JohnH

Additional info if anyone is interested. From what I've been able to determine after several calls to CCH/Kleinrock and ATX, Zillion Forms as we know it is a goner. Despite the hype, Intelliforms has nowhere near the functionality of Zillion Forms. (I would say I'm surprised that their promo material was misleading, but I'd be lying). If you were using Zillion Forms on a standalone basis, you now have to buy Max in order to get the same functionality. Cost for Max is within $50 of the cost of Zillion Forms plus 1040 Office. So there isn't much price difference, but you can't keep the two separated as neatly (personal tax & business tax), as was possible using the old method.

Yes. Both your comments are among the many reasons I've resisted e-flinging all these years. If I wanted to become an agent of the government, I'd have applied for a job with the IRS. I'm not interested in being manipulated into working as an extension of the IRS or a stealth auditor, but that's clearly where this process has been headed since day 1. I was hoping the process wouldn't reach completion until after I retired, but it looks like the pace is stepping up. I'm prepared to jump on the bandwagon for the final few years if I'm absolutely forced to do so, but it will be for the sole purpose of preserving my small practice while preparing it for sale. Right now I'm just hoping there will be some sort of administrative relief - maybe an "Opt Out" form. If they offer it, then every one of my clients wil be signing it. We will see.

I think he missed at least one. My nominiation for #1 is the silly notion to force tax preparers to e-fling beginning in 2011.

Try entering "w2" without a hyphen or space. However, all that comes up is a blank single-screen form, just like the pdf you'd download off the IRS web site. No print options, no Uni-Form selection, and no way to enter data for multiple employees or to save data for future retrieval. I also loaded an 1120, filled in some info, and then loaded a NC corp form in the same client file. It ran out to the web to retrieve every form, but then didn't autofill the basic info on the state form when it opened. Looks like a joke to me - maybe I'm missing something...

Don't know how many on this forum have been using Zillion Forms as a separate package purchased through Kleinrock, but if so then you need to know there's been a huge change. I'm saying this assuming I understood what I was told this morning by customer support and what I've discovered after wasting half the morning fiddling around with the program. The promo information says IntelliForms from Intelliconnect is "essentially ZillionForms with some enhancements and a new name." and that it will be "almost identical to Zillion Forms". Well, the first "enhancement" I discovered is that it won't bring over employee information from the 2008 W-2 forms. It will import limited basic info for the "Profile" for the employer, but not the indiviudual employee name, ssan, address, etc from the prior year. Anything BUT identical, if my experience is any guide. If anyone else uses this setup and finds that I'm wrong on this major issue, I'd appreciate your correcting me before I cancel.

Thanks for clearing that up.

Here's a company I used to buy lists from for a business purpose. I found them to be very reliable at the time but I haven't dealt with them in several years. I'd probably go back to them if I needed to buy lists again. Maybe someone else can recommend another company or provide recent info on this one for you. http://www.infousa.com/

It's also helpful to explain to the client that The Today Show isn't a reliable place to obtain quality tax advice. Everyone knows that the only professionals qualified to render detailed guidance on matters of this importance are hairstylists and mechanics.

I just tell them nothing like this has been covered by any seminars I've attended, but if there's a credit available then I'm sure the person who sold them the washer/dryer had all the details if they referred to a tax credit to induce them to buy. They should ask the salesperson for any documentation he/she has to support the claim and I'll be sure to review it at tax time.

But it's never too late to do a corporate resolution & some minutes to get things on track, either. Well, as long as the audtior isn't standing at the doorstep.

Yes, I noticed the article too. I've got the income limit nailed cold. So does this mean that if I get an audit notice I can just send it back to them along with a copy of the article and tell them there's a 99 per cent chance this doesn't apply to me? Or does it illustrate the statistical anomaly that says if I have one hand in the oven and the other hand in the freezer, then "on average" I should be feeling comfortable at any given time?

I sympsathize with taxpayers who get hit with this premium jump when there's a one-time increase in their income in a given year. I also have one client who has been hit with it from the inception and probably always will be. I'm a compassionate sort of guy for the most part, but in this case I'm a little more heartless - my answer to them is "Be grateful you have the income."

Just shove some of those tax returns off in the floor until you can get around to them. It's a matter of priorities, Gene.

This article is just what I like - more ammunition!

Why stop with only two monitors? Here's what happens once you get bitten by the multiple monitor bug: http://www.realtimesoft.com/multimon/gallery_browse.asp?ID=711&date=desc&nummon=true&mon=desc

I can see you certainly have a knack for prioritizing.

Gail: I like your idea!. I keep several years stacked in a single vertical line with the same icon but with different names. It's still possible to click the wrong one when in a rush. Nesting the prior years into a separate folder makes much better sense - it requires an extra step to open a prior year.

You know, the second monitor doesn't have to be top quality, or even like the main monitor. I have one computer setup that has a nice LCD flat screen monitor for the main and a CRT monitor for the second one. All you need is the proper card for each type of display installed in the computer. You can pick up a used CRT monitor from most computer repair shops for $100 or less, including the card & installation if needed.

Booger: You'll still be much better off using 2 monitors - much more flexibility. Go for it.

No need to consider withdrawing your post; sometimes a good through discussion just looks like controversy. If I didn't know about both references, this discussion wold inspire me to check them out. Or if I used only one of them, I'd consider looking at the other one in order to make a good decision based on my practice needs. http://www.thetaxbook.com/ http://www.quickfinder.com/

The Tax Book editors have chosen to take a hard line on posts that 1) deviate too far from tax matters and 2) violate their interpretation of offensive or rude behavior. I think they're a little over-sensitive in this area because I enjoy wide open discussion and I don't generally take things personally, but they didn't ask my opinion. Their position is that overly aggressive lanugage in posts can drive participants away from their product. They may be right. Not knowing the specifics of why jainen, Old Jack, and a few others were banned, I have no idea if the Tab Book editors acted fairly or not in their situations. However, I was warned a couple of times and I had the choice to either dial it back or get banned. I decided to play a little more closely by their rules. If my experience with them is typical then it really isn't very complicated - they own the forum, so they get to decide how it's run. This is one of the many reasons I like this forum so much. We still have rules, but the atmosphere is much more open. We don't have to worry about collateral damage to a product we're trying to sell if someone steps across the line, and as jainen pointed out we have a fairly clear method of labeling a topic when it may be incendiary. I also like this alternative forum because I'd miss the benefit of jainen's and Old Jack's professional input without it.

I don't see it as an odd marketing claim at all, and I spend a fair amount of my own time in the marketing field. Any statement of this sort can either be meaningless fluff or it may be significant, depending upon what the end product looks like. WIth The Tax Book, I like the end product. None of this is intended to imply that Quickfinder isn't also a fine product.

You can right-click on the icon, choose "Rename", and just change its name. No need to change the icon itself. That's how I keep them separate.

OldJack makes good points, but then there are counterpoints. The Tax Book is written by people who actually work in the tax business and thus they have unique insights into the needs of tax pros. They also offer a variety of combinations of the publication and an excellent CD. Online updates are standard and The Tax Book sponsors a top-notch forum whose participants include the authors of the publication. None of this takes anything away from QuickFinder, but simply points out that each publication occupies a valuable place in our business. I have at various times in the past subscribed to each, and at one time both, and find each of them first-rate publications. I also have no investment or connection (other than as a customer), to either publication.

Sandy: Thanks for the heads up. I went to the Carbonite web site, skipped the free trial, and went right to "Buy" The coupon code got the price down to $64.97 for the 3-year deal. Here's the link if anyone else needs it. http://www.carbonite.com/how_it_works/