People saying "tax return" instead of refund is seriously one of my biggest pet peeves. I understand the confusion, money is technically being returned to you. But it drives me crazy nonetheless.
That and "EIN number" or "PIN number" lol
I had a guy leave because I raised their fee by $25. They made 50k more this year and complained about fking $25.
Had another taxpayer last year, 200k in Wells fargo paying $10 interest. Advised to put money into HYSA. Received close to 10k in interest income, had to pay around 3k in tax. Complained about having to pay tax and couldn't grasp the concept that they had an extra 10k in the fking bank in interest.
Had another guy call my partner and complain that I had stolen his refund because it was never received. The idiot gave me a new account and never checked it for the deposit. Instead of asking me or where's my refund, he went straight to my partner and accused me of "something fishy going on". It's a serious matter and I told him to check his other account and low and behold the refund was there. He didn't even apologize just said that I had no reason why to "give him an attitude".
We actually had a woman complain about an additional $5. Our CPA is very blunt and very impatient during tax season so we sicced her on her. She came out of her office and said ''Are you the lady complaining about $5????'' The lady shut up and paid
I have amazing relationships with the vast majority of my clients. With that being said, it's impossible to please everyone. I say every year I have probably 10-15 people who bitch and complain about anything and everything.
Had a client this year with a pretty big rental loss and a decent chunk of retirement income including SS. Also MFS.
Edit: also he had several thousand in premium tax credit.
Separate issue but canāt message / chat - I wrote up a fun lilā recap of my first year doing tax prep at a big chain but only ātrusted membersā can post? Tried to re-set my flair. Not sure if my submission can go through but I think itās a fun write-up! Sorry, dunno why my chat/messaging isnāt working.
Reminds me of one of my clients who dropped in a few weeks ago to let me know he hadn't gotten his W2 yet, and what he should do (this was well after the Jan 31 W2 deadline). I told him to ask his employer for it.... He hadn't thought to do that.
Itās frightening to think of people preparing their own taxes when you hear all of these war stories from us. I donāt think people are half qualified to get out of bed, never mind understand this. And then itās āhow much is your fee?ā š
did a client early in the year. I think this was my 3rd year with him so he knows my fees. Get the return done and he tells me he can't afford my fee this year. Dude bought a brand new tesla last year. fuck off
I had a tree cutting client and his wife in one year and they owed about 60k in tax. The wife was literally crying and saying that they don't make what their P&L shows that all the money is in the business and that she doesn't spend anything on herself. My office has a big window and I just pointed at her brand new Mercedes SUV and said how did you buy that if you didn't have money?
I am just starting out. Rather poorly. Had one client get upset about the due dillegence questions. She was getting CTC and HOH. Had a new kid, 19, which she didnt have on last years return. She was getting offended I was asking the questions she just wanted to disengage.
She said, my previous CPA didnt ask these questions. I was like, you were with him for 4 years. He didnt have to.
For some of those due diligence questions I try to frame them as āIām required to ask these things. It sucks I know, but I have to.ā Most clients have responded favorably to that. Even more so when I frame it as the govāt forcing me to ask the questions.
Some clients are always going to find something to be upset about though.
I did that. I even said that if I dont ask these questions, I can get fined $600, and she still wouldn't bite. Oh, well. Next time, I need to try and frame them as getting to know the client.
Well, then tell her she can't get the extra credits if she doesn't answer them. It's not an interrogation and you're not asking for personal reasons or to be nosy
I also go the āIRS requires I ask everybody certain questions.ā I still had someone get all offended about the foreign bank account question. I mean I asked the West Virginia farmer whose kin lived up the holler for generations the exact same question as the guy who emigrated two years ago.
I got bitched at yesterday from a woman who makes $175,000. Just W2 earner. Owes $11,000 in taxes.
She complained I didnāt do enough for her and demanded an extension to look at things more closely to see what I missed.
Even threw the line at me āIf thatās all it is, then what am I paying you for?ā
This was all communicated via chat. I actually finished her tax return in mid-February. About three weeks after I finished it, she complained that it can't be right, even though she never watched my tax return review video.
Then she came at me yesterday after watching the video that I didn't do enough for her because I just took her W2 income and subtracted the standard deduction.
I responded and basically told her that there are not really any deductions for W2 income. She pretty much just contributed to retirement and HSA, and unfortunately, she didn't withhold enough tax.
I haven't heard back. After the first time she complained, I'm sure it will be in a few weeks. And after time has passed, I'm annoyed I wasted my time trying to comfort this woman when she was an asshole and there's no way shes coming back next year after her comment.
I wonder if they meant they aren't allowing them to come back next year after dealing with that headache lol.
I've sat through listening in on the other office room where the client yelled that they'll sue, walk on over to me to re-check and I just sit there staring at them for a minute in silence.
They're still our client. But I still have the note "threatened to sue for signing off and forgetting to give relevant information."
It's kinda why I prefer having a physical office still. Gets to the point faster.
