Catherine

Some neighbors long ago would buy one animal to raise for their freezer. The year they got a steer calf, they named him Sir Loin, and that was a daily reminder of his purpose and ultimate fate. IIRC, they had a paid of piglets named Bacon and Sausage, too.

Basis re-creation, as best you can, and any estimation on the low side. Document what you do & any assumptions made. Weirdest one I had was an elderly man who had been investing in a mutual fund through payroll deduction, for years. He knew it was $5/week, started about when his son (older than I am!) started kindergarten. How long? Well, he left that job, and we figured out how many years at $5/week. I documented everything. It was still a pittance compared to the total sale, but it saved him some tax, he felt better about the whole thing, and I had copious notes to back up the assumptions made. Charge for the time. (I didn't, but then my client was in his mid-90's and it was worth it to hear the tales of his work and his son's scout troop shenanigans and the rest.)

I was on EFTPS last week and there was no notice whatsoever. What a pack of eejits, to implement this with no warning at all. Frankly, the whole ID dot me thing is, to my mind, less secure than the previous system. Yeah, they send you a code. So what? If bad guys have access to my computer, they probably have my phone, too. Plus, who on earth uses subterfuge to log in to PAY tax? We can comfort ourselves that if they had a brain, and a clue, they'd be far more dangerous than they already are.

Went to log in to e-services for something else, and saw "Renew Your PTIN" as a new option. I've already done mine. Fee is down to $19.75 for 2024.

Too true. "They're all crooks except for my guy!" is the thought. Nope; my guy is a crook too. So is yours.

No tax pros asking pesky questions. Just keep adding (or taking away) items until you maximize that refund, baby! Just like with Ttx, and answering questions to make that refund number up in the corner keep going up. Many won't realize it's fraud; they will mistakenly think it's set up not to allow fraud. The ones that know it's fraud will just be glad there is no preparer asking those inconvenient pesky questions they need to lie about.

They have to process the tax due first, of there's nothing to get an IA on.

The government giveth and the government taketh away; accursed be the name of the government! (with apologies to the Book of Job)

As long as a taxpayer is fine with lying through their teeth, there will be fraud. Especially with refundable credits, and the less proof required the more fraud there will be.

Tell them they really NEED to file. Else the IRS will send them a bill for FAR more than what you calculated for tax due, and they'll be behind the 8-ball playing catch up with those notices. Whereas if they file, they can then apply for CNC status. Far easier.

But what is the USE of registered or certified if the little green card never gets stamped or returned? At least with PM tracking, you know the day it was delivered. Mostly/more often than the others. #NothingWorksAnymore

But what is the USE of registered or certified if the little green card never gets stamped or returned? At least with PM tracking, you know the day it was delivered. Mostly/more often than the others.

We have, in the past, issued a 1099-NEC for the "draw" amounts for S-Corp owners - and then made sure payroll was put in place, pronto.

One of those days!

You would prepare 1099MISC, marked "Corrected" in the checkbox, with $0 in Box 3. Then issue new 1099-NEC with the amount in the correct box on that form.

If you're going to send a check near a deadline, shell out for Priority Mail and get a receipt from the Post Office that you handed it in directly to them. I push people towards Direct Pay, too - and then find that instead of following my instructions, they pick estimated taxes or payment for notice or something else wrong. Then I tell them they have to call and get it moved. Not dummies, either; just sloppy or rushing or both.

My sympathies; Vinny sounds like he was a real sweetie.

Bump again. Got the first draft of my WISP plan today and it is thorough, and specific to my needs. The few tweaks that are needed are all items that I left out or did not explain properly to him. I highly recommend this gentleman. PM me for contact info.

Bump for those who haven't seen this.

Very useful word, and yes it can be trained. I've trained myself to only remember tax info when a file is open in front of me. Once it's put away, I'm clueless. Stops people from asking me questions about their returns at church, in the grocery store, etc. "Sorry; can't remember outside my office!"

We had one "partnership" that put partners on payroll. Made the election to be treated as a C Corporation, and that ( a ) worked and ( b ) saved their bacon including late filing penalties, since C-corps don't send K-1s and get the individual deadline. (This may have been an April filing - long ago, don't recall, and don't recall off-hand if C-corps get extended to 10/16, either.)

Sounds like you will need to call the IP PIN help desk, with the client with you. At that time (once you have the PIN) you can ask how a return could have been filed for them without it. OTOH, if they can't find it - did a family member steal their info? Try to "help" by filing a return for them? A filed return with an IP PIN required is doubly suspicious.

I have paid for a customized WISP plan with someone who is also going to do IT support for me (which I've needed for a while). We just had a big long discussion about it all and I'm waiting for the plan to be sent to me. The discussion was very detailed and he brought up many items I would never have thought of. If anyone is interested, I've stated before I'll pass on his contact information. Send me a PM or an email. I have had one query from one of our colleagues here.

Send the documents back to the person whose documents they are, with a "can't help, there is a conflict of interest" letter to each. If someone kvetches about it being last minute, you could probably say that "working together" has fallen apart and you cannot be in the middle. Nothing else; let the lawyers gripe at each other! If you really want to keep one of the two, tell that person you can complete their return as MFS but cannot discuss anything about the other spouse's situation, at all. If you don't have a well-enough-trained forgettery (opposite of memory) and recall info for the other spouse that will negatively impact your retained client, tell them you can only work for them as of next year. And make sure you get an engagement letter signed from whoever you do a return for. Always, always, always. There are specialty engagement letters available online just for divorce situations. Drake has a standard Eng Ltr as part of the program. The Tax Book has an Eng Ltr and also a Conflict of Interest Waiver, too, if you have a subscription to their book or online resources.

I have found an excellent IT support person who works remotely and is customizing a WISP plan for me, along with ongoing IT support. If anyone here is interested in talking to him, send me a message and I'll pass along his contact information.