Catherine

Here's a twist from an S-corp client of mine. Tells me now (on extension; I called with an unrelated question) that her dad took out an equity loan and gave her the $$ so she could buy her business (Jan '06). Has been paying back by taking distributions herself and repaying dear old dad. Now she wants to know if she should be doing it this way and what effect it has on her business. And when will I have her returns done? I asked last year how she got the business set up and going... did any of this get mentioned then? Hollow laugh! Now I get to figure out what to do next. Catherine

Sorry to hear you had problems, Karen! I renewed last week. Got a phone call (about the third one -- but I told the first guy to call again, and the second one I missed and just got a message). The lady was really nice, we had a nice chat, too. I asked about customer base versus TaxWise and she told me that they have way many more ATX customers than TaxWise. I took the opportunity to tell her that if they did cancel ATX, that many small practitioners like me would automatically go elsewhere, as TaxWise - aside from ALL other concerns - is just out of the price range I'm willing to pay. She promised to pass that along. They charged my corporate card, as requested, and only once. So I really hope your experience was anomalous and that your renewal finally goes through just fine. Catherine

Jeepers -- I passed 100 and didn't realize it! Do I get anything for not noticing? Catherine ;-)

By now you've read some of the (excellent) other posts. I back them up completely -- you should find a good computer geek in your area and pay him/her/them to port all your applications and files. It will be _seriously_ worth the money. When I bought this computer two seasons ago (after my old one tried to die three weeks before the end of tax season!!), I spent two and a half _weeks_ -- full-time -- setting this machine up properly (myself), documenting what I'd done (so I could undo/redo as needed), and dealing with incidental crises as they occurred (a RAID driver that wasn't what I'd wanted that needed replacing, an incompatibility with an older printer needing driver patches... nothing major, just "icky"). And unlike your situation, I _am_ computer literate. I installed a RAID 1 mirror system, partitioned the hard drive into 8 sections, I've even been bold enough (or stupid enough, some would say) to go in and edit the registry on occasion. And it still took over two weeks of tearing my hair out. Please, for your data's safety and your own sanity, get someone else to transfer your applications and data. Why do people come to us to do their taxes? Because we're professionals who know the in's and out's. We mainly are not hardware geeks (except for weirdos like me, but I was an engineer before I turned to taxes and accounting; now I'm a "money engineer"). See the parallel? Catherine

I had the same problem with a MA return from yesterday. Called and they had closed about ten minutes earlier. Called today and got the "employee appreciation" message. Heaven forbid they have a _client_ appreciation day!!! So I have to try again tomorrow. Grrr! Catherine

Added them where -- how does one find them?? I did an amended last week and had to write a separate letter. Oh, wait, that was a prior-year return. Rats. But I'm sure someone will want an amendment (and probably sooner rather than later), so I'd still love to know. Catherine

I'd strongly recommend that you consider getting XP Pro -- it's still available, you just have to ask for it. There are some serious compatibility problems with Vista, both in terms of old software (QB, for example, won't run pre-2007 versions on Vista, I've been told) and in terms of printer drivers and other peripherals. So far as "downloading" QB to CD's -- for what purpose? Updates? Archive files? Transfer to other machines? Need to understand your query better before we can answer. Sometimes what one wants to do is so clear _internally_ that one doesn't notice that the question could be read about five different ways.... (Ask me how I know this! ) Catherine

It shows up frequently in the novels of Robert A Heinlein. I once got a gift from a client's vendor (a USS Constitution Silver Dollar) because I caught the reference one of them made and commented on it. Years ago, but I still have the coin. Catherine

My no-frills-basic 1040 and one state is about $155. Goes up fast from there; my _average_ 1040 return with schedules is close to $300. Had my first 1040 return break $1000 this year! I charge by form, so price shoppers can get a decent estimate if I think they're serious. Anyone who asks if my fees are negotiable get told "Yes! - Upwards only". Price shoppers are politely informed that they can get their taxes done cheap - or they can get their taxes done right; but they only get to pick ONE. That said, if I do a 1040A or 1040EZ for a child of a client, that runs $30 - $50. I also give senior discounts and military discounts (10%). I put the full price on the invoice and then discount below - people seem to appreciate it more if they see it as a line item. I haven't bothered to put fee increases in my letters. It just creeps up a bit at a time. I always look at last year's bill and see if this year's charge looks in line. Sometimes fees jump (either way!) because of changes in what they need (the Schedule C person who takes a W-2 job will see a big _drop_ in price the first full year without the SE business; the one who bought the rental property will see a jump _up_). Catherine

You've got it and other posters have expanded beautifully. Had a client who moved in late '06. We capitalized leasehold etc items; all else was expensed. Most in '06, a few things lingered into '07 (new place, for example, has a bigger lunchroom sink, so they got tons of little things once they were well settled - dish drain rack, paper towel holder, soap dispensers, plastic forks, and the like). More desks and computers for new employees (the expansion necessitated the move) were not considered part of the move and were dealt with separately. I found it useful to initially have their bookkeeper enter _everything_ into QuickBooks in a new category I made and called "moving". That put all the "possibles" in one place, where I then sorted and re-characterized them at my convenience. Catherine

