March!

[Black Bart]

Hooray -- a break at last. Traffic has dropped off suddenly this week now that the February "short form" bunch has collected their refunds and disappeared. Yesterday was slow and, gosh, the pressure's perceptibly off -- or at least until the Cs and Es begin thinking "it's getting late" and start drifting in.

Got a chuckle yesterday -- IRS Publication 596 (EIC) arrived in the mail. Although I don't use pubs much anymore since I got TTB and on this board, I can't break myself of the habit of stocking up on them (just in case).

EIC season is a mad dash beginning around the last of January and becoming a gusher in the first few weeks of February, then tapering off to a crawl about two weeks ago and now 95% of EIC work is at a dead standstill (except for those who "accidentally" get it from Cs or whatever).

Funny thing is, I order this EIC pub early every year and, without fail, IRS sends them out in March when there's no longer the slightest demand. DIY guys were flogging the post office doors (and mine) to get 'em a month ago -- you couldn't beg, borrow, or steal one (well-you could print out the 66 pages, but I didn't want it that bad). Now, if IRS runs true to form, I bet I can go to the USPS lobby and there'll be hundreds of them.

And the tree huggers want us to cut back on paper use. I know just where and how they could save a few million pines.

[JohnH]

Great idea Bart.
Let's all print out a copy of your post and mail it to the Sierra Club !

[WhiteOleander]

I ordered a Pub 17 (I like to have one to refer to) and I still haven't received it. I guess they're too busy processing FTHBC amendeds to get around to mailing our requests.

[superman]

slowing down

It is true haow amazing it slows down for about two weeks here in March. I always use this time to catch up and get a little rest before the big rush. The late filers always think well it does not take that long right!! Of course not.

I have decided that anyone in after March 1 this year they get a 10% increase and after April 1 a 15% increase. Does anyone else do this? This will be my first year to impose this rule so we will see how much flax I get from the returning clients.

Superman

[RitaB]

Are you gittin busy yet?

Are you gittin busy yet?

Don't you love that question? I mean, nah, why would you think I'm busy already? Just because I have file folders in every chair and every surface is covered with paper of some sort. Oh yeah, and I had to let that phone ring cause I was telling you how, yes, I am busy "already". If they only knew!

But, I agree, thank goodness for the slow down. I have just as much work to do, but it's for fewer clients, so that's a relief right there. And, like BB said, it's generally NOT folks who are going to absolutely starve to death if they don't get that refund RIGHT NOW. So, I appreciate the more laid back attitude. Heck, some of the ones who owe are telling me, "Just put mine on the bottom."

Makes me wanna do theirs first! LOL!

[ChEAr$]

After reading Bart's post, I now find that today is the first "slow" day I've had. But it's a nice,
relaxed feeling, too. Maybe I'll get the rest of those 1120's done before 3/15.

HRB's business is off about 6.3% I read couple of weeks ago, and looks like more than usual
of my clients don't have to file this year, compared to earlier years. So I'm down maybe 4%.

What about you? (grin

As to publications, I still like them, and when I need one I find it on IRS site and download it to special s/d saved as Pub xxx.pdf. But I also use properties to add a Title to the s/d and then make sure that column also displays in
the s/d.

[BOB W]

I don't like it when it gets this slow, but I like the catch-up time. It is scary..........I have completed about 1/2 of my 1040s so that is good.

I had to stop this post 3 times to make new appointment...that's good.

[Lion]

Drop-offs

Since my purse was stolen 8 February, making many, many hours and days and nights on the phone, I've had over 25 returns dropped off. Now, my returns are big with partnerships and S-corporations and self-employed and those energy company K-1s and hundreds of pages of stock sales (yes, I do get the Excel spreadsheet from the broker when available!) and.... That's more than 1/3 of my total expected during the season (I have a few fiscal year returns and bookkeeping and perpetual late filers), so I'm buried. I'm never slow in March!

[Black Bart]

As a matter of fact,

...HRB's business is off about 6.3% I read couple of weeks ago, and looks like more than usual of my clients don't have to file this year, compared to earlier years. So I'm down maybe 4%.

What about you? (grin

I am down quite a few and it's a combination of things. We decided to stop doing RALs this year which killed off 25 or so (although the stress relief from that is very much worth it), then we've got lots of older people and three have died so far and several others retired.

The slowly increasing standard deduction is taking others off the tax rolls -- I know that probably sounds ridiculous to people in some areas, but it's frequently very close here. Last week a (Hypothetical? Hypocritical? Which is it, Snag?) client said to me: "Okay, I don't have to file, but if I do then I owe you $45 and my withholding was only $33...aw, just forget it."

It sure is inconvenient from my point of view (to say nothing of that of the fellows who died or stopped making money) and I know everybody has to get old and die, but I always felt an exception might be made for my clients.