Lion EA

I stayed up all night cleaning my office before a photo shoot for CCH's Partners magazine back in early 2011. It has never looked like that before or after! The NY photographer and his stylist made my office look great in the magazine, but weren't styling me. They had me change clothes multiple times, so my hair was full of static electricity and my makeup was disappearing. They moved things out of my office and into my office and had an amazing setup of lights and reflectors. http://community.cchgroup.com/servlet/JiveServlet/previewBody/1061-102-1-1038/Dollars%20and%20Sense.pdf The Dell monitors swivel, so I can turn one toward a client when needed. I've swapped them around so I have a portrait on the right with government forms/return that can turn toward client, portrait in the middle with data entry, and landscape on the left with my email on the right half and on the left half email for two large clients, this and other message board, sometimes FaceBook, Twitter, news, etc. When I receive client documents electronically or have scanned them, I display client documents on one of the halves of the landscape monitor. All the monitors can swivel portrait to landscape and swivel around also.

I love my three monitors.

My father-in-law had to do just that. He called his only son, my husband to go there; we hopped in the car and hit the road from CT to PA. But, Dad decided he wanted that to be a private time with his wife. He had a friend out in the waiting room; the friend took him home when all was over and waited with Dad until we arrived. I guess I'm saying to not be alone, to have a trusted friend with you or just outside, someone who can stay as needed and just be quiet or listen to you. If that's family, that's wonderful; but families can be spread far apart. My husband had just been with his mother, so he had less of a need to say goodbye than Dad who needed the time to say goodbye in his own way after 50+ years of marriage. I have an engineer client, very analytical, who lost his wife a few years ago. When he returned to have his taxes prepared a year after her passing, he teared up and said to me that people tell him he'll be better now that a year has passed. But, he said, it never goes away, you just learn to live a new way. I was very touched that he could open up to me. We are your family and will listen to you and love you and cry and pray.

i took a lot of courses in this. Those forms are not going to be cheap. Maybe $100 each.

I charge by the form, but will add an Affordable Care Act item of $25 for check-the-box. Don't know how much I'll be charging for the forms. Doing a pro bono return this week for a family friend, so I'll see how much time it looks like to prep....

Maybe with my next purchase. A little every year.

My prayers go out to your wife and to you and to her whole medical team.

Good grief. I have to start reading all over again. I guess the least that this does is make only one 3115 necessary per taxpayer even if both automatic and non-automatic consent issues apply? But, still a 3115. Was really hoping for a cut-off date with going forward with new repair regs only and not backward. Elections but not a 3115. I can dream!

There are some good books. Hammer writes one. But, if his church is part of a mainstream denomination, then his national church or regional governing body probably has an excellent manual (even if his church is not following it !!). Do talk with one of our members who does clergy taxes. It's a hybrid, and backwards from the statutory employee hybrid, where he's an employee but self-employed for FICA/Med purposes. That's why some churches prepare 1040s; on a W-2 only Box 1 has to be filled in. You also need detail on the housing allowance, minutes from the meeting/employment contract/letter of agreement as that is not income for income tax purposes but is income for SE tax purposes.

Also, I'm using the Engagement Letter from The Tax Book and saw their Health Care Reform Overview that I will go over and have signed for any client who lacked MEC during 2014. Almost all of mine are covered by employers, so I don't expect much to do for ACA. For anyone who doesn't qualify to Check the Box, I'll probably follow the NATP questions to hopefully get all the details I need. I have a couple who began 1 January 2015 with Marketplace policies.

And, if you're an NATP member, their January magazine had 1 1/2 pages of questions to ask and questions not to ask.

I check the box. Once in a great while, it has let me talk to someone -- usually in a STATE, though. Go figure.

I am on at least one board that allows editing for 15 minutes. I've hit Post and then noticed I forgot "not" or something else that entirely changes what I meant. I'm not sure I've ever deleted, but I do remember other posters pointing out that I gave too much identifying info and should edit or delete. I have asked a moderator to delete for me someplace, sometime.

I also have the Lisa Ihm/BrassTax booklet for $20 on my desktop. I've attended her seminars on other topics and like her a lot.

I do that too. I've even put a sticky-note over a SSN that threatens to peek through, as well as use a sticky-note to hold my origami-folded form in place. Can I charge extra for origami? And, then there's Catherine's method of address labels over window that don't line up. And, my usual regular envelopes.... More than one way to skin a cat. Don't pay extra if you already have cheap envelopes around. The only window envelopes I buy are the ones that match the blank perforated forms that I can use for both 1099s and W-2s for any years.

CT doesn't have credits, well not much. They did add EIC a couple of years ago. Wish they had not.

I just use any business envelopes I happen to have to mail to recipients, making sure I include the line about Important Tax Document Enclosed when I address. But, I don't have very many to do.

Jack, I remember hearing what you're saying long ago, maybe during HRB training. Could it be in Circular 230? I think you're right, but don't know where to direct you. Do post when you find it, whichever way it goes.

Frango Mints!

They need another piece of paper, one more box checked off, to cover their butt. Why not make the decision on due diligence/logic instead of checking every box? Too hard, I guess.

What about that partial roof replacement that's still on the books but a decade later the whole roof was replaced? I just got a new client with pages and pages of his depreciation schedule, every line reading "equipment." Does he have three furnaces still being depreciated? Dozens of computers, many now in the hands of his children? He's an artist and has no idea. Extensions. Lots of extensions to give me time to ask lots of questions.

Those that followed the old rules are not compliant with the new rules. So, those supplies and repairs that were over $200 ($500 if elected at the beginning of a tax year, but who knew to do that two years ago?) should be on the depreciation schedule. And, that expensive roof repair that's being depreciated may be a repair after all and need to come off the depreciation schedule. Both those cases need 3115 (or an amended return if recent enough). Once a client is under audit, it's too late to file 3115. Form 3115 is due by the filing date, including extensions, of 2014 tax returns. I'm going to put a lot of clients on extension to buy time to do the best for my clients. And, to see where the understaffed IRS will go with this. (If it were me, I'd audit biz returns, including schedules C, E, and F, without 3115s -- low hanging fruit.) I hope this is not a pet project of the IRS, because I have never filed a 3115 except in classroom situations. Have taken hours of classes and read tons of texts and those Rev Procs that make your eyes glaze over. Have a stack nearly a foot high to re-read from courses and forums and such this month. Heard of some large firms that have their backroom interns churning out generic 3115s to slap on every tax return. I find this much scarier than ACA, at least for my clients.

During February.

I use the NAEA group policy. It's cheaper than what I had when I started out for the same coverage. Check with your professional organizations.

Only if you take me your tax preparer.