Chrisbry

I went.

But forgot already what they said.

Hey Booger -- I'm offended that I didn't get to witness the offense that offended everyone.

Such is life. If any of you want to witness a REAL internet argument -- try any dog related group on yahoo or chat board. Or frequent a Doll Collectors board! OOH BOY! Those women will curl your nose hairs!

I got all my Federal ACK (1040's that is--still waiting on some 941's) but oddly enough, I got a reject on one of the states -- not an IRS reject, an EFC reject (dumb #*%@$). I recreated & resubmitted the State this morning.

And once again, yesterday the Customer Service rep said she would email me or call me back when she heard back from EFC. I told her I didn't appreciate being LIED to as I knew she would not do either. She said "It's difficult for us to call someone back when we have to take calls all day long". My response: Then don't tell someone you will call them back. DUH. I just know if I told my clients I would call them back, and didn't, they wouldn't be my clients for very long.

If I have them paper file, will it be considered late, because I didn't have an extension?

Per the Handbook:

Resubmission of Rejected Tax Returns

If the IRS rejects the electronic portion of a taxpayer’s individual income tax return

for processing and the reason for the rejection cannot be rectified, the ERO must take

reasonable steps to inform the taxpayer of the rejection within 24 hours.When the

ERO advises the taxpayer that the return has not been filed, the ERO must provide the

taxpayer with the reject code(s) accompanied by an explanation. If the taxpayer

chooses not to have the electronic portion of the return corrected and transmitted to

the IRS or if it cannot be accepted for processing by the IRS, the taxpayer must file a

paper return. In order to be filed timely, the paper return must be filed by the later of

the due date of the return or ten calendar days after the date the IRS gives notification

that the electronic portion of the return is rejected or that it cannot be accepted for

processing. The paper return should include an explanation of why the return is being

filed after the due date

I really like Ultra Tax, but cannot afford it, so I will test TRX Pro, Drake, and Tax Slayer soon. I like the comments about TRX, ie that they do a respectable conversion from ATX files. Any forms I can't get from these lower-price packages I will download from states/IRS and do by hand. There is NO WAY I will use ATX or any CCH products again !

I've talked to a couple of long time UT users -- they said it was a piece of crap this year too.

I wouldn't mind learning ONE new software but everyone one I have looked at this morning has their business tax package separate from their 1040 and either the Payroll forms are part of a write up program or not offered at all. I don't need a write up program.

I personally believe in 2nd chances. I will be renewing with ATX but downgrading to the MAX program and purchase my research/reference materials elsewhere. I will also be keeping my options open to any *new* software that appears (ie Mel in Hawaii).

I liken this to Intuit/QuickBooks. I curse Intuit Customer Service/Tech Support every time I have to deal with them and wish that there was another alternative -- the alternatives are usually worse.

I can deal with poor customer service but I can't deal with software that doesn't give me all the convenience in one pretty little package.

I just checked my last 3 e-filed returns online at MYATX....

#1 -- Waiting for IRS ACK. (It was transmitted to ATX at 7AM CDST but not submitted to IRS until 3AM drain -- WTF?)

#2 & #3 -- NO IRS FILE CREATED. Both were transmitted to ATX at 12:11 CDST and Validated by EFC.

Customer Service is sending a request to EFC to find them. As much as I like ATX software, I will not continue to accept their "standard of customer service" any longer.

The evaluation of other software starts today. Unfortunately, I don't think I will find anything similar in price that will give me all the options I have available with ATX (ie 1040, 1120, 1065, 1041, 940, 941, 1099, W-2, Unlimited E-file, Unlimited States, and a Zillion other forms).

Thanks for the tip, Cat. I show 23 "validated" returns, some from yesterday. First time this year the acks have taken more than a few hours.

I could have misunderstood, but when we were having issues with the 1099, 941, 940 Acks (which they still are), I thought I was told that the ACK's are MANUALLY posted. I thought at the time WT? Why in this day and age of electronics is anything manually "posted".

It could have been another "I'll tell you anything to get you in bed with us" story.

I got all mine thru.

Now they are being held hostage.

ACK NO!

But I'm not worried. ATX should be worried -- their nightmare will begin at 7AM tomorrow {that's when I start calling them every day until I have all my ACKS}

I thought I saw something about the IRS no longer sending Estimate coupons if the return was e-filed. Maybe I was dreaming. I know that for my clients that we e-file Forms 941 quarterly, they are no longer sending those forms out.

But I always print the estimates for my clients "just in case".

Personally, I pay mine thru EFTPS. I think they are pushing more and more to electronically pay their estimates and balance dues.

Jasdlm, sounds like you are just having a rough day! When my clients call with a capital gains issue at any time during the year and want just a "rough guess-timate" -- I tell them -- Figure 30% for federal and state. Flat out. I don't care if it only ends up being 15% (+5% state) or not. If they want to gather up all their info for me for the current year and have me work up an ESTIMATE (not guesstimate), then I'm sure I could probably be more accurate.

For instance, I had a client this last year that sold some stock (to the tune of $250,000 LTCG). But they neglected to tell me that they had sold a rental house in April. Hmmm....more Gain. THEN -- they forgot about the $400K of other income they have (I didn't). So, in the end, 2007 they had an overpayment and they were happy!

Hope your day gets better. Mine will end up chit-chatting with the IRS over a clients Notice of Intent to Levy. {big sigh}

on a beach??

Worked for me in March! But when I got back, the headache was still HERE. :)

IRS is wrong.