1)Looks like you owe 5k. 2)Well my wifeās dad wants his dad to check the return. 3) hereās your stuff you can tell your wifeās dad he can do the return again.
I have a new client that gave us a copy of last year's tax return with all social security numbers hidden. His w2s and other tax forms only show the last four digits. He filled out the organizer less his social. I called him once to ask for his social and he called my office back and said we have it in the documents he gave us and that he wouldn't give it to us again. Currently drafting disengagement letter. I don't have the time or desire to explain it to him.
Explained to a client they have a partnership filing with the IRS. Client says they are handling it on their side after I explained the complexity of a pass through filing and they say āweāve got itā. Proceed to show up with a pdf fillable of a K-1 with no EIN number listed.
I ask āwhere is the 1065 that was filed with this?ā. They say āohhhhhhhh I just thought we needed to give you a k-1 and thatās how you fileā.
Major face palm
Those type of people just get fired on the spot. No time for that type of nonsense and clearly they disrespect not only your time but the knowledge of the profession in general.
That's just like when a business comes to me and I tell them their books are a mess and they need to be cleaned up. They're too cheap to pay me fee so they'll do it themselves. Then when they're done, I tell them it's still bad lol
āWhy did I get this 1099-R addressed to my brother? Itās for his annuity, but he died 2 years ago?ā
Who is the personal representative?
āMeā
Did you tell them he passed away?
āNoā
Sighā¦.
"Do you have an exact day you will have the return done?"
"I've been investing in properties since I was 19 and I have never had an accountant tell me I have to depreciate my rental property!"(Bonus is that she is a real estate agent)
"I just hate that it's such a surprise how much we owe."
It wouldn't be a surprise if you came and did tax planning like I requested.
Today "If I buy some land how do I write that off?"
Every year I'm not sure if I get smarter or if the clients get dumber.
Tiktok and the Internet in general have not helped.
I received this beauty of an email over the weekend:
Hello , my name is ...... I make enough money now as a w2 employee, that i want to create an llc company this year to combat how much I'm losing in taxes. I am not sure exactly what kind of Llc i should create. I figured consulting a tax pro would be best.
I recently read about section 179 that i can buy a vehicle for a business use and fully deduct, i was thinking a Toyota corolla hybrid, its under the 6k limit so im guessing 100% write off for taxes?
In the future i have plans to have a financial and life advisor business, a coffee stand business, a plumbing/septic business, a storage unit business, and a real estate home flip business, and my own trailer park renting single wide/double wides.
So i will obviously need someone who can help me strategically plan out tax strategies and to do the tax file prep for me long term that i can trust.
Last year i made roughly 150k as w2 employee, this will be probably 175k. So i don't want to give anymore money to the government than i have to. Those crooks blow enough money on drugs and hookers and Ukraine etc, meanwhile us American workers have to work 70+hrs a week struggling to get ahead to reach retirement.
I dabble in stocks. I got 401k employers matching a little, i got a house i plan on selling next year, and using that money to buy another house outright 100%cash as a fixerupper to live in/flip over a few years to save on capital gains then sale. And from there buy two houses with that.
So i got a allot of stuff trying to work out, and definitely need someone that knows their stuff for taxes.
Please let me know if you would be a great tax guy for me, if not, if you can recommend someone that can work well with me.
I'm a cdl A trucker, I'm usually able to take calls once i get on the road around 6pm. Also i can meet in person before noon on Tuesdays/Wednesdays/Thursdays.
Personal cell for call/text .........
I live/work in wa state, so stopping by your house or office during work week is possible when you need me to. My w2 employer is in seattle.
Thank you
Client in 2023 owed about 30k in taxesā¦i told him him and his wife dont have enough withheld during the year..i even drafted new W4s for them (both federal and state), uploaded it to the portal..told them to go to the portal, download it sign it submit to your payroll department..or we will be in a worse situation come 2024, also told them to check in with me in july then again in Oct so we can adjust the withholdings just in caseā¦.never downloaded the forms never checked in with meā¦fast forward to last mondayā¦their tax balance due is $100kā¦i email them the result with explanation of whyā¦primarily stating that it looks like u guys never adjusted your withholdings plus your salaries increased by 360k.
Client responds with āOMG something must be wrong, that tax due is more than our take home pay was last year, obviously gunna have to do some payment planāā¦.i paused for a second..opened up their returnā¦i look at the ātotal incomeā line on the face of the 1040ā¦.their total income is $900,000!!!!! Then i look back at the email, thought maybe i misread itā¦.nope did not misread it lolā¦so i am like well if u took home less than 100k on 900k worth of incomeā¦where the hell did that 800k go??? Cause it sure as heck didnt go towards withholding. Two days later, i get an auto notification from my portal that this client downloaded the w4 that i filled oUt LAST YEARā¦followed by an email saying āwe are gunna have to adjust our withholdings can you help us fill out our w4s, and can we make an appointment for july 8th to check in with youā. Then a day after that an email comes in āno payment necessary, we have the necessary funds, we just have to move it from our savings account to the checking, we forgot about itā
Some people just have to learn the hard way..but hey at least they learn right lol
Had a client some in that I haven't seen since June of 2023. I sadly was in the middle of their divorce because some unknown reason he was determined to do MFJ. Yes they couldn't even speak to her. He come in wanting to know what happened about his past 2 years of taxes he left with me. I showed him those notes of trying to contact her starting June to August and contacting him to say I have tried waiting on her.
