I've only had two calls about stimulus payments...

[Abby Normal]

...and both were from wealthier retired clients, whose income stream is secure, wanting to know why they didn't get the full 1,200 per filer. And both called twice. One wanted to know if he had to share it with his spouse, and the other wanted to me check the calculation to make sure it was right. I told him we wouldn't know if it was right until we filed his 2020 tax returns. <sigh>

[Jack from Ohio]

1 minute ago, Abby Normal said:

...and both were from wealthier retired clients, whose income stream is secure, wanting to know why they didn't get the full 1,200 per filer. And both called twice. One wanted to know if he had to share it with his spouse, and the other wanted to me check the calculation to make sure it was right. I told him we wouldn't know if it was right until we filed his 2020 tax returns. <sigh>

It has become the national obsession.

Had a client call me, wanting to know what form he needed to fill out, to be sure he got the large amount. (Returns are filed, except 2019)  He said, "We don't need the money, we are just going to put it in savings."  I told him to check the IRS website. He then started ranting about why it is taking so long for his to come in. (His neighbor, a barber, had received his and he was  almost demanding that I do something so he would get his.

I also told him to call 800-829-1040 if he had questions, because I have no information, and cannot do anything for him to get that money "as quick as we can."  I guess his bank had timeframes for putting money in his savings.

He then tried to call me out, because he had not received his stimulus.

I have one less client for 2019 taxes now.

 

 

[Catherine]

6 hours ago, Jack from Ohio said:

He then tried to call me out, because he had not received his stimulus.

I have one less client for 2019 taxes now.

Good riddance!

We've been swamped with all manner of calls and emails.  Mostly about the loan/business stuff, but also about stimulus payments.  Out-of-country (US citizen) clients too.  ("Am I eligible?"  Magic 8-Ball says "Answer hazy - ask again later" aka I dunno!)  FORMER clients are calling.  People wanting to know why they didn't get the payment for the new baby (born in Jan, not even on the not-yet-filed 2019 return).  I've been sending them all to the IRS web page.  

[Max W]

I refer everyone to the IRS FAQ's and to the article about the delay.

If they are not satisfied with these, I suggest they call their US Congressperson and US Senator.   They are the ones that write the laws.

https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment-frequently-asked-questions

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/smallbusiness/stimulus-checks-and-other-coronavirus-relief-hindered-by-dated-technology-and-rocky-government-rollout/ar-BB12NSM3?ocid=msedgdhp

[Roberts]

When people are sitting at home bored, these are the sorts of things that bounce into their heads and they obsess about. Have a client who has been ranting because he bounced a check to the IRS and they gave him a fee for $80. Guy makes about $130k per year in retirement and he has been obsessed the last 12 months about this $80 and how it is everyone's fault but his own. Thankfully he hasn't decided it is my fault also. Currently it bounces between the IRS, his own son, the bank, the financial advisor and the backoffice people because the advisor threw them under the bus for a while.

[BulldogTom]

Called my mom this weekend just to check in on how she is holding up.   As we were talking, she mentioned that my sister-in-law was going to go to the website and see if she could set up my mom to get the stimulus money.   WTH?  I explained to her that people on SS would be getting it in a later round of funding and that they know who she is and since her SS check is DD, she did not need to do anything.   

The mis-information out there may be part of the reason the IRS site is clogged up.   I wonder how many people on SS have gone out to the site and entered information to get their stimulus payment when they don't need to?

Tom
Modesto, CA

[Gail in Virginia]

22 minutes ago, BulldogTom said:

Called my mom this weekend just to check in on how she is holding up.   As we were talking, she mentioned that my sister-in-law was going to go to the website and see if she could set up my mom to get the stimulus money.   WTH?  I explained to her that people on SS would be getting it in a later round of funding and that they know who she is and since her SS check is DD, she did not need to do anything.   

The mis-information out there may be part of the reason the IRS site is clogged up.   I wonder how many people on SS have gone out to the site and entered information to get their stimulus payment when they don't need to?

