INCOMPETENCE or FALSIFYING TAX RETURNS??

[Cathy]

Just reviewed another return prepared by our local office of HR Block. I have come to the point of wanting to pull my hair out over gross errors on every return I review from our local office such as:

l. One parent is disabled and she and two minor children receive social security checks. The amounts paid under the children's social security numbers were included on the parents' return. Taxpayers paid taxes based on 85% of the social security, including the amounts paid under the children's social security numbers which made the parents pay mega bucks unnecessarily.

2. The amount reported on a mortgage loan interest statement was included on a taxpayer's tax return as interest earned on Sch B rather than home loan interest paid on Sch A. The taxpayer went straight to HR and told them they needed to amend her return. They did as she requested and promptly handed her a bill for $90. They also handed her a stack of loose papers and told her she'd have to go through it to figure out which pages she needed to send to IRS. (Needless to say, the taxpayer refused to pay the $90 for the amended return.)

3. On Sch A, "mortgage insurance premiums" (PMI) had the total a taxpayer paid for her homeowner's insurance.

4. Form 2106 for a school bus owner/operator reported the mileage and HR used the standard mileage rate. The Standard Mileage Rate can not be used on a School Bus. Also included on the 2106 were thousands of dollars in repairs and maintenance, fuel, plus insurance paid on the school bus. Even IF the standard mileage rate could be used, certainly no repairs, maintenance, insurance, fuel, etc. Form 4136 also included with return which gave the taxpayer a $.238 per gallon credit for the number of gallons of diesel she used in her school bus. That would be a valid credit WITHOUT THE STANDARD MILEAGE RATE. The resulting credit would have to be subtracted from the fuel costs when computing actual expenses. So: standard mileage rate, 100 % of the fuel and fuel tax credit all used on the same return.

5. On the same Form 2106, "out of town travel" was listed at over $2,000. I traced those figures the taxpayers' gave to HR, and the cell phone which is a legitimate expense was used on that particular line, IN ADDITION to the cell phone, 100% of the taxpayers' home telephone charges for the entire year were expensed....taxpayers only have 1 home telephone line.

6. Home interest listed on Sch. A, Line 11 was the total of their JC Penney charge card, Dillard's charge card, and Sears' charge card. On a statement attached to the return, HR employee listed: "home interest paid to individual as follows: J.C. Penney" and the address on the J.C. Penney charge card was listed as well as the address. "ID number not available" also appeared on that statement.

7. An elderly client had royalty income, however, the 15% depletion allowance was omitted from Sch E which in turn inflated the taxable royalty income, which in turn also inflated the taxable social security. I sent the client back to HR to have them correct their error. The HR employee told my client that I was wrong. I called the employee back and in "teaching" her about the depletion on royalty payments, she responded that her program doesn't do the depletion computation, therefore, she wasn't going to change the return.

I could go on and on and on listing the most blatant errors I am now sadly accustomed to seeing on each and every return brought in from our local office.

The most pitiful thing in regard to all of this from HR's "employee" just happens to be the "Manager" of our local office. These kind of errors(?) have been going on for years now!

I'm at the point of having to let someone know what's going on as their clients are slowly finding out the qualify (or lack of quality) of their returns prepared by our local HR office and are coming to me to amend their returns. I try to send each one back and have HR correct their own issues, but many say they rather pay me to do it for them. I would rather dig ditches first than to amend a return prepared by HR.

[MsTabbyKats]

I was going to say "they're all trainees"...but the manager!

[Crackerjack]

I just had a former employee call me and tell me she had started her own practice. She wanted to know, if her client's income was not reported on Form 1099, was it taxable? This person worked as a clerical assistant for me for 1 tax season and wasn't hired back because she did a lousy job. Lord help the people who go to incompetent preparers. I am all in favor of the RTRP, if only to protect the innocent consumer.

[GeneInAlabama]

HR Block would find ways around the RTRP. They seem to have favor with the IRS.