BulldogTom

I did not notice it at first, but did you see the timing of HRB's announcement? It was late in the day on Christmas Eve. Talk about trying to keep this under the radar. With the blizzard back east dominating the news, this has not gotten a lot of attention. I wonder how this is going to play out for HRB? Tom Lodi, CA

I don't like them either and will be glad if they die. Last year was the first year I went without them. I just felt like I had to have that product to compete with the national chains. Lost a few clients because of it, but nothing huge. Not going to have them again this year. I think in a couple of years they won't even exist anymore. Lets hope. Tom Lodi, CA

H&R Block says HSBC terminates tax-refund loan funding pact December 27, 2010 10:30 AM ET (Reuters) - H&R Block Inc has said HSBC Holdings Plc will not provide funding for the no.1 U.S. tax preparer's refund-anticipation loans, or RALs, after U.S. regulators ordered the lender to terminate the contract. "The OCC's (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) 11th hour timing will make it difficult for us to put alternative products in place at all of our locations in time for the early part of the 2011 tax season," H&R Block said in a statement late on Friday. H&R Block will continue to offer its traditional refund-anticipation checks (RACs) that do not require any out-of-pocket costs by taxpayers, it said. In October, H&R Block filed a suit against HSBC USA, a unit of HSBC, alleging breach of contract and saying that the bank had failed to conduct preparatory actions which would have allowed it to offer RALs. RALs, which usually last 7-14 days until taxpayers receive their refunds from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), are highly profitable for tax preparers.

Pacun, This response is totally wrong about Phil Medlin. He has been very gracious in giving answers on this board to many of us. I completely understand why he would ask to be e-mailed directly on a board he does not support. While "Booger" may be OK with having his account information put on this board, I would think it is unproffesional of Medlin to oblige him. And then after "dissing" him on this board, you have the gall to ask for a discount? Wow! You should appologize to one of the very good people in the industry who is on our board. He is a wealth of knowledge and has always shared freely with this community. Medlin accounting is a company that ATX could learn about customer support from. I'm not saying anything, I'm just saying..... Tom Lodi, CA

This is slightly off the topic, but I know how the IRS could get preparer information without hasseling us for new registrations all the time. Require the software vendors include the information from the person they sell the software to. Make the software imbed the information from the person who registers the software into every return that prints or is e-filed. They would then have the information they need to cross check returns against the preparer who bought the software. What would this mean to us? We would have to give the software company everything we give them now. They already get our Name, address, EFIN, PTIN, etc. I know what you are thinking. What about the people who buy Turbo. Guess what - same requirements. Register the software. So if more than one return pops up as having been printed or e-filed from that copy of the software, the IRS can send them a nice letter asking if they have been practicing without being registered. And they can send a letter to the taxpayer advising that the return came from a software product that was not registered in their name and they have some questions about the preparation. Intuit would love it because they would not be getting their product ripped off anymore. But alas, I am not the Tax God of the United States and this will never fly. But I still think it is a good idea. Tom Lodi, CA

Lodi fell to the number one seed in the division 1 playoffs Friday night. Lodi led 9-7 when our best player (quarterback and safety) was injured. Lodi could not recover from losing our star player. Even so, I am still very proud of my son. He took on one of the best teams in the section and played very well. Thanks to all of you for letting me share and brag on my son. Tom Lodi, CA

Margaret, Because of some weather issues, I will be meeting with the representative on Monday. The fees she quoted me are between 1.35% and 2.4% depending on the type of debit/credit card. I will also have a $0.25 transaction fee and $0.30 settlement fee (once per day on days you use the machine) and finally a $5.00 statement fee monthly. I can turn off the service at the end of the month when tax season is over so I don't have to pay the statement fee the rest of the year. The machine is $189. If this sounds good to you, would you like for me to have the representative contact you? I am not sure if they will waive the setup fees for you as they did for me, but I can ask. Tom Lodi, CA

Because of my employment, the company that I am going to work with is waiving any set up fees. I only have to pay the monthly statement fee and the transaction fees. The real reason I want this is the debit card service. So few people are carrying checkbooks anymore, but they all have a debit card in their wallet. When I get done with the tax return, it would be very nice not to have the discussion that goes "OH, I did not bring my checkbook. Can I bring a check by tomorrow?" To which I reply, "Sure, you can pick the return up when you bring the check and we will transmit the return at that time". It is an awkward conversation to have. And it causes an extra trip to my office, and of course they just barge in and want you to drop everything to take care of their payment. This is why I want to have this option. Tom Lodi, CA

I am meeting with a CC processing company on Friday to discuss accepting CC and Debit payments this year for the first time. The fees look reasonable to me and I can shut off the service after tax season and start it up again the following year. Anyone have any good/bad experiences with accepting CC/Debit payments in their practices? Tom Lodi, CA

