All my extension people owe!!!

[joanmcq]

Well not all of them, but it's looking like 2/3. That ain't my usual, other years it's only a very few. This sucks.

[RitaB]

1 minute ago, joanmcq said:

Well not all of them, but it's looking like 2/3. That ain't my usual, other years it's only a very few. This sucks.

I feel that.  I really do.

[Randall]

I've finished mine.  Or at least emailed the ones who will probably owe.  It's up to them to make a payment.  The real  pain is the local govts want their own extensions with a payment for the businesses.  I've got them emailed.

 

[rfassett]

5 of my 40 extensions sent a payment with the extension. But then I get a call today from a 6 or 7 year client who earlier this year said he was going to get his return done for free this year on base. He was in a panic about what they said he owed - about an $8,000 swing from last year. He wants me to do it now. I have no idea if he is going to owe and it is too late too worry about it. I filed the extension with no payment.

[Jack from Ohio]

1 hour ago, rfassett said:

5 of my 40 extensions sent a payment with the extension. But then I get a call today from a 6 or 7 year client who earlier this year said he was going to get his return done for free this year on base. He was in a panic about what they said he owed - about an $8,000 swing from last year. He wants me to do it now. I have no idea if he is going to owe and it is too late too worry about it. I filed the extension with no payment.

You can file another extension with payment.  As long as it is postmarked by April 18, it will be considered before the due date.  Estimate high.  The only downside to sending too much with the additional extension is a larger refund.

I efile all extensions.  If payment is needed, I have the client mail in a second extension form with payment.  Extensions without digital acknowledgment are useless, if a question arises.

[Lee B]

Hey with the exorbitant fees we charge our poor clients, we should be able to waive our magic wands

and fix everything ! LOL

[Jack from Ohio]

[Randall]

10 hours ago, Jack from Ohio said:

10 hours ago, Jack from Ohio said:

I efile all extensions.  If payment is needed, I have the client mail in a second extension form with payment

 

I do this too.

[JohnH]

11 hours ago, Jack from Ohio said:

You can file another extension with payment.  As long as it is postmarked by April 18, it will be considered before the due date.  Estimate high.  The only downside to sending too much with the additional extension is a larger refund.

I efile all extensions.  If payment is needed, I have the client mail in a second extension form with payment.  Extensions without digital acknowledgment are useless, if a question arises.

I've only had a few questions arise over the years regarding a missing extension.  But every time we provided IRS with a certified mail receipt and green return card, along with a copy of the canceled check, the extension was acknowledged.  I've heard the arguments that "proof of filing doesn't prove anything was in the envelope", but apparently IRS doesn't see it that way. I'm not saying that some uninformed IRS person on the phone hasn't made such a claim, but it just isn't the reality when you get down to the facts.  However, there's no doubt that e-flinging the extension is certainly another level of protection.

[Jack from Ohio]

25 minutes ago, JohnH said:

I've only had a few questions arise over the years regarding a missing extension.  But every time we provided IRS with a certified mail receipt and green return card, along with a copy of the canceled check, the extension was acknowledged.  I've heard the arguments that "proof of filing doesn't prove anything was in the envelope", but apparently IRS doesn't see it that way. I'm not saying that some uninformed IRS person on the phone hasn't made such a claim, but it just isn't the reality when you get down to the facts.  However, there's no doubt that e-flinging the extension is certainly another level of protection.

And this has been in the last 3 years?  We have lost such an argument with the same proof.  That was the day we started e-filing ALL extensions. 

[JohnH]

The most recent one was an 1120S for the 2012 year. Return was filed (on extension) on 9/13/13 and received by IRS on 9/23/13.  They tried to assess a $195 penalty for it being one month late.  They were not questioning the extension in this case; they were only questioning the filing date.  But the principle is the same - what constitutes timely filing? 

We had Certified Mail & Return receipt, which I sent along with a printout from the Post Office of the tracking info on 12/5/2013. On 12/26/2013 they sent a denial letter saying the return was filed on 9/23/13 and thus it was late.  I responded to that letter with copies of the original info again, along with a printout of IRS Notice 97-26.  It clearly states that timely mailing is timely filing.  I did ask them to let me know if there had been any change to the filing requirements.  The issue was not resolved until April, 2014, but they finally relented. 

None of the above is intended to say it isn't a good idea to filed the extensions electronically.  I think that is a good practice for all you e-flingers.  My point was simply to emphasize that if one does mail an extension with a balance due expected  (whether or not any payment accompanies the extension request), it is worth the extra cost to use certified mail with return receipt.  I prefer USPS to any other means of delivery, even though the IRS does recognize the other PDS's provided the correct level of service is used. 

In any event, dropping an extension in the mail via First Class Mail is extremely risky & leave you with virtually no way to demonstrate timely filing.  And until IRS Notice 97-26 is revised, it is the job of the IRS to honor it even if some of their employees don't understand and have to be pressured to apply their own rules properly.

[Lion EA]

I have not received the green return cards from time to time, so I don't even trust certified/return receipt requested.  E-file.  If a client wants to mail, then they're on their own.

[Jack from Ohio]

9 hours ago, JohnH said:

The most recent one was an 1120S for the 2012 year. Return was filed (on extension) on 9/13/13 and received by IRS on 9/23/13.  They tried to assess a $195 penalty for it being one month late.  They were not questioning the extension in this case; they were only questioning the filing date.  But the principle is the same -   NOT!!

The moral of your story is: "As long as you refuse to enter the 21st century with your tax business protocols, you will be fighting, and losing, those battles on a regular basis.

Three reasons for e-filing:

1. Accuracy

2. Confirmation

3. Faster processing.

Those are in order of importance.

[JohnH]

Haven't lost yet.  You don't lose when you do it right.  When I start losing, I will change (or retire).