OT: Cut Off Date Return Prep

[geekgirldany]

Please read if you have time it is a little long of a post:

This past tax season was extremely rough on me. I prepared over 100 returns between March 20 and April 15. I sat for over two months with a few clients coming in and then it hit all at once. I was not only mentally exhausted but physically as well.

Then about a month or so after the tax season I got Cat Scratch Fever. I was not as sick as I could have been but I was worn out even more.

Now add on to that I am having heart palpitations. It started during the tax season but was not bad. Then it would only be when I would exert myself. Now it is happening all the time. Basically my heart feels like it is pounding in my neck and chest. I will be seeing a cardiologist in January.

With all that said I know I can not do like I did this past tax season. I always said my cut off date was around the first of April. But I have always found it hard to abide by that rule if there is anyway I can get the returns done.

My question for the group... when is your cut off date for accepting returns? Or should I say accepting returns and giving them extensions.

My worry is that I will more than likely lose clients if I sit a FIRM cut off date. But at the same time I can not make myself sick over it.

Thank you for any comments.
Dany

[appelman]

I'll take someone up to the last minute...

If they're content with an extension. Otherwise, I tell latecomers I'll do my best for them, but I can't promise that we won't require an extension.

[Lion]

15 March

I tell everyone that calls from 15 March on (or so, depends on where it falls in the week what I decide that year) that I will file an extension but still attempt to complete their returns by the deadline anyway. That way, I don't really have that deadline hanging over my head and can breath more easily. I can complete those returns that are in good shape, and delay those that have some new complexity that needs research. I also extend new clients that come in that last month to give me time after tax season to review their prior year returns, ask more questions, etc. I've had some unhappy clients, but they always return, often much earlier the next year! And, if I decide to lose sleep to complete a return for a particularly squeaky wheel, I add a Rush charge to their bill. At least once, I said 1 March for whatever reason was happening that year (maybe learning new software, I don't remember).

[taxea]

Very rarely and usually with new clients only do I require an appointment. In late Dec I send worksheets with a checklist of documents I require from the client. They are all told:
1. I e-file all returns that qualify, no option on their part
2. Returns will not be started until all requested documents are provided.
3. Prep is 1st in first served, and they do not qualify as in if documents are missing
4. Documents received after 3/15 will be extended (same way Lion does) and if I haven't gotten to them by 4/15....
5. Extended returns are done as I have time because after 4/15 my obligations increase and I am not in the office as often. If I have to wait for them to get the docs to me then they will have to wait for me to get the returns completed. They can expect them to be completed anytime between 4/15 and 10/15.
6. I do not provide progress reports nor answer "how is it going so far"? questions because each entry onto the return causes a change in the bottom line. The more they ask the less time there is to get the actual work done.

Of course I am not as curt when explaining all of this to the client but this gives you the gist of my business policies.
I am very considerate and giving etc with my clients but I refuse to take on the stress they are under when it is caused by their lack of dealing with all of this in a timely manner.

[JohnH]

I handle things in exactly the same way as Lion does. My March cutoff date varies from year-to-year based on business conditions, my personal circumstances, and tax law changes. But the bottom lIne is that I'm not going to work myself to exhaustion just because some of my clients like to take their time getting their info together.

Anyone coming in after the cutoff date gets an extension - no exceptions. This takes Apr 15 off the table completely - it becomes just another day at the office for me. I usually spend it reviewing extension filings and then I go home early so my wife and I can go out to dinner ( that has become sort of a tradition for us)

Another benefit of filing the extensions up front is that I can better manage the work schedule in those critical days leading up to the deadline. I can get more work done because I'm not looping back trying to make last-minute extension decisions and explaining myself to people. That early, up-front extension decision provides plenty of flexibility when it is needed most.

I always tell clients they really don't want a tired, stressed-out, cranky person preparing their tax return under deadline pressure. Of course, if they are willing to settle for that, there's always HRB, JH, or Liberty. A small number of prospective clients have made that choice over the years, but I think I'm better off without their business because I know that most of them would repeat their last-minute behavior each year anyhow. May as well get the ground rules straight right at the beginning.

Hope your cardiologist can get to the bottom of this and find the solution to your heart issue. (When it comes to heart issues, did you ever wonder why they couldn't come up with a better name than "stress test"? Seems a little counter-poroductive, doesn't it?)

[Mo Sheets]

Offer A Discount

When I first started out, I offered a 5% discount for anyone who BOOKED before 2/15/20xx. In doing so, I was able to control my workflow a little bit better. Although I no longer offer the discount, most of my clients got in the habit of booking earlier. Worked out great for me at the time and most of my clients still schedule early.

[Jiggers]

Cutoff Date

In my year-end mailing I advise my clients of my cutoff date.

It is usually about 4 weeks before April 15th. This year it was March 17, 2011.

The reason is that I do not do simple returns. All my returns take at least a minimum of 1 hour, and those that come in later in the season usually are more complicated and may take 2 - 5 hours each.

I do not see or talk to clients after my cutoff date. My secretary takes all messages after that date. If I need to call the client to clarify something I missed during the interview, I will do that. I do not see clients when they come in for their return. My secretary takes care of that.

Shortly after the 1st of March each year, I mail out a reminder letter about my cutoff date to all those that have not come in yet.

