How about your return?

[ILLMAS]

Did anyone like me, didn't have time to prepare their own tax return? I prepared everyone else tax return, except mine :-(

[Bob Hoffman]

Did anyone like me, didn't have time to prepare their own tax return? I prepared everyone else tax return, except mine :-(

For the first time in a long time, I got a chance to do more than the old once over to see how much to send with extension. Getting a refund. Experienced the dreaded realized capital loss in a couple of key transactions.

[JohnH]

My personal return is definitely on extension.

No way I'd prepare a return that's important to me under deadline pressure - too many opportunities to make a mistake.

[Bob Hoffman]

My personal return is definitely on extension.

No way I'd prepare a return that's important to me under deadline pressure - too many opportunities to make a mistake.

Ha Ha

[joelgilb]

My motto is - If I have time to do my own return, then I don't have enough clients.

[Lion EA]

It only seems fair to prepare my own return last. Fair to me to complete those paying clients first and earn some money. And, fair to my clients to put them ahead of freebies, including my own. I didn't even look at mine this year. Usually, I start it in January and then get busy and go on extension. The last couple of years, I haven't even begun my return. I did get my husband, who's a school teacher and home on vacation this week, to go through the checkbook, gather up charitable receipts, get his mileage and expenses in one place, total up household expenses for my OIH, etc. If only I could get him to open up and flatten out all that paper. He looks at something and puts it back in the envelope. Then I have fat, skinny stacks made even fatter by the envelopes instead of stacks of 8.5X11 paper that fit in the folders I use. Oh well, it's still a big help.

[jklcpa]

Other than 2 on extension, my return was the last one finished this year. All of it was complete in mid Feb with the exception of my husband's part time Sch C. I did that Sunday evening. We owed money, otherwise we'd have filed 2 months ago.

[NECPA in NEBRASKA]

I filed my personal return early, because it's easy. My corporation in on extension, but the financials are done.

I figure I'll get to it in July.

[TaxmannEA]

Mine is always the last on that I do. I don't get paid to prepare it, so the freeloader goes in last place!

[joanmcq]

Mine went on extension again. I was pretty much done except for charitable and medical, but I had some things I had to figure out with property I own w/ex. he got me his crap in the 3rd week of march. needless to say he's on extension too.

[Cathy]

2007 return was on extention to 10-15-08. Along came Hurricane Gustav and another automatic extension to 1-5-09. For some unknown reason, I actually finished my 2007 return a day early....1-4-09...ready to be mailed......usually don't print it out until the very last day. On 1-5-09 I found myself hospitalized with gall bladder attack from hell....thank goodness I had it ready to be mailed.

So the moral of my story is I will NEVER wait until the very last day to complete my return.....will have my 2008 return ready to mail on 10-14-09! :spaz:

[Catherine]

I always do our return FIRST every year -- I use it as a software test, and to get to know any new quirks for the year. I always find lots of "gotchas" in the Massachusetts flow-through-but-don't areas, and note to watch them in client returns.

Sorry.

Catherine

[Margaret CPA in OH]

I KNEW there was a reason we bonded, Catherine! I, too, do my return first to check out the program, etc. I don't usually file until sometime in April as I like to watch the form updates over the weeks but I input all the data. After all, I have to complete the payroll forms for my part time employees and other reports so might as well git 'er done!

[mcb39]

I actually started our return on Easter Sunday evening after a long nap and everyone had gone home. I finished it on Monday AM. It was surely intended to be an extension. The problem here is I have to prepare my husband and son's Partnership first. (dilly dally) but I do charge their business a small fee for prep. Finished theirs last week, finished son's on Sat after waiting to find out how much he was putting in an IRA. I would feel guilty, but everyone I have on extension has information missing. Made several calls last night for pickups, as in "Please, come and get your stuff". ...(and bring money, so I can file before the deadline.

[taxxcpa]

I always do our return FIRST every year -- I use it as a software test, and to get to know any new quirks for the year. I always find lots of "gotchas" in the Massachusetts flow-through-but-don't areas, and note to watch them in client returns.

Sorry.

Catherine

Same here. I start mine the day I get my tax software and enter all the income and deductions that I am aware of at that time, then make estimates for some items which I will change when exact figures are available. This not only tests the software but also lets me know if I need to send in more estimated tax or maybe skip or reduce the Jan payment.

I work on it off and on and wait until March to file it in case some last-minute form comes in for something that I have failed to anticipate.

