Egg on My Face

[RitaB]

Well, I have a new client, who moved and began renting her residence 2017.  We did a lot of back and forth and waiting on answers as she had no idea what I needed as sometimes happens here.  (Who am I kidding?  It happens every day here.)  Anyway, I somehow gave her the Tuition and Fees Deduction instead of the Lifetime Learning Credit for her son's college expenses.  Her son picked up her return to take to her and she was to review it, sign the 8879, and pay me.  She texted me last night and asked if it was ok if she let her brother in law look at it.

Well, my first impulse was to be angry.  You know. because I am Super Tax Pro and everything.  I somehow had enough sense not to respond. 

I was up all night worrying about this and realized something was wrong, and that she should have had the Lifetime Learning Credit on there.  I got here this morning and discovered I had not entered the address of the University.  I explained the error to her and apologized this morning.  She was very gracious, but I am so embarrassed.  Not as embarrassed as I would be if I had responded to her text last night in anger. 

So, there's my confession of dropping the ball royally.  And my unsolicited advice to everybody is don't respond to people when you are livid.  I will say that till the cows freeze over. 

And I really wish it was impossible to create the e-file without the address of the University on there.  Just saying.

[Yardley CPA]

We all make mistakes.  It happens.  Wipe the egg off. 

What made you determine the LLC should have been taken over the Tuition & Fees?

[RitaB]

7 minutes ago, Yardley CPA said:

We all make mistakes.  It happens.  Wipe the egg off. 

What made you determine the LLC should have been taken over the Tuition & Fees?

Math.  I was laying awake and realized 25% of 4,000 was less than 20% of 10,000.   I couldn't remember the limits and all, but I knew her marginal tax bracket was no more than 25%.

 

[Lee B]

19 minutes ago, RitaB said:

 

 And my unsolicited advice to everybody is don't respond to people when you are livid.  I will say that till the cows freeze over. 

That is so true.  Some of my best ideas have arisen after thinking about a difficult situation for several days, after I have calmed down .

[jklcpa]

Egg?  I had scrambled eggs for brains yesterday. Lack of sleep, husband sharing his man-cold (tyvm, not!), nyquil and daytime cold medicine, and feeling lightheaded, I wasn't making much sense of anything.  I reread an email that I sent to a client yesterday and I repeated myself in it. 

After sleeping for 12 hours, I am marginally functional again.

[RitaB]

This week was a killer for me, too.  I kept thinking: Wait, there's always a March lull.  What is going on here??

I had the client whose co-workers were deducting the difference between the per diem for lodging that the employer COULD have reimbursed them and the actual hotel bills that the employer paid directly to the hotel.

The employees had no expense at all.  It is hard to prove a negative, and I always try to back up everything I say with an article or the form instructions.  I did print Instructions to 2106, but you know about how much that means to people wanting to go for gold on Form 2106.  I finally said, "I may or may not have one of your co-workers who came to me in 2016 after having his @$$ handed to him in a audit of 2015."  That was tacky, but effective.

[rfassett]

3 hours ago, jklcpa said:

After sleeping for 12 hours, I am marginally functional again.

12 hours?  I would be happy with half that much straight through.  But then again, I am healthy as a horse.  Hope you get to feeling better soon!  I am so looking forward to my Easter nap!!!  Just two short weeks from tomorrow! Yeeaaaaa!!!

[FDNY]

I had one of those EDU problems this year too.  Took me some time to realize I needed the address of the college because there was no error or yellow warning.  Couldn't figure out why program was not allowing the LLC.   Luckily I eventually found it because I do need the sleep.   

[FDNY]

18 minutes ago, FDNY said:

I had one of those EDU problems this year too.  Took me some time to realize I needed the address of the college because there was no error or yellow warning.  Couldn't figure out why program was not allowing the LLC.   Luckily I eventually found it because I do need the sleep.   

Or there was a yellow warning and I missed it, got to give those yellow warnings more than a cursory look.