April 1st I mail out the extension letter to those that still haven't come in telling them that I will get them an extension if they let me know, in writing, using the form that I enclose with that letter and asking for income/expense information. No form, and information no extension.

I am hard to deal with up to April 15th. After that, gentle as a lamb.

[ChEAr$]

As I was telling Jiggers last month, while we were working on a couple of jiggers of some really good Scotch whiskey, my cut off date is April 14th. And if I can't do it by next day, it don't get done for the year. naturally exception is like last year when Monday was the deadline like it will be in 2012.

But for Danny, I hope you get in to see the cardiologist poste haste. that means real soon and not waiting till January. The alternative (they tell me) just ain't worth it.

[oceanlovin'ea]

I have always been like you, Dany. I have worked myself to a frenzy trying to get everything done by the 15th of April. I probably will continue to do my best to get all returns I have done by that time mainly because I don't want to keep doing tax returns all year round.
But last year I tried to be better organized and I think that helped me a lot. Your problem doesn't seem to be that but the clients coming in late.
I tend to agree with the other posters that said do extensions. At a certain point, you just have to say something like, "About 75% of my clients have waited till now to bring in their information for their tax return. I can't do that much work in one month. If I can't get yours finished, I will file an extension and finish it as soon as I can. I can't work 12 hour days any more."
Just a thought on your heart palpitations. When my daughter was around 19, she developed heart palpitations. I took her to a cardiologist. It turned out to be something like panic attacks. Only they affect the heart instead of the brain. She had the choice of going on medication or learning what was causing the anxiety and correcting the issue. When she had the palpitations she would be so weak she would just have to go to bed. She still has them occasionally. I mentioned my daughter to show that sometimes it is not life threatening but still very dibilitating. But I agree with ChEAr$, get to the doctor NOW! even if you have to go to the emergency room. At least then they will start the tests to determine the problem. You need this done before season starts.

Linda, EA

[DTS]

Dany,

Take care of yourself and please get to the doctor now. Not worth the wait. I had this problem in my early 20's. I was running around like a buzzsaw and one day it put me in bed and I had to see the doc, so please don't wait. Once you get that help, you might like adding a little daily yoga to the mix (10-15 minutes), as it tends to have quite a calming effect on the body and mind. No way I can do it everyday, but surely do at stressful times like we encounter.

Regarding the extensions, anyone getting their info to me after 4/1 so I can file by 4/15 deadline gets an extension. About 25-30% of my business is filed after the 4/15 deadline, which is nice for me, as it takes a lot of pressure off my shoulders in April.

[Koss]

Cutoff/Extension

My practice is small, and we have only been in a business for a few years, so we don't have a firm policy. We just handle it on a case-by-case basis.

Depending on the attitude of individual clients, on a case-by-case basis, you might consider offering a discount for clients who will agree to an extension. You can then set an expectation that the return will not be completed until June 15, or whatever date you mutually agree on.

BMK

[Koss]

Workload Distribution

I have always thought that the real solution is to migrate clients to a fiscal year, so that the return due dates are staggered throughout the year.

Of course, this is a fantasy, or an intellectual exercise. An individual can in fact change their accounting period, but it requires filing a 3115, and paying an exorbitant fee. And it would create a nightmare for wage-earners, who would continue to receive a W-2 based on the calendar year.

It would be interesting to explore this idea on a larger scale, i.e., whether it would make sense as a paradigm shift for our entire system of tax administration.

In a post from a few years ago, I observed that if individual taxpayers had staggered tax years, it would create complications for people getting married. And I went on to speculate that perhaps the new pickup line would be...

When does your fiscal year end?



BMK

[Uncle Sam]

Cut Off Date

My way of doing it is to send out a tax reminder letter the first week of January -

Hi folks - it's now tax time, this is what you'll be getting in the next month, review your last year's return, go through your checkbook for itemized deductions, gather together your investment gains/losses - this is what you need , etc and I always close the letter by warning them that if I haven't heard from them or they haven't previously contacted me for special arrangements by March 31 - there is a strong likelihood they're going on extension.

I haven't lost one client yet by that - I have informed all of them at one point or another that come April 1 - I have other tax responsibilities - to my business clients - and that takes priority at that point.

A few snowbirders actually send me the bulk of their information in early March so I get going on gathering the data to permit time for obtaining missing stuff.

But last minute procrastinators - I eliminated them a long time ago. They all know that IF I can get it done with them coming in to me late I will - but I can't assure them 100% I will.

[Lion]

Dany

Dany,

Where do you live? We probably have someone on the board who can recommend a good cardiologist in your area.

[BHoffman]

Hi Dany - hope your problems are due to nothing more serious than too much coffee!

My clients follow the same pattern - it all hits in late Feb, early March.

If I can't EASILY finish a return by April 1st - FINISHED means entered, reviewed, printed, copied, assembled, and ready to mail or be picked up - then it goes on extension. Doesn't matter when I received the information.

April 15th is just another day. Sometimes I take that day off just to be rebellious

If the client gets that tiny failure to pay penalty, then that is just too bad. I do the best I can. That's what I tell clients if they complain about the extension. No client has left me because I filed an extension. I do the best I can.

We can't do our best when we are exhausted and stressed out over a date deadline.

Extensions were created from Divine Mercy. File them fearlessly, file them often and without hesitation.