Catherine

What both @Lion EA and @BulldogTom are missing is that their versions of cross and check, or ticked and tied, are all procedures that take place after other actions, and only with thought and understanding. However, in the mortgage (and other) businesses today, the ticking and checking are a substitute for thought. They hire people who do not (or just barely) understand basic math and reading, give them a list full of check-boxes, and turn them loose. If all boxes are checked the underwriters will be happy; that's all they know, and they keep hounding until all boxes are checked. Asking them to think is far above their capabilities - and probably also not allowed by their companies!

If we get a call from an unrecognized number (or just a town name), instead of saying anything, I start humming into the phone. Scotland the Brave is a good one, but you could use the Eggplant That Ate Chicago, or Clementine, or Hallelujah Chorus, or whatever. If it's a person, they'll SAY something. If it's a robo-call, it clicks off. SO much easier on the throat than growling, and makes the others in the office laugh instead of grumble.

Many times the state forms will also use that number. The MA form, for example, while wildly different in looks, is the M-9325.

Umm... good question. It's at least $100,000, but I can't put my hands on the more-recent docs just now.

Beasley is who I use; first year was a promo through Drake but the premium didn't go up.

I use the Drake DDM (Drake Document Management) but it's really just a filing system integrated with Drake, so returns are automatically stored in the right place. Client folders by letter, inside that by name, inside that by Tax and then by year. For many clients we have another "Tax" level folder, to save pdfs of signed POAs etc. Driver's licenses are in the client top level folder, named "Sara DL exp 2022" so just by looking at the folder we can confirm that we have the DL on file, and what year we'll need to ask for a new one. We save Preparer and Client copies of returns, the bill, and the EF acks all to the same folder. Any pertinent client email (basis info... whatever) gets printed to pdf in the folder for the tax year in question. Ditto for all client original documents (and we use Gruntworx to get a lovely indexed and bookmarked pdf for our records). Unless you want to add in quarterly review reminders, birthday cards, and that stuff (I've never had time for any of that), I don't think you need a "client management software" package that you'll then have to make worth with your other electronic records. For our 8879s, we collect them by date received, separately for feds and state, on paper (including printing out those we get electronically). At the end of the filing season, that folder is put in the filing cabinet. After three years, we scan the whole kit and caboodle and then shred the paper.

I have 7-zip; have not used it for .rar files, but in general I've found it very easy to use as well as versatile.

I had a client get one of these just this week; his return was e-filed and accepted on May 2nd. IRS wanted him to confirm his identity on the IRS web site. Name, ssn, address, filing status, refund amount. He did have a new address, but everything else (including bank info) was the same. I talked him through the IRS confirmation process, and we'll see what happens.

Anyone here in this general area, taking new clients? Some of mine are looking for somebody for 2020 or 2021 (they may stay with me through the part-year two-state transition)? Nice couple with two youngsters. Answer here or send me a private message.

I can NEVER understand why they don't just pay a lower interest rate and call it tax-exempt interest. It would save everyone involved (IRS, taxpayers, and us poor overwhelmed preparers) SO much grief! And I answered my own query here: it would make SENSE, so they CAN'T do it that way! lol.

We have some trusts where the fiduciary is an institution, and the people actually handling the trust are NOT the official fiduciary, and don't have the ability/authority to set up electronic payments. Heck, this year we even had one trust where everyone at the institutional fiduciary was working from home and they could generate payments to go out, but could not match those with payment coupons! They called us to beg if they could mail payments to us, early, and have us send in to agencies with the vouchers.

Absolutely I question them. I don't question what looks in-line with prior years. I do question when something is suddenly out of whack, or a new client, and every one of them are told that while I don't need to see the logbook or the receipts, if they are audited they will be required to provide them to the IRS, and these amounts are high enough to be a red flag. Now that you know this, client, is this still the correct figure? And I document that I have asked them (usually by email, and I print the email and response to pdf in the folder for the correct year).

Including the time it took to get the client to dredge up all the records? Two and a half years since the first docs showed up. Subsequent years have taken less time, but the client I'm thinking of usually files a minimum of six months after extension deadline has passed.

Hope you are not including me in that three - I'll re-quote you and say I'm not worthy! Judy's the expert, and Abby is right up there too. Remember my accounting and tax knowledge is due only to years of study at HKU (Hard Knock University).

Absolutely. I will often not transmit a balance sheet if the corporation is below the limits, but I always print it out. Just a year or two ago there was a $30,000 loan to a corporation recorded nowhere - but the balance sheet was off, so we knew something was very wrong. Sent the clients off to dig (and it took them some time, too - these particular clients are clueless) and they finally found the supporting documentation for that loan - including the loan schedule and interest rate (hey, they'd forgotten that interest expense, too - real winners; we're now doing monthly bookkeeping for them).

Talk to the clients about prior-year K-1's. Perhaps someone has *something* that will give you a clue where to start digging. They may not know anything about those booked loans (for example) but the K-1's may have information that will help you to nudge their memories.

It never really does anyway. I put my foot down years ago that I will NOT half-kill myself to accommodate clients who knew, back on Jan 1, what the deadline was (and this year, had extra time!). They know that, and frankly if they go PAST the deadline, that's their problem, not mine. Anyone who whines is very welcome to go elsewhere. That said, I'll do my best - within reasonable limits that *I* set.

Nope; you can do it for them online. It takes longer to FIND the *&^% fill-in form on the IRS web site than it takes actually to fill it out, but Lion provided the link to get started. The one trick is that you MUST print the page with the EIN before you close it out - once you leave that page you CANNOT get back to it, and then have to wait several weeks for the confirmation letter to arrive.

I believe you need an EIN. How on earth did the employer make the payroll tax payments?

Darlene, My deepest sympathies on the loss of your mom. I hope and pray that the various arrangements can be sorted out. Hang in there, TAKE the time to grieve, and the rest will sort out eventually.

Obliquely related, but this past week we have been INUNDATED not with tire-kickers but with goggle listings type calls. I've learned most of them come through Caller ID showing a town rather than a name, and that answering lets them know the number is live. I've started instead using the speakerphone and humming "Scotland the Brave" or some other tune. The algorithms don't know what to do. Eventually the calls slow down. But I am seriously sick and tired of them this week.

LOVE your humor, @Possi!

Why don't we just skip ahead to '21?

For people who call the IRS a lot, and don't ever want to wait, there is a service called Call EnQ that will connect you in minutes every time. I've put their link below, but for those who won't click links just goggle them. It is $60/month (roughly) so I haven't bothered (my favorite time to call is 7pm Eastern on Friday - they're still open 'cuz it's only 4pm out on the west coast but everyone else in the country has gone/is about to go home). But I've seen it in action and it's pretty slick. Call EnQ

Darlene, I am just seeing this now. I second EVERYTHING Donna/Donnarae/Possi said earlier. Be with mom; spend time with her. You will NEVER regret time spent; you may regret time not spent, for years and year and years. To heck with the tax returns and extensions. If you get to them, fine. If not - and any client screams - you do NOT need clients who waited until the last minute themselves and then got mad at you for spending time with your mom. You just don't. Those people are spiritual poison and you don't need them in your life. Prayers for your mom and your whole family; may the Lord hold you in His hands and give you His peace that passeth all understanding.