Lion EA

My clients won't DIY or go to HRB or look for someone cheaper -- usually. I do lose one every once in a while who wants their return faster when I already have a backlog. But, I keep getting referrals. Non-itemizers are not a threat. DIY is not a threat. Find a niche, such as small businesses or trusts or investors or multi-state returns or...and work as much and as long as you want.

If your biz tanks, so does your retirement.

Does he want the paper return NOW for his loan. And, will he tell you he made a mistake when it's time to e-file? Or, if he's not a client from last year anyway, will you even see him again after handing him a paper return for his mortgage? I'm busy enough that I'd have sent him on his way, too. Follow your gut.

$10,000 was compensation for the IC's services. The IC has $10,000 income and a stock basis of $9,500. Off the top of my head.

And, I have a couple of businesses in hand (luckily, still missing some info, so I have an excuse to stall) that I am dreading. The extra reporting on the K-1s... I guess I should dive in, but I'm worried and procrastinating. Less worried when I also prepare the personal returns. But, I dread sending the K-1s to some preparer I don't know who'll tell my biz client what a bad job I did !!

Form 2553 is what an LLC files to make the S-election.

Or, if the Schedule C is an LLC making the S election...

Also, check to see if your internet provider or bookkeeping software or professional organization or website or ... offer a simple portal that fits your budget.

You will want to contact Turbo Tax. We are professional tax preparers using professional preparation software and cannot help you with whether TT reported a refund for your 2016 returns.

I pick and choose from the content available free with my CCH SiteBuilder website each month. I added the opt-in newsletter feature, but no one has signed up for it to be emailed to them yet. Tenenz has newsletters, as does Tax Coach.

I do answer tax questions for people I know, with qualifiers sprinkled liberally through the answers. As an example, that would be for someone at church who asks me during coffee hour about "this new pass-through deduction" he heard about. I do NOT answer tax questions for random callers. I recommend they engage a preparer who can work with their entire financial situation or that they call their tax prep software company for advice.

You might want to join NY/CT-ATP to network with CT preparers who might want to acquire your clients. The membership fee is amazingly low ($80 ?) compared to NAEA and NATP, for instance. https://www.nyctatp.org/

I have one of those, an older semi-retired engineer, who hasn't updated his spreadsheet heading since 2007, so his long-deceased wife's name and his and the year 2007 appear in the heading every year. He does put his name & SSN in the body, but not the year!

My website from CCH's SiteBuilder includes FileShare, a simple portal that works fine for my biz at no additional cost. CCH also offers a more robust portal. Try a demo of CCH's products first, if you use ATX. If neither of those work the way you work/your clients work, then see if your email or phone or accounting software or...has something already included or available in your budget.

Oh, you reminded me of another twist: my IC couples have at least two SE businesses per couple. One couple has hubby with CT and NY sources of income (NY is decoupling from lots of fed items) and wife with her own biz that now operates in Paris, also! And, my other out-of-CT clients that have had few issues in their other states -- well, now I have states other than just NY to research their compliance with &/or decoupling from fed law. I am really raising my fees this year!

Bite me sounds like a good response. I've already been contacted by four clients who aren't usually this early, but are almost ready to deliver me their tax materials. Three have IC income. I was dreading getting started late, so am happy I'll be able to start next week. But, be careful what you hope for -- I'm not happy that my first ones will deal with that dreaded QBID.

If I knew where my old HRB contracts are, I'd share those with you. Maybe someone from one of the large companies will jump in. Also, your E&O insurer might have sample contracts.

Colleagues in firms much, much larger than mine have received visits comparing Form 8879 dates with e-file dates. I did have a treasury agent show up at my front door (home office of my sole proprietorship) at 7 a.m. one year to ask questions about a very part-time employee. He scared hubby who asked to see his badge and made him wait outside in the snow until he woke me up. Totally different issue, though. Just don't want another agent showing up!

What about our prohibition against "stockpiling" signed tax returns, not being allowed to "hold" signed tax returns and e-file days later?

I have two fairly complex returns that I gave the options to the clients. Both ended up wanting to wait to e-file. I agree, because I don't want some part-timer doing the data entry with potential errors after I've already proofread the returns. Even scanning is not error proof. They both owe, but want to pay the extra month's interest to have an accurate return and the acknowledgment (one client works in Singapore, other is very elderly and frail).

The year after NY's last revision, CT also revised -- from two pages to five. Totally unneeded. I think I'll push electronic copies to everyone this year. (I still have two 2017 folders that clients haven't picked up that I'll mail before the end of the year.) I have a few clients who use my portal, so maybe they at least will take electronic copies.

Page 1 does have the check box for Preparer as 3rd Party Designee in the bottom right corner of the Paid Preparer Use Only section at the bottom of page 1, right above the Self-employed check box. Schedule 6 has Third Party Designee info for a non-preparer, such as an adult child for an aging parent. All the schedules are designed to print 8.5 X 11. Of course, the two "postcards" will have to print 8.5 X 11 also!

CCH is requiring cell phone numbers for users of ProSystem fx and SiteBuilder starting this month, today really with the download of the tax software. I'm a sole proprietor, so don't care about setting up employees. I do need to call Monday to see if they mean that all CLIENTS who upload/download using FileShare on my website must provide a cell.

Have you sent this to CCH who is now requiring MFA?

That's what I was remembering. Thank you for confirming. I'll get back to this now-ex-client (keeping the wife). 2/3 of the way through setting up the church's Advent Giving Tree. (Not to mention, need to do my exercises for my new hip.) Thank you again, Jack.