joanmcq

I always got the Tax Book along with the Express Answers because I've found that the books have different stuff in them. For example, I couldn't find the table to figure out an RMD in Express Answers. That said last year I needed an All States in a hurry, and the only company that had a downloadable version was Quickfinder through Thompson-Reuters ProReview - which put the book on my iPad. I like it so much I ordered all my reference materials in ProReview. One nice thing is that it gives me another screen/computer to work through, and is as portable as the print version if I need to look up something for a client (my main computer is in a different room than where I meet with clients). Plus it does justify some biz use of the iPad!

Yep, that's about my MO too. And now I have a new client that runs their main event around April 24 and we'll be on site doing the books, recording cash as it comes in. So I won't get to doing extensions until sometime in May. I used to disappear to somewhere like Death Valley, away from any cell reception (and away from people) for a week or two. It was sweet!

States weren't supposed to reject the expansion of Medicare. States that did, like Ohio, can now expand Medicare, as Ohio decided to, or the really poor folks can take it out on the ballot box. No 'whoops'. The truly poor should be able to get Medicare.

We've had to do this in CA since 2007, when we did two federal returns & one state. The difference between MA & CA and now NC & a lot of states in the reverse is that MA doesn't start with federal AGI or taxable income, which both CA & NC do. Hence the need for the proforma federal.

I have a few clients that really like organizers. Some have come from firms that automatically send them out, but often they're they have Sch C or E or both. I've sent blank organizers to new clients with C, E or 2106 that need a push to get their stuff together.

And let's hope there are no more late changes to the tax code or filing season won't start until April, just in time to send out extensions.

Anyone else from the board here at the conference? If so look for me. I have the pink & purple hair.

Got the GA ACK today. All done

I have had exactly this same feeling/visualization! Mine has a coffee filter at the bottom though, and the knowledge needs to filter down before I can accept any more. This was especially present while I was getting my Masters degree. Of course now I tell people my brain is too full of tax info to remember much else.

I'm waiting for a GA ACK as well. CA is virtually instantaneous, so I'm always surprised when I have a state that takes days to process.

But I do start mine first to try out the software and start playing around in it. This year was a b*tch because I had nothing to test until the end of January.. Well my last last-minute client was amazed I got them done (8:47pm transmit time) and is not complaining about the bill. Oh crap one of them rejected; I sent in the proforma federal for an RDP client. Oh crap, oh crap oh crap....

My own goes on extension because I am never sure how much I can fund my 401(k). Employer contributions can go in until 10/15, so I kinda wait until my end of season billing starts coming in. I used to always file early, then got too busy to get my books done. Chelle keeps them up to date each month now though! I love having an assistant. All the clients that actually got me their stuff are transmitted. Whew. Now I can get back to the business of booking hotels & trains for my next vacation & a CPE conference in December.

I had the last minute client, currently under chemo that brought her box o' receipts and a partially finished spreadsheet with a lot of stuff in the 'questions' pile that she had already paid quite a bit to someone to sort for her on Saturday. I called up my assistant, who doesn't work weekends to come in. She put in nearly 12 hours getting the stuff done, plus over time so that I could meet with the client & her girlfriend while getting last minute bits of stuff entered to try to get her tax bill down. Overtime because client was late. So yes, the bill was more than usual, and I didn't even bill at my rates for then sorting the spreadsheet my assistant did to fit the categories on the return, which I usually do. And by the time the client got there, I was totally exhausted, especially since we were both working against a deadline. Client bitched about the bill. I'm still stressing on that one. But she did bring me a Jamba Juice.

Neither. You only use the 'transaction type' if there is a special circumstance. 'Personal' doesn't allow loss. Investment property (unless a rental) is like any other item held for investment.

My horrorshow is a client that got a million dollars from the sale of ex-hubby's stake in S-corp (she's a passive owner since she got her stake in the divorce). She has little income so most of the flow through items, like the R&D credit, gen biz credits, DPAD, etc were carried forward. Now they all change. And CA has completely different credit carryforwards. At least the CP2000 added on the DPAD that was not available due to income, but not the biz credits which now wipe out most of the tax due but aren't available for 2012, which makes her extension payment short. And I deleted the wrong autosaved spreadsheet; didn't keep the one with the gain calc.

Damn, I just got faxed over a CP2000 for a horror of a return I thought I had finished; the CP is for 2011 of course, but it changes a bunch of passive credit carryforwards for 2012. And I can't frikkin think straight today. Assistant sorted all of her girlfriend's Sch C stuff, but didn't get to the horrorshow return's Sch C stuff yet. And another last minute client's stuff started showing up in my portal last night. RE broker's Sch C. Registered Domestic Partner (not married). With a note that said, 'hey the taxes will be much easier next year because I formed a corp!' I knew this October was going too easy...

CA doesn't conform to all the bonus depreciation either, so I have to weigh the benefit of accelerating depreciation vs. the pain of keeping separate schedules. ATX is now pretty good at making the adjustment, but I used to have to manually check and enter differences. In fact, I think my suggestion of 'can't you fix this?' got that function as an enhancement a few years ago.

Is the automated EIN shut down too? I thought all the automated stuff was working.

I taught a course on retirement and the state taxation of pension was one of my favorite parts. Whether pensions are taxed or at how much is probably the biggest variability in state taxes. Really. The only standard I could find was that Railroad Retirement was nearly universally tax free at the state level (they must have had damn good lobbyists!). The Tax Book All States edition says under Income Not Taxable for PA Purposes: Commonly recognized pension, old age, or retirement benefits paid after becoming eligible to retire, and retiring. Nothing about out of state pensions or that the pensions must have been previously taxed under PA law, and being a former PA resident, I don't recall any distinction between PA earned retirement or out of state retirement funds. If necessary I can ask my brother, a CPA in PA.

I just saw one of my clients that dropped off the rest of her receipts for her Sch c. She was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer in early September, and the person she hired to compile the stuff didn't do a good job, then stopped showing up. I've been suggesting she just have my assistant do it and finally (her chemo brain is kicking in) agreed last night. So next year she'll be in good shape records wise since we'll be doing her books all along. This is (except for the procrastination) the perfect client. The one that when you say she has to make a $5k extension payment says 'wow, I made a lot more money this year. Yay!' and writes the check. The one that says 'how much more can I put into my SEP? I've already put in $12k this year'. She asks about tax consequences before she makes financial decisions. And she's not wealthy, just a nice middle class type earnings, but is one hell of a saver. Tough when after admiring her new short haircut, she handed me a chunk that fell out as she touched it.

This year the initial shipping might have most of the forms since there haven't been any last minute changes to the tax code. At least not yet. One year the program was damn near complete on the initial shipping! And I got it right after thanksgiving. I haven't renewed yet, and will be damned sure to negotiate a bigger discount. I'm 99% sure I'm renewing.

I have someone who needs wage & income transcripts; is seriously trying to get 6 years caught up. Oh well, if he goes online to get transcripts it'll only take 10 days or so..... since I can't input his POA & get 'em myself.

Doing an audit of a traveling salesperson, I came across the Dome books for the first time; the Dome mileage logs. They were filled in to a 't'; 4 books worth for the year. Needless to say, it was a 'no change'.

I'm actually fairly caught up, and working at such a leisurely pace I'm starting to wonder what I'm missing. Or more likely, what clients I'm missing. Or maybe its just that filing on MFJ return for a lot of my clients is so damn easy I feel like I'm cruising.

I was imputing K-1 info today and it was lagging. Also printing a big return; hoo boy! I was at over a gig of memory usage. And I was printing to PDF, too.