It's ridiculous

[Black Bart]

but I guess I'm going to have to take JohnH's advice (now I'm not so sure he was joking) which was: Tape a yellow sticky note to the upper-right corner of your monitor that says "REMEMBER TO CHECK STIMULUS PAYMENT."

I just missed another one for six hundred bucks while hackin' through tonight's lineup. Third guy down the line had some comin' and reminded me of number one. Three clients so far have brought in that IRS letter "...error on your tax return...increase in refund...etc., etc..." (translation: "Your half-***ed tax preparer was going to lose $300+ for you, but we caught it, will graciously fix it, and are mailing you the correct amount").

I simply cannot get it through my head that we're in the welfare business. Why couldn't they have just mailed another $300 to everybody in the United States and shut up about it? The whole **** thing's stupid anyway -- what's $300 going to do for anybody's overall long-term financial stability? Just adds another trillion to the public debt (and China's gettin' a little bit nervous).

And so there...now please feel free to carry on and vent a bit too, or give me a cussin' or whatever makes you feel better.

[RitaB]

Thanks

You make me feel better. I do have the sticker up there, BTW.

[S T]

Your Software

Doesn't your software give you a warning or an audit message?

I can't get my return into efile, without putting something even if a -1 in the "dang" box!
So hopefully I am not missing any and the letter's your clients are receiving, my clients won't receive!

Sandy

[oceanlovin'ea]

TaxslayerPro has it built into program. After personal information is entered and before any income is entered, the program asked how much they received and has the link to IRS website to check it out.

I just automatically check the website and ask them if they got the check from the IRS for the amount that it says they got. It only takes a minute or 2 at the most.

No one remembers getting it, let alone how much the check was.

Linda

[DTS]

I simply cannot get it through my head that we're in the welfare business. Why couldn't they have just mailed another $300 to everybody in the United States and shut up about it? The whole **** thing's stupid anyway -- what's $300 going to do for anybody's overall long-term financial stability? Just adds another trillion to the public debt (and China's gettin' a little bit nervous).

And so there...now please feel free to carry on and vent a bit too, or give me a cussin' or whatever makes you feel better.

Two things, Bart.

People will sell their souls for less than $300. Next, I'm shocked and appalled you aren't perfect.

[Bucky]

I messed one up with a married couple filing separate. Switched kids from wife to husband because of other tax advantages not thinking they would get $600 more just becuase the other parent was claiming them for 08. Don't agree with it but using it when possible and profitable for taxpayer. We file many MFS in Ohio for state tax savings if taxpayers are both in the same tax bracket etc. Now we have another tool.

[POCAHONTAS]

Even though I went to the web site and printed out what my client was sent, my client insisted he did not get a dime, so I explained to him that I"ll go ahead and put it on his return but chances are he won't get it. And that is exactly what happened. Guess what? the client does not remember our discussion and thinks that somehow I took his $900. I told him to come in and we'll talk to the IRS and they can tell him what happened to his $900. I also told him he will receive a letter with an explanation but he is not listening.

[travis bickle]

And that is why

. . . . Guess what? the client does not remember our discussion and thinks that somehow I took his $900. . . .

you have to document EVERYTHING you do with some people.

[sea-tax]

BB I feel for you man, it is like we are getting more and more to look out for with less and less time to get these returns completed.
That is why I love Lacerte, software, it maximizes my time and makes me more efficient and helps catch stupid errors that I know the answer to but have somehow forgot.
They have a diagnostic that asks have you remembered the Stimuli payment("I mean Bribery check")

I know it is too late for this year but you might need to look into a little better tax software, it might cost a little more, but if you loose clients because of little things like this it might cost more in the long run to not buy a better software package that gives you these little helpful hints.

[JohnH]

Just for grins I did the math.

Cost differential between ATX and a higher-end program -> $3K - $8K.
Cost of a sticky note -> about .005 cents.

I think the sticky note wins this one...

[ChEAr$]

Not necessarily

Even though I went to the web site and printed out what my client was sent, my client insisted he did not get a dime, so I explained to him that I"ll go ahead and put it on his return but chances are he won't get it. And that is exactly what happened. Guess what? the client does not remember our discussion and thinks that somehow I took his $900. I told him to come in and we'll talk to the IRS and they can tell him what happened to his $900. I also told him he will receive a letter with an explanation but he is not listening.

what client was sent. What you found was the amount of the stimulus. IF client owed
other taxes the stimulus payment was confiscated of course.

[Possi]

just curious...

... was it really dumb of me to NOT charge extra for that worksheet? Fees will be a new thread, I was just curious.

[Davc]

B
That is why I love Lacerte, software, it maximizes my time and makes me more efficient and helps catch stupid errors that I know the answer to but have somehow forgot.
They have a diagnostic that asks have you remembered the Stimuli payment("I mean Bribery check")
.

Drake does the same for a lot less money.

[sea-tax]

John and Dave you maybe right that there are other low cost alternatives, However if you loose one or two or three clients because of an error on your part , that would have been easily caught by some other software should you not consider the loss of revenue a cost of the lessor program,
Let me put it this way,

Let's say I could spend 3k on Superdooper Tax Software and I could of bought Cheapo for 1k, So I by Cheap Software for 1k but because of the faulty diagnostics or lack there of I miss some really stupid things and for that I loose 10 clients that average $200 per return. Doesn't my cheaper software now become 3k? I mean I just lost $2k worth of revenue right. This was my point, there is a cost associated with doing anything good or bad, one needs to look at what the true savings are not just what you pay up front.

[David1980]

But at the same time can you really say that Lacerte has better diagnostics for the kind of returns that you do than Drake does? It's entirely possible that by using Lacerte instead of Drake you're going to make mistakes costing $200 on 10 returns, resulting in Lacerte being another $2,000 more than it was before in real cost.

In the case of the recovery rebate credit, it appears both Lacerte and Drake offer diagnostics.

So I understand what you're saying, but at the same time the most expensive does not always mean the best.