JohnH

I agree 100%. Just gladly & gratefully sent mine - highly recommend that others do the same.

I'll contribute to it (and I'm talking over and above what I normally contribute to the base cost of the forum) .

Well that certainly puts a new twist on things. So maybe I am back to the original dozen or so. Maybe I'll just tell them in my letter that I haven't bothered to read up on ACA and don't intend to until well into the extension season. Some of those affectred may decide that if I'm too lazy/distracted/uninterested then perhaps they should go somewhere else. But then, maybe my position should be that if they don't have coverage and are too lazy/distracted/uninterested in their own health and finances, perhaps I don't want them as clients any more. No valid reason I can think of to volunteer to be saddled with their lack of foresight. H-m-m-m; this is beginning to look very similar to the EIC conundrum from a few years back. I found that one very easy to resolve.

That's reassuring . The 2015 practice year is a long way off, and plenty of time to get up to speed (assuming I care to do so).

OK. Well, thanks for the warning. I do trust you. I guess you mean that there is NO situation in which ACA-related issues won't be a factor. Not even when both spouses are over 65 and on Medicare. But not sure how much more emphatic I could be on the timing. There's no way I'll be looking at it until after mid-January - that isn't even an option. Looks like many more extensions will be in my future. Maybe yet another vehicle for transitioning into retirement through attrition. Right now I'm thinking of how to word my client letter. Best thing I've come up with so far is "If your situation even remotely involves ACA-related issues, expect to file an extension. If that isn't acceptable, then you need to contact someone else. Trust me on this." It's down to either that or "Why don't you all just go somewhere else this year?"

I'll admit to not having gotten any specialized ACA training, beyond online research and what's available on this and other forums. Given my schedule, I'm not likely to do so before mid-January. But here is a general question anyhow. Feel free to accuse me of being lazy if so inclined - a guilty plea is hereby entered. Would it be fair to say that clients who are covered by Medicare do not have any ACA-related issues? Secondly, is it fair to say that clients who are covered by large-company health plans do not have any ACA-related issues? If so, then I think I can send about a dozen remaining clients to HRB or someone else this yea,r and as a side-benefit, hasten my transition to full retirement through attrition.

Actually, it's a little more complicated than the Earth simply orbiting the Sun. The heliocentric 2-dimensional model just begins to tell the story. Not disputing your facts Eric, but elaborating on them. When we think 3-dimensonally, it is more awesome. I love this You Tube explanation.

I like to charge by the question. The conversation usually goes something like this: Client: I'd like to know how you charge. Me: I answer the first question for free. After that, there's a charge for each question. Client: How much do you charge for each question? Me: $100 each. What's your next question?

Joan: Glad you posted that. The law in NC just changed and I'm not interested in expanding since I'm transitioning into retirement. I'm not taking on new clients, so if I get any SSM inquiries I'll give them your contact info..

Wouldn't a better mental picture be a squirrel with a tennis racquet in hand, and having just committed a foot fault?

When I saw the odd message about "SQL Server Error" or something like that yesterday, I only had a couple of thoughts: 1) "Something got sideways in cyberspace." 2) "Eric will know what to do and when to do it." Thanks for all you do for this forum, Eric.

I explained the rationale for "no fee", and why they won't/can't/shouldn't expect the same next year. It's a graceful way to exit from an awkward situation. My business philosophy is based on the idea that the ability to make distinctions is essential.

I've had situations over the years where parents who were good clients asked me to prepare a return for a child when I absolutely didn't want to get involved. No interest in preparing the child's return but didn't want to lose the parents' business. In a few cases, I managed to convince them that the child was better off going to HRB. JH, Liberty, etc (especially if EITC was involved since I just don't do those returns). But in the cases in which I did relent, I just prepared the return at no charge. Then I'd tell them that's all I can do and the child has a year to find someone else for the next return. Most of the time people understand, and they don't like getting charity (especially if they don't need it).

Speaking only for myself here, productivity is about much more than the price of a given tool or set of tools. I've seen billing rates quoted on this forum and other tax & accounting forums at anywhere from $90/hr to $200/hr (maybe more - plug in your own numbers). So if a given $1,000 tool saves you 1/2 hour per week, it has a payback period of less than 6 months. At $200/hr, the payback period drops to less than 90 days. I think the critical issue is not how cheaply something can be done, but how efficiently it can be done. Time is money. (that statement still holds true even in you charge by the form) Incidentally, I'm typing this note on the iPad which sits on my desk while I'm doing something totally different on my PC. Most of my emails & forums are read and responded to on this device. Reading & navigating email & forums is MUCH easier with a touch screen than with a mouse. Then a bluetooth keypad speeds up the "reply" task. Plus, this particular iPad almost never leaves my desk, because I carry a separate iPad mini in my backpack. But if I want to do some reading in the "library", I just pick it up and carry it with me. Hard to do that with my PC & monitor. But having said all that, I do understand that others' mileage may vary.

