Losing Clients

[taxxcpa]

Funeral expense

Sidebar: The girlfriend of one told me she's bringing all the funeral bills she herself paid, since the undertaker told her very carefully, save all those receipts to deduct on your tax return. Have printed the relevant pp. of pub 17 for her file.

After I read the above, I thought something had changed. However the only place you can deduct funeral expenses is still on the Estate tax return.

[dkss]

Losing it

I have lost a some of my RAL crowd this year since I do not have the loans this year. I don't know where they went since H&R Block here in town doesn't have them either. I did offer e-collect this year for the ones who can never find money to pay my fees.

I have also noticed a few other absences. Some of those are probably because last year I would not give them the energy credit for non-qualifying products. - "But the sales guy said they would get me $1500!" Well, the sales guy lied (or didn't know any better) - he just wanted to sell a product. No manufacturers certification statement and energy ratings - no credit! And believe me, I do a lot of google searching to find out if a certain window model (or door etc.) qualifies for the credit and to obtain a manufacturers certification online for the client. I have yet to have anyone bring me the Manufacturers certificate. I always have to find them online. Do you require to see the labels and or certificate?

Hopefully, I can turn things around before the end of the year!

[BP.]

After I read the above, I thought something had changed. However the only place you can deduct funeral expenses is still on the Estate tax return.

Exactly the point . . .

[Black Bart]

Dear Dix (my fellow "old hand&quot

Black Bart, it is the same with me, I have been doing returns 30 plus yrs and I dont
get to many 1040As anymore. Everything I do now involvess more thought and work
and seems to get worse each yr. Also, I lose 5-8 returns a yr due to death.


Dixie EA

Thanx for the support -- misery loves company and I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who thinks the sky may be falling. Still, the C-Frog offers us some hope if enough ticked-off Turbo-Taxers begin showin' up on our doorsteps (I've snared one -- he "got the box" for $30 and lost $1,200 in taxes). Too, the other tax preppers here say the jury's still out.

But anyway I'm like that cowboy in "Red River" who said, "I don't like things to go too good, I like 'em in between" (to ward off evil spirits/Jackson-Hewitt/TT/etc.).

If things don't work out by season's end I'm movin' up there with our Yank comrade, KP, in Maine where nobody much dies, but whenever they do they're better customers than they were alive.

[jeff501]

We've been slammed since the last week of January. Best February we've had in several years. There's only one other office in my area and he sold out to someone else last year. Immediately, the new owner almost doubled fees and people have been coming here. No chains in the area either.

Still offering RALs, we use Refund Advantage. This year a new applicant is only eligible for $1,000 and if someone got a RAL from them last year it's $1,800 but your total refund must be at least $2,750. We've been trying to discourage RALs but some insist on them.

Most of our regular clients have already been in or coming in the next week or so. Everything could come to a halt in a couple of weeks.

[RobGB]

Personally I love Turbo Tax and all the Tax Services like H&R.

In some ways they are the best thing to ever happen.

They have screwed up so many returns - either the person themselves or the service in Q. That they (my former clients) often come back to our office after a year or two. The services seem to overcharge and I just shake my head when I hear: "You have no idea what they charge" OR "I did my last year's return on TT and I got this letter from the IRS..."

Only half the time do they have a hard copy or access to one.

I am with Corduroy Frog on this; the bloom is off the rose for the DYI crowd. Especially with Washington changing tax law as often as they are.

However my opinion is worth exactly less than what you paid for it.