mcbreck Posted March 26, 2022 Report Share Posted March 26, 2022 I always think of our work as pretty simple, just follow the rules and use some common sense. Had a client who owed a bunch this year because of massive capital gains. The wife threw a fit, questioned my ability to do basic things on the return and brought in their children to investigate the return. I was given an email of questions / assumptions which included 6 very direct declarations that I was wrong and had prepared the return incorrectly. 1. I didn't understand that I should have not included qualified dividends in the return because they are tax free. After my explanation they'd determined I doubled their dividends by including qualified dividends in the income. 2. I had failed to include their cost basis on the sale of assets which resulted in the unusually high profits. (they were almost all distributions from managed products - actually about 99%) Then it got shifted that I should have lowered their cost basis by the capital gains distributions because they were reinvested. 3. They found a year end statement saying taxable income and tax exempt income for the year and felt I had failed to lower taxable income by the amount of tax exempt income. 4. I had failed to provide a complete breakdown of all sales with only the totals on the 1099. (all sales are on the 1099 obviously). Failing to follow their instructions. 5. I had failed to provide them with a breakdown of all the capital gain distributions (they are listed on the 1099). Again I had failed to follow their instructions. 6. I had included W2 income improperly because that's a non-profit. 7. I had failed to include all of their SALT taxes on the Schedule A. One of the spouses of the "kids" did understand why this wasn't my fault. 8. I had failed to determine their correct estimated taxes the year before because I should have anticipated these capital gains which they had previously said were wrong determined. Two of the three children are Ivy League educated adults and one has an Ivy League masters degree in business (runs a company with 1k employees supposedly). When I told the father that he would need to find a new tax person next year he said he didn't blame me at all. He expected the tax bill, was completely fine with my job and apologized for his wife and children. With the demands and accusations, no kid apologized and his wife still thinks the return is wrong. 1 3 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Posted March 26, 2022 Report Share Posted March 26, 2022 Did they sign the 8879 and has the return been filed yet? If not, I would hand them their documents and tell them to get a second opinion and have them file elsewhere. I would take back the copies they have. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaB Posted March 26, 2022 Report Share Posted March 26, 2022 That's the person who needs to do her own return. Yep. Have at it. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcb39 Posted March 26, 2022 Report Share Posted March 26, 2022 At the very least, I would not allow them back next year. We have too much stress and lack of time for people like this. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee B Posted March 26, 2022 Report Share Posted March 26, 2022 Yeah, I have a client whose response is totally related to how big his refund is 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margaret CPA in OH Posted March 26, 2022 Report Share Posted March 26, 2022 An easyish fix for you. Just have the client increase their withholding to some exorbitant amount - you will look like a genius, right? Ugh...some clients are simply not worth having. No fee is high enough for this kind of abuse. 2 hours ago, cbslee said: Yeah, I have a client whose response is totally related to how big his refund is 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaB Posted March 26, 2022 Report Share Posted March 26, 2022 1 hour ago, Margaret CPA in OH said: An easyish fix for you. Just have the client increase their withholding to some exorbitant amount - you will look like a genius, right? Ugh...some clients are simply not worth having. No fee is high enough for this kind of abuse. A woman was whining about the size of their refund a few years ago, and I told her I knew how to increase it $10,000. Here's a Form 1040-ES. Send in $10,000. "Yeah, but who can afford that?" You can't make this stuff up. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee B Posted March 26, 2022 Report Share Posted March 26, 2022 Rita, Your post is a classic! I will try to remember it so can use it at just the right moment 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted March 27, 2022 Report Share Posted March 27, 2022 My sympathies. Some people (okay, let's face it, most people) are idiots. Especially about anything to do with money. Triple that with taxes. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donnarae Posted March 27, 2022 Report Share Posted March 27, 2022 Send that client’s family to @RitaB for a big hug! Remind them to bring their own shovels. 6 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcbreck Posted March 28, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2022 On 3/26/2022 at 10:19 AM, Randall said: Did they sign the 8879 and has the return been filed yet? If not, I would hand them their documents and tell them to get a second opinion and have them file elsewhere. I would take back the copies they have. When we had our signing meeting, they both signed the 8879 and paid me, then the meltdown happened. I handed him back the 8879 saying he needed to give it to me when he was confident in the return. He handed it back at the final meltdown meeting and told me it was fine. The husband is a great guy and never once questioned me or the return. The stupidity of their questions and the fact they couldn't read or comprehend the 1099 was actually rather shocking to me. Their confidence in their knowledge on top of it was astounding. Met with an 87 year old client today and we were talking about her church. She said "I take some, I leave what I don't like". I told her how important it is in life to be happy and remove the negative and she said "oh, I'm happy". 