JohnH

I've gone along with the "they might switch to Taxwise" argument, although deep down I'll confess I've more or less felt it was very unlikely. However, from a marketing standpoint it would seem to me that they have nothing to lose to offer a simple guarantee of that sort, especially since they are asking people to put up cold hard cash. I'm sure they are hearing it from others, so I keep wondering why they don't address it in writing. The only conclusions I can come to are: 1) They are stubborn, stupid, or shallow in their thinking; 2) It's a possibility and they don't want to make any commitments.

Thanks for that heads up. I don't prepare them, but any weakness or deficiency is a concern since one never knows what will be needed in the future.

Marbeth: Yes, I'll throw in two OfficeMax discount coupons just to even things out.

I can forward my early renewal discount email to you if you'd like - I'm not going to be using it.

Same here, Mel. Ready to front some money at any time you say you're ready.

AHA! That's' the last straw! I knew there was something up - no early renewal from me until I get equal treatment.

I'm doing the same thing I did last year. Holding out for a toaster or microwave oven as an incentive.. (Coffee pot is no longer an incentive for me, because I've sworn off drinking the stuff every day) They never stepped up to the plate in 2007 like my bank did with its CD's, but I'll give them another chance.

Is is humorous how some people acted in light of the prospect of "free" money from the government. Just goes to show how irrational some people are when it comes to financial matters. The irrationality compounds itself when taxes are involved.

Yes, "Kathier" is a word. It's the person who takes your money at the Konvenienth Store.

7) You should let me slide because of all the referrals I've given you. 8) You'e got me owing so much to the government that you should be paying me for doing my return. 9) My last preparer would let me go 2 or 3 years before paying, and he's not complaining about what I still owe him.

Excellent analogy.

That's a good link to save. I'm emailing it to anyone who asks. - it's a good client service function. It's very easy to use and they can get their status info right away. https://sa2.www4.irs.gov/irfof/IRServlet?app=IRACTC And I agree, it will probably be the lookup location next year.

Personally I'm not bored with this discussion, but I get bored with a topic I have a guaranteed satisfactory way to deal with my boredom. Rather than trash the people posting to the topic, I just quit looking at it. Works every time.

My overall experience this tax season was fine, so at this point I'm still pleased with the software itself and am remaining in the "will probably renew" camp. However, I'm not trusting enough to commit this early and so I'm also still in the "won't renew early" camp. I'll renew in Dec at the earliest unless they do something to lose my confidence in the interim. Meanwhile I'm going full steam ahead to evaluate Drake (any maybe Tax Slayer Pro) during the extension period by using it to prepare most of my extension returns (except those with carryforwards, depreciation, and other issues that affect multiple years) and I may even opt to run dual programs next tax season. Learning the basics of another program isn't very difficult - finding the shortcuts and navigation techniques that increase efficiency is the biggest problem. That's why I prefer doing that sort of thing during the extension period as a means of keeping the powder dry.

This string has reinforced one of my operational biases. I'm going to stick to my long-standing policy of refusing to do accounting & tax work for restaurants.

Just tell them that the early rebates are being sent out to people the IRS is planning to audit later this year.

Have you considered that this excercise may be the equivalent of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic?

I learned all I needed to know at mine -> "No need to go to another one". However that is encouraging news that KC posted. Thanks.

I'm still trying to figure out if a partnership ever existed (even an informal one), based on the info you've presented. I'm wondering of the other two parties actually loaned money to a sole proprietor, rather than having made an investment in a partnership. I suggest that partly because you imply that a judge made some sort of decision against your client. It would seem to me that most courts would tell a partner that they just made a bad investment and aren't entitled to restitution (unless they've been wronged or misled in some significant manner), whereas they might be entitled to repayment of a loan. Meanwhile, I'm sticking to my original suggestion that you do nothing until you see the documents. If there was a written agreement at the outset, you need to see it. If there was a court proceeding, you need to see what the judge decided and what was the basis for the decision. If this didn't go to court, the attorney correspondence should have laid out a clear argument for why they needed to repay money. And after all is said & done, even a court decision or attorney settlement might be right on the law but wrong with respect to the tax treatment. Why is your client so reluctant to give you documentation that clearly exists? Don't mean to be critical of your client, but your experience with them thus far is beginning to explain why they had trouble with their "partners", "lenders", "employees" (or whatever the relationship with the other people was). First there was a writtne agreement or some sort and now there isn't? It's time for a reality check here. If you try to do something from a tax standpoint before getting that info, you're just creating paper snowflakes.

I'd tell them we are dead in the water until I see the agreement. There's no factual basis on which to make any reporting decisions right now.

The best way to complete extensions is to complete at least a few of them by trying out at least one other software package. Not necessarily the most complex ones, but at least a few that require the program to work a little. It adds to the variety and is a good way to keep your powder dry in case you need to get serious about making a change. That's how I came to change to ATX from Ultra Tax a couple of years ago.

No need to be concerned. There are plenty of people around who are certain that there's no intention of combining the two or of this magnanimous company trying to force anyone one way or the other. They keep reassuring us of that on a regular basis. I'm sure this is all just a coincidence, aren't you?

Rita: I know why he got the stimulus payment early. You entered the "PSE" notation on the bottom of page 2 in green ink. That's the secret "Pay Stimulus Early" code that only a few people knew about. Obviously you got the word...

Think it might be cheaper if he just moved to Canada?

I mostly followed what Deb just stated - explained the situation on to the clients by phone or email as I sent their returns back to them. I did have one phone call today and a couple of emails about it - both from people who had extensions. But the most interesting thing happened first thing this morning on my way into the office. I stopped by my mechanic's shop to ask a question about my car and the owner's wife (who is also a client) asked about the news coming out over the weekend. I told her I didn't know much more than what I had heard, but I assumed the direct deposits were going out a little faster than expected but the paper checks would probably follow the original schedule. One of the mechanics was standing off to the side and he corrected me by saying that the paper checks were scheduled to start May 9 rather than May 16. Now the two things I don't argue with mechanics about are auto repair matters and tax matters, so I just allowed the comment to slide off my back and left with my smug attitude. When I got to the office I learned he was right. So now I have to issue a blanket apology to every mechanic I've ever poked fun at concerning tax advice (although I'm still not taking back all the stuff I say about tax advice from hairstylists). I'm a little embarrassed about my smugness, but the good side of all this is that I now have a new reliable source of tax information when my research isn't satisfactory - I'm going to seek out that particular mechanic in the future to confirm my opinions.