then hit "more reply options" then attach a file using the "attach files" utility Can you guess I want to see the photo, too?

Rita is the absolute BEST at the snarky one-liners!

My husband's idea is that every law should have an expiration date. That way a bad law can be let die without fanfare or assignment of blame or finger-pointing, and the good laws that need renewing will keep the legis-vermin (my term, not his) busy enough to cause little additional damage.

I can add nothing to all the good words other have posted except to say that you and your wife are in *my* prayers as well, and that you can lean on Him who bears all burdens with us. We will be here to listen, to cry, to help in whatever way we can.

Prayers for you and your family. Drake is an exceptionally "human" company and I expect they will bend over backwards to help you.

Adam Kokesh said, "If you don't do politics, politics will continue to do you."

Welcome back, Ron!!

I had a mis-match last year between envelopes and printed copies. I used address labels over the window sections so that no ssn's were visible and a full address *was*.

Well, MA has some new tax credits too -- restrictions on which organization to give to, and minimum amount to give, but you get a 50% CREDIT on your state taxes for so doing.

You *must* have an EIN in order to have employees (and then send a W-2). That stands for Employer identification number. Best fill out the online SS4 real quick and get one.

It's all going to be in Pub 974 -- which hasn't been written yet. So, in the immortal words of Zippy the Pinhead: Are we having fun yet?

Rita, I can NOT fault your reasoning!!

Feel better soon!

I use Marsh Insurance - good service, good prices, good coverage.

If your client made no Roth contribution in 2012 but was eligible to, the excess from 2011 can be counted as a 2012 contribution. That does not negate the 2011 penalty - but it does stop an endless carry-forward of the excess.

Hooray, Jack! Congratulations!!

They would get FAR better results if they used the funds it would take to implement these "registration" programs and used it for two purposes (both already in their purview): 1. To fund public education ads (etc) telling folks how to choose a GOOD, qualified preparer, and 2. Strong acts against fraudulent preparers (they have EFIN's and PTIN's already; start by revoking those), and especially paying attention to larger firms that specialize in fraud-rich areas of tax. Heck, just refusing to send ANY refunds until they have matching W-2 info would cut out huge amounts of fraud. Any non-matches then go straight to the "investigate these preparers" list. Frankly, the onsie-twosie preparer who uses TurboTax (or similar) to do "self-prepared" returns just can't do enough business to make a big splash in the area of tax fraud. And an education campaign will put most of those folks out of business faster than trying to track them down individually.

Yeah, and the question is always something like, "How do I do payroll?" Quick *question* but a three-week answer for the SHORT version!

"After further review of your situation in light of our recent discussions, we have determined that this office is not positioned to fulfill your requirements. We wish you the best in finding a firm with whom to work. Best Regards, " Nothing more.

I ditch EVERY client who I feel is not forthcoming with me. Being skittish in answering questions, "forgetting" papers (well, forgetting is fine; lots of folks don't understand what New Form X is anyway -- but hemming and hawing after the notice is way different), excuses, the quick shift of eyes as they are trying to come up with something plausible.... get RID of those folks. Not worth whatever they pay.

I have one guy who brings me everything on notebook paper. At one point he offered me his paper tape calculator tapes for all his categories... I declined. His is a known business, he keeps everything (and thank heavens does not bring me every scrap), and can always answer any question I put to him (but usually starts with "I'll check my records when I get back into my office and get back to you). As with all clients, I emphasize that he will need to produce ALL his receipts and details should he get audited, so please keep them safe and filed by year. I think I can trust his figures.

They have already proven they will NOT listen to your advice. They have already proven they don't care about disregarding laws. And you might want these cretins for clients WHY?? There are plenty of honest and honorable folks who need help. Don't put YOUR reputation on the line for these people; when they are caught they will blame you and drag your good name through the mud.