RitaB

My new one is WWJD. What Would JohnH Do?

Exactly. Yesterday I had a client call, they had been dinking around online trying to find out about contributing to IRAs. She told her husband, "This is stupid. Let's call Rita." Took three minutes and what they really needed to know was that they had until April 15, 2016 to decide, and I would be able to tell them exactly how much it would help them before then. I could hear the relief in her voice. This couple has sent me three other couples over the years. OTOH, there's that guy who stops in and talks for 30 minutes four times a year. Two minutes about business. Ten minutes paraphrasing five times what I said in the two minutes. Eighteen minutes of, "So how ya been?" Gotta build in a fee for that stuff with him or I would be on the six o'clock news someday.

I put notes like "OMG" or "PITA" in the file and it all comes back to me come time to charge at tax season. Actually, I keep pretty good notes of phone conversations, and put a hard copy of emails and text messages in the file. Then adjust fee upward. I don't explain why. No, I never overcharge, so nobody complains. I'm fine with that, too.

I just hope nobody takes our advice. We all forgot to (s).

Yes, plus you also get to deduct the difference between what you COULD have charged and what you DID charge. Just like the guys with empty rentals do. And the gals with hair do overs do.

Absolutely correct. I would have no income from tax prep if the first $599 from each payer was not income.

Might be. I was able to e-file a 2013 Form 1040 with ATX last week.

I would put in on Sch C or Sch C-EZ. It is income from work. Just like if he worked at McDonald's for a week or a month, never worked there before, and never will again. He would not get a refund of SS/MC tax. We never think anything about short stints with employers; I don't think we should with subcontractors working, either. I think the spirit of the law, so to speak, for line 21 is really "other" income, like awards, cancellation of debt, etc. You know, where there was no work.

I like APlusCPE a lot. Just throwing that out there. http://www.apluscpe.com/

Well, she's paying back a credit that she didn't qualify for, but, yeah, she'll think it's a tax. Hope it's not YOUR fault since you are the messenger. Just remind her it's health insurance premiums. And I bet she never paid that much for health insurance in her life. But, yeah, she is likely to look for cheaper coverage, and good luck with that.

Good catch, Gail!

I'm just going to be lazy and say check out Publication 926. Agree with the other Rita. Basically, Sch H serves as the 941 (or 943, as it were). Don't complete 941 or 943. Prepare W-2 and W-3, 940, and state unemployment if wages are above the limits. Wages paid to some individuals don't count. Agree, a nanny is not a subcontractor. http://www.irs.gov/publications/p926/ar02.html#en_US_2014_publink100086752

Yes, that's what I would do, Deb. I use the county property tax appraisal to allocate basis, property tax, and interest. For example, if 2/3 of the total appraisal is assigned to land, I'd allocate 2/3 of those three to land. I frequently have farmers wanting to write off all their property tax on Sch F. I think it's called the Whole Ball of Wax Method - House and All. I look up the county property tax data and allocate the appropriate fraction to farm use. I think it's as good a way as any most of the time.

Well, that's definitely more than six years, so good for her. I think they say that the stock market has historically gained about10% a year, on average. Of course, we all know what that means: not much to an individual. Maybe nobody got 10%.

I would add that almost everyone has had big gains since March 9, 2009. Energy funds have gone down for about a year, but about everything else has done very well for the past six years. We have been in the third longest bull market in history. Yes, we heard the record scratch sound in August, but a pineapple could have successfully managed funds during the past six years. http://money.cnn.com/2015/08/25/investing/stocks-market-in-5-simple-charts/ http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/06/investing/stocks-market-3rd-longest-us-bull-market/

Yes, the odds of tax saving strategies being successful are directly proportional to the freeloadingness of the friend. That's how it works. This is science.

Hey, sorry, I posted the same article twice up there. The second article is here: http://www.wsj.com/articles/its-time-to-end-financial-advisers-1-fees-1421545038

If she can handle doing it herself, she can save some money: http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/investing/articles/2010/06/03/mutual-fund-fees-how-much-is-too-much-to-pay Vanguard Total Stock Market Index expense ratio is 0.18%. That fund attempts to mimic the entire stock market. If she really needs a financial person's help, 1.35% sounds high according to this article: http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/investing/articles/2010/06/03/mutual-fund-fees-how-much-is-too-much-to-pay

And it was sold to the same marina that donated the thing to boot. Or to boat. I think the guy won $16,000 myself.

In essence, schirallicpa simply asked if the taxpayer could deduct $4,000 since, if he doesn't, he will pay tax on $20,000 when he only got $16,000. He didn't say the client was hounding him to take a loss, or even if the client was the one wondering about it. I don't really see a reason to call the boat winner greedy here. It's a good question. Can he pay tax on $16,000 since that's what he got? Well, sounds kind of reasonable to me, especially if this all happened within one tax year. I understand the rationale for the question and don't see any reason to assume anybody is greedy because they want to reduce their tax liability if they can legally do so.

I don't doubt that our profit margins are higher than most. Our most used equipment is our big ole brains and we got em free from our mommas. And daddies.

I dunno about you all, but my bookkeeping income has declined over the past five or six years. Closed businesses don't need bookkeepers. Retired business owners don't need bookkeepers. People are not opening businesses here. Well, if they are, they've heard that I'm mean and they don't want me, even if I charge less than others. And I do. And I am. Insert sound of cracking whip here.

My trainer:

I'll swear to got it is, and I'll say to yer face.

That's exactly what I thought at first, too. But if dad is spending it all on tuition, he's not getting anything. I dunno why mom can't write tuition checks. Maybe dad gets a reduced rate on tuition, and the difference between his rate and mom's rate is really HIS payment to the mom? Teachers here get a deal on state tuition. Maybe something similar going on here for this private tuition. I've seen non-custodial parents suddenly become custodial when it comes time to enroll the kiddos in college, complete FAFSA, etc. It's a miracle. (Insert heavenly light and sound here.) I'm with Max. This is a head scratcher.