JohnH

TaxGuy2040. I believe you are sincere when you say you gave Drake an honest effort. But you are wrong on so many levels. You gave it a test spin around the block a few times, but you never took the time to really learn its capabilities. Your naïve statement about the "speed" issue is just one example. Its speed in backing up, navigating from one screen to another, and update time run circles around anything in its price range. And I haven't even mentioned the huge increases in efficiency (time saved) that learning how to write a few macros can provide. So you took a cursory look, filed a few returns, threw up your hands, and moved on. Nothing wrong with that. As for the refund policy - everyone has them. A good businessperson learns the ins and outs of the refund policy before buying anything new. You failed to do that and then tried to whine your way out. No sympathy here for your failure, but maybe you learned a lesson that will serve you well in business in the future. Learn the lesson and apply it. Drake takes a little investment of time and commitment to really discover its power. If you're high on the latest bells & whistles and you like tech gadgetry, then Drake is going to look pretty pedestrian. But then a 1040 looks pretty pedestrian too. Your software doesn't need to launch the space shuttle - it needs to produce an accurate tax return which is nothing more than a glorified Excel spreadsheet. So I agree that someone like you should look elsewhere for your tech thrills. Just don't fool yourself or others into the notion that you actually evaluated its capabilities. You never even came close.

We already know. It isn't really very much. Not enough to even bother with. Just go ahead and complete the return without it. But NEXT year it's going to be HUGE. And she will keep meticulous records. No doubt about it.

No, he absolutely should not pay the company the balance of the loan. YOU should pay the company the balance of the loan as a penalty for not reading his mind...

With respect to the 1095 and retirees, it seems to me that the SSA-1099 showing a full year of Medicare premium deductions would be sufficient evidence that the taxpayer met the courage requirements. The 1095 is just a redundancy in this situation. Now if they retired during the year, that might entail some additional proof, and of course if there are other family members some more digging is needed.

I like the "genius" commercials. I think I'll start preparing tax returns on my smart phone and just pressing a single icon button to make sure everything's fine. No doubt t that's a great business plan.

Good luck with Ultra Tax. I used it before switching to ATX and I loved the features it offered. Just couldn't afford to keep it after my introductory price ran out. I tried to get another discounted deal the year of the ATX meltdown, but UT wouldn't work with me on price. Thankfully I found Drake, which runs circles around anything out there insofar as speed & efficiency are concerned, and at a fraction of the price anyone else can offer. In any event, you'll find that Ultra Tax lives up to its name.

I did a quick scan of the NCDOR web site as you did, and I could not find specific guidance on this issue. However, since there is an entity change I think you need to register a new business and obtain a new number for NC Withholding & Sales Tax. The NCDOR now ties all their numbers back to the Federal ID Number, so having the same state ID number associated with two different Federal ID numbers will inevitably cause some sort of computer glitches along the way. Same is true for their Unemployment Tax number, although in this case you will want to register is as a successor employer in order to preserve the favorable tax rate (hopefullythere is one), and also to avoid the annoying mismatch letters for the state tax credit which show up a couple of years down the road.

I'm thinking of winding it all down by 70 (that will be in Feb 2018) And I'd say I'm already on a glide path - not accepting new clients and shooing a few out the door already. Just not sure if I'll actually work the 2018 tax season, but it's too early for that decision. Hope everyone has a safe New Years Eve and a prosperous New Year.

Merry Christmas

I always liked their accountants - Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe.

The Win 10 upgrade reminder pop-ups are getting more obnoxious. Is there a simple way to kill them?

I agree with what has been said. There is absolutely no reason to provide a copy of a return to a third party. Period. Give it to the client either in paper or electronic form (or both). They can then do whatever they wish with it. Our involvement in the process is useless insofar as the loan is concerned, and potentially risky insofar as we are concerned.

That sounds like an OSHA violation. You need to fit the plexiglass with a sign and flashing warning light, or else run the risk of a huge fine.

Do you ever have a situation where you end up wishing you had just left the records in the trash can?

Lowes and home depot sell the mail slots with a spring loaded hinged door on them. Installation is fairly simple if you have a small power saw and are handy with tools. Otherwise any decent handyman can do it. This assumes the door isn't fancy, expensive, or otherwise un-modifiable. I think it took me an hour or so to install the one in the middle of my office door.

You're right, Judy. Maybe Drake does require a level of understanding a lot of new preparers would not necessarily possess. I was just trying to nudge the conversation in the direction of the best overall business tool. Personally, I like to use the most efficient tools possible, since greater efficiency translates into more profitability. That's a useful concept for someone just starting out.

I don't know anything about the states you mentioned so I stayed out of the conversation while others answered your specific questions. But along the way you mentioned Drake, so I'll throw in a suggestion that you seriously consider Drake. Several of us on this forum switched to Drake a few years back and have no intention of returning to ATX. There is a learning curve, although nowhere near as steep as some might lead you to believe. Once you get comfortable with Drake, you'll become addicted to its speed and efficiency. Plus it is really stingy with memory & resources. Nothing comes close to Drake in speed - anyone who says otherwise hasn't learned how to use it properly. And since your time is directly related to you profitability, you have the ability to make more money using Drake. Bells & whistles in the software are cute, but you can't deposit them in the bank.

This reminds me of the true story of an elderly aunt of mine. All her life she said her final instructions should include a particular piece of music she wanted played at her funeral. Most of us laughed it off as just one of her many eccentricities. But sure enough, as they wheeled the casket out of the church, the organ struck up one of the loudest renditions of the "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah that I've ever heard. She would have been pleased to have flowers with that card attached.

What's with all this flap on tents?

Formula for Success: 1) Figure that out 2) Do the opposite 3) More often than not, you'll come out ahead.

I think I'm going to add another acronym to the notes I put in the client files, just in case the client sees my notes. It's "What WIT !". The translation is -> " What Was I Thinking (when I took this guy on as a client) "

You raise some valid points, but I will reiterate this this really is all about how you manage communications. I'm on a retirement glide path, so my experience won't be the same as that of others. But I think I'd be doing the following even if I weren't scaling back. I expect to eventually convert both business and personal entirely to a single cell phone. One number for everything. I like the ability to communicate from home, the beach, in the office, or anywhere else I choose. On my schedule and at my convenience. Managing the contact list is key because you can see who is calling before you choose to hit the "Accept" or "Decline" button. Custom ring tones also help tremendously. My total business and personal phone communication is probably 25% or of what it was just 2 or 3 years ago. That is due somewhat to attrition, but mainly a result of persistently moving people to email and texting. I'd suggest a change of thinking about handling people's expectations. There's no requirement that you respond on their schedule. The response timing is still under your control - the process of choosing when to respond to a text is no different than choosing when to respond to a phone call. On your schedule and at your convenience.

I was on my PC and iPhone during the day, but when I signed in on my Mac this evening, it popped up a question asking me if I wanted to allow notifications from the forum. Don't know enough about computers to know how that all relates @Eric, but just thought I'd let you know.

You're very welcome. And thank you @Eric for your attention to this valuable resource & all you continue to do to improve it.