JohnH

Looks like the bank is going to be on the hook for the penalty. Or else they should l lose a customer.

Use an iPad and you won't have to worry about WiFi. 4G is available almost anywhere in the civilzed world, and it's cheap.

Use an iPad and you won't have those problems. Especially if you take a cheap, fully charged battery booster along.

I've been approached about filing returns for illegal aliens on several occasions. (no quotes needed - there's no confusion about who is an alien, and no confusion about who is illegal). No way I'd touch one now or in the future.

It's fascinating how much I use PayPal - it has probably increased five-fold just in the last couple of years. It's safe, secure, and easy to manage. Much better than writing checks or using credit cards. It's easy to offer to clients for invoice payments too.

I didn't say "the top marketing person". I said "a sharp marketing person." Any suit can give interviews and issue apologies. We are seeing examples of that in another context, aren't we?

A sharp marketing person could have turned this article about poor customer service into a public relations win - by giving her a RAL with no processing charges and no interest. That would have also made it into the article and they would have looked like people who really cared about their customers. Even if they happened to never get their money back, it probably would have been worth more than $1,300 in free publicity. As it is, they showed themselves to be just another big company that blows a lot of smoke but doesn't give a hoot about their customers. Oh, and they also should have FedExed or couriered the copy to her instead of having her come get it.

From time-to-time people will bring me unusual situations or downright messes and when I look at it I immediately know how to fix it or where to get good, solid answers. It is rewarding to be able to help move a worried, fearful client into a state of calm and relaxation. I've also been handed situations which were such a mess or so far outside my area of experience that I couldn't get a good handle on the situation, or I found that I needed to do one-time research that I'd never use again. Not a good use of my time or my client's funds. So I learned over the years that it's equally rewarding to simply tell the client this is outside my area of expertise or experience, and recommend that they find someone else. As far as I'm concerned, BOTH situations gave me a sense of control and assurance that I'm doing what is in my client's best interest. If the potential client thought less of me because I admitted my limitations, that's his problem, not mine. (Incidentally, I learned this in part from my mechanic. I had a problem with my car one time that he just could not resolve. He finally suggested that I take it to a dealer, who had fancier testing equipment and more experience with my year and model car. They found a wierd anomaly unique to that vehicle and fixed it at probably twice what my mechanic would have charged, but all 3 of us benefitted in the long run. And I remain a loyal customer of my mechanic going on 20 years because I respect his judgement. )

Agreed. To me, this thread has been especially enlightening in several areas. And fascinating.

Joel: I'm glad you pointed out that clarification. In reading some of the other responses, I realized that some people took my reference to "speed" to mean how fast the program crunches the numbers. That's a part of it, but far from the whole story. Speed includes how fast it loads, how fast it processes updates, how fast it prints, how fast it backs up, etc. It also takes into account how long we might spend watching an hourglass spin or how many times we have to recover form a crash and re-enter data. Because the ultimate measure of speed isn't how quickly the program does any of that, but rather how quickly it allows you to move on to the next project. That's how we evaluate effectiveness if the merchandise we are selling is our expertise. Slow software forces us to leave inventory gathering dust on the shelf.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I am CERTAINLY getting an education reading these posts. Thanks for all the insights into how this process works and the warnings concerning the pitfalls.

CONGRATULATIONS !

Yes, politics at all levels is essentially the art of selling influence and buying votes. By the time they get on the national scene, they are already owned by one or more special interests. You're right - we're crossing the line here. I'm going to stop. Not because I don't find it interesting, but I have lots of work to do. Need to earn that income so I can pay those taxes, and at several levels I'm grateful to have that sort of problem.

I agree with the above up to a point. But taken to its logical extremes, it breaks down. I'm sure that logic worked for many tax preparers when they had clients sitting in their office while the little hourglass spun, or the software crashed. I can almost hear the conversation "Yes, I know it's agonizingly slow, but it it were faster it would cost more and/or wouldn't be as good." Hey, if that works for you and you have plenty of time to waste, go for it. Speed should never be an issue with tax software - this is not rocket surgery.

I don't see how ATX could ever beat Drake in speed - it never has in the past. I think they only way they can beat Drake's speed under current conditions would be to enable ATX to sense what you're about to do on the keyboard and do it for you. Maybe some sort of mind-reading capability. (Yes, I know I'm exaggerating.) But who knows, maybe ATX is learning their lesson and they can magically fix it. They certainly are telling us that is the case with this latest missive. Past history doesn't suggest that is likely, but if they ever do succeed at this I'll certainly acknowledge their accomplishment. Aside from having moved to Drake for purely business reasons, I have no hidden agenda or loyalties of any kind. This is all about business for me.

Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan were politicians just like the rest of the crowd in Washington. I don't withhold criticism just because of the jersey someone happens to wear. And a true conservative who understands economics WOULD advocate elimination of the EIC and moving its administration where it belongs. As for your other comments, I disagree with the "job creation" myth associated with most business incentives. Depreciation is a legitimate deduction - accelerated depreciation is mostly a shell game for the gullible. Investment tax credits, job creation credits, and most of the remaining list of incentives are very similar to the EIC in their flawed logic. So on that point we are in agreement somewhat. There are some marginally logical arguments for special long term capital gains rates, but a one year time frame is way too short. I think it should be scaled, probably beginning at about 3 years. (Depends upon your definition of "long term"). And special taxation of dividends makes no sense to me, but then I think corporations which pay dividends are engaging in a shell game of their own. A well-run corporation should not pay dividends at all, and its shareholders should demand that it not do so. If shareholders need income, they should sell shares, which will be increasing in value if management is doing its job. (I base that primarily on the reasoning of John Bogle and Warren Buffett).

Yes, it's a very effective way for the government to steal what one citizen has earned and give it to another who hasn't earned it. Robin Hood government at a highly refined level. Incidentally, it hasn't affected the overall economy in the slightest, because in the process the government doesn't create any new wealth - it simply transfers it. Whatever spending the recipient is enabled to do is offset dollar-for-dollar by the spending ability that the victim of the theft loses. But it is very effective in buying votes. (Which is the primary reason the cynical politicians in those states have adopted it)

Looks like they noticed how fast Drake is (any maybe some other competitors). Good thing for ATX they realized smart tax preparers equate speed with greater revenue. One would get the impression they didn't know that until now.

Ordained by whom?

It was an extra special Fathers' day for me. I had the honor of baptizing my youngest grandson in this morning's service.

Thanks for filling in the details Judy. Don't know why I thought to ask the "related party" question. Maybe it derives from the habit of listening to what isn't being said...?

Is the rent paid to a related party? If so, there are special rules to consider.

The fact that his SE tax was credited to his wife suggests that the SS numbers were reversed across the entire return. That type of mistake can span several years, so you might want to look at their prior and subsequent years' returns to see if the same error occurred. That type of mistake typically happens when you first set up the client or when you change software vendors, and then it just continues until something of this type calls your attention to it. I'm not sure what kind of "relief" you are seeking, but I agree with jainen - this isn't about assigning blame, it's a matter of fixing the error.

You can print off a transmission receipt from the fax. I'd think that would be just as good as postal receipts. But it would be a good idea to call IRS in about 2-3 weeks to be sure it's being processed. I'm doing that now with a response to a CP2000 I faxed in back in late May. I called on June 7 and again on June 13. RS still doesn't show it as being in process, but they are logging my calls in the client's file. They told me that after we reach to 30-day mark, if it still isn't in the system they'd have me re-fax it. In any event, the most important thing to do is NOT fax and then mail a hard copy - that can cause lots of headaches.

If he owes the state $800, how much will he owe IRS when the state notifies them of the audit change?