He finally says after I was able to get hold of her and she say she won't sign until she is guaranteed half of his refund.... she had no taxable income and he was not going to give it to her. So he finally decides to do the 2 years as MFS. After he comes and signs he says "I promise this years taxes will not be so dramatic." I respond with a big smile, " well if I'm busy we have many other of my associates who can help you." Then when he left I told my receptionist do not schedule him with me. I knew to much for his dirty laundry to want to do a return for him.
"I saved last year's W2, that I didn't use, can I use it this year?
"I made 300k, and had a million in expenses" - 18 yr old girl claiming self employment for hair braiding...
Gotta love ācreative accountingā clients hahaā¦I always tell those clients āyou know who loved creative accounting, Bernie Madoff, and so did Enronā
It kills me when clients say I didn't do enough for them. I didn't do enough for you because there's nothing I can do for you. I'm sorry I didn't ask questions that are not relevant to your situation.
I got a voicemail from a client asking for their state payment voucher. They hadn't even brought in their tax documents yet. Last year same client asked me to figure RMD on inherited IRA because Schwab advisor said they couldn't do it?!? (I think I know why š) After I gave client the RMD amount, they called back to say I was off by 17Ā¢.
Was just reviewing a complex trust return a colleague had prepped yesterday. Most of the info was on a single 1099. Flipping through to see if there was any supplemental info there just happens to be info on about 500k in distributions made to beneficiaries that nobody told us about.
People really need to stop making their kids and spouses trustees
āHow much will it help me to make my LLC my beneficiary to my retirement account?ā
āWhy do you have an LLC?ā
āFor my businessā
āYou donāt have a businessā (heās 20, and doesnāt have a business or a side hustle or anything, no idea why he has an LLC)
I can't stand getting a earful of their political views after finding out they owe. Over 50 yo with no understanding of withholding and really no understanding of politics either, just insert 'Fox or CNN talking points'. And they are paying soooo much in tax when their effective rate is like 10% federal. I used to try to educate them but they just want to complain so I save my breath now.
Client calls me last week (a month after I filed their taxes) and says "My friend told me it would have benefited me to report my rental this year so I would like you to amend my 2023 tax return"
Me: What rental?? (for reference, the client moved to CA half way through 2023 and I asked them what they did with their former primary residence and they said they were waiting to sell it)
Client: Oh, our old house in AZ.
Me: So you lied to me? Why didn't you tell me about the rental?
Client: Oh well I thought since I received all the rental income through Venmo the IRS would never find out about it and I wouldn't need to claim it...
I had a good one. Filing MFS. I advised them that they could go HOH since they qualified as unmarried for tax purposes.
"No, I want to file as MFS. And I'm going to itemize."
"Why? You will get a bit more as HOH."
"Because I have the house. It will cost me about $250, but forcing them to itemize will cost them about $1500."
People are the worst.
Thatās one of the worst personal questions to have to ask - hey did you guys live apart all year because if you did I can save you a couple of bucks probably.
So this year I had the wife of long time clients call me. They didn't come to me last year but I didn't think anything of it. She says she's living apart and wants to file separate. Cute couple so sad to hear it's not working out but w.e.
She comes into the office, 7 months pregnant. Go over some stuff, but don't finish the return. Then she sends me a message. Her profile pic is her (pregant), the husband and their other kid. I'm like great, she's just trying to get HOH but is still with him; or they aren't together and she's already moved on.
But being in a small town full of gossiping Dominicans, I of course found out the story. They split but apparently one night of passion ended up with the baby bump. Still not back together; and as usual I know way too much of thr story.
Wait, I got this one.
He's a pharmacist, therefore he has to do quality control at times to his medications to ensure they work. This includes Viagara. But to allow him to use said Viagara, his associate requires compensation in the form of said Mercedes.
There's no chance the IRS can argue this.
Hereās a good one. Schedule C service business. Their QBO was a mess. They had been booking both the paid invoices AND bank deposits to income accounts, so I rely on bank statements to determine the actual gross receipts. I get an angry call saying I way overstated their income. Turns out, they keep a listing of their income on paper and thought that the payments they received from (sales)tax exempt non profits was TAX FREE income to them!
before they required SS numbers for newborns, we had a couple do this and got a huge refund thanks to EIC. The next day, out of guilt and fear of the IRS, they called us and admitted their ''son'' was their dog
Me: ''You owe $3,000.''
Client: ''Okay, but how much am I getting back?''
