Jack from Ohio

HEAR HEAR!!!

I believe it!! There may be some intelligent people working at the IRS, but they are the minority!! I will post the results from my client when it is finally settled!!

EXCELLENT IDEA! Will be great to have a "study buddy" from the area that can direct me to the right places when we are not "learning." Still looking for someone to share my room. 1/2 price makes it easier to swallow. I am staying at the overflow Hyatt Regency. Arriving Mon. night and leaving Thu. evening.

Our Congress and Senate are too wussified to make tax changes before the election. Lame duck, last minute politics is the name of the game for several years now.

Yes. Are you staying at the Hyatt? I am going alone, and would consider sharing a room to lower expenses.

I have had no experiences or any information that would prove that sending a second 1040 would result in any different kind of results. All paper returns are scanned now, and that alone is a huge source of problems. The IRS has been deluged with new responsibilities, and at the same time, their budget has been cut. The quality of the people is suffering. Not only in training and experience, but attitude about their job. There are shining examples of exceptions, but they are definitely the minority. This is my experience.

I have had IRS major confusion when sending back a check, even WITH explainations, documentation etc. For 2011, I have a client that received more than he should, we amended to correct the mistake and he sent the excess refund back. This was in March. 6 weeks later, IRS sends him a check for the exact amount that was sent with the amended return with interest. Immediately, resubmitted the amended return with a 3 paragraph explaination and same documentation and a check for the amount the IRS sent to him. 6 weeks later, the IRS sends him a check for the amount he sent with the 2nd amended return. No letters of explaination about either of the two checks sent back to the client. First week of July, client receives a notice saying he owes the amount of the second check sent to him. Submitted full page letter of explaination and copies of both previously amended returns and client sent a check for the proper amount. 10 days ago, he receives a letter acknowledging his letter and they cashed his check. Waiting to see what is next. This is the same kind of confusion that I have experienced when sending uncashed IRS checks back, even with documentation. It takes VERY LITTLE to confuse the people processing amended returns, or responses to notices. I no longer expect the IRS to understand any discourse at greater than a 3rd grade level. We write response letters with this in mind. Pathetic, to say the least!!

If it was sent in error, the penalties and interest will be abated. First hand experience here.

She should still cash the check and hold the money. Simpler to repay. I have had nightmares when sending checks back to the IRS.

Everyone is OVERTHINKING!!!! 1. Have client deposit check into savings and keep it. We recommend the client buy a 3 year CD. (sending checks back confuses the daylights out of the IRS. NOT RECOMMENDED) 2. Wait 14 days for an explanation letter. 3. Wait up to three years for IRS to send a notice asking for it back. 4. If the source is keeping you up at night, get an account transcript for the years it may have come from 5. Take a long slow breath and relax!!

Consider saving all as pdf and adding the date received to the filename. Use Lastname_Firstname_01-01-12 as the filename format. The pdf files will take up very little space, and then no worries about not keeping the one you really need later. This works for me.

It does this between keystrokes because modern processors are exponentially faster than 15-20 years ago.

The Post Office already has this figured out as well as being able to optically scan hand written addresses as well. Even sloppy almost illegible writing. Computers can easily be programmed to spot those as same addresses. Your Microsoft word program scans the entire dictionary every time you type a word, and it does it in the time it takes you to push the space bar. Nice try, but those would be child's play for todays computers and programs. Just look at the Post Office....

Why bring logic and common sense into a discussion about issues with tax returns and IRS?

Unless you are comfortably computer savvy, allowing Tech Support to direct you is the RIGHT way. I could show you several much quicker methods, but, unless you are computer comfortable, it would be a long and arduous task. Tech support will take care of you. And you get a GOLD STAR for making sure backups are in place!!!

<<<There are plenty of legitimate multiples, like nursing homes and shelters and communes and general delivery.>>> Ok, granted there are many situations where addresses are the same. If the threshold is set at 100, there would have been some review of those and, if the reviewers are savvy enough, the problems could have been spotted, and fraudulent payments stopped. I doubt that 741 people living at the same address without apartment numbers, room numbers etc, would exist. If the IRS WANTED TO address this, they could hire more competent programmers and this could be sorted by so many different factors in the seconds or minutes it would take the computer to do the comparison. I have a son who is a programming engineer, and he informed me that cross checking many databases for duplicates and then comparing duplicates for other parameters to look for fraud is NOT difficult programming. So processing a given return is slowed by 2-3 minutes for this process before being cleared, or set aside for further review is not "extensive delay" if the programming and supporting programs are competent and of the right quality.

And we are supposed to "verify" the accuracy and "acceptability" of clients receiving EIC or we will be fined.$500!! It does not take a very skilled program writer to look for duplications of an address. The IRS is a dichotomoy of dichotomies!!

Curdled and whey out of touch with reality!!

I can see the logic in your idea. However, what makes you think that any of our lawmakers make any tax law based on logic?? I'm just sayin....

We have a client that had not filed returns for 11 years. She had/has a very successful Sched C business. (Avg profit of about $95K/yr) Long story short, in 2011 the IRS took a HUGE amount from her checking account. ($137K) We have since then, created, filed and the IRS has processed all but 2010 and 2011 returns. They have made adjustments to how much she still owes accordingly. She still owes $100K+ and is taking the steps to get the money. Now the question. We want to file for abatement of some of the penalties. We are filling out Form 843, and the only reason we can get from the client is... "...unless there is a medical term for excessive fear of the IRS, I don't know." Truly she was afraid to file in fear of the IRS. Any suggestions of what we might use as a reason? When we filed her returns, she did have all the documentation we needed to do them correctly. I just looked, and IRS Phobia is a recognized psychological condition!!

No Joan I was not referring to your comments, but to the general mood from the media and clueless people.

Stealing!!!!

Personally, I have no need to be made aware of the reason he did what he did. Theatre full of witnesses. Death penalty. Hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars will be spent keeping him alive. Cost of lethal injection is a tiny fraction. Just my not so humble opinion.

Children above the age of about 6 are normally well behaved, and will even wait in the waiting room. I get peeved when the smaller ones are in the office, and the parents pay more attention to the child than to me. I think I am implementing the "extra time" for the distracting children. Or, when they stop paying attention me, I stop until I have their attention again. "Billable Hours." When my kids were small, we didn't take them to business sessions of any kind, nor did we take them to late night entertainment till they were teen-agers. Grandparents, Uncles & Aunts were always anxious to spend time with them. Especially for just a few hours. I find no plausable reason to bring them to a tax appointment, nor any child under 12 to a midnight movie, not ANY child under 6 to ANY movie. Excuse me for being practical and excercising common sense for the care of my young children.

Why do people bring children to a tax appointment? It is the same "lack of knowing how to be a parent" disease. There was a baby there less than a year old. No one can convince me that a couple cannot find someone to watch their children for an hour, or maybe two for a complex return, to allow the parents to give full attention to their tax return. I get thoroughly disgusted at the number of people who apparently do not understand the value of my time helping them. I think this year, I will increase fees for those that bring their small children that interfere with the process of doing their return.