My own return is the most complicated one I do so it helps get me used to feeding the data into the computer before I start doing other peoples' returns which begin in February other than one who files in January.

[schirallicpa]

I used to work for a guy who's theory was the longer it took to get your return done, the more deductions you could come up with.

It was also his theory - which I've heard this from a guy that worked at the IRS too - that the later in the season you filed your return, the least likely it was to be audited. The late ones get looked at less, because the IRS is wanting to clear their desks and get ready for the next season.

I've never filed my return before Aug 15 ( I still shoot for the old deadline). Then any refund gets to go to fall school taxes. It's my forced savings for another necessary evil.

[OldJack]

You all sounds like a convention of procrastinators, yet you bash clients that are the same. :)

[JohnH]

I don't bash clients who procrastinate - I consider them some of my best clients.

After all, they're a source of continuing revenue long after the silliness & phony hype of Apr 15 is over.

[Cathy]

I always do our return FIRST every year -- I use it as a software test, and to get to know any new quirks for the year. I always find lots of "gotchas" in the Massachusetts flow-through-but-don't areas, and note to watch them in client returns.

Sorry.

Catherine

Catherine,

As your return is done first, it must be horrible not to have it "hanging over your head" all year. Can't imagine NOT having mine torment me all year long!

Cathy

[joelgilb]

It was also his theory - which I've heard this from a guy that worked at the IRS too - that the later in the season you filed your return, the least likely it was to be audited. The late ones get looked at less, because the IRS is wanting to clear their desks and get ready for the next season.

There was a time when the belief was that returns on extension have less chance of being picked up on audit. I actually worked for a firm that would tell their clients this as it was easier to convince them to file the extension this way (and I must admit I did and still sometimes suggest this).

If it ever was true, I don't believe it is anymore. Still, I don't think I will tell this to the clients that are willing to extend.

[JohnH]

The last time I remember hearing about this was many years ago, and my memory on this may be fuzzy. The rationale was based on how returns are selected for routine audit.

The reasoning ran along the lines that returns filed in Oct wind up going into the audit batch for the upcoming year. Assuming that incomes & deductions are increasing each year due to inflation, then the DIF score cutoff point for routine audits for a given year would gradually creep up. Therefore, your probability of being selected for audit would be slightly lower because your prior-year's numbers were being compared against the succeeding year's averages.

Naturally, if the return had issues that stood out significantly or if the return were one of those selected at random, then that reasoning would fly out the window. But for the average return the argument certainly made some sense. I just don't know if it was based on fact or just another rationalization.

Whatever the case, my experience tells me that extensions have no effect whatsoever in INCREASING the chances of an audit. And if I were making decisions on this issue, I'd put a high priority on selecting returns filed during Apr 14 - 15. Those are the returns filed by tax pros and individuals alike under deadline pressure and oftentimes in panic mode. I suspect the error rate on those returns is many times the rate on returns filed earlier or later.

[BulldogTom]

My motto is - If I have time to do my own return, then I don't have enough clients.

I don't have enough clients.

Mine was done in February. I always use my own tax return as a test on the software. I don't finish it first, too many documents that I have to wait for, but I start mine first. I take the first couple weeks in Jan to get my books reconciled and put my Sch. C in. Then I use the last check stubs to dummy up income. Stock trades and Sch. A is all estimated until I have the documents to back them up. Estimate if the kids need to file a return also.

Then I have my wife re-do everything but the sch. C when the rest of the documents arrive.

Tom

Lodi, cA

[mekCPA]

For years I filed ON October 15. Somehow I could never get around to August 15, despite not usually having clients on extension that long....talk about Procrastinating.

And, my returns usually resulted in refunds, so what was my problem?!

I finally sat myself down and had a long talk, and now me, myself, and I meet the April 15 deadline. I think this is the third year in a row.

[bstaxes]

I start mine in Jan and also use it as a test of the software. Then I wait until April 10th to finish it. In between I add numbers and forms when I get the chance. This year it almost back fired on me because of sickness and personal situations. But next year I will probably do the same. You just can't teach an old dog new tricks.

[joanmcq]

I usually start mine as soon as I get the software too; check to see if I need to file the 4th quarter estimate, especially the state one & get the rentals in and my biz stuff in. I agree its a good way to test the software, especially since I've got a little bit of everything...or did until the complex clients starting rolling in...