JohnH

But that would spoil the drama, wouldn't it? With all the media, drama wins out over reporting accuracy every time.

Tom: Sounds like this could be an unequal distribution which could invalidate the S-corp election.

---> Love and money just don't make a nice cocktail. <---- Well, not always true. Sometimes they make a very effective Moltov Cocktail...

I loved them all. I borrowed the link and posted to the Tax Book forum as well.

I think you said it well at the end - "You are not my only client." You could even add - "You are not my biggest client, or my most profitable client" Depends upon how strong ou want to make it. He can either accept that or go somewhere else. As for communication, I don't know how you do it but I try to migrate them all over to email. I always tell them they can get almost instantaneous responses from me if they will use email, but phone calls have to wait until I can get to them. Usually I return phone calls the same day or next day, but no guarantees when I'm really busy. And I do everything possible to discourage them from coming to my office. I find I am much more efficient as long as I can keep my clients out of my office.

My kind of client.

One of my favorites: CLIENT: "We sold this stock last year, but we don't think we made any profit. Do we need to report it?" ME: "Yes, you need to report it. Why don't you think you made any profit?" CLIENT: "Well, we bought it a share or two at a time with payroll deductions over the last 20 years. It's gone up and down a lot. Do you think we might have made any money on it?"

I can see how easy it would be to make that sort of mistake. I think I'm going to put a reminder in outlook today for around June 30: "Remember to change social security numbers in order to maximize EIC". (You were smart to send him packing)

Water off a duck's back, IMO. I had an incident a few years ago in which someone at church asked my advice on a tax matter related to the church's day care center. I didn't tell her what she wanted to hear, so she asked someone else, got advice more in line with what she wanted to do, and she proceeded to do what that second person advised. (The second person's advice was wrong, wrong, wrong). Sometime later, she interrupted a conversation I was having with another church member to tell me what she had done (I think to get some cover in case her wrong decision came to light). After the conversation ended and she walked away, the other church member asked me if it bothered me to give correct advice and then see someone do the opposite. I replied that it doesn't bother me one bit. After all, people often pay me good money for advice that they refuse to follow, so why should I care what someone does with it when it's free?

I like it.

Best of luck to you Jack. I agree that taking it in the middle of tax season might just be the best thing to do, because right now you should be on top of your game.

But if you do decide to prepare her return, do remember to deduct the vet bills and food for her "security cat" because it guards her inventory when she's not home. (I'm not making this up - I actually heard that from a potential client one time.)

This is interesting. Tell me if I'm misreading it. If a company is in trouble and can't pay all its payroll taxes, then the prudent thing to do might be to forego paying the payroll tax deposits. Then when the 941 is due, file it by mail along with a check and do the proper designation for trust fund taxes. This would be the only way the responsible party could guard against a trust fund penalty.

In some areas, it appears that not much has changed in India since 1076. But it's a magnificent place with warm, beautiful people to be found everywhere. This was my first trip to India - can't wait to return next year.

Daniel Patrick Moynihan was a prophetic voice back in 1965, wasn't he?

I like your lion best of all. Sharp detail for the face set against the blurred background. Very professional & exotic looking. (I can almost read her mind as she stares out at me "Hmmm, wonder if he tastes like chicken?") May I add a few shots I took in India this past week?

Whether or not any services were rendered is the burning question here...

Client' answer to the question from the IRS auditor when asked, "do you have a contemporaneous daily log of your gambling activities, and when did you prepare it?" "well,I never kept a daily log until I got that big win. But then I started keeping a log all the way back to the beginning of the year. So yeah, it was contemporaneous after I started keeping it."

Yes. Provided the ownership test is met, qualified dividends are the same regardless of whether it's a closely-held corp or a publicy-traded corp.

Raise your fees 10%, then offer clients a 5% discount if they dig their own way in. Set your priorities - it should always be: 1)Lunch 2)Nap 3)Emails (no rush, they're probably too busy shoveling snow to read your emails anyhow) Incidentally, does this look like you?

Rita: I think you're doing the right thing. If she asked me to cash the check right away, I'd certainly accommodate her. I think it's the noble thing to do in a situation like this.

They're more likely to notice the logo if you're talking on the cell phone, eating a hamburger, and steering with your knees while you're showing them. It's always been my experience that every time I've done it that way, they always respond "Oh yes, I see it clearly!"

Good one! Speaking of FedEx, have you ever noticed the right-facing arrow in the FedEx logo? It's between the "E" and the "X". I think it's there to emphasize speed. Once you notice it, it will jump out at you every time you see a FedEx truck going by.

I had to FedEx one a couple of years ago. I THINK I called FedEx and they wer able to give me the correct delivery address to use for my IRS regional center.

Tell the clever client the inventory follows the invoice. If they include it in Accounts Payable, they have to include it in Inventory. I can guarantee you that's what an auditor will do. They can forget about all the FOB niceties - as a practical matter it only comes into play if the goods are lost or damaged in transit. It's more about who has to file the freight claims and who bears the risks of loss.