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaB Posted March 28, 2022 Report Share Posted March 28, 2022 “Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.” —Charles Darwin Sometimes a client says something so ignorant I am so stunned that I can't even reply. This thread reminded me of the Dunning-Kruger Effect. 7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abby Normal Posted March 28, 2022 Report Share Posted March 28, 2022 Similar quote. The fundamental cause of the trouble is that, in the modern world, the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt. Bertrand Russell I would add that the stupid often think they are smart and don't need any additional facts to conflict with their beliefs. Another favorite quote of mine is, "Truth is a compliment we pay our beliefs." Not sure who said that. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Posted March 28, 2022 Report Share Posted March 28, 2022 Not sure if it was Mark Twain, but the quote is: Better to remain silent and thought a fool then to open your mouth and remove all doubt. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLJEANNE Posted March 28, 2022 Report Share Posted March 28, 2022 #6 made me laugh! But wow, those are some toxic folks. Glad the husband gets it, but since he wouldn't step in before it got out of hand, I'm glad you fired them for next year. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaB Posted March 28, 2022 Report Share Posted March 28, 2022 "People are dumbernsh*t." - @Donnarae 4 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted April 2, 2022 Report Share Posted April 2, 2022 MPAI: most people are idiots. We see the proof every blessed day. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XP4ME Posted April 2, 2022 Report Share Posted April 2, 2022 So glad to read this thread...I thought it was just our clients! lol 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcb39 Posted April 2, 2022 Report Share Posted April 2, 2022 I just finished a client who owes a total of $73,000. to IRS and WI because he rolled a LOT of conventional IRAs into Roths. He said he would have had to pay the taxes sooner or later. Does anyone see anything wrong with his line of thought? I couldn't believe that he did this and then brought me a big, delicious chocolate torte for doing such a good job on his return. (Oh, he cashed in another IRA to pay the taxes)! What is wrong with people? 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee B Posted April 2, 2022 Report Share Posted April 2, 2022 Pick one, his barber, bartender or next door neighbor told it would save him lots of taxes 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slippery Pencil Posted April 2, 2022 Report Share Posted April 2, 2022 The biggest financial regret a 75 year old multi-millionaire friend of mine has is not converting his IRAs to ROTHs a few decades ago when the opportunity was presented to him. He thought $20K in tax was a huge hit so he didn't do it. Now he's in a higher tax bracket, the IRAs have increased 10 fold, and he's required to withdraw money he doesn't want to not only increasing his taxes, but substantially increasing his medicare premiums. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasdlm Posted April 2, 2022 Report Share Posted April 2, 2022 I told two different clients yesterday that I was going to help them find an accountant who could better meet their expectations. First one said, we want to use you ... sorry I was a b****. Second one sent a very nice email asking to stay. My son and husband both have Covid, and by best count, I have 250 returns left to do. DON'T even think about messing with me. 4 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcb39 Posted April 4, 2022 Report Share Posted April 4, 2022 On 4/2/2022 at 4:34 PM, Slippery Pencil said: The biggest financial regret a 75 year old multi-millionaire friend of mine has is not converting his IRAs to ROTHs a few decades ago when the opportunity was presented to him. He thought $20K in tax was a huge hit so he didn't do it. Now he's in a higher tax bracket, the IRAs have increased 10 fold, and he's required to withdraw money he doesn't want to not only increasing his taxes, but substantially increasing his medicare premiums. My client is NOT a multi millionaire; nor do I know one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joanmcq Posted April 4, 2022 Report Share Posted April 4, 2022 I did a client last night who withdrew $350k from inherited IRAs I think to buy a new condo in NYC. Took maybe 20% withholding from one, 10% from another and nothing from the third. Owes approximately $96k just in federal tax and $18k in NY tax. And I haven’t seen what the gain was from selling his coop (he’s single). Sent him an email last night but haven’t heard back. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gail in Virginia Posted April 4, 2022 Report Share Posted April 4, 2022 9 minutes ago, joanmcq said: I did a client last night who withdrew $350k from inherited IRAs I think to buy a new condo in NYC. Took maybe 20% withholding from one, 10% from another and nothing from the third. Owes approximately $96k just in federal tax and $18k in NY tax. And I haven’t seen what the gain was from selling his coop (he’s single). Sent him an email last night but haven’t heard back. Maybe you should do a wellness check on him - he may have had a heart attack! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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