Two Year Comparison Form

[Christian]

I don't routinely include this form in my client copies. I have done so this year for a couple of folks who came to me this year and had them in their former practitioner's copy. I find the one provided by ATX really lacking when compared to the competition. The state comparison is not provided. I suspect ATX tech support has been appraised of this and likely with no result. 

[Lee B]

Drake does have a good comparison including a state comparison. Therefore beginning with this year I have been giving all of my clients a comparison

and reviewing it in some detail especially since the changes to the 1040 along with the supplemental 1040 schedules are confusing and hard to explain.

 

[RitaB]

Yes, the Form 1040 changes.    I loved the ATX federal comparison of 2018 to 2017 since I found the 2018 form changes to be about the worst thing ever, and it was far easier for me to flip over to the comparison and explain things when I went over returns with clients.   I printed the Form 1040 comparison for every return, and I thought it was a lifesaver.   Nothing like seeing a figure in the middle of a full sheet of paper with print on half of it and wondering where the heck did that come from??  And what numbers got added together to get that number on the right?  Also, a handful of my folks didn't have enough withholding (thankfully not many), and it helped show them they really got a tax cut; it's the liability that counts.  Really hate the 2018 form changes so much I can't even tell you.

 

[Lion EA]

I have always included the comparison, but a couple of pages in. This year, the comparison was at the front of every client copy, right after the cover sheet.

[WITAXLADY]

hhmm - I do not use that so much as the planner - I used it in 2017 - it was fairly accurate and now I use the planner going forward - it is great

I double check it with the 1040-es sheet and WI-es since their is no state!!!

D

[Randall]

I use it.  Very helpful with clients when there's a major change in outcome.

[Lion EA]

I use a planner going forward. I use a comparison to show why their balance due is different than the prior year (pointing out liability, withholding, other changes from prior year, etc.).

[Catherine]

I love the comparison.  It's great for clients, and also great for ME in reviewing.  If I see substantial differences year to year, I go back and make sure there is nothing crucial that I have missed (or the client has forgotten to provide me).

[Abby Normal]

If you don't like all those zeroes on the ATX comparison sheet (I don't), you can turn them off in preferences. I use the blank space to type notes on the comparison form.

[Yardley CPA]

I provide each client with the summary, the comparison, and the planner.  I find its so important to plan for the next year to ensure the whithholdings are where they need to be (or at least close to where they need to be).  I only provide planning for the next tax year.  I zero out the rest of the columns.  Would be nice if there was a checkbox you could click to do that automatically on the planner. 

This year, I made sure all of my clients received the Federal comparison (wish there was a State) and I highlighted the AGI, Taxable Income, Tax, and Withholding amounts.  More often than not, I'd say at least 75% of the time, the new tax law benefited them.  In may of 2018, I contacted all of my clients to make sure they checked their withholdings.  Some did, some didn't.  Oh well.  

[jklcpa]

I use the comparison for my own review and to present the highlights of the returns to the clients.  Most want only the totals of income, their total tax, any significant changes, and the bottom line balance or refund.  The comparison was particularly useful this year with all of the form changes and saved a lot of time in not searching through the additional six new schedules and all the other forms in their tax packages.

[vivian]

There are no comparison for Schedule C and E. do you know which tax software provide the two year comparison for them?

[NECPA in NEBRASKA]

I receive one when I print out my comparison forms for every return. I have ATX Total Office. I can't look at them on my screen, but they print out on my returns with C's and E's. Now that I'm confessing, they will probably take them away. It's probably a glitch.

[vivian]

Does Drake have two year comparison for Schedule E and C ?

[jklcpa]

3 hours ago, vivian said:

Does Drake have two year comparison for Schedule E and C ?

No, it has a comparison page for Federal line items similar to ATX and a separate page for the state comparison.

[SaraEA]

Ultratax has C and E comparison sheets as well as states.  It's expensive software though but does all kinds of the fancy stuff.

[Lion EA]

ProSystem fx has C and E and F comparison sheets as well as the federal and states comparisons. You may have noticed that CCH's US Small Firms division now includes ProSystem fx, so you can probably negotiate favorable pricing if you are a small business.

[joanmcq]

I had forms C & E this year, but I have ATX Advantage