NT / Excuse Me While I Vent

[RitaB]

I feel your pain

She paid real estate taxes on her rental house on 2/02/10. I told her she could not take that as an expense for 2009. She would be able to use it in 2010. She just didn't understand. The tax preparer she has had for 10 years would take the amount that was due in November and put that as an expense for 2009 and then the rest of the amount she had to pay because she was late she would put on 2010. Can you believe it??????

Yes, I get that look EVERYTIME I try to explain this. I will try your brilliant medical expense example. Thank you. And, the other preparer deducted penalties. How nice.

PS: Rita, I LOVE your posts. They brighten my day and make me laugh. Keep em coming.

Thank you. You are my BFF.

[Black Bart]

Nothing left to say

...Client says " I don't understand what you are saying because it is tax gobblygook and I don't understand so don't keep trying to explain it. Just pay the money and this is the end of the conversation"

At this point what else can I say to get them to understand?

except "Look, you gave me incorrect information, you got the money from Social Security, and you owe the tax. I'm not paying it and you can do whatever you think you need to do. Goodbye."

[oceanlovin'ea]

here's one on real estate taxes

New client came in today with her paperwork. She was in a few weeks ago with her daughter and came back today for her own appointment. That was 2 more new clients this year. YEA!!
She paid real estate taxes on her rental house on 2/02/10. I told her she could not take that as an expense for 2009. She would be able to use it in 2010. She just didn't understand. The tax preparer she has had for 10 years would take the amount that was due in November and put that as an expense for 2009 and then the rest of the amount she had to pay because she was late she would put on 2010. Can you believe it??????

I tried to explain that you can only deduct what you actually pay in the year. She couldn't get it through her head. So I finally used the medical example. If she had surgery and owed the doctor $5,000 and only paid him $1000 during the year, she could only deduct what she had paid....$1000. She finally got it. BUT she said the other lady always did it the other way. I just told her that IRS didn't allow that.

Ah, the joys of new clients.

PS: Rita, I LOVE your posts. They brighten my day and make me laugh. Keep em coming.

Linda

[Jesse]

Call the number and find out yourself before they come in even. Don't take their memories - only financially smart people seem to remember.

https://sa2.www4.irs.gov/irfof-mwp/start.do

JG - the site is up and working great!!!!!!

[JG EA]

Here is one situation I can never answer to the clients satisfaction.

Client returns blank organizer. If we have to fill it out, why do we need you.

You are not required to fill it out, it is for your benefit to help you collect tax information. If you would prefer I won't send one to you as long as you come in for an appointment and not just drop off your information.

Economic Stimulus-They don't know, I explain that if you are collecting Social Security most likely they got it. Husband does not receive SS but gets a pension from the State
and maybe something from the VA. They don't know, don't want to look it up, just put $250. I complete the return and e-file.

Call the number and find out yourself before they come in even. Don't take their memories - only financially smart people seem to remember.

Return gets rejected. SSA says both got $250 a total of $500. Tax goes up $250.

Client: Well if we have to pay the addtional $250 in tax that is your fault and you should pay it because you said it is possible that husband didn't get it.

I explain that they should know how much they received. I tell them to call SSA and they do and they both got $250.
Client: Well the SSA says we each got $250 but we don't know and besides you should pay any additional tax because it is not our fault you did not put the right number the first time you did the return..

They are not listening. It was their fault. If they want to blame me I'd set them straight. Nicely tell them that you are not a mind-reader and rely on the information given.

I start explaining to them and this is what always gets me: Client says " I don't understand what you are saying because it is tax gobblygook and I don't understand so don't keep trying to explain it. Just pay the money and this is the end of the conversation"

At this point what else can I say to get them to understand?
.

After all that at this point call the police.

??????????????????????????????

[RitaB]

Never pay the tax

I would never pay the tax for a client. If I made a mistake that cost them penalty and/or interest, I would pay the penalty and/or interest, but never the tax. If that client can't understand that it is HIS tax, and HE is liable for it, I would part company with him.

On the $250, I have had pretty good success not asking the client at all and just entering what SHOULD have happened. Only problems I've had have been two clients who didn't tell me they got SS benefits or VA benefits. It was very easy to shift the blame to them. And neither one was upset in the least. Your client is a goober.