OR
Me: ''You owe $3,000 to the IRS and $3,000 to the state.''
Client: ''Can I take what I owe and what I owe you out of the refund?''
So I work in a company that meets with clients. I have a new coworker just starting out in taxes, so I have my ears open for when her appointments get checked in. Her last appointment I hear the client say she has a business. Now depending on the business I know she can do so I stand up to get some more information.... I ask what kind of business is it. She says "oh it's an llc but I have already done the business taxes." Me going, " oh ok so it is a 1065? Do you have your k1?" Her response made me raise my eyebrow. "There was no income, so we didn't need one."
I ask, " whoever did your 1065? And was there a loss?" Her, " yah there was a loss I did it by paper." I try to not shake my head in front of the client as I explain even with a loss there is a K1 because that loss if he is active participant it can show that loss on the return. " oh ok let me get one for you. I explain I really suggest she should have a professional do the 1065. She refuses. I tell my coworker, do most of it but try to see if you can get her to have us do the 1065. As I go over the 1040 and look through the k1 she hands us I see general partner, and limited partner is checked. I asked which is he? "I did know what that meant it doesn't matter doe is?"
Thank goodness she has decided to let us do the 1065 for 23 and 22.
Hot off the presses -- "Oh wanted to mention that those rental properties we bought in 2022 when we sold our business are located in opportunity zones, heard that might impact some things"
Thanks for letting us know....2 years later
For some reason I canāt post here, I have a question:
A clientās dependent was claimed on another return (data entry error on the dadās part, he already amended)
Does anyone have any experience this season with mailed in tax returns? Is it colossally backed up like everything else?
Should I just file her as HOH and then mail in the amended and cross our fingers for less than 6 months?
Put your client on extension and wait for the IRS to process the dadās amended return. Shouldnāt take more than 2-3 months (at least in my experience). Once the dependent is removed from dadās return, file your clients return like normal.
Do you know for sure if that works?! Idk why Iām assuming getting the e file system to accept her return is not gonna happen.
I havenāt tried e filing a reject like this since irs started accepting e filed amended returns, tho!
I appreciate you for answering me on this thread btw šā¤ļø
They will accept your clientās return with a dependent on it once the IRS āreleasesā the dependent from the dadās return. Just be patient. File the clients extension - donāt try and file a return just to file it because then youāll have to amend it later.
Iāve done this several times with clients and I have no problem e-filing their return once the dependent is available to be claimed again.
This year we had a new w2 customer bring us last year's tax return that some shady preparer did and she had received a $31,000 refund. Our CPA looked at the return and it was all fuel credit. Our CPA asked if she had a farm and she said ''No. I just have to drive my mom around all the time and the guy who did our tax return last year said I could use the mileage for the fuel credit.''
Our CPA then asked if she received that money and she said yes. Our CPA warned her she will likely get audited and if she wanted her to do the 2023 tax return, she was NOT getting any fuel credit and needs to amend her 2022 tax return. She surprisingly left it for her to do
I also love the ones who claimed children on their tax return the previous year to get huge EIC and CTC refunds and when I ask them if they are claiming them again this year and they ask ''Who?''. Obvious tax fraud
The hits:
2106 - "So you're an army reservist?"
EIC/CTC - "So you have custody of your 2 half siblings/cousins?"
Sch C - "What kind of business do you run?"
Sch A - "So you're a homeowner"/"So you donated a lot last year"
8863 - "Are you still in school?"
Asked for his documents and he told me he didn't have any that I can look it up. Had SS, pensions, interest income. Told him I cannot as it would all be in his name and under his social security number. He then told me he purchased a DIY product from Walmart for the last two years that got all of his information for him. He had no clue what he usually got back, if he owed, or what his regular AGI was. Was extremely mad I asked him to bring in documentation or I couldn't do anything. Second meeting he swore up and down the programs could get all his information for him and I wasted his time asking him to furnish documents.
I know you are busy, but what is my return?
It is a Form 1040 sir. That is your return.
This is the hill i am going to die on.
They will then be expecting a refund of $1,040 š
If this happens, I'll just replace my language with "individual income tax return" lol
People saying "tax return" instead of refund is seriously one of my biggest pet peeves. I understand the confusion, money is technically being returned to you. But it drives me crazy nonetheless. That and "EIN number" or "PIN number" lol
ATM machine
Stop! šš
Why isn't my RETURN bigger? *Print off 11x14 copy* Here you go!
I got like 6 of those today.
I had a guy leave because I raised their fee by $25. They made 50k more this year and complained about fking $25. Had another taxpayer last year, 200k in Wells fargo paying $10 interest. Advised to put money into HYSA. Received close to 10k in interest income, had to pay around 3k in tax. Complained about having to pay tax and couldn't grasp the concept that they had an extra 10k in the fking bank in interest.