HOWEVER -- if you make payments thru EFTPS, that information IS correct. I've argued with the IRS on several avenues about this -- they won't budge. Form 2290 is the worst one for this!

So remember, if you are filing a 2007 FYE 6/30/08 and pay the balance due thru EFTPS, be sure to mark it for tax year 2008 NOT 2007. Stupid huh?

Thanks John--you're right on the "rewards".

I assured her yesterday (as she sat across from me crying) that she wasn't going to go to jail. Had her sign a POA for the years involved and told her not to worry. Sent her off so I could work in peace on her mess.

Tomorrow's another day. :)

What happened with the balance of his IRA? Who received that? I was under the assumption that all debts needed to be paid before distribution of the assets. Has the daughter been court appointed as the Executor/Personal Rep?

I think all the "crazies" are coming out this week. I had two that I thought I was going to be lucky enough that they went somewhere else -- no such luck with one -- I'm still holding out hope on the other!

This one shows up with an envelope of receipts -- THREE (count em) THREE -- Certified Letters from IRS (unopened). She got into some financial trouble last year (wage garnishments etc) and didn't get her balance due paid. She has nothing except a "fix or repair daily" pickup.

Not sure how I'll go about this with the IRS but she only owes them $1500 for last year. She's bawling in my office about going to jail. She'll probably end up owing them about the same thing this year. And I'm such a sap -- I tell her not to worry about my fee right now. Cripes -- it's only $100 to me, but might as well be $1,000 to her.

She's got some mental problems, drug user in her younger days, troubled youth, can't hold a job, does a little lawn maintenance/cleanup self-employed business for a mall, has little to no withholding on her W-2's. She'd file bankruptcy but can't even get the money together to do that.

I'm just curious -- do any of you have a client that you just can't seem to turn away, no matter what?

I've received one email, one phone call, and one snail mail.

I laughed at the message on my phone -- we'd like to let you know what additional enhancements have been made to the ATX program.

I never called him back, but I should have and then told him that ATX should work on existing features and make sure they work flawlessly before working on "enhancements" to the program.

I will more than likely renew, but not their TTO package. I will be getting MAX. For $530 difference, I can buy CCH Master Tax Guide for $75 and TheTaxBook for $70 and still be ahead of the game. I need to check on the Kleinrock Federal Tax Bulletin by phone as they don't have anything on the website as to subscription rates (that's annoying to say the least).

It is funny how different we all are....but I think it also has to do with the size of our practice, the difficulty of the returns, and what percentage of our clients are idiots.

I hopefully will have no extensions. I only have 2 more to come in -- and if they aren't here by Friday, they are an automatic extension even though I probably will have them done sometime next week. I only work 40 hours/5 days a week and take 3-4 weeks of vacation a year.

The reason I went on my own was to reduce my stress levels. At age 46, my mother passed away at age 66. I decided I didn't want to spend the next 20 years working my butt off for someone else only to wish I had "lived" a little.

I only accept prospective new clients by referral from existing clients and if I don't like what I see on their tax returns or bookkeeping, I refer them to someone else. I actually had a prospective client tell me that they couldn't transfer the Corporate Return to me (but wanted me to do the bookkeeping) because there were some things on the return that "you might not understand in reference to stockholder loans and income". He didn't make the cut to be my client. I have fired 4 clients in 4 years -- 2 because the proceeded to tell ME how I should be running my business and the other 2 because they were similar to diligentbiz's client.....you advise them to pay in estimates and when they don't, they owe and GOD FORBID, they end up with a penalty letter from IRS because they refuse to pay the penalty on the return. Those 4 are now someone else's April 15th headache.

I won't get rich operating this way -- but at least I will have LIVED a little and hopefully will have lived a little longer.

I can never wait until the end....I need "sanity time" just about the time my youngest has his Spring Break....Cancun in March is lovely!

But the RV is fired up and ready to go -- now if the weather would just cooperate. It's been a loooooooong winter this year.

Heard it happened while they were cleaning their guns.

I think that Ape-Guy also died.

Booger

And The Omega Man and Hamlet.

Well, you think I would have learned.......

I've filed 2 of them in the last 2 days. How long to wait? If 4th Quarter of 2007 was any indication.........we could be waiting a loooooooooong time.

I efiled one this week with UPE and it was accepted with no problems. I entered the UPE on the K-1 that it applied to (line 20W)

I've got another one -- and now it says that Lines 3-10 (Sch SE Worksheet) is an IRS UN-EFILE ABLE situation. I can find nothing on the IRS website that says it can or cannot be efiled. I know we did them last year with no problems.

My previous one was a Rental RE with no Schedule SE. I don't know if this is a "legit" workaround but here is what I did:

Add another K-1 but instead of the name of the partnership use: UNREIMBURSED PARTNER EXPENSES

Enter the amount as a negative on Line 1 (Ordinary income) and on the SE line 14A

The end result is the same.

Saves postage.

Saves getting pesky letters due to IRS input errors from a paper return.

In the 4 years that I have been "requiring" 99.9% of my clients to efile (there are still 2 elderly clients that don't trust anything electronic) -- I have not had ONE error letter from the IRS.

Saves Time -- I don't have to call the IRS and explain "their errors" to them.

Makes for HAPPY CLIENTS -- they don't like getting ANY correspondence from the IRS.

Dan, from my experience with polls on forums.......

The above would be THREE polls. Voters can only select one answer in a poll.

My answers would be yes, yes, no.

I efiled one this week with UPE and it was accepted with no problems. I entered the UPE on the K-1 that it applied to (line 20W)