One person's toy is another person's productivity tool. I use my desktop (PC), iPhone, iPad, and my MacBook pro at various times and in various contexts. Each of them adds to my business and personal productivity in its unique way, and I would miss any one of them if it were taken away from me. Maybe that's because I've discovered it is indeed possible to walk and chew gum at the same time. Or maybe that's why I learned to use a hammer to drive nails into wood, a drill to make holes in the same material, and a power screwdriver to install screws in those same holes. Every tool has a unique purpose, and every piece of electronics is simply a tool to get something done.

To each his own with regard to the discount. I'm just glad my policy has always been to wait until the last minute. I was especially glad at the beginning of 2013. I was able to delay further while the 2012 problems were surfacing, and finally pulled the trigger on switching to my backup (Drake) in late January when it was painfully obvious what was developing over here. Huge problems and little prospects for resolution. That decision would have been much harder if I had already tied up money with ATX, even if the prospect of a refund loomed out there somewhere. As Judy pointed out, the savings is less than the price of a single return (or maybe a couple of really small returns). I don't like the idea of committing for the entire season on the value of a single return preparation fee.

Sorry. I just now logged on to the Forum and went to vote, then realized you posted that last night, so time has expired.

Oh lighten up - they're just horsing around.

This conversation makes me think of the old quote by (George Burns/Claude Pepper/Erma Bombeck - pick your celebrity): "At my age, I don't even buy green bananas."

Jack's exactly right. If they gave consistent discounts, they would't be discounts. They would jjust be adjustments on the standard price list.

Regarding alternatives, I still stick to the assertion that Drake is the only true competitor in this price range. Except that Drake is significantly bettter than ATX in terms of speed and ease of use. It blows the doors off ATX with its efficiency. Having used both, and having reached a high degree of software transparency with Drake, I'd even pay a premium for it over ATX. All one has to do is break that dependence upon forms based entry, which IMO is way overblown. After that, everyting falls into place rapidly. I know for certain that I'm making more money with Drake. Since I'm in business to earn a profit, that's the acid test.

Interesting discussion, and thanks for the expert advice Eric. I come down on both sides of this issue, depending upon the function. In my office I use PC's because they are cheap. But for travel and for media, I like to use a top-quality computer that is robust in the technical sense and also durable in terms of construction. For me, only a Mac adequately satisfies those criteria. I also like the idea of not having to constantly fight the virus protection wars.

No legislation ever passes until the proper payoffs have been made. We have the best political system and politicians that money can buy.

I've always understood it to be the opposite. If someone has signatory authority over a foreign account, they must answer the questions and attach schedule B even if there is little or even no income from Interest or Dividends. It would be interesting to hear others' thoughts on this. As for the original question, I think he must answer "Yes" even though the account isn't in his name. Here are the instructions for Schedule B. (Notice the last one -> I understand each to be a stand-alone condition) Purpose of Form Use Schedule B if any of the following applies. • You had over $1,500 of taxable interest or ordinary dividends. • You received interest from a seller-financed mortgage and the buyer used the property as a personal residence. • You have accrued interest from a bond. • You are reporting original issue discount (OID) in an amount less than the amount shown on Form 1099-OID. • You are reducing your interest income on a bond by the amount of amortizable bond premium. • You are claiming the exclusion of interest from series EE or I U.S. savings bonds issued after 1989. • You received interest or ordinary dividends as a nominee. • You had a financial interest in, or signature authority over, a financial account in a foreign country or you received a distribution from, or were a grantor of, or transferor to, a foreign trust. Part III of the schedule has questions about foreign accounts and trusts.

I agree with Jack. This is from Tax Topic 511: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Generally, your tax home is the entire city or general area where your main place of business or work is located, regardless of where you maintain your family home. For example, you live with your family in Chicago but work in Milwaukee where you stay in a hotel and eat in restaurants. You return to Chicago every weekend. You may not deduct any of your travel, meals, or lodging in Milwaukee because that is your tax home. Your travel on weekends to your family home in Chicago is not for your work, so these expenses are also not deductible. If you regularly work in more than one place, your tax home is the general area where your main place of business or work is located. http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc511.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ There might be an exception carved out for a temporary work assignment (one year or less) in some situations, but nothing in the original post suggests this is the case.