Yardley CPA

Curious as to what congressional district you live in?

I agree...some early pensions did have after tax contributions, and I have several clients with this exact type of pension. In the OP, it sounds like that was not the case...with the taxpayer having no recollection of ever contributing. But maybe the prior preparer has some info, who knows.

Sounds 100% taxable to me. I'll be curious to see what you find and why the prior preparer only claimed a small portion.

Must be a fun work environment for the employees. I assume the firm will be holding some team building exercises, potentially behind bars.

I would be surprised if you do hear anything from them. I wouldn't be surprised if you receive another letter demanding payment. Those companies are ruthless.

Ultimately, do you really need clients like that? Considering the amount of work you did for them, if they have the nerve to say "it's a little too pricey here", they're ignorant. I don't want to minimize how important it is to establish relationships and maintain those relationships moving forward. With that said, there needs to be a level of respect both given AND received. If the client does not respect what I do, the service I provide, or the time I spend...good riddance.

You're the only one in the commercial building?? Do you walk around the building occasionally? Say hi to imaginary friends? Thanks very much for your reply. It's very helpful.

I guess preparers are less inclined to share rates, and that's fine. I have no problem declaring what my minimum is. In my post I indicated that some firms charge a minimum of $350 in my area. That's not coming from the internet, that's coming from colleagues who are also in practice and shared what their firms charge. I completely understand that some preparers/firms have high overhead and that impacts their rates. In any event, thanks for those who chimed in but didn't share any pricing info.

I am a CPA with over thirty years of experience in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Would some of you be willing to share your pricing? I recognize there are many variables that go into what it costs to prepare a return, including the area in which you practice. Just trying to get a sense of how you determine your charge. Is it a rate based on time spent on the return or do you charge by form, or maybe a combination of those. For new clients, I have established a minimum fee for a basic return and one state, Schedule A included, of $250, Schedule C, D and E clients are charged more. Established clients may not pay that full amount, but its close. That price is still low compared to what I see other preparers charging in my general region. Some firms in the area charge a minimum of $350. I'm sure some full-time preparers have higher costs than me, a single preparer doing this on weekends and evenings. I appreciate your insights on this topic.

Officially thirty years for me. I've enjoyed the relationships I've formed with my clients. Some of those clients have stayed with me for all of those thirty years. I go back to the days of Parson's Technology and also fondly recall the roaring tiger. I miss the "simplicity" of those days. My tax preparation business is done during the evenings and on weekends, as I have a full time day job. It obviously requires devoting a ton of time to but my family has been very understanding and I appreciate all of their support.

It's not new, it's old. It's been happening for a long time now. Those scammers will utilize any means possible to scam successfully.

Have you considered a trial of ProSeries?

They're a summer camp with clients who more than likely ask for their EIN. What would the paranoia be over exactly?

Why wouldn't they supply it? What exactly is the down side of them supplying it to a paying customer?

ProSeries is loaded on my desktop, it's not network or multi-user. I'm a one man shop.

I'm not sure where you are getting your information? I was an ATX user back to the days of Saber. Their cost, like almost every other technology company, have risen through the years. For me it became cost prohibitive. I switched to ProSeries for this past season. I locked in their Choice 200 rate which provides me up up to 200 federal returns (all business and personal). It includes every state as well, advanced calculations and unlimited use of their portal. The cost for that package easily saved me $600 or more compared to what I would have paid for ATX MAX and their portal. Granted, I'm limited to a total of 200 federal clients, but that is not an issue for me. I'm not suggesting ATX is inferior, I enjoyed using the program. With that said, ProSeries has saved me time and has added efficiencies that have helped me and my clients.

This time of year is all-consuming for some of us. It causes us to occasionally (maybe more than occasionally) lose sight of what really matters. We move through life thinking "it will never happen to me". The fact is, it can and it does. I'm happy to know your daughter is doing well. Best wishes to her and her car. Sounds like she'll be in the market for a new one.

Just curious as to why you are seeking a workaround?

It's been one of my more challenging years in the 32 that I've been involved in. One of the main reasons for that: having to wait to complete returns because clients have not provided all the data. I recognize that normally happens and has happened almost every year. For some reason, this year it's much more magnified. The other issue, clients providing their tax information late. Many have dropped off their data after April 1. I let them know it will be placed on extension "just in case" but I still have that hanging over me. With that said, with all that is going on in the world today, I recognize my issues pale in comparison to others. I'm thankful for all the blessings and know this is just another tax season that is coming to an end.

Each day starts with the best intentions though. "This is the day that I cruise through a bunch of returns." That thought is quickly dashed. :-)

Not sure where the C came in. M for sure though.

That's exactly what I did. I entered the total proceeds and total cost of all the transactions on two lines, one for short-term and one for long-term. Used code M and C. Moved on to the next return.

Judy...thanks for the reply. I have never attached a pdf statement but it certainly makes sense as an additional means of explanation.

Since the qualified education expenses exceed the total distribution, shouldn't you still report the earnings as income and then back the earnings amount out as "Qualified Education Expenses"? I've done it that way for years and I've never had an issue.

I entered one last night with over a thousand sale events. Just entered the totals on Schedule D of the total purchase price and sales amount, labeled it as MC. All good.