Catherine

Not a payroll tax issue at all. Late-filed return penalty - but the return was filed late because the tax matters partner was incapacitated, his wife was fighting cancer, and the son running the business was taking care of them both and as a result doing almost no business. We sent in penalty abatement request that was rejected only because my POA had been signed by the TMP, who had died by the time the IRS read the letter, so the POA was no longer valid.

If any of you ever make it up this way, let me know and I'll make sure there is cake for you. No more apple cake till fall, but I can still make pear cake 'cuz I canned the pears.

Just for that, @Abby Normaland @BulldogTomyou two don't get any slices of the apple-walnut cake that I just made this morning. That'll learn you!

First thought: are they getting enough water and enough sun and fertilizer? If yes, contact your county extension service or a tree specialist, and have them take a look. Good luck!

I have the most useless piece of crap sorry excuse for a legisvermin that exists. I'd rather give myself a root canal without novocaine. Better yet, give that to the "representative!"

I switched in the middle of the 2012 filing season debacle - Feb 2013. Baptism by fire! That said, once you set aside (and it's a decision to make) reliance on forms-based entry, it's remarkably quick. Yes, sometimes a checkbox will trip you up. At that point, the top-notch support steps in.

Our house has a big ole pear tree planted when the house was built (as was common back then - neighborhood is peppered with pear, apple, and peach trees in back yards). I have since planted two dwarf apple trees and a second dwarf pear tree (big tree is definitely showing its age and won't last forever - 70 years is a long time for a fruit tree). Also had a peach but the rabbits girdled it one winter (they got through my not-sturdy-enough fencing) and it died. Keep meaning to replace it, the question is where to put it 'cuz the original tree's spot isn't as good due to some changes a neighbor made. We get about 300# of pears from the one big tree and give them away by the bushel in September. We can only eat, and I can only can, so many, after which it's give away or throw away. The dwarf apple trees keep us in fresh, cooking, and sauce apples until....... about now. I have just enough left from last fall to make one more cake, and then there won't be more until September/October. The dwarf pear is a relatively new tree, and this is the first year we have pears on it. Need to thin them out, so it won't over-tax a growing plant. Another advantage of the dwarf trees is that they only get to about 8' tall. Yes, you can prune standard trees to that height, but you need to be a lot more aggressive and on top of them, and prime pruning season is late Feb/early Mar and for some unknown reason that time frame tends to be a tad bit busy around here!

The taxpayer may not remember, but the prior preparer, or the actuaries, may still have some useful information. I have also seen these partially non taxable pensions. Not from an airline, but from other industries.

I was afraid of that. Thanks, Lion.

The entirety of the IRS is reasonably broken. Some units are broken worserer than other units, that's all.

Well, I faxed in my letter on Friday and have heard nothing. For whatever that's worth. All I had was a now-expired POA for tax returns only, signed by a partner/member who is now deceased (hence, the POA being expired).

When I get asked if my prices are negotiable, I tell them, "Yes they are - but upwards only!" That usually either shuts them up or makes them walk. Either way, I'm better off.

I'll see your cat, and raise you a matrix. Matrix Ping Pong

Looks like Randall got the essential parts done. The rest can follow at his leisure! Maybe BulldogTom will mosey on over to help him.

Look on ebay for a 2 or 3 generation ago phone (android or iphone, as you prefer) that has the right type of SIM card.

Is it 2018 and later years? (for original returns; got a non-filer case)

Yes.

Could indeed be a reason for non-match of documents, and I don't see it being a political comment to refer to public statements of fact regarding actions taken by the IRS. It's not even political to rant about how much of a royal PITA it's going to be for us, dealing with the repercussions of their actions. (We'll probably get asked to provide proofs from client docs like mortgage statements and more, that were sent in and destroyed. My state does this all the time with withholding for state pensions; they pay the funds, they withhold the state tax, then demand the taxpayer prove that the state withheld the tax by sending in 1099-R forms with the state tax withheld amount highlighted. I swear, if these people had a clue, they'd be dangerous...)

Remember the maxim: if you double your rates and lose half your clients, you will be doing half the work for the same money. YMMV if you are basically working as a hobby, or a ministry, or any other non-financial ultimate purpose. But for those of us making a living at this insane business, the workman is worth his/her hire. Anyone who does not agree need not be a client.

It looks beautiful! Enjoy the fruits of all your labors.

Well here is a new one. Just got a letter, addressed to ME (at my business address), for tax debt owed by a former client of mine, demanding payment from me! There was a box to check stating I dispute the debt, reason: it ain't mine! and I faxed that in immediately - along with a strongly worded letter demanding that they remove all association of this debt from my name and address. I also stated in the letter that if this affects my business credit rating, I will consider legal action against them. So I think they have been dealt with. We'll see. The larger issue is that they could only have gotten my name and contact information from the IRS, which has somehow conflated my (now-expired) POA with the principal of the LLC in the paperwork they are sending to debt collection agencies. Who would I contact to protest this/warn the IRS/demand they ensure that debt collectors are going after the tax payers, not the tax preparers? This is carelessness in the extreme. Frankly, if any of us had sent taxpayer confidential information out to a debt collector and put an IRS agent's name and contact as the person responsible, the entire agency would be all over any of us, stripping us of our EFINs and PTINs and whatnot. It's not okay, just because it's them doing it, not one of us.

I have used Gwx and before they came up with "covered transactions" I used the Gwx trades too. Great service. I upload all my scans and get the bookmarked indexed pdf back and keep for my records. Wonderful for clients who get letters years later; no need to plod through fifteen different multi-page pdf's looking for the pertinent piece of information. Just click the bookmark. Highly recommended, for far more than Trades.

MA is horrible about those 1095-As. Some they send on paper. Others have to log on somewhere to download. If eligible for totally subsidized MassHealth, since that's a fully state (taxpayer) funded program, they don't send a 1095-A. So not only is it confusing for the clients, it's horrible for us, and can change year to year depending on the financials of the client and what they chose online a year ago.

When e-file of 941s became possible, I looked into the requirements. Halfway through reading them, I demurred and have never looked at it again. Way more onerous - and potentially dangerous to me as a professional - than paper. If they want the *&^ forms electronically, they can make it easier and less dangerous to do so. Until then, they're getting paper. Which they can then fold until there are lots of stiff hard corners, and shove where the sun don't shine. I am sick and tired of mandates that make their lives "easier" but put me, my practice, and my clients at greater risk.

That is my assumption from the text, as well. However, mortgage interest, consolidated 1099s, and 1095s are all important documents on transcripts for clients who "lost" (i.e., threw out) those documents.