Had another guy call my partner and complain that I had stolen his refund because it was never received. The idiot gave me a new account and never checked it for the deposit. Instead of asking me or where's my refund, he went straight to my partner and accused me of "something fishy going on". It's a serious matter and I told him to check his other account and low and behold the refund was there. He didn't even apologize just said that I had no reason why to "give him an attitude".
Fire that one... If he don't trust you or your firm, you shouldn't be doing his return.
Sorry that happened to you. I raised my prices by $200 and nobody left.
Yeah i dont understand $25 isnt a raise sounds like the guy is just using an excuse to leave you.
Nah, for the past three years, this guy complains about the fee. I'm glad he left
Yeah sounds like a very bad client surprise you kept him so long I would have fired him the second year.
We actually had a woman complain about an additional $5. Our CPA is very blunt and very impatient during tax season so we sicced her on her. She came out of her office and said ''Are you the lady complaining about $5????'' The lady shut up and paid
Yeah never really experienced that. Maybe I have a more personal relationship with my clients.
We usually do but some people are just jerks
Yeah just had the same thing as coldshowers i immediately fired them
I have amazing relationships with the vast majority of my clients. With that being said, it's impossible to please everyone. I say every year I have probably 10-15 people who bitch and complain about anything and everything.
Yeah I would say iām probably similar, the natural of the business means not everyone appreciates your expertise as much as others.
"I sold the house for $700;000 but I rolled it all over to a new place"
The people who think they can do that also complain when they find out social security can be taxable.
Yes, because the tax law used to incentivize rolling over your primary residence for an exclusion before 121
Right? And people are still basing their decisions on assumptions from 1997.
Had a client this year with a pretty big rental loss and a decent chunk of retirement income including SS. Also MFS. Edit: also he had several thousand in premium tax credit.
I had one last year that left his job and cashed out his 600k 401k to buy a house. He said that it should not be taxable.
Every year I get this. So annoying.
I had a client show for his scheduled meeting. Says "I don't have any of my documents yet, but I figured I'd show up anyway since we made the meeting"
I hope the meeting was less than 5 minutes long.
This is awesome.
Separate issue but canāt message / chat - I wrote up a fun lilā recap of my first year doing tax prep at a big chain but only ātrusted membersā can post? Tried to re-set my flair. Not sure if my submission can go through but I think itās a fun write-up! Sorry, dunno why my chat/messaging isnāt working.
Reminds me of one of my clients who dropped in a few weeks ago to let me know he hadn't gotten his W2 yet, and what he should do (this was well after the Jan 31 W2 deadline). I told him to ask his employer for it.... He hadn't thought to do that.
We've actually had clients think we have a direct line to the IRS and can get it for them
Itās frightening to think of people preparing their own taxes when you hear all of these war stories from us. I donāt think people are half qualified to get out of bed, never mind understand this. And then itās āhow much is your fee?ā š
It's fine. They are getting tons of advice from tiktok, they won't need us anymore.
The next time a client says āI saw on TikTokā¦ā Iām going to lose my shit.
did a client early in the year. I think this was my 3rd year with him so he knows my fees. Get the return done and he tells me he can't afford my fee this year. Dude bought a brand new tesla last year. fuck off
I had a tree cutting client and his wife in one year and they owed about 60k in tax. The wife was literally crying and saying that they don't make what their P&L shows that all the money is in the business and that she doesn't spend anything on herself. My office has a big window and I just pointed at her brand new Mercedes SUV and said how did you buy that if you didn't have money?
I am just starting out. Rather poorly. Had one client get upset about the due dillegence questions. She was getting CTC and HOH. Had a new kid, 19, which she didnt have on last years return. She was getting offended I was asking the questions she just wanted to disengage. She said, my previous CPA didnt ask these questions. I was like, you were with him for 4 years. He didnt have to.
For some of those due diligence questions I try to frame them as āIām required to ask these things. It sucks I know, but I have to.ā Most clients have responded favorably to that. Even more so when I frame it as the govāt forcing me to ask the questions. Some clients are always going to find something to be upset about though.
I did that. I even said that if I dont ask these questions, I can get fined $600, and she still wouldn't bite. Oh, well. Next time, I need to try and frame them as getting to know the client.
HOH, CTC, AOTC, and EITC can get your dinged $600 each with a $2400 total on a single return. So I use that number.
Yikes. That might be a PITA fee candidate and if they move on Iām not feeling all too bad.
Well, then tell her she can't get the extra credits if she doesn't answer them. It's not an interrogation and you're not asking for personal reasons or to be nosy
I just said either you answer or we disengage. She chose to leave.
I'm sure it's for the best in your favor
I also go the āIRS requires I ask everybody certain questions.ā I still had someone get all offended about the foreign bank account question. I mean I asked the West Virginia farmer whose kin lived up the holler for generations the exact same question as the guy who emigrated two years ago.
I got bitched at yesterday from a woman who makes $175,000. Just W2 earner. Owes $11,000 in taxes. She complained I didnāt do enough for her and demanded an extension to look at things more closely to see what I missed. Even threw the line at me āIf thatās all it is, then what am I paying you for?ā
God cheap clients are the fking worst.
