JohnH

Since the title of this thread is "NEXT YEAR", here's a suggestion. Next year do this -> set a cutoff date not later than Mar 20. Anything coming in on or after that date AUTOMATICALLY goes on extension. No exceptions, no excuses, no caving in. If you have time to circle back to some of them before the 15th, then the extension did no harm. If you don't get back to them for any reason (you got sick, decided to take a few days off, computer crashed, kids/spouse/pet got sick, don't like the client's attitude, whatever...), then there won't be any last day surprises. You remain in charge and you're not subject to the whims of a flaky client or any of the other surprises that jump up at the last minute. Your blood pressure will thank you, and you might even live longer.

Yesterday was every died-in-the-wool procrastinator's dream. It doesn't get much better than this. First the 15th falls on a weekend. Then the filing date gets pushed to Tuesday because of a holiday in only one city. THEN, literally at the last minute IRS extends another day. I wonder how many people heard the news, put their taxes aside last night, and will be rushing to meet the deadline today? It's just a way of life for some people. I was already waiting for my biggest procrastinator to call me and complain because I erroneously told him to pay his payroll tax deposit through EFTPS by 8pm last Friday Apr 13th (I discovered on Friday that he actually had until 8pm Apr 16th but I didn't change my instructions to him). I'm sure he will hear about all this and start griping because I had him violate his principle of "not giving the money to those thieves until the last minute" . It doesn't affect him, but all this extra publicity about extended due dates may make him take notice...

I prepare a few NC Corp returns. It pretty much tracks the Fed return. Franchise tax is fairly easy to calculate (minimum is $200). You can also attach the Sec of State Annual Report to the return if you wish, or omit it from the return and simply file it directly on the NC Sec of State web site. The main problem is that NC doesn't recognize bonus depreciation so you have to do some year-over-year adjustments if you have any on the Fed return. If you have out-of-state shareholders, there's a special form you have to prepare. Is all the income from NC, or will you need to allocate among more than one state? I'll help in any way I can - just post here, PM me, or email me. EDIT-Glad to see that Terry chimed in while I was typing - probably prepares lots more of them than I do.

They should add one additional page - one with concentric circles displaying varying amounts of money, suitable for hanging on a dartboard. Take the average of four consecutive throws and you have the correct amount of estimated tax to pay each quarter.

So I think she can use Mark Twain's line in her opening conversation with SSA - "The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated."

Either somebody at SSA made a data entry error, or there is some sort of identity theft/scam taking place here. If I were her, I'd pull my credit reports to see if something fishy is going on.

Done here too (well, except for that one 1120 extension I'll fill out on Monday). But since I'm scaling back, there's no reason not to be done. I have several corps and individuals on extension, but in most cases the ball is in their court. Looks like Mon and Tues will be payroll tax report days. Maybe we will head down to the beach toward the end of next week. Hope everyone has a productive and profitable end to this filing season. If you're still sweating the deadline, I feel your pain (for whatever that's worth).

Why not tell them :"You need to put $XXXX into your IRA by XXXXXX to reduce your taxes by $XXX. Here's your extension. Let us know when you get the IRA done and then we'll put your return back in the rotation in the following 30 days or so."

That picture has so many things to comment on, but my personal favorite is the partially-full garbage can inside another partially-full garbage can. I'm going to do one of those in my office just for the comic effect. Will see if anyone notices when they come in.

I'm fairly sure KC was the one who alerted me, too. I joined on Apr 14, and by that time there were over 100 members. This community grew exponentially from the outset. It is truly unique, thanks to the efforts of Eric and everyone else who cooperates to make it the special resource it has become. Being self-supporting and not subject to the whims or domination of a single company, it offers a rare level of independence. Thank you, Eric.

You could shorten the letter somewhat: Dear client: Sorry to break it to you like this, but: 1) I'm not jeopardizing my health for your $400 refund or anyone else's. (Martyrdom is way overrated) 2) Here's your extension. Sincerely, ============================================= For the clients who call to ask about progress on their return, how about this? "Sorry things keep stretching out. You see, every time you cal to ask 'how's it coming?', I pull out your folder to check on its status, can't remember where it was, and so then I return it to the bottom of the stack."

Having several for the 8283 data is great. I start most returns using one to enter the usual answers for foreign accounts, another for "yes" to healthcare coverage, and then a couple of single-stroke macros for special situations. One that is useful right now will prefill Fed & State extensions, then pause and wait for me to input the amount the client is paying. After you write a few, it becomes almost second nature, doesn't it?

Those macros in Drake are an incredible time saver, aren't they? Now that I'm hooked, don't know if I would ever be happy with any software that didn't offer them.

I must say that my "one pass" rule is working well again this year. On virtually everything I'm doing, I make one pass entering the data. If there's something missing or I need to ask for more info, I just prepare an extension. (There are a few common-sense exceptions of course, but that's the basic process) Been doing that since the first of February. And of course everything coming in during the past few weeks automatically gets an extension. I'll get back to many of them, and that's fine. But if not, don't bother me - they will hear from me sometime after the 17th (or maybe after the 30th, depending upon how quickly I get the payroll reports out).

You're better off without that one for sure. Now that they heard someone will do it cheaper, they would probably pester you about it going forward if they stuck with you. May as well use that free time to replace them with a profitable client.

I agree with you on the standing desk. It's nice when clients drop by as well - doesn't happen much with me, which makes it even more of an inconvenience when someone does. If I remain standing, they don't sit down. So the conversation is usually shorter unless I have some reason to spend time with them and offer them a seat.

Definitely file a paper extension. It costs you and the client nothing, but could save you both potential aggravation (and money) in the future.

I was told many years ago that if you see a deer beside the road always look for its tail if visible. If the tail flicks up, the deer is about to bolt. Is there any validity to that?

I've never understood why they put those "Deer Crossing" signs along the road where they do. Too many deer get hit there. They should move the signs to a safer place.

I've decided to stop saying "How stupid can you be? " Seems like some of my clients are taking that as a challenge.

I like 6:21 forward as well J: "Did you have roaming eyes or eyes just for her?" A: I-I-I have eyes just for her..." (Long pause and stare-down by judge) A" I-I-I mean I'm a guy - you're gonna look aroun - uh-uh-uh I mean, listen your honor..." Suggestion: When you suddenly realize you're standing in a hole you just dug, the VERY first thing you should do is throw away the shovel.

I never really thought about requiring a signature since there's no IRS requirement mentioning it. I don't think the absence of a signature would invalidate a written acknowledgement as long as the document appears to be valid on its surface. On the other hand, over the past few years I've sent several letters to church financial secretaries over the years advising them that the "No goods or services" language was missing from their contribution summaries. I send the letters anonymously, not because I'm afraid of their finding out the source, but simply because I want them to know my motivation is not to drum up business or engage them in any manner. I also send them a summary of the court case regarding this matter. I suggest that they check with their denomination or the ECFA about the subject of the letter. Many small and moderate size churches have volunteers doing this task. My intention is to help them rather than discourage them from serving.

Happy Resurrection Sunday !

Utah? Fantastic skiing on/in dendrite powder. Slopes less than an hour from the airport. Beautiful scenery throughout the state.

But how is she going to get her loan approved if you don't drop everything right now and do all of them immediately? Those paying clients can just wait while you take care of HER emergency.