[jklcpa]

59 minutes ago, rfassett said:

12 hours?  I would be happy with half that much straight through.  But then again, I am healthy as a horse.  Hope you get to feeling better soon!  I am so looking forward to my Easter nap!!!  Just two short weeks from tomorrow! Yeeaaaaa!!!

I usually get a series of naps totaling 5 - 6 hours a night.  Last night I was running a fever and was hit with an overwhelming need to sleep, so apparently I needed all of that rest. Being sick is the only time I sleep as soundly as I did last night.  I managed to drive to a client's today, although I don't remember much of that, but no way I could have driven safely at all yesterday. Thanks for the well wishes.

[Catherine]

Glad you are feeling a bit better today, Judy!

[Edsel]

Rita, I think you need to plaster that egg back on your face.  All your comrades on this board are giving you support that you really don't deserve.  It's time for you to take deep and painful responsibility for your many misdeeds.  Suck it up and move on. 

By the way, I'm sure you'll want to invite me to your June what-ever-is-happening.  I may consider my elite status and condescend to the group long enough to show up.  In fact, I'm certain I should be the guest-of-honor.

[FDNY]

I would stay away from BHoffman and paper if I were you.  And don't let Catherine walk behind you.  Other than that have a good time.

[Abby Normal]

20 hours ago, Yardley CPA said:

We all make mistakes.  It happens.  Wipe the egg off

Indeed. Had a client with dependent care benefits on W2 but no child care expenses listed. He told me they paid cash and could not deduct it. I opened 2016 return while on the phone and he had preschool expenses, so it wasn't taxable last year. But as I was hanging up I realized we (be a team player, it diffuses the blame) had missed entering the DCB on the W2.

I try to be efficient when reviewing returns, and we only see DCB once or twice a year, and the DCB was off to the left all by itself on the W2, but it was still a mistake we made.

I had to sit with this for a few days before I emailed him the bad news. Frell.

(I always had the hots for Chiana, even though I prefer brunettes. She was a bad/tough female character.)

[RitaB]

On ‎3‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 7:53 AM, Abby Normal said:

But as I was hanging up I realized we (be a team player, it diffuses the blame) had missed entering the DCB on the W2.

I'm the only one in here, but I am totally going to start doing this. 

[RitaB]

On ‎3‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 3:40 AM, Edsel said:

By the way, I'm sure you'll want to invite me to your June what-ever-is-happening.  I may consider my elite status and condescend to the group long enough to show up.  In fact, I'm certain I should be the guest-of-honor.

June 23, and I already have a place card with your name on it. 

[Abby Normal]

1 minute ago, RitaB said:

a place card

Yeah, but where is the 'place'.

[jklcpa]

18 minutes ago, Abby Normal said:

Yeah, but where is the 'place'.

Those places better be unmarked.  

Now I'm an accessory to her misdeeds.  

[Margaret CPA in OH]

Judy, we are all accessories but not to worry - our lips are sealed!

[Abby Normal]

3 hours ago, RitaB said:

I'm the only one in here, but I am totally going to start doing this. 

Tax pros in office are more numerous than they appear.

[FDNY]

14 minutes ago, Abby Normal said:

Tax pros in office are more numerous than they appear.

I think that's because we are quick on our feet tending to all the craziness.  Sometimes in two places at once, or so it seems.

[Medlin Software, Dennis]

I still use an email program which allows (via an add on) me to send messages with a delay.  Gives me a chance to catch myself should I be too flippant or just plain wrong.  Something about hitting the send button (even if a delayed send), on occasion, sharpens my thoughts.  Does not prevent foot on keyboard errors, but can make them rarer.

On the other hand, when I have a less than optimal situation (such as a mistake), I usually end up becoming an expert on the issue, so the mistake is never wasted.

Rule 1.  The umpire is always right.  Rule 2.  If the umpire is wrong, see Rule 1.  It is actually true, because when #2 happened, I made it a point to learn/relearn the rule/interpretation, making Rule 1 true again (I kicked the call before, it should have been X).  Admitting, trying never to repeat, and learning from my mistakes has been very productive in all my endeavors...