Regarding the organizer, I tend to feel the same way as your goober client. I don't ask my clients to complete one. To be honest, I don't think many of my clients COULD complete one. A couple of years ago, I got a doctor from another preparer out of state. He brought his completed organizer, and it was more difficult for me than if he had not done it at all. Lots of duplicate information. He did not know what he was doing, and most of my clients would be in the same boat.

[DMICPA]

Need a comeback to this question

Here is one situation I can never answer to the clients satisfaction.

Client returns blank organizer. If we have to fill it out, why do we need you.

Economic Stimulus-They don't know, I explain that if you are collecting Social Security most likely they got it. Husband does not receive SS but gets a pension from the State
and maybe something from the VA. They don't know, don't want to look it up, just put $250. I complete the return and e-file.


Return gets rejected. SSA says both got $250 a total of $500. Tax goes up $250.

Client: Well if we have to pay the addtional $250 in tax that is your fault and you should pay it because you said it is possible that husband didn't get it.

I explain that they should know how much they received. I tell them to call SSA and they do and they both got $250.

Client: Well the SSA says we each got $250 but we don't know and besides you should pay any additional tax because it is not our fault you did not put the right number the first time you did the return.

I start explaining to them and this is what always gets me: Client says " I don't understand what you are saying because it is tax gobblygook and I don't understand so don't keep trying to explain it. Just pay the money and this is the end of the conversation"

At this point what else can I say to get them to understand?

??????????????????????????????

[taxxcpa]

Slopppy records

I have a few clients for whom I've prepared excel worksheets for them to use in summarizing their income and expense. Every year there is something new that they come up with that doesn't fit the worksheet, so I keep revising the worksheets. Every year, their tax info comes in a little better than the prior year. The biggest improvement was with an elderly client who has a daughter who offered to make his worksheets on excel. Now it takes me several hours less time to do his return. Originally I was charging too little, but as the records have improved, my time is now well compensated.

[JohnH]

Ditto on the extension.

I already had two people object to extensions and the day isn't even over. But this late in the season, it's extension or HRB as far as I'm concerned, especially if there's extra work to be done in getting the return ready.

[Lion]

Extension!

At this point, I'd tell her no bookkeeping during tax prep season; therefore, extension for her unless she totals as you instructed her. If she wants that refund badly enough to pay her property taxes or whatever, she'll get to work or pay a huge fee to you or wait. I had an artist who was like that, written notes and all. This year she actually put things in big envelopes with totals on the outside. I had to do some moving around, but it was a huge improvement. And, there are things missing that she's feeding me one by one via email today. But, I have her return ready to add the last bits. Last year it was on extension.

[joanmcq]

I charge $125 an hour to go through receipts. More if I even agree to do so in March or April. I let people know this up front, and describle how their records could be presented to avoid this fee. I'd do the lady's return...in January or June. And it would cost well over $500-600 for a small shoe box of receipts.

I had one client that opened up an auto repair shop and did not want to do accounting. He literally brought me his metal file cabinet drawer with his invoicing and vendor payments for me to construct the return. But he brought it in the first week of January and fully expected to pay my rate to do the bookkeeping.

[Gretel]

Your posts in particular, however, are hilarious and presented with an unparalleled zest. I enjoy them immensely.

Me too!

Gretel

[BP.]

I thought craft-lady's storage bin note was really hilarious!

[Snaggletooth]

We All Vent

Rita we all vent, and me as much as anyone else. In the heat of the tax season, there have been so many of these NT and venting posts that the sheer volume of them is crowding out tax questions and tax topic dialogue.

Notice that a post made on a particular day can be buried and slips to page 2-3 in 24 hours' time. This is a tribute to TTB message board that we now have many members posting and the atmosphere is conducive to posting.

Your posts in particular, however, are hilarious and presented with an unparalleled zest. I enjoy them immensely.

We've all had the grocery bags and cigar boxes full of receipts. I tell them I will go through this stack of paper and charge my normal hourly rate. After paying that once, they are usually more interested in doing more of their own compiling by the time next year rolls around.

[dyne]

I had a new client appear several years ago with TWO grocery bags full of receipts.
I politely advised her that I do NOT do that type of work and told her she needs an
accountant AND a tax preparer.