JohnH

Dear Client: I'm too busy right now to waste time with reasons. Stop wasting my time (and yours) asking "why?" . Just take my word for it that I'm not interested in preparing your return. Then you can do something constructive, like find someone who will put up with your whining & pestering. Oh, and expect to pay them well (on time, in full, and without complaining).

Just out of curiosity, I ltook a trip down memor lane and looked up an old set of instructions on the SMR. I think the change occurred in the late 80's or early 90's., but I checked instructions for a 1980 return because that was an easy one for me to find. The SMR was 20 cents per mile for the first 15,000 miles, then 11 cents per mile for everything over 15,000 miles. But if the vehicle was "fully depreciated", the rate was 11 cents per mile beginning with the first business mile. So we can presume that IRS allocated 9 cents per mile as the depreciation component at that time.

many, many years ago the SMR did drop after a certain number of years of using the it on the same vehicle. The reason was based on exactly what you said - the assumed depreciation.

Glad you liked the discussion. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to bring this up right in the middle of the tax time crunch, so it's nice to see that it generated some interest.

Don't remember where I first heard this - maybe on this forum. "Rather than work for free, I'd prefer to just take the time off from work."

Very cool. A lot nicer than my setup. But both serve the same purpose, and results count.

That's why I also have a bar stool. Mostly I stand, but if I need to sit I just pull the bar stool over. Sitting on the bar stool and pedaling away on the little exercise pedals while working at the computer is actually very relaxing.

You can shell out some big bucks for standing desks - $1,000 - $2,500 isn't uncommon, especially if it has multi-position elevating mechanisms and other bells & whistles. Here are a bunch of images, just to give you an idea of what is out there and how some people have approached this. https://www.google.com/search?q=standing+desk&rlz=1T4WQIB_enUS591US591&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=ZeT5VK7xHcWagwSonoHABw&ved=0CGUQsAQ&biw=1920&bih=892 But mine is more basic and very much a DIY project. I just used a corner desk from Office Depot and had a carpenter/client fabricate a riser from 2x4's to elevate it. Then I positioned it beside some wall brackets with adjustable shelving so I can extend the top as far as I wish to make the desktop wider on one side. Other shelves serve as places to hold papers, reference books, etc. I mounted one monitor on the desk and I attached another monitor to the wall beside the desk using a movable bracket I bought at Sams's club. I can move the wall-mounted monitor to suit my working position. As you can tell, my office isn't very fancy, but it is highly functional.

Just wanted to mention a great idea I originally got from a client - a standing desk After saying for several years I wanted to do this, I initially got that done last year. Can't think of enough superlatives to describe it. Working while standing is great for the circulation and I think it keeps one more alert. Pairing it with a bar stool for those times when you want to alternate sitting & standing gives you the best of both worlds. Even better is to put one of those bicycle pedal exercisers in front of the bar stool ($20 at k-mart for a cheap one, which is really all you need). There's another great benefit I hadn't anticipated. When a client drops by unexpectedly, I just keep standing while speaking with them. They won't sit down unless I do, and most people will finish up the conversation faster if they don't settle into a chair and get comfortable. So in addition to the health benefits, a standing desk helps to get clients out of your office faster so you can get some work done.

Yes, absolutely the best decision. I do everything I can to keep my clients out of my office so I can get some work done. That's especially true with the bottom feeders.

Sounds like a good candidate for an extension. Any time I can extend a return that is expected to take a long time to prepare, that means I can complete 2 or 3 others in that time slot and still prepare the extended return when things slow down.

I like clients who know more about taxes than I do. It gives me a chance to tell them they're so smart they can file their own - they really don't need me.

Based on what you posted, I'd tell him I can't work him in and he needs to look somewhere else. There's a certain subset of clients out there who will take ignoring them as a sign that you're eventually going to get around to them. They think you work all the time, love to do last-minute stuff, and you thrive on pressure & stress. Then they will try to blame you for stringing them along. None of that is legitimate of course, but it won't stop them from pestering you. So the best thing to do is give them a final "no" in order to give them time to find someone else and to keep them out of your hair so you can focus on your good clients.

Are we married to the same person?

I think it's infinite business use or indeterminate form - right teacher?

I seriously doubt an annual valuation will be worth much - almost certainly not worth the cost to get it done. Also, anyone preparing a valuation needs to consider the potential risks of getting caught up in a dispute down the road. Here's a pretty good article on the subject - it'd old but still useful. http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3054&context=flr

What is the purpose of the valuation? This can potentially get expensive if they do an annual valuation.

I try to get things straight from the horse's mouth, but sometimes I discover (too late) that my information originated from the other end of the horse.

I usually think a blank receipt fro Goodwill is worth about $10. Clients usually thinks it's worth about $110.00 We usually compromise on $11.00

Speaking of Tennessee girls, guns, and getting married up reminds me of a story. A Tennessee girl comes home one day to find her husband sitting on the front porch weeping. She says: "That's so sweet. You remembered today is our 25th anniversary." Her husband replied: "That's exactly right. I still remember the day your daddy burst into our house, stuck that shotgun in my belly, and said 'Either you're marryin' my daughter or somebody's gonna die right now!'. I've been thnking that if I'd managed to wrestle the gun out of his hands and kill him, then allowing for time off good behavior, today I'd most likely be getting out of prison a free man."

Yep, I have a few of those every year. I take their info, and sometimes I even enter it into the software if I find time. (Of course I can't do that with the ones who are "getting their stuff together", but I think they believe I can.) Then when the drop dead date arrives I tell them we need an extension. Funny how people will try to dictate our operating procedures if we allow them to do so. They will even apologize profusely, but their actions reveal they couldn't care less if we ever have any time with our families. It's up to us to manage this stuff - the client should have no influence over it. Personally, I have no interest in martyrdom.

Ah yes, extension drop dead date is looming. For me, it is next Monday. (Actuallly it is this upcoming Friday Mar 7, since I don't plan to work over the weekend) The client should know that an extension has no effect on an installment agreement. She/He/They can even file an extension showing an estimated amount due but with no payment or with a partial payment. Even that will not afffect the installment agreement. The only time filing a return affects an installment agreement is when a return is filed with a balance due and no payment made.

Off the top of my head, I think I'd email him immediately and say I'm sorry but I can't prepare his return. No explanation, no excuses. I'd encourage him to find someone else as soon as possible in order to avoid his having to file an extension or settling for a rush job from a new preparer. He deserves an answer if he's pushing for an appointment and is really ready, so if you aren't willing to prepare the return he has a right to know. If he gives you any push-back, asking for reasons, etc you can then stall as long as you wish because you're busy and you've already done him the courtesy of trelling him where he stands with respect needing to find someone else. He isn't entitled to an explanation, but if he does ask for one, chances are he will admit to some of his shortcomings as a client and you cant turn those back on him if you are inclined to respond. Plus you can add others he omitted. Or you can just tell him his situation doesn't fit your client profile, etc, etc, etc.

Like so many other things in this business, it's a matter of making distinctions. There is no cookie cutter rule to apply in every situation. It's clear that divorces take many twists & turns, and what starts out amicably winds up with everybody at one another's throats. Once it goes there, the tax preparer is in the middle with no easy way out. If I were inclined to work with both, I'd probably also tell them that if they wind up putting me in the middle at some point in the future, I'm PROBABLY going to resign from preparing either of their returns. That leave me free to do what I said at the outset, or anything else I choose to do.

Don't come back here telling us you had to do some "internet research" to better acquaint yourself with what constitutes ordinary and necessary business expenses for this client.