Sec 7216 Hypothetical Client

[Nashville]

At two separate seminars last fall, there was interpretation of new Sec 7216 with respect to client confidentiality. Of interest were the instructors who NOW were saying they had a "hypothetical" client who....

Prior to this year, they said they had a "client who..." Their explanation was that with the new Sec 7216 they were not even allowed to make reference to a real-case client situation even if they didn't mention his name. Something about a listener evaluating the facts, and by the circumstances, might know who the client really was.

Guys/Gals, I hope we're not going down that road. I have had literally dozens of real-life situations where I came to this board for advice and reflection. For years, I have been referring to "a client who" had this or that, and using those examples around other clients, other tax preparers, and forums such as this one.

[taxea]

Here is an easy work around.,,I have a tax situation and explain everything as though it is your tax return docs. You can reveal personal info to anyone you please without a waiver of any kind...

[Koss]

Section 7216

I can see why you're concerned, but I don't think this will become a serious issue...

The typical post on this board does not reveal enough detail about the client to allow anyone to figure out who it is.

At some point, common sense has to prevail.

(Although, as we all know, when you're dealing with the tax code, sometimes common sense goes out the window.)

Some participants on this board identify in their profile, or in their signature, the city and state where they live. Although my profile does not contain this information, I have revealed in numerous posts, over the years, that I practice in Columbus, Ohio.

Columbus is a fairly large city, and my posts do not reveal significant details about my clients.

On the other hand, if my profile indicated that I was from, say, Glenrock, Wyoming...

which, according to Wikipedia, had a population of 2231 in the 2000 census, and only 0.40 percent of the population is Asian...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenrock,_Wyoming

and I post a message about my client, and mention that my client is a dermatologist, who recently immigrated to the US from Korea...

then I think we might have a real problem.

BMK

[DaveO]

Glenrock has a very nice 4 star restaurant called the Paisley Shawl. Stop in if you are ever in the area.