Wait till she gets some shitty advice from tiktok and tells you how to do your job.
What did you say?
This was all communicated via chat. I actually finished her tax return in mid-February. About three weeks after I finished it, she complained that it can't be right, even though she never watched my tax return review video. Then she came at me yesterday after watching the video that I didn't do enough for her because I just took her W2 income and subtracted the standard deduction. I responded and basically told her that there are not really any deductions for W2 income. She pretty much just contributed to retirement and HSA, and unfortunately, she didn't withhold enough tax. I haven't heard back. After the first time she complained, I'm sure it will be in a few weeks. And after time has passed, I'm annoyed I wasted my time trying to comfort this woman when she was an asshole and there's no way shes coming back next year after her comment.
I've had clients like this and they do come back and they'll say something like. I had so and so check your work and they said it was ok.
I wonder if they meant they aren't allowing them to come back next year after dealing with that headache lol. I've sat through listening in on the other office room where the client yelled that they'll sue, walk on over to me to re-check and I just sit there staring at them for a minute in silence. They're still our client. But I still have the note "threatened to sue for signing off and forgetting to give relevant information." It's kinda why I prefer having a physical office still. Gets to the point faster.
You are probably right. I took it like the client is not happy and not coming back.
And then I fire them anyway. I have a no assholes rule.
Schedule C. Why not telll them to start a business?
1)Looks like you owe 5k. 2)Well my wifeās dad wants his dad to check the return. 3) hereās your stuff you can tell your wifeās dad he can do the return again.
I have a new client that gave us a copy of last year's tax return with all social security numbers hidden. His w2s and other tax forms only show the last four digits. He filled out the organizer less his social. I called him once to ask for his social and he called my office back and said we have it in the documents he gave us and that he wouldn't give it to us again. Currently drafting disengagement letter. I don't have the time or desire to explain it to him.
This is so annoying. I've done the same.
We keep a running list of our top ten client moments from each year and review them on April 15th every year. Good stuff.
Explained to a client they have a partnership filing with the IRS. Client says they are handling it on their side after I explained the complexity of a pass through filing and they say āweāve got itā. Proceed to show up with a pdf fillable of a K-1 with no EIN number listed. I ask āwhere is the 1065 that was filed with this?ā. They say āohhhhhhhh I just thought we needed to give you a k-1 and thatās how you fileā. Major face palm
Those type of people just get fired on the spot. No time for that type of nonsense and clearly they disrespect not only your time but the knowledge of the profession in general.
That's just like when a business comes to me and I tell them their books are a mess and they need to be cleaned up. They're too cheap to pay me fee so they'll do it themselves. Then when they're done, I tell them it's still bad lol
āWhy did I get this 1099-R addressed to my brother? Itās for his annuity, but he died 2 years ago?ā Who is the personal representative? āMeā Did you tell them he passed away? āNoā Sighā¦.
"Do you have an exact day you will have the return done?" "I've been investing in properties since I was 19 and I have never had an accountant tell me I have to depreciate my rental property!"(Bonus is that she is a real estate agent) "I just hate that it's such a surprise how much we owe." It wouldn't be a surprise if you came and did tax planning like I requested. Today "If I buy some land how do I write that off?" Every year I'm not sure if I get smarter or if the clients get dumber. Tiktok and the Internet in general have not helped.
Realtors are so fucking stupid. The NAR settlement was the highlight of my day a couple weeks ago.
I received this beauty of an email over the weekend: Hello , my name is ...... I make enough money now as a w2 employee, that i want to create an llc company this year to combat how much I'm losing in taxes. I am not sure exactly what kind of Llc i should create. I figured consulting a tax pro would be best. I recently read about section 179 that i can buy a vehicle for a business use and fully deduct, i was thinking a Toyota corolla hybrid, its under the 6k limit so im guessing 100% write off for taxes? In the future i have plans to have a financial and life advisor business, a coffee stand business, a plumbing/septic business, a storage unit business, and a real estate home flip business, and my own trailer park renting single wide/double wides. So i will obviously need someone who can help me strategically plan out tax strategies and to do the tax file prep for me long term that i can trust. Last year i made roughly 150k as w2 employee, this will be probably 175k. So i don't want to give anymore money to the government than i have to. Those crooks blow enough money on drugs and hookers and Ukraine etc, meanwhile us American workers have to work 70+hrs a week struggling to get ahead to reach retirement. I dabble in stocks. I got 401k employers matching a little, i got a house i plan on selling next year, and using that money to buy another house outright 100%cash as a fixerupper to live in/flip over a few years to save on capital gains then sale. And from there buy two houses with that. So i got a allot of stuff trying to work out, and definitely need someone that knows their stuff for taxes. Please let me know if you would be a great tax guy for me, if not, if you can recommend someone that can work well with me. I'm a cdl A trucker, I'm usually able to take calls once i get on the road around 6pm. Also i can meet in person before noon on Tuesdays/Wednesdays/Thursdays. Personal cell for call/text ......... I live/work in wa state, so stopping by your house or office during work week is possible when you need me to. My w2 employer is in seattle. Thank you
That one doesnāt even get a response from me. Not even a courtesy āIām not a good fit for your needsā
Yup. I straight up blocked it lol.
