Lion EA

The IRS instructions tell us to round like we learned in school, up from .50 AND down. However, the IRS truncates numbers at the decimal point, essentially rounding DOWN ONLY. They make the rules, but they do NOT follow them!

SEP can be contributed up to biz return deadline, including extensions. It's an employER contribution. The ability to make contributions through 9-15/10-15 is one of its benefits. Solo 401K employEE contributions must be made by 12-15. Is there employER matching allowed that can be contributed through the return deadline? No matter, if your client and his retirement provide have a year-end deadline, then you're working with that info.

I have a couple TN returns with the same questions re the November 3rd deadline. IR-2025-47

Our clients can spend their money foolishly. But their record-keeping better be accurate and organized, so I can make sense of what's deductible.

A client walks through the livingroom to get to the OIH, but we can't use the sq' of the LR as part of OIH. Regular and exclusive. My clients can use my hall bath, but it's not part of my OIH, so I wouldn't allocate the bathroom part of my water to my OIH. I keep changing sides on this. Probably 'cause I'm too sleepy to read the code.

And if he parks it at the house (commuting) or uses it to haul his daughter's furniture to her new apartment or stops at the grocery store on the way home or...he still better have a log to document biz/farm vs personal/commuting use.

Tex explains it well. Any required fees/books/equipment?

Is Westrock the current/successor company? Their investor relations department might have historical data, including a program or spreadsheet that works back through mergers/acquisitions/splits/etc. Remember all the Baby Bells before covered trades?! They had (have?) an online app that let you start from when you sold taking you back to the date you said you bought/inherited and took you through the mergers and splits. You could also start from when you bought/inherited, so it took you through from that direction. I had to use that a few times with clients.

Was it only the pipes that were replaced? And only up to code, nothing fancy? No pump or mechanical equipment or holding tanks or anything inside the house? Not all or substantially all of the plumbing? Then, I'm on the side of Repair. You can elect to Capitalize, if they expect their income to be higher in the future...

Catherine is my idol and my hero!

The upgrade in pipes pushes me toward Capitalize, but isn't there a Safe Harbor based on some % (2%?) of unadjusted basis of house? The $20,000 might fit under that Safe Harbor to give you a firm authority for Repair. The IRS FAQs aren't bad and contain examples: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/tangible-property-final-regulations#Aregulatoryframework

One silver lining of PITA clients leaving is that we can spend more time with our lovely clients!

Raise your fees! Or else I'll send all my clients who complain about my prices to you. And, I bet they still complain about your prices! If you're getting no price complaints, you're too low for your area. If you get a few, you're still too low. If you lose a client over price, you're close to a good fee structure. If you raise your fees 30% and lose less than 30% of your clients, you're in good shape. Then raise them a smaller amount again the next year!

I would start at $500 if MFJ and only 1 state, but probably start at $600 with the rental -- IF their rental records are in usable shape, so could be higher. More if I have to drag info out of them, for rental or any other issue. 2 returns if MFS, so I'd charge for 2 returns -- probably a very substantial discount on #2. But each return would stand on its own, so if only 1 had a rental, only that would would start at $600. For new clients, I don't start less than $500. If an old client who's been paying $300 suddenly showed up with a rental, she'd probably be only $400 IF very good records. New vent: Old client I've been trying to proofread yesterday and today, with lots of interruptions from hubby and other clients, has now contacted me NINE times since she UPS'd me her folder the end of February. I told her before she sent her info that most of my clients had already dropped off by mid-February, so her return would be prepped in April. NINE times! She just emailed to say, "Getting close to tax deadline..."

An Unhappy Hour with a beverage of choice in hand. Find Brenda C, CPA @bsuecannon on Tax Twitter/X. She has a scheduling scheme to spread out her work AND have the clients buy in so few "just checking when my return will be ready" calls. I just didn't have the time to put it in place this year, but definitely will before next season. She recorded her Zoom training sessions. Brilliant woman who put her years of experience to work for her and is sharing her methods. I've been raising prices 10% each year since back in Covid when I read that the average CPA price increase was 35% that year. (Used to raise no more than 5%.) Although, a couple of the biggest complainers had me back off if I put them on extension to stop the complaining. I found a fairly local preparer to recommend when clients complain; he has 5 offices and can take on new clients. I haven't seen a check yet, but I'm to get paid. I've been encouraging attrition with my price increases and insistence on extensions to spread my work out all year. Every return is more complex. Energy credits taking a LOT of research. Sell home and move to a new state, so have to allocate wages, etc., to PY returns. College kids working in 2-3 states and maybe an IC gig. I started getting behind when Covid began, and it just gets worse. I'm also going to have 3 tiers of pricing. 1. Current price but fewer services, mainly only electronic copy and PAY for quick questions. (I've trained most client to use email for nonPII and quick questions, so I can answer when I have time and have a record to save in their electronic file on my computer.) 2. Price increase, at least 10%, for same services as now, but a limit on quick questions before charging. 3. Substantial price increase, adding more minutes of quick questions. Trying to guide clients to the middle price that puts a limit on free quick questions. Maybe Bronze, Silver, & Gold. Or, Compliance, Collaboration, & Concierge. Or, 1,2, & 3. Or, A, B, & C, if I could come up with titles starting with those letters, such as C = Concierge, but should B = Basic and what would A = ? A chocolate treat to the one who contributes names for the 3 tiers!! Marchternity @MarchternityBot Today is March 1865, 2020. It will never end. #taxtwitter