Catherine

Was there a job offered and accepted, that then fell through?

WHERE ARE THE HANDCUFFS?!?! If any of us had a data breach and hid the evidence while doing nothing to stop the carnage, we would be in orange jumpsuits right now. So should the Equifax "executives" who did just that.

It almost sounds like the money was left in your client's name rather than in an estate or trust. If that's the case, there would be gift tax implications to just give the entire $35K to each son this year. It might be best to give the money out over a couple of years to avoid the need for gift tax returns. He does not say how old the sons are. If they are adults, my advice would be to confer with the sons and see what they want - cash or stock. As long as each gets what he wants, and everyone knows the choices presented and what was made by each, there *should* not (ah, note use of the conditional!) be hard feelings down the line if one takes all cash and the other gets higher (or lower) value stock.

Sometimes that's the best we can do. On another forum, a long-time practitioner said something about always trying to present the "most-defensible" tax return he could. There are times when that is all we can come up with, when the situation is convoluted and especially when prior (well-intentioned but in over their heads) practitioners have made a hash of returns and supporting documentation - or supplied NO supporting documentation, so we've no idea where the numbers came from.

My preferred term (at state or federal lever) is legis-vermin. The few state l-v's who have heard this from me got a real kick out of it, too.

Good luck. I thought if there was any inventory involved, accrual must be used *at least for the inventory portion* in a hybrid system. But farms have lots of rules that apply to farms only. So, laddie, the best I can tell ye is I havenae a clue! (Said with a strong Scots accent.)

So, what about alternative dates and locations? I little birdie told me that May is a really bad time to descend on Rita - unless we want to be back-40-never-seen-again hugged (my addition to the birdie's tale). I have a nice yard, but no place for people to stay, and only a tiny grill big enough for a couple of burgers at a time.

I will do this to transfer prior-year info to a new preparer. I also use the disclosure to talk directly to brokers for clients. Especially elderly ones, who don't know how to ask about corrected documents. Mortgage drones? No way! Info goes to client only.

Boston Baked Beans? (And @Margaret CPA in OH I adore Cincinnati Chili! 3-way, 4-way, 5-way - whatever!)

I dealt with "piecemeal" clients a different way this year. I had them sitting down (for other reasons) and told them when they send documents one by one we have no way to determine when we have everything. So they will send an email once they have uploaded everything, and then and ONLY then will we download anything and start to look at their documents. They actually had a reason for doing it one at a time: they wanted to get items to me as soon as they came in, so nothing would be lost or forgotten. And they understood the difficulty here, and I think the "we'll email once they are all uploaded" was a decent compromise. We'll see how it actually works.

I'm game, and will endeavor to protect anyone who feels unsafe!

This is the key. Always get a report from the Bursar's Office. And then a list from the parents of who paid what, and when. Remember, payments by Grandma don't count towards AOTC. Unless the kid is Grandma's dependent...

Me, too! The weather should be good by then, we can have a HUGE PARTY!!!

I have found this is highly dependent on which office you work with. I have had clients working with three or four locations over the years, and one has consistently done top-notch work with no screw-ups. One of the others seemingly can't do anything right, ever. The others are mostly OK but need an eye kept on them. This is probably the case with any large company. If you have a location with a good manager who demands high-quality work, you're golden. If not, caveat emptor!

At least we all refrain from contumely!

I have a few of these clients. I send them an email, telling them that the law says they should pay, and warning that future refunds could be withheld. That's federal. The Massachusetts law is different; they *can* go after you in the state - including for the amount not paid to the feds (Mass discounts their own penalty by the federal penalty paid). I also tell them (in person or by phone) what the federal collection statutes allow and dis-allow. I tell them they can decide if they want the feds or the state to get the extra penalty amount... and those who detest the aca rules detest the Mass rules even more, and usually end up paying the feds.

The first one would run about $230 including the state return. Schedule A will add $55 to that. Basic tax planning I'll toss in for free (assuming it takes me ~15 min or less), else it's a separate later appointment at $75 an hour. Most basic return $160-ish. Discounted to $50 or $30 (or even free) for the child of a current client. Depends on the client and the circumstances. I'd rather do a dependent return for free rather than have a college kid muck up their parents' return e-filing by claiming themselves. Nor do I feel it's appropriate to charge $50 to get some high school kid's $38 refund back. Any un-cooperation from parent or kid and the price spikes, though. Like Roberts (great puppy picture) there are folks whom I charge FAR less than the return is worth. That is my charity and my decision. I do a free, reasonably complex, return for the widow of my husband's best friend from college; I promised him that before he died. I have an elderly couple who have a return I should charge over $700 for, whom I charge about $200 - I see what they are living on, and it's not their fault their return is a complex mess (and let's not get started on financial advisors who get older folks into complex investments). But another elderly client with a similar return pays me the full $700-ish; I see that she has the income to pay that without suffering or flinching. Facts and circumstances...

The trick to keep from getting aggravated (at fixing the same bleeping problem time and again) is not to think of them as problem clients, but rather as walking annuities... lol.

I got complete documentation from the first client today. OTOH, almost all our payroll client W-2 and 1099 forms are done. Oops; wrong. One homeowner association has sent in everything, too - yesterday. That's it so far for us.

I don't mind the "quick questions" NEARLY so much as I mind the three-week required answers. Quick question: "How do I do payroll?" Answer: still talking, three weeks later...

Thank you SO much, @Edsel - I have passed the information along. Now it's up to them.

Thank you, @Edsel!

We ALL get that way, at times. We beat our heads around one problem and get tunnel vision, and cannot see the actual problem. That comprises two of the excellent attributes of this forum: first that we (sometimes, not always!) get to take a step back as we are describing our issues, and second that our colleagues can see the stumbling blocks that we are too close to notice. I have also noticed a strange but persistent tendency for answers to stay hidden until I hit "submit" on a query, and then suddenly they jump out from under whatever they were hiding in!

What does this do to the time limit on 90-day letters? Anything?

Greenville