...or anywhere but here. There is no way this woman feeds her son and husband on what she earns, and pays her mortgage, at etc. Hubby is a carpenter (with a "bad back"). I am sure he's working under the table. I'm not going to do this tax return. Sigh.
Sending EIC client to VITA
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Couple of thoughts
She probably figured that out when BHoffman sent her to VITA. haha!
BHoffman, I agree that your assessment of the situation is probably correct. The carpenter probably drives a nicer vehicle than you, too.
OF COURSE, the woman may have savings or received an inheritance or something that they are living on...If you loan someone $20 and never see them again, it was probably worth it.Comment
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She probably figured that out when BHoffman sent her to VITA. haha!
BHoffman, I agree that your assessment of the situation is probably correct. The carpenter probably drives a nicer vehicle than you, too.
OF COURSE, the woman may have savings or received an inheritance or something that they are living on...
I'm calling her within the hour. When I asked about other sources of income and how she managed to feed the family she got flustered and had no answer. My software has a pretty complete EIC due diligence checklist. OK until we get to the "Income" section. How can she pay the bills on the couple thousand left after Sch A without any outside support? I do not know and she will not answer.
I suspect the Gov't would like to see ALL returns showing EIC to be prepared by VITA. Well, here ya go!Comment
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Yes,
I got rid of a customer a few years ago that always complained about the gov't not helping him enough, as he was climbing into his Escalade. Many of these people are driving better cars than my wife or me.
DComment
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I have a lot of them, some are appreciative and nice to work with, but most of mine are just obnoxious. In a big hurry to get their "refund" (as if!)... will you hold my check till it gets here... hey, my refund is late... blah, blah, blah...If you loan someone $20 and never see them again, it was probably worth it.Comment
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Aw,
The worst are the guys claiming they "trim trees-do yard work-handyman jobs" making about $12K which gives 'em the $4824 (max EIC) less about $1800 FICA. I'm not as worried about a lack of income as I am an exact amount of income that these "self-employed" jack-of-all-trades come up with and come in with. I won't do these unless I know for sure they're real. Ask for documents and they'll tell you they didn't have any medical expenses.
I've probably got a couple of hundred and most are nice, decent people (we've pretty much weeded out the riff-raff) whose low salaries (in this area) just happen to put them in EIC brackets. They are not "gaming" the system and just accept whatever comes.
EIC aside, two really great middle-class boons (to my mind) have been CTC and the education credit.Last edited by Black Bart; 02-26-2009, 04:37 PM.Comment
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Another of the many reasons I don't e-file. It keeps most EIC folks out of my office. As soon as I tell them I paper file, they're off to HRB of JH. As a matter of fact, if 'm ever forced to begin e-flinging, I may just keep telling new clients I don't do it until after I determine whether they have an EIC."The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectful" - John Kenneth GalbraithComment
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it's not that bad.
The worst are the guys claiming they "trim trees-do yard work-handyman jobs" making about $12K which gives 'em the $4824 (max EIC) less about $1800 FICA. I'm not as worried about a lack of income as I am an exact amount of income that these "self-employed" jack-of-all-trades come up with and come in with. I won't do these unless I know for sure they're real. Ask for documents and they'll tell you they didn't have any medical expenses.
I've probably got a couple of hundred and most are nice, decent people (we've pretty much weeded out the riff-raff) whose low salaries (in this area) just happen to put them in EIC brackets. They are not "gaming" the system and just accept whatever comes.
EIC aside, two really great middle-class boons (to my mind) have been CTC and the education credit.Comment
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Right
This is how I feel. I do have some really nice, wonderful people who work hard, do legitimate work and are so happy to receive this extra money. They are not out to scam anyone. It's the others that make this credit a bit hard to swallow.
DComment
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And have niece/nephew for their qualifying children? Yes, that bugs me too. If I know they're legit I have no problem. Otherwise I try to scare them off with high prices.Comment
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Yeah, I know that and no offense taken.
. I just thought I'd tell the boarders that not all the EICers are the professional welfare recipients we usually associate EIC with (although I've occasionally sprayed Lysol after troops of out-of-control screaming kids and greedy ignoramus parents). But while many people in my state look down on welfare, I don't know anybody (not counting you, erchess) who would turn down a free $2,000 tax "refund" on principle if low wages qualified them.
Lot of posters (including me) think EIC was a bad idea to begin with and gets worse every year ('09 max -- $5,500?). I can't imagine how Congress/IRS expects us to plug the dike with token "due diligence" questions while they throw buckets of cash at minimum-wage people.Comment
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