JohnH

I don't generally get involved in the installment agreements - I just tell the clients to do an online application or call IRS when they get their notice and it's usually a pretty simple process if they meet the guidelines. Most report back to me that it was easy. But in the few cases I did get involved, I didn't use the POA. I'd just check with the client to be sure they'd be available for an hour or two, then I'd call IRS and put the call on speaker while I did something important. When the IRS rep came on the line I'd ask if I can briefly put them on hold to conference the client in. Once that was done, we handled everything on a conference call. With only an exception or two, most clients came away form the process impressed by how easy it was to deal with the IRS employee.

If the total owed is under $25K, I think they can get the two years combined. Limits may be higher, but I know someone who did this recently. They filed the second year with a balance due, an existing IA defaulted. They called IRS and got a new IA set up for both years combined. But they didn't do it online - they had to make the call.

The key to success is sincerity. Once you can fake that, you've got it made.

That's a smart move by CCH, if they can get away with it.

Everybody has their own way of handling these things, but I don't understand the reasoning behind calling out additional fees for prior-years' returns. Wouldn't it be better to convert the billing for prior years' returns to time expended rather than form-based or line-based pricing? An hour spent on a prior-year return is no different than an hour spent on a current-year return IMO. It's just an hour, no different than any other hour. If it takes longer to switch to other software, check for updates, research anything that has changed, etc, then the extra cost is baked into the bill automatically. The only reason I can think of to have a special prior-year fee is to call the client's attention to the fact that their procrastination cost them extra. In that case, $10-$15 isn't going to affect their behavior. If that it the goal, then the add-on should be in the range of $100- $200, or maybe a 25 - 50% upcharge on the bill. (But even that won't matter to some clients).

Have you actually seen the IRS correspondence your client received? If you are simply working off information the client gave you, it's possible she may be the potential victim of some sort of scam or ID theft effort.

There are lots of cases where something designed for the PC loses functionality on the Mac. Excel for Mac is another good example. It works well overall, but some minor functions work differently on the Mac and those quirks can be very annoying in some cases. As has been stated - each has its own strengths and weaknesses. The key is knowing which is which. "Knowledge tells us a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom consists of refusing to use it in a fruit salad."

Yep, that's what their ad guys keep telling us....

I agree with Eric - it depends on what you're doing. I use both, but for different reasons. If you just need the basics, then the PC is more than adequate. My PC is great for routine stuff such as tax work, excel, word, etc. But when I want great quality graphics and sound, or when I need convenience & portability, I go to the Mac and iPad. For example, nothing beats Keynote for presentations as far as I'm concerned. So each system has its place & purpose. Cost is important but not the controlling factor - making every choice based on price reduces all your decisions to the lowest common denominator.

Bart: I enjoyed the political give-and-take in the early days, and I enthusiastically participated in it. I think I even had a few posts deleted or was strongly encouraged to alter some things I said. For those of us who have pretty thick skins, not much bothered us. But it was obvious that some posters took things to heart and had very emotional, visceral reactions (even to what I considered some fairly humorous or innocuous stuff at times). Since the main purpose of this forum is sharing professional guidance & experience, it was a wise decision of the moderators to adopt the current policy.

You're right. Can't believe I've gone this entire filing season without posting a link to it...

"Progress Billing" - I like it. There's a cost associated with the time involved each and every time a file is pulled for review, updating, and sending another inquiry to the client. Your time is your inventory, and they are consuming your inventory, well in advance of the time the project is completed.

Ever think of telling him to get his ship out of your office ?

Among the many things I like about this forum, I rate "learning something new" at the top of the list. Sometimes I think we should be able to count participation here as CE. I never knew that a mlssed extension date essentially voided the extension, but I'm sure it will be useful information at some point in the future. Thanks Sara

Sara: Are you sure about that FTF penalty being calculated back to Apr 15? I don't recall running into this before, but I think the 5% per month will begin on Oct 18, provided a valid extension was filed to begin with.

I'm glad to see this, but I view the news with a mixture of positive and negative feelings. It's probably more a matter of optics than substance. The US government has probably been leaning on the Indian government to do something about this, since so many of the scammers have identifiable accents. So the Indian government "locates" a site (which was probably already well-known to them), conducts a raid, does a few perp walks, and grabs some headlines. Problem solved (at least the public relations part of it). This operation is probably a drop in the bucket and nothing will really change with respect to the ongoing scams. But the government officials can claim they are cracking down and everybody feels better about it.

An acquaintance of mine moved to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina several years ago. That's about a 4-5 hour drive from Charlotte - all interstate Highway. He dropped by today for a short visit with local friends because he had driven up here to escape the storm. Traffic was so bad it took him 9-1/2 hours to make the drive, in spite of the fact that they are using lane reversals on I-26 for evacuation.

You mean having a place to go to the bathroom isn't an ordinary and necessary expense for a farmer?

I've never seen a penalty assessed for a late-filed 1099-MISC. (But maybe that will change now that the amount has been upped to $250)

Well, I think that's a really good question. I've been staring at my keyboard for quite a while and I can't find the "any" key. There isn't one on my iPad or Mac either.

I agree completely. Learning when to say "no"'is extremely important. I haven't always made the best decision in this area and have taken on work from time to time which I should have declined. In recent years I have gotten better at passing on some projects, but it's a never-ending process. Just had a conversation this weekend with someone over preparing a return with a large casualty loss as a result of a house fire which they claim was only partially insured. After looking over the scope of the project and potential size of the loss, I decided to tell them they need someone who is more familiar with this type of return and has deeper pockets if they make a mistake. As I see it, the decision to decline work can be based in several factors. It might be a matter of not being up to speed on the particular issue. It might also be a matter of not being willing to invest a lot of time on a type of return you don't see very often. Or it could be a simple decision to mitigate preparer risk.

I thought his reply looked odd for some reason, especially for a first-time post. Didn't bother with his link.

The latest Journalmof Accountcy survey once again shows Drake at the top. Drake users are a loyal bunch. No surprise to any experienced user that Drake scored high in all the following areas Price Support Most Recommended for New Practice Ease of Installation Handling Updates During Tax Season Ease of Electronic Filing Handling of Affordable Care Act Calculations Ease of Use Transferring Data within Returns Handling Multistate Business Returns Conversion Package

H-m-m. Guess I need to look at the forms a little closer, eh? Looks like we just enter the $10K on 10a, the $7K COGS on 10b, the $18K as inventory on the balance sheet, and reduce Resource Development by $25K. There's really no accounting for COGS in the traditional manner (Opening Invty + Purchases - Ending Invty). Then each year going forward, the Resource Development expense account is increased by whatever amount is entered on 10b as the inventory winds down. Thanks, Ron

I failed to mention something which may be important. The revenue from the book sales alone was about $10K. The remaining $250K of revenue consisted primarily of contributions by donors to support and further the activities of the non-profit. The point being that the book sales revenue is a tiny portion of total revenue. Also, there was no inventory of any other type at the beginning of the year. This is the first year this issue of accounting for inventory has arisen.