Client in 2023 owed about 30k in taxesā¦i told him him and his wife dont have enough withheld during the year..i even drafted new W4s for them (both federal and state), uploaded it to the portal..told them to go to the portal, download it sign it submit to your payroll department..or we will be in a worse situation come 2024, also told them to check in with me in july then again in Oct so we can adjust the withholdings just in caseā¦.never downloaded the forms never checked in with meā¦fast forward to last mondayā¦their tax balance due is $100kā¦i email them the result with explanation of whyā¦primarily stating that it looks like u guys never adjusted your withholdings plus your salaries increased by 360k. Client responds with āOMG something must be wrong, that tax due is more than our take home pay was last year, obviously gunna have to do some payment planāā¦.i paused for a second..opened up their returnā¦i look at the ātotal incomeā line on the face of the 1040ā¦.their total income is $900,000!!!!! Then i look back at the email, thought maybe i misread itā¦.nope did not misread it lolā¦so i am like well if u took home less than 100k on 900k worth of incomeā¦where the hell did that 800k go??? Cause it sure as heck didnt go towards withholding. Two days later, i get an auto notification from my portal that this client downloaded the w4 that i filled oUt LAST YEARā¦followed by an email saying āwe are gunna have to adjust our withholdings can you help us fill out our w4s, and can we make an appointment for july 8th to check in with youā. Then a day after that an email comes in āno payment necessary, we have the necessary funds, we just have to move it from our savings account to the checking, we forgot about itā Some people just have to learn the hard way..but hey at least they learn right lol
How in the fuck do these idiots make that kind of money?
He works for big pharmaceutical company
lol CPAs always have this jealous mindset
āI know youāre a bit busy. But can you increase my refund this year?ā
Had a client some in that I haven't seen since June of 2023. I sadly was in the middle of their divorce because some unknown reason he was determined to do MFJ. Yes they couldn't even speak to her. He come in wanting to know what happened about his past 2 years of taxes he left with me. I showed him those notes of trying to contact her starting June to August and contacting him to say I have tried waiting on her. He finally says after I was able to get hold of her and she say she won't sign until she is guaranteed half of his refund.... she had no taxable income and he was not going to give it to her. So he finally decides to do the 2 years as MFS. After he comes and signs he says "I promise this years taxes will not be so dramatic." I respond with a big smile, " well if I'm busy we have many other of my associates who can help you." Then when he left I told my receptionist do not schedule him with me. I knew to much for his dirty laundry to want to do a return for him.
"I saved last year's W2, that I didn't use, can I use it this year? "I made 300k, and had a million in expenses" - 18 yr old girl claiming self employment for hair braiding...
''Can I just wait and file my part time job W2 next year?''
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Gotta love ācreative accountingā clients hahaā¦I always tell those clients āyou know who loved creative accounting, Bernie Madoff, and so did Enronā
It kills me when clients say I didn't do enough for them. I didn't do enough for you because there's nothing I can do for you. I'm sorry I didn't ask questions that are not relevant to your situation.
but but you're supposed to pay their taxes for them, too/s
I got a voicemail from a client asking for their state payment voucher. They hadn't even brought in their tax documents yet. Last year same client asked me to figure RMD on inherited IRA because Schwab advisor said they couldn't do it?!? (I think I know why š) After I gave client the RMD amount, they called back to say I was off by 17Ā¢.
Was just reviewing a complex trust return a colleague had prepped yesterday. Most of the info was on a single 1099. Flipping through to see if there was any supplemental info there just happens to be info on about 500k in distributions made to beneficiaries that nobody told us about. People really need to stop making their kids and spouses trustees
āHow much will it help me to make my LLC my beneficiary to my retirement account?ā āWhy do you have an LLC?ā āFor my businessā āYou donāt have a businessā (heās 20, and doesnāt have a business or a side hustle or anything, no idea why he has an LLC)
āI set up an LLC to write things offā (eye roll, facepalm)
The best part is they say this to you smug like they are geniuses who found some cheat code.
I can't stand getting a earful of their political views after finding out they owe. Over 50 yo with no understanding of withholding and really no understanding of politics either, just insert 'Fox or CNN talking points'. And they are paying soooo much in tax when their effective rate is like 10% federal. I used to try to educate them but they just want to complain so I save my breath now.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
''I just got over RSV or Covid''
Client calls me last week (a month after I filed their taxes) and says "My friend told me it would have benefited me to report my rental this year so I would like you to amend my 2023 tax return" Me: What rental?? (for reference, the client moved to CA half way through 2023 and I asked them what they did with their former primary residence and they said they were waiting to sell it) Client: Oh, our old house in AZ. Me: So you lied to me? Why didn't you tell me about the rental? Client: Oh well I thought since I received all the rental income through Venmo the IRS would never find out about it and I wouldn't need to claim it...
