Catherine

That's just horrid. Why don't they take the people trying to get blood out of turnips (e.g., two separate clients of mine, both out of work with NO assets, who owe some back tax) and put those agents to work on EITC fraud?! It would be a _much_ better ROI for the IRS and the country.

I like it, too -- but I note that no one called his office inquiring about him, either. He must have "kept to himself" at home, as well.

The IRS now has a special Identity Theft unit -- contact them. ID Theft - IRS

The North Dakota Department of Labor claimed a small Bismarck farmer was not paying proper wages to his help and sent an agent out to investigate. Department of Labor employee : I need a list of your employees and how much you pay them. Farmer : Well, there's my farm hand who's been with me for 3 years. I pay him $200 a week plus free room and board. Then there's the mentally challenged worker. He works about 18 hours every day and does about 90% of all the work around here. He makes about $10 per week, pays his own room and board, and I buy him a bottle of bourbon every Saturday night so he can cope with life. He also sleeps with my wife occasionally. Department of Labor employee : That's the guy I want to talk to...the mentally challenged one. Farmer : That would be me.

One of the chronic problems with ATX is the slow form approval -- and this year it is worse than usual, thanks to Congress.

From Ray Stevens; very cute. Juanita and the Kids

Be warned with QuickBooks that Intuit does NOT recommend running anything earlier than QB 2010 on a Windows 7 machine - especially the 64-bit machines. There's a whole KB article on it at the QB site. I've heard of major problems in other fora -- and then some folks who have no problems, too. But if you depend on being able to use earlier versions of QB, keep the old machine around or run those programs in XP emulation. Catherine

Umm -- the prior-year amount? Or the invoice? If the latter, the adjustments should show below and then be totaled at the bottom.

I'm letting my girls do their own returns -- on paper -- this year. Figure they should know how, and answering questions on TT isn't it.

No, I don't have that one. But I do have a _true story_ from long ago and the Providence RI police force, told to me by my old coach (formerly on the Providence police force) who knew the officer involved. The man was using wax bullets to practice in his basement, and wondered how hard they really hit. So he aimed at his own foot and pulled the trigger. Yes, he broke his foot. And no, his fellow officers never let him live it down.

It's been nasty here, too -- but not nearly as windy _this_ time (last blizzard came with 60mph-plus winds). Close to another foot (light and fluffy yesterday because it was COLD), and then sleet, rain for a while as a warm front went over us, and now freezing rain on top of it all as temperatures plummet with the warm front going back south of us. I'm cooking dinner _now_ so if we lose power with ice on power lines we will have had hot food.

Here is part one: Mini Cannon #1 and here is part two: Mini Cannon #2 only a couple minutes total

SO glad that you liked it. I just saw the topic line, and my imagination carried me off. Early February, around here, generally brings our heaviest snowfall storms (can you say "Blizzard of '78"). However, the days are getting longer and the sun has some warmth to it (when it's out, anyway). And in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada, they are now getting actual sunrise and sunset (9:30 am and 3:00 pm, respectively), and it's -22F, so it's a balmy mid-winter day for them with no warnings or advisories. Puts it in perspective, doesn't it? Catherine

The heady joy of hot summer days cruising around the yard, feeling like an essential part of the extended family. The agony of the unseen stone hurled against tender cutting blades. The angst of the long, lonely winters, wondering if it's been forgotten -- or if summer will ever come again. Oh, wait -- that's not the "life of a riding lawn mower" you were asking about. Phooey. Pulling myself back from the screenplay possibilities -- OK, yes, I agree. Seven year general purpose machinery.

I agree completely. Even my pro bono's get an invoice with the price, and a discount to zero it out. The only ones I don't do that for are a couple of elderly couples with low income but high pride. And your last paragraph is why a half-dozen clients got letters stating 25% increases after a "complete re-evaluation of our fee structure". With any luck, I'll never hear from that group again.

I think we all do that. I have a couple of seniors on very limited incomes whom I bill at a reduced rate and then give my "senior discount" to -- but I double the discount. Saves their pride when they think it's a "standard" discount given to all in their age range. And there are a number of pro bono returns I do every year -- a widow with two children and similar situations. I get cookies and thank-you notes - those mean a LOT. Plus some that I tell to pay when they can. I've found over the years, though, that the people who come _in_ with a sob story in order to get a reduced fee are the ones who give a bad check and never make good on it. Likely we've all been burned that way once or twice. And there isn't enough money (that they'll pay me, anyway) to make some people's business worth the aggravation.

I've never had the guts to double _my_ fees, either. Although this year when I sent out my letters I warned most people to expect about a 5% increase, and a couple whom I'd been undercharging got 10% in their letters. A select number of PITA clients got letters that said a 25% increase (and I put that in BOLD type to get their attention). Since the PITA people by and large also fuss and moan about my fees (grrr!!!) the hope is that sends them running _elsewhere_ for this year.

Somebody on another forum pointed out that if you double your fees and lose half your clients -- you're getting the same amount of money for half the work.

Gwen has only heard from one college so far (Wells, in NY), where she has been accepted. So we don't know yet where she will end up. Gwen thinks football is OK but it's not a big family thing here. She does shoot with us on our Greater Boston Pistol League team, however, and on occasion lately has equalled or out-shot my husband. Takes after her mom in that regard.

Usually it's the first four letters of the business name. There are rules for assignment on one of the e-file worksheets. check the bottom tabs under the EF information page - it might be there.

Gwen didn't have a snow shovel in her hands for the purposes of the picture. She eventually shoveled the back steps (starting from the top); but just one shovel's width. We'll get more excavated tomorrow or Saturday. Yes, she's adorable (and as smart as she is cute). Almost 18, no boyfriend at the moment but I'm sure that will change when she heads to college this fall.

Almost!! Gwen, who is 5'3", is standing at the bottom of the steps that go to the back door. The picture was taken about an hour ago.

I am running into a problem I haven't had before this year's tax season. It is shaping up to be the 3rd snowiest January in Boston on record (with last night's storm we might have surpassed 1978 of Ye Olde Famous "Blizzard of '78" of song and legend). There was another foot here, more in drifts. The piles of snow around the driveway are now higher than the snowblower can throw more snow. The plow berm at the front walkway was twice the height of the blower and I had to beat (with my hands), kick, and stomp the snow down into piles low and loose enough for the blower to bite into them. I haven't even _looked_ at the back steps and walkway yet. The problem is twofold: how do I get clients in and out when the safe way is the back steps and there is no place to put the snow, and how do I work on taxes when I spend all my energy battling snow? And how on earth do you folks in the snow belt regions deal with this year after year after year? And now the question of what comes first -- nap, lunch, or the clients emails that I needed to send out two hours ago? Catherine

One of the things that I really loved about studying martial arts was that I could attribute every ache and pain and twinge to "well, that's the block I missed last night", "well, I over-stretched in the warmup", "well, maybe three-finger pushups _are_ a little too much". Now that I'm no longer doing that.... ah, well. But I have found that if I play my fiddle every day (even for 15 minutes) it really helps keep the flexibility and range of motion in my left index finger, where arthritis is trying to stiffen up the knuckle. In the movie "What's Up Tiger Lily" one of the characters says (in a Peter Lorre voice), "A leetle PPAAIINN never hurt ANYBODY".

Have a party anyway! I know someone who has been having an annual party for his 50th birthday for probably close to 20 years now. Not a "18th anniversary of my 50th birthday", but "my 50th birthday", every year. You don't have to count, but you should celebrate being here -- and even if we don't post a separate topic, we'll celebrate you being here, too!