KC -- Thank you for these; they are great! Catherine

I tested several registry cleaners and ended up with MaxRegistry Cleaner (http://www.maxregistrycleaner.com); it found more errors and problems than any of the others I tried. Catherine

Re-create and submit them; you're not going to get Federal acks before midnight. Catherine

Just (7:15PM EDT) sent out two e-files that went through FAST and trouble-free. Same two I'd been trying to send all afternoon with nothing but server errors. Catherine

ProSeries had HORRIBLE problems last year (along with TurboTax) and got an extra week from the IRS to get everything through. Not only did their servers clog -- they CRASHED. And couldn't be revived easily (if memory serves). It will be interesting to see how widespread the problem is this year -- all the extra filers because of the stimulus payment may end up with _everybody_ clogged. Catherine

Thanks to ALL for support and hope you all have a good rest of the year! I'd planned to celebrate the end of season -- but have been battling a migraine all day, dammit. And now I've got this one last e-file that won't go through because their servers are overloaded (that gripe is on the e-file list). Catherine

I'll try after 6PM, then. Have one last return to e-file and have been trying every few minutes for an hour now; all server rejects. Even called tech support, they admit both ATX and TaxWise are having major server problems due to volume. Also, since these are EFC rejects, the reject code doesn't qualify for "timely filed". Which means it will be _their_ fault if our clients can't timely file. I am decidedly ticked off. Catherine

Subarus are made in Indiana. One's local tax preparer keeps the money here, as well. We should all raise our rates! Catherine

I'm working on one last complicated, convoluted situation. Everyone else is either e-filed (some still waiting for acks, of course) or on extension. This last one I hope the lady calls me back today.... she sold her old house (at a non-deductible personal loss), then cashed in stocks to give her daughter so _she_ could buy a house. Then my client paid the mortgage and RE taxes all year. Now hit with big capital gains tax bill and she has no money left (gave it all to daughter, of course). Daughter needs to amend (big box chain did hers) to claim rental income so she can refi later this year to get rid of interest-only loan she ended up with - but this will cause her to need to pay back much of her refund; that's going to go over like a lead balloon. Plus gift tax return... that one is done, and my client's is done but needs printing. Not a nice way to end a tax year -- but sometimes you just can't save people from their own folly. Sigh. On a nice note, dropped off my first quarter estimated payments at the post office today, plus a bunch of e-file acceptance confirmations. So far this year my income is up 50%. Either I'm finally charging appropriately, people are paying faster, or I really _have_ done that many more returns. ATX has been pretty good this year. There have been some e-filing problems and some flow-through numbers (state returns, mostly) that didn't. The latter I'm assuming are from the 12/24 tax law changes. The former might be growing pains. But the software itself (and having all the forms I need, plus this and other groups helping me with research when I get stuck) has really helped my throughput; more, faster, less painful every year. Catherine

Had one earlier in the season; second year for this child's SSN to be "used" - and this year there was NO chance of the other parent having tried earlier. We're now suspecting a stolen identity (or perhaps just a stolen/made up SSN) and will be reporting to both IRS and SSA after 4/15. But paper return went through fine, both years. Catherine

I charge $1 per transaction if there are more than 10. Also charge by the hour when I get bundles of receipts instead of totals for Sch C businesses. Just yesterday had a return picked up where the "excess Schedule D transactions" charge was $269. Plus the guy had 3 hours of tabulations for his Schedule C. Return cost him over $1,000 (for me), and over $100,000 in taxes due. And he was _happy_ with the price -- because I went through the forms with him so he knew what he was paying for and why. Also put him on estimated payments for this year. Previous preparer told him not to bother because he "maxed out on social security withholding" in his W-2 job!!??!! Catherine

Likewise and ditto! Happy Birthday to you both! Catherine

If your client is the sole grantor, is the trustee, and retains powers over the trust, then everything is reported on the 1040 as if the trust doesn't exist. If there are multiple owners (except MFJ), a fiscal year, and other complications, then 1041's and 1099's and all the rest are required. Catherine

I've seen it done a couple of ways by preparers. Your clients will definitely have to file by mail. 1. File by mail and don't send anything else. IRS may or may not catch the dependent. If they do, they'll send a letter and then you respond. The dependent meanwhile sends in a 1040X "un-claiming" self. The response letter refers to this 1040X that's been filed. 2. File by mail, include 1040X for dependent. I'm not sure which way works "better" or "faster"; that may depend on exactly who gets what. And any refund will definitely get delayed. The dependant may balk this year; being claimed as a dependent means no stimulus payment. Catherine

Federal's don't need signatures if there is no payment being made. Just submitted one myself after talking to the client by phone. Catherine