Lion EA

Since she's the expert and won't ask your advice, ask her to please copy you on her letter so you can be better prepared and be learning the issues so you can help your own clients. Maybe, she'll lend you her expertise, or at least her letter. You might ask for pages 1 & 2 of her tax return and Schedule SE, too.

I just visited their web site. They DO have a per-incident price. I like the package, though, with off-site backup. Beth, since you have home-based workers, will someone be available at 3 a.m. during tax season when these technical problems seem to happen?

I switched to ProSystem fx last year and loved it in spite of the price. Now, I think I'd be saying the same thing about Lacerte or Ultra Tax. They have so many features, run so smoothly, save so much time, that they are worth every penny. I never thought I'd use another CCH product after deciding to leave ATX, but their technical support blew me away while I was testing. And, it remained outstanding this tax season. You will like a high end product, Joel. And, the frustration it saves you will make the price worth it. (I do get a 50% discount for three years, which helps a lot, too.) If your clients are not the W-2 RAL crowd, you will love high end software, whichever one you choose.

Do let us know if you need investors or really, really early reservations or any other help.

If you get TTB CD, then when you go to a topic, you can also just click to get to the code, regs, etc.

Moth balls

I still have a couple of clients under $200. I'm trying to get everyone over $300 and entities $500-600 to start. (Well, not-for-profits and 1120-H are much cheaper.) If someone asks me, I say prices start at $500 so I can eliminate the price shoppers. But, if they ask me other questions first, then I'm more realistic talking about price.

$3.99 for regular

Jainen makes some good points, especially about CA that I know little about. But, I have had a couple of clients who hadn't filed for many years and were being chased by the IRS. For one of the couples, some of the years involved SE construction; then he got hired as an employee for later years. The IRS wanted six years before they'd accept a payment plan. I did what you mentioned, filed three open years first, getting paid for each one before moving on to another. After those, went back six years and moved forward a year at a time after they paid and picked up. I tried not to have more than one year of their information at a time, but spouse would uncover things and deliver to me as she found them. They were anxious, but then slow to pick up. Ended up with some early NOLs, so had to amend years already done. Eventually found out they were filing returns but not sending in any money at all, ever. And, the spouse wouldn't change her withholding from almost nothing to something reasonable. So, when they sold their house and bought a new one, IRS got justifiably upset and seized a bank account. Couple was very upset, but they'd had lots of warning letters that they hadn't shared with me. I didn't bother telling them when I went out on my own last season. Let them whine to someone else about how poor they are.

Oh, yeah, we all had dial-up at one time or another. I live in a very small suburban/rural town, so didn't get cable until recently. It is a joy and changes your work routine. Enjoy!

If you're still here, you're still aging. Better than the alternative.

I have trouble imagining a raccoon with your underwear! Boxers or briefs? Clean or dirty? White or...?

And our insurance will pay for it, unlike alcohol or illegal drugs! Sounds like percocet and morphine help tax season stress as well as pain. Hope your pain is easing up now so you can enjoy springtime and life after taxes.

By the way, when I was struggling with registering to e-file last fall, I pulled out my handout from that phone forum and followed the directions and had the phone number for the e-help desk to call with follow-up questions. I do save the handouts.

I do a lot of them, not during tax season, though. And, Julie and everyone who hasn't tried them out, they email you materials before the forum. So, you can follow along on your computer, using a PowerPoint presentation or Adobe Acrobat, and/or print out the handouts and take any additional notes right on them. They save time for you to ask questions if you like. They are very valuable for free forums.

You're in my prayers, both your husband and you. I'll pray extra loudly in church tomorrow. What's his first name, if he won't mind? And, come vent to us any time of the day or night, so you can keep your strong, beautiful face on for your husband.

Stop delivering groceries!

Gee, I'd like to be that coherent when I'm NOT on morphine! Good work. With us aging baby boomers, we'll need your advice more and more, I'm sure.

Lock all your condiments up and maybe the raccoon will move to a neighbor's house with more up-scale brands.

You have to be smarter than the raccoons to make them go away. And, they're very good with their hands/paws. We had one that took apart our Weber grill to get inside to lick the grate. Do you know you have to buy a special tool to re-attach the vents the raccoons took off?! And, they work well as a team. When we filled up the holes they dug into a cat kennel with large rocks, I came home late one night to have my headlights shine on a group of raccoons working together to lift the heavy rocks and pass them bucket brigade style away so they could re-enter the kennel and eat the cat food. It made me especially mad when they took the bungy cords off the garbage cans (put on to keep the raccoons out) to dump out the garbage but take only a bite out of everything and leave the rest strung out all along the driveway when I was expecting the Welcome Wagon lady. And, taking one bite out of each ear of corn and each tomato and throwing the rest away made my husband so mad that he pulled up everything from our garden and threw it in the forest to dry out saying if we can't eat it then no raccoon can eat it either. Call that trapper for your attic critters.

Mike, I'll put you on my prayer list also. But, I'm sure you'll find that teaching IS one of your strong points. Just pretend you're typing a response to our queries. You've taught us much. Thank you for your willingness to share. I know your students in May will appreciate that you're stepping outside your comfort zone to share your knowledge with them. The peace of the Lord be with you.

The IRS applies the tiebreakers when two or more taxpayers claim the same dependent. If the eligible taxpayers can agree on which one of them will claim the QC, then the tiebreakers never come into play.

I have LIKED Amy's picture since she appeared. And, I'm so old and fat that I post a picture of my stepdaughter. But, please don't let someone with a name like Booger offend you. It's just nice to have any picture at all to recognize -- oh yeah that comment is from _________ and she/he knows the topic of clergy/restaurants/kiddie tax/whatever or tells a good joke or... Most people around here have been civil most of the time. And, most of us were stressed by the end of the season.

Mine is my stepdaughter in the UConn marching band; she's since switched from flute/piccolo to baritone horn.

You tell him the tax consequences of his choices and let him decide. Maybe he expects higher income in his new business and wants to depreciate to use the expenses over time. He certainly seems optimistic with the equipment he bought. By the way, if he owes $12,000 he should adjust his withholding at his $103,000 job for 2008.