Catherine

SSD is the biggie; and as much RAM as you can usefully cram into the thing. Whatever the requirements are NOW, they will be HIGHER in future years!

That last piece is what makes it worth while. The program itself - while I like it very much in many ways - still has spots that are rough. But that customer service gets you over them quickly and with little trouble. MUCH nicer than floundering on your own while waiting on hold for way too long!

If those become the ONLY options, I will go back to pencil and paper. NO ONE owns my data but ME.

The big surprise for us was the number of people who were better off as married filing separately. One slow down was checking to see if MFJ/MFS was better (Drake does a good job at that, at least). The comparison pages showing total tax versus withheld tax was great - that really helped people understand why their situations looked different. LOTS of late forms, LOTS of questions on withheld tax tweaks, LOTS of questions about QBI. I can read the new forms right side up and upside down (depending on where the client is sitting), but sideways is still giving me trouble.

I should hope so!

And if it's a whirlwind romance, she may not even have MET him by then!

I have once who got big credits two years running - but he got HAMMERED a few years ago with AMT on the stock options that have the two bases (forget which ones; I *always* look 'em up). Paid $13K tax on a LOSS, and at this point has gotten *most* of that back.

Torvill & Dean, "Oscar Tango" - not the "Bolero" performance that got them a series of perfect scores at the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics. Five minutes. Oscar Tango

Two world wars and many centuries, and SO much history.

SO sad about Notre Dame in Paris. Notre Dame burns

What I generally tell people in this situation is to send what they can. They'll get a letter saying "Hey, you still owe us $X" then send some more. Rinse and repeat - so long as you can do it in no more than four "chunks" of money.

I caught up (somewhat) on church bookkeeping this morning. Gonna take a walk before the afternoon rain comes through, then toss in a load of laundry. Not going near the office today. They've moved up the Patriot's Day parade so crossing that street to *get* to my office would be dicey at best. And we had a 2-hour power outage early when the first set of rains came through, so I'll double-check for any clocks I missed fixing earlier. Everyone is on extension; if they missed it, it's not because we didn't try to get through to them and that is NOT our problem

Yes, hang in there! It will be tough for me to get to my office tomorrow as I'd have to cross the "battle lines" as the Colonials chase the Red Coats back to Boston from Concord. So I'll work from home until (I think) the convoy has passed and the roads are open again. Remember, extensions are our FRIENDS! I refuse to half-kill myself for some nervous nelly client who only got me their papers last week (and are probably missing half of them).

If she's NOT paid for it, documents it, and it goes to a charity, sounds like non-cash charity and charitable miles to me.

Client can pay each month. Yes, there is a discounted interest rate for direct debit payments.

I would, for all open years.

Gee, I thought this was the guy who wandered in to OUR office yesterday!

...needs a "special" Rita hug?

Long answer, "Yes, absolutely, as depreciation allowed OR allowable will need to be recaptured upon sale of the home."

Yes to both. Not much help out there (except from folks like us) and then when we DO beat ourselves senseless to get them the right information, they "never get around" to telling HR.

Code O (capital O, not zero), sub-code 2. I don't know where they go in ATX; just Drake.

do we want to know HOW you know this???

Basis report as listed, with correction using Code O2 - "ordinary income reported elsewhere on return."

John H and the other have already said it; I'll just reiterate. YOU have to control YOUR business and your clients. They WILL resist at first; be firm but polite with them - and let them go if they insist. Not one of your clients is worth a heart attack or a stroke on your part. Not one. Tell them the extension is their good friend; that your return goes on extension (if true). Blame the new tax law; blame the IRS that lets banks and brokerages send materials out 6 weeks later than the deadline used to be. Tell them when you rush to meet a deadline you worry you might miss something. Whatever. I work hard for my clients, and I put in long hours. But I will not and do not (any longer) half-kill myself for them. I have found, over and over again through the years (because I'm a slow learner, it seems) that the clients for whom I do the most, at THEIR insistence, are the ones who then leave in a huff (probably bad-mouthing me) when I make a mistake due to rushing for them and at their insistence. To heck with that! Our letter says we must have ALL materials in-house BY March 15th. It also says that any returns not completed AND FILED by 4/1 WILL be placed on extension. We put returns on extension that are done! If something comes up and the client does not get us the signature forms (forgets, kid gets sick, their arches fall - who cares), WE are covered by the extension and don't need to worry about them one little bit. Take charge. The clients worth keeping will respect you; the others you don't need. Their leaving will make way for more good clients!

We are putting everything left on extension, and I am working on my partner to just file 'em and ignore if money is owed. Not OUR fault/problem/crisis if folks gave us their docs yesterday instead of before our March 15 cutoff! But he hasn't learned that yet and is letting himself get all stressed out. Like @JohnH we'll finish some that are extended. And a few people who should have sent in extension payments will get hit with penalties later; NOT my problem. We have one return, first info came in on Feb 6th. They're not done. They may not get done until late May - because every week they are sending new material that contradicts earlier documents. I'm waiting until they say "that's it" and they've been told I'm not touching their returns again until I have *everything* in-hand. We have another; guy is *always* late, so we recommended sending in big-ish payments based on prior year info, of $20K to the feds and a smaller amount to the state. He emailed back saying it had been a good, but complicated year, and his thoughts were that he should send in $250K and $50K feds/state! That will be a fun one - for the summer! And @Possi I hope your infection AND your eye get better quickly!