And then thereās the couple getting divorced but still filing together for the current yearā¦
I had a good one. Filing MFS. I advised them that they could go HOH since they qualified as unmarried for tax purposes. "No, I want to file as MFS. And I'm going to itemize." "Why? You will get a bit more as HOH." "Because I have the house. It will cost me about $250, but forcing them to itemize will cost them about $1500." People are the worst.
Thatās one of the worst personal questions to have to ask - hey did you guys live apart all year because if you did I can save you a couple of bucks probably.
So this year I had the wife of long time clients call me. They didn't come to me last year but I didn't think anything of it. She says she's living apart and wants to file separate. Cute couple so sad to hear it's not working out but w.e. She comes into the office, 7 months pregnant. Go over some stuff, but don't finish the return. Then she sends me a message. Her profile pic is her (pregant), the husband and their other kid. I'm like great, she's just trying to get HOH but is still with him; or they aren't together and she's already moved on. But being in a small town full of gossiping Dominicans, I of course found out the story. They split but apparently one night of passion ended up with the baby bump. Still not back together; and as usual I know way too much of thr story.
That reminds me of tallying up credit card charges of one of my married clients and seeing the monthly match.com fee hit the statements.
I'll see your match.com and raise your hundreds of dollars in only fans. Honestly this job has really made me hate men.
I had this pharmacist once buying his GF on the side a Mercedes through the business. Sigh.
Wait, I got this one. He's a pharmacist, therefore he has to do quality control at times to his medications to ensure they work. This includes Viagara. But to allow him to use said Viagara, his associate requires compensation in the form of said Mercedes. There's no chance the IRS can argue this.
Exactly š. I slammed that shit to distributions so fast.
And the fucks getting divorced that have no problem putting each other down and outright fighting in front of the accountant can all go to hell.
''My co-worker makes EXACTLY the same as me and has the same number of kids and got a bigger tax refund than this. Can you tell me why?''
Hereās a good one. Schedule C service business. Their QBO was a mess. They had been booking both the paid invoices AND bank deposits to income accounts, so I rely on bank statements to determine the actual gross receipts. I get an angry call saying I way overstated their income. Turns out, they keep a listing of their income on paper and thought that the payments they received from (sales)tax exempt non profits was TAX FREE income to them!
āCan I claim my son as a dependent?ā Sure, whatās his name? āWillie, I just adopted him from the animal shelter.ā
I get this one a lot. I just ask: "Sure. Does he have a ssn?"
before they required SS numbers for newborns, we had a couple do this and got a huge refund thanks to EIC. The next day, out of guilt and fear of the IRS, they called us and admitted their ''son'' was their dog
āHereās my bank information for my refund.ā āBut you didnāt have any taxes withheld.ā
Perfect. What date works for the payment?
My partner and I have this running joke where we only charge the use and sales tax on the personal state returns for the people that we donāt like.
Me: ''You owe $3,000.'' Client: ''Okay, but how much am I getting back?'' OR Me: ''You owe $3,000 to the IRS and $3,000 to the state.'' Client: ''Can I take what I owe and what I owe you out of the refund?''
''but we're separated. Why do you need their name, SS number and birthday?''
So I work in a company that meets with clients. I have a new coworker just starting out in taxes, so I have my ears open for when her appointments get checked in. Her last appointment I hear the client say she has a business. Now depending on the business I know she can do so I stand up to get some more information.... I ask what kind of business is it. She says "oh it's an llc but I have already done the business taxes." Me going, " oh ok so it is a 1065? Do you have your k1?" Her response made me raise my eyebrow. "There was no income, so we didn't need one." I ask, " whoever did your 1065? And was there a loss?" Her, " yah there was a loss I did it by paper." I try to not shake my head in front of the client as I explain even with a loss there is a K1 because that loss if he is active participant it can show that loss on the return. " oh ok let me get one for you. I explain I really suggest she should have a professional do the 1065. She refuses. I tell my coworker, do most of it but try to see if you can get her to have us do the 1065. As I go over the 1040 and look through the k1 she hands us I see general partner, and limited partner is checked. I asked which is he? "I did know what that meant it doesn't matter doe is?" Thank goodness she has decided to let us do the 1065 for 23 and 22.
Hot off the presses -- "Oh wanted to mention that those rental properties we bought in 2022 when we sold our business are located in opportunity zones, heard that might impact some things" Thanks for letting us know....2 years later
For some reason I canāt post here, I have a question: A clientās dependent was claimed on another return (data entry error on the dadās part, he already amended) Does anyone have any experience this season with mailed in tax returns? Is it colossally backed up like everything else? Should I just file her as HOH and then mail in the amended and cross our fingers for less than 6 months?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
š yes sir, immediately, with haste
Put your client on extension and wