Lion EA

Yep, those little details we understand. But, the client sometimes hears what they want to hear. So, even if one spouse doesn't have $10,000 in their IRA, they might think they can take all $20,000 however they want. I try to say it at least three different ways to clients!

WIth each $10,000 coming out of each spouse's IRA. Not $20,000 all from one spouse's or any other combo.

Exactly. If you do a lot of multistates, the time you save will mean you can do more returns, more accurate returns, in the same amount of time and make more money to pay for more expensive software and have the same or better profit. Or get to sleep earlier! When I was shopping, the cost increase from ProSeries to ProSystem fx (with a lot of pay-per-returns) was covered by only TWO tax returns. It was a no-brainer to upgrade. I think I did at least SEVEN more returns by 15 April that year. And slept better. (And continued to prepare returns with very easy multi-states well into the fall.)

I try to charge enough of a tax prep fee to each client to cover the questions throughout the year. I too want them to call BEFORE they do something. As I get to know each, I can estimate how much to bump up their tax prep fee to make it worth my while. If I underestimate, I bump up the next year. It almost always works out. (I have a new business client that I quoted a fee. They also have a personal preparer and a bookkeeper, team put together by personal preparer. I'm getting a LOT of questions. They are nice to work with, though, and want to get their finances organized. I may increase my quote by 10% when filing their S-corp for the first time. The combo will still be less than they were paying the big NYC firm.) I have sometimes charged a consultation fee to a prospective new client with a lot of questions, calculations, research, etc., with the offer of some/all applied to their first tax prep.

Thank you for sharing, Catherine.

Me, too!

There was a lot more a year ago. But, this "retroactive" part didn't sink in until I took more classes this year (or paid more attention in classes this year). I was more focused on the fact that we now have some dollar amounts that we never had before; i.e. $500, and that roof repairs are really repairs and maybe the IRS won't try to call them replacements any more. I signed up for the NATP webinar. I think I'm going to put a LOT of my clients on extension to have time to think about each item on their depreciation schedule vs. new regs. And, forget the old regs; need to wipe them out of my mind. I am going to charge big for this!

For those of you in the greater NY area, the NY/CT-ATP's November dinner meeting is 2 CEs on ACA by a speaker that I've heard and liked and learned from before on other topics. Here's a link: http://nyctatp.org/event/2014-november-dinner-meeting/ Dinner at 6 p.m. in Danbury, CT, off I-84; education program at 7 p.m. or a little earlier start. This is my favorite group. I'm newly on the education committee. Feel free to poke around the website or ask me any questions. The dues are only $60 or so. We're having a great two-day seminar December 4-5 (including 1 CE NY and 1 CE CT; 2 CE ethics was during our October seminar) and a January last-minute up-date, also.

It's the change in the Repair vs. Capitalization Regulations that is causing this. 2013 and 2014 are the years to "reboot" our clients' depreciation schedules to bring them into compliance. I felt like it was for new purchases beginning after 31 December 2013, but it's for any item still on a depreciation schedule or that should be on a depreciation schedule or that was capitalized and should have been expensed or was expensed and should've been capitalized or that gets disposed of or.... I'm taking several classes and getting very worried about how much time this will take me this coming tax season (I did NONE of it last season, being a bit undereducated, and have NEVER prepared Form 3115) and how my clients will resent paying what this is worth when THEY didn't make the change but the regulations changed.

Webinars Education on Your Schedule The ABCs of Form 3115 In 2014, the Treasury Department expects every taxpayer who owns, leases or produces property to file a Form 3115 to comply with its new mandatory regulations. With over 150 accounting method changes on this form, Form 3115 is not easy or short. Our upcoming webinar will provide exactly what you need to know to accurately complete Form 3115. This webinar will go through actual examples of: Fixing missed depreciation Changing from cash to accrual Meeting the requirement for the repair regulations These examples of the most common changes will come in handy when you encounter them with your clients this upcoming tax season. Space is limited and spots are filling up quickly! Register for November 18 Register for November 20 CPE Credits: 2 (100 minutes) for EA, CPA, CRTP, CFP Fees: $52 for Members/$64 for Nonmembers

Great, Jack. I was just concerned that reimbursing one employee when there are more might trigger some unintended consequences. The most common question I get when a client/friend/hairdresser is considering hiring an employee is if the company can reimburse the new employee for his COBRA payments to his prior employer until he qualifies for the new employer's health insurance, or can reimburse for as long as COBRA lasts when new employer does not offer health insurance. By the way, I have not had clients hiring employees over the last couple of years. Some have been very outspoken about not hiring because they don't want to get caught in the tangle of ACA.

Wages. Maybe someone really up on ACA (Jack, do you know?) can comment on whether it's better to have no health payments at all or to reimburse one out of several employees for health benefits. Will that count as a health plan but not a qualified health plan and incur penalties? Or, does none of that at all kick in until 50 employees? (So far, none of my small businesses have any employees. Still have more courses coming up in November, December, and January, though.)

Would personal use of a company-owned car go on his W-2; therefore, letting the company deduct all between Auto Expense and Wages/Officer Compensation. The officer/employee will have the extra W-2 income and resulting taxes, though. And, I'll bet the insurance will be higher as owned by the company. Still have to track biz vs. personal mileage.

We may need more than one 3115 for each return as some types of accounting changes cannot be reported on the same 3115. We will have a lot of manual work to "reboot" the depreciation schedules. Charge a lot. And, take more courses now through January.

There are a lot of us here that no longer use ATX. When the tax season heats up, it would be a real time saver if software-specific questions are noted in the Topic if they are not in their own forum. I come here for the great tax info as well as some cheer.

Form 8948. Don't forget to check about the state(s).

NY is complex and a pain to deal with. Never answer their phones. Slow to send refunds. Make sure you charge accordingly.

Thank you for sharing, Jack.

National Association of Enrolled Agents In case you missed Friday's E@lert, here are the dates and topics of those free members-only Webinars NAEA is offering. (2 CE credits each) What Have We Learned from the 2013 ACA Changes, December 10 Learn to formulate advice and strategies to minimize the effect of Obamacare on middle and upper-class taxpayers. This session will also touch on taxpayers contemplating marriage (including same-sex couples) and the income thresholds that become "danger zones." The Individual and Employer Mandates Under ACA, December 16 Delve into penalties planned for individuals that have failed to obtain health insurance in 2014. Those exempt from the policies and those under the hardship conditions will be discussed in detail. The employer mandate that begins January 1, 2015 will be explained at length, even though the penalties have been postponed for a year. What the 2014 ACA Forms Will Mean for Your Business, January 8 Join us for an in-depth discussion with examples on the use of the new forms and worksheets and the new documentation your clients need to bring with them for their tax appointment. You’ll get helpful suggestions on increasing appointment times, pricing, and giving your clients a heads-up on what to expect. This is one you don't want to miss! As soon as I have registration info, I'll post it! Stay tuned.

Why don't we clean their houses, too!

CT starts with federal AGI and has no separate capital gain tax rate.

Sun spots! And, thank you Eric, for staying on top of this.

I've had no success at anyone filling out organizers accurately. And, I insist upon seeing the original documents anyway. For Schedules C, E, business entities, I insist upon some type of Q&A via telephone or email or in my office or.... Many start with their QB file or P&L and BS, which is better than a hand-done organizer. Many followed me from Block and were used to some type of interview format. Others came from big NY CPA firms with unopened organizers or organizers filled out with huge errors (mortgage interest paid as interest received, no 1099R info as they paid tax on that already!, that kind of thing). And, I too have had the comment about if I have to fill that out, I'll just do my own tax return. Or my kid said if I fill it out for him, he'll do my return for free. I don't send out general newsletters. I spend out information specific to a client(s). I want to do a bit more. I have an opt-in choice on my website for clients to receive newsletters, but no one has asked for newsletters. I have many clients that are very private and really don't want email or snail mail but will take my phone call if I think they need to know something.

I don't know what the original question said. But, your revised question talks about EIC and not being able to interview the clients. You HAVE to do the due diligence. But, I too am swamped with prior year and other late returns, so would refuse any business, even referrals from current clients.

I use the Intuit one that I just type into QB or into any internet connection to Intuit with no reader of any kind. No monthly fees as a ProAdvisor. I also have their free reader that can go on my iPhone or other device. I almost never use the reader. I use PayPal, but have not used their reader. I saw that Costco has a service. My kids use PayAnywhere with a reader. Their inlaws use a service with the cheapest rates but the worst customer service. My hairdresser bought a system with a machine from Staples. Lots of choices out there, so price out what your expected usage is to compare options and get the best one for your business.