What is the strangest

[veritas]

or most interesting thing a client sent to you by mistake?

[JG EA]

Not a client

Many years ago before taxes were even interesting to me. A romantic interest accidently send me a letter meant for a family member and sent my letter to the family member. End of relationship.

[geekgirldany]

Done By Mistake

Had a customer who called me on his cellphone. Only thing is he didn't know it. Either the kids were messing with it or a button was pushed and called the last number. So there was 17 minutes of them driving in the car, eating, getting on to the kids, and things I shouldn't really have heard. This happened two more times.

[ChEAr$]

Curious -

Had a customer who called me on his cellphone. Only thing is he didn't know it. Either the kids were messing with it or a button was pushed and called the last number. So there was 17 minutes of them driving in the car, eating, getting on to the kids, and things I shouldn't really have heard. This happened two more times.

Either of the two other times, was his wife screaming... "Oh GAWD!!! Oh GAWWWDD!
OHhHHh!!!!"

(grin

[sea-tax]

I had a client once who submitted his credit card for his corp expenses. Only problem was one of the charges was for a strip club in las veags. I asked him if this was an entertainment expense or was he thinking of branch out into different business activities and there for just doing research.
He said none of the above.

[Gretel]

Well, two things pop into my mind.

I call from the daughter of a client of mine, asking me if I were the wife a Santa Claus.

A recent e-mail asking me about pills I said should be taken so and so often but my webpage would say something different.

[Luis Mopeo]

Not by mistake...

I had a client who would provide me with a log of every penny he spent on every purchase he made during the year itemized to painful exactness. Mortgage payment, utilities, car payment, gum, smokes, candy bar, hamburger, coffee, movie rental, six pack beer, and on and on.

I told him all I needed was house expenses and charitable contributions, but he insisted on giving me the log and paying me to go through it.

I think the guy was a bit obsessive about documenting his life through a cash journal. I guess he figured I'd be impressed or entertained by reading it. I thought it was like writing an autobiography and paying someone else to read it though.

The sad part is that there wasn't a single thing that was the least bit juicy or entertaining. The poor sap must have been the most boring person on earth, or maybe led a double life as a secret Russian spy and this was his cover. I saw from reading his diary that he really didn't have anything else to do but to over-record every transaction he made.

[erchess]

My First Schedule C Client

wore more gold jewelery than Mister T. Client explained to me that he bought certain substances - it would not do for me to ask what they were - in very large quantities and sold them usually in very small quantities for significantly more than he paid for them. He had meticulous records of the dates on which he bought substances a through e and who delivered to him. He even had records of his purchases of legal products such as baggies and sugar as well as chemicals and equipment that he used to test the purity of the substances. Furthermore, he had records of his sales to numbered customers. He explained to me that the authorities never caught Al Capone for anything except tax fraud and my client did not intend to be caught for that.

[OldJack]

Client gave me a box with a quarter of a million in barer bonds included with tax papers. Yeah, I was young and dumb so I called the client to come get them for the safe deposit box.

[Jiggers]

Strangest thing from a client?

Over the years I have found many checks from various companies addressed to my elderly clients for dividends, interest, oil royalties, etc. mixed in with their tax information. Some even in the thousands of dollars.

These clients didn't need the money, so they didn't miss it.

This year I found some checks for dividends attached to the 1099DIVs.

[thomtax]

Not by mistake...


I think the guy was a bit obsessive about documenting his life through a cash journal. I guess he figured I'd be impressed or entertained by reading it. I thought it was like writing an autobiography and paying someone else to read it though.

Was this my next door neighbor?

[thomtax]

He explained to me that the authorities never caught Al Capone for anything except tax fraud and my client did not intend to be caught for that.

Did he offer to barter for his preparation? :-)

[George Boutwell]

Not what he brought, but how he brought it

I had a client who kept all his important papers in the top drawer of his dresser. He was running late for his appointment, so he just pulled out the drawer and brought it to my office --- sorted through it as we worked through the return.

[geekgirldany]

He explained to me that the authorities never caught Al Capone for anything except tax fraud and my client did not intend to be caught for that.

Goodness. That is interesting.

[erchess]

Old Jack

Client gave me a box with a quarter of a million in barer bonds included with tax papers. Yeah, I was young and dumb so I called the client to come get them for the safe deposit box.

Why would you have done anything else with barer bonds? No one but an exotic dancer can negotiate them!!! Now if he had given you bearer bonds, which anyone can negotiate, that would have been another matter.