Tom
Modesto, CA

In this case, though, the misinformation is at least partly the treasury department's fault.  They at first said that people who don't normally have to file would have to file a simplified return to get their information in the system.  Then they changed it to they would use SS/RR information to send the payments.  So I understand the confusion people are experiencing. 

[BulldogTom]

30 minutes ago, Gail in Virginia said:

So I understand the confusion people are experiencing. 

Me too.  

Tom
Modesto, CA 

[JohnH]

Anybody care to critique my answer to a Schedule C client who left me a long voice mail this morning?

===========•
Hi Xxxx:  I heard your voice mail.  I am tied up all day and unable  to return phone calls. 

I don’t know anything about what you described. That info will need to come from someone more familiar with the process. The only thing I’ve done is advise a couple of corporate clients on what to enter on their applications. 

The corporation questions are very precise so there’s no interpretation or guessing about what to enter. It sounds as though the sole proprietor information is specific to sole proprietorships and/or allows for some interpretation. 

I’m avoiding SBA loan applications for the simple reason I don’t know their special rules and lingo. But I do know they have the power to make life very unpleasant for accountants who offer advice about their procedures when they haven’t been trained. So I’m declining involvement in anything having to do with these loans. Lending really isn’t tax related anyhow.   

Sorry I can’t be of any help on this. 

============

 

Yes, I’ll likely lose a client over this, but at this point in my life that isn’t a consideration. 

[RitaB]

4 hours ago, JohnH said:

Anybody care to critique my answer to a Schedule C client who left me a long voice mail this morning?

===========•
Hi Xxxx:  I heard your voice mail.  I am tied up all day and unable  to return phone calls. 

 

I give the entire response a 10.  And this part an 11.

[JohnH]

Thanks Rita. 

I'd say more but I'm tied up all day and am unable to type anything else.

[Gail in Virginia]

 

1 hour ago, JohnH said:

Thanks Rita. 

I'd say more but I'm tied up all day and am unable to type anything else.

Kinky!

[RitaB]

On 4/19/2020 at 10:53 AM, Abby Normal said:

I've only had two calls about stimulus payments and both were from wealthier retired clients, whose income stream is secure... <sigh>

Phone rings yesterday.  I pick up.  I know, don't ask me why, but I did.  What can I say?  I don't have caller ID, and sometimes it's google, and I can just slam it back down.

Retiree Caller:  You know that stimulus payment?

Me:  (Thought Bubble:  Just yes or no, Rita, yes or no.)   Yes.

RC:  Is it taxable?

Me:  (TB:  Don't adlib, Rita, yes or no.)  No.

RC:  Is the interest [income it will earn in the bank CD I'm putting it in] taxable?

Me: (TB:  WTH do you think??  Are you kidding me right now?? Yes or no, yes or no, yes or no...focus...)  Yes.

 

God is working in my life, y'all.

 

[Gail in Virginia]

Sometimes I fail to listen to those thought bubbles and these stupid calls take up way more of my day than they should. 

[Abby Normal]

32 minutes ago, RitaB said:

God is working in my life, y'all.

Yes, but it sounds like the devil is whispering in your ear!

[RitaB]

1 hour ago, Gail in Virginia said:

Sometimes I fail to listen to those thought bubbles and these stupid calls take up way more of my day than they should. 

Yes!  The first one that called me after consulting the They Said I Heard Tax Club with the question about whether their return (refund) would be affected 2020 -  Oh, my soul. 

I don't even remember how he asked the question now, but wow, I tried way too hard to answer it.  He finally said, "I don't understand," to which I replied, "I know you don't." 

[JohnH]

Sometimes it's hard for a person to understand something when they think their best interests may be served by not understanding it. 

[Lee B]

42 minutes ago, JohnH said:

Sometimes it's hard for a person to understand something when they think their best interests may be served by not understanding it. 

John, that's pretty profound !

[Catherine]

Or, like the sign my younger daughter got me for my desk:  "I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you."

[Jim Oh Bkkr]

Thank you guys for a multiple, laugh out load, morning!