So my son's team put a beatdown on McNair in the second round of the playoffs last week 48-16 in a game that was not that close. Lodi rushed for over 300 yards and pulled their starters in the 4th quarter, which allowed McNair to score two meaningless touchdowns in the last 5 minutes of the game. Lodi's senior tailback, Jordan Perkins, who is committed to Stanford, scored three touchdowns and rushed for 241 yards. This Friday, they travel to Pleasant Grove of Elk Grove to play the number one seed in the playoffs. This is the furthest that any Lodi team has ever advanced in the playoffs. The Lodi offensive line was interviewed last night by a Sacramento Newspaper reporter. This is the first time that a Sacramento newspaper has come to Lodi to interview anyone, let alone a group of "big ugly" linemen. I am so proud of my son. He has started 21 games at center on the varsity team the last two years. So while my wife is off to southern california to spend Thanksgiving with her family, my son and I are getting some quality time alone this week while he prepares for the game. Thanks for letting me go off about my kid. I know this is a tax board, but I just wanted to share with you all. Tom Lodi, CA

Nice. Smart kids should get recognition. Sometimes we place so much emphasis on sports accomplishments that we forget to remember the classroom allstars. Congrats. Tom Lodi, CA

I would love for him to get a scholarship to UCON. Unfortunately, they have shown no interest. If you know Coach Edsell, send him the link. Jonathan is a 3.8 student who wants to major in engineering. Has an 1850 SAT score and is tutoring other students in Pre-Calculus. He is a great kid and a great student. Tom Lodi, CA

This is so far from tax. My son plays football for Lodi High. They are in the playoffs and won their first round game against Turlock. I am so proud of him. If you would like to take a look at a couple of his blocks, take a look at his video clips at the link below. He is number 71 and plays center. http://video.berecruited.com/videos/athletes/376393 Thanks for letting me brag on my son. Tom Lodi, CA

I like accountant stationers and printers out of southern california. They have always been very easy to work with and I like the folders they put out. I have used them for 4 or 5 years now. Tom Lodi, CA

Thanks

OK, so I got one of those letters from the IRS that says we have a mis-match on the ITIN number for a 1099 payment. This particular payment is for rents. We checked our W-9 and the number we submitted is what the landlord gave us. So we sent the first notice B. No response from the landlord yet and the time is running out. I have never had this happen before. I have only sent one Notice B before, and they got right back to me. So if we start withholding, where do we remit the money? Is there a quarterly form or something? Thanks for the help Tom Lodi, CA

I don't normally post these kind of links, but I have never heard something so stupid. And he is a congressman. Check this out. You can't make this stuff up. [url=" Tom Lodi, CA

In ATX (and all software, I believe) you will have to create the electronic version of the tax return. When you have finished the return, you click on create e-file. The software will then perform a diagnostic looking for anything in the tax return that will cause a rejection. If there is such an item, it will need to be fixed prior to send the electronic return. Some of us have learned the hard way that you should always complete this step before you print out the client's copy, because if the client has left when you run this step, invariably you will find something that is wrong with the return and need to get the client back in to fix it. Tom Lodi, Ca

I cannot imagine doing 1200 returns and not e-filing. All that extra printing, envelopes, mailing. The program can be a pain with the "nit picky" stuff, but it gets to be a normal routine. I have been e-filing since 2000 and would never go back. Tom Lodi, CA

I don't have any non-paying clients. I shot them all!!!!! Just kidding. Don't turn me in to the FBI. Tom Lodi, CA

I have been using QB for my tax business for years (1998). Here is a suggestion. Instead of using your chart of accounts account number for your item code, set up a new one for each year return. It only takes a minute to set up. Then, when you create the invoice, pick the year that you are preparing. My codes are 98Tax, 99Tax, 00 Tax, BOOK, Rep (for audit representation), etc. The reason is that I can then run sales reports on the type of work I do. I can see how many current year returns I did, how many previous year returns, what I charged for each, what the average charge by each was. It is helpful. You can have a many to one relationship for your items, so all your tax return prep fee items can post to one GL account (Tax prep or 410, for example) and your write up can go to another. Your income statement stays in summary form but your sales reports give you more detail. Sales by item, sales by customer, and sales by rep (if you have multiple preparers) are nice reports. Just a suggestion. Hope it helps. Tom Lodi, CA

Yes, the requirement is to provide the 1099s in 2012 for payments made in 2011. Good luck trying to get a W9 at the end of 2011 after the payments are made. That is why we are requiring a W9 on file by Jan 1 of 2011. It is not panic, it is just preparation. Tom Lodi, CA

At my day job, we are sending out a letter in October that states if you do not provide a W9, there will be no AP check. I anticipate a large number of collection calls in January and February. On the lighter side - Back to backup withholding. What happens if I go into my local Staples to get my supplies in January, and the total comes to over $600? Do I ask the clerk for a W9? What if she can't give me one? Do I write the check for 28% less and walk out with my supplies? I can't wait to try that one. Can you imagine the look on the clerk's face when you tell him/her that they can get the rest on their tax return? This could be a lot of fun. Tom Lodi, cA

OK, this might be a little ridiculous but under the new 1099 rules, will backup withholding apply if you don't get a TIN from the vendor? Say I call PG&E because I do more than $600 with them and ask for their TIN. If they don't give it to me, do I withhold 28% of the bill and send it to the IRS? If that is the case, then I might have some fun with the vendors that piss me off on a regular basis. Can you say "Backup withholding for AT&T"? Just asking. Tom Lodi, CA

Finally, a common sense action from the IRS. I especially like the idea of having the IRS allow the tax prep fees to be deducted from the refund. No more third party bank products to worry about. I could then eliminate any fees assocated with the bank products. This could be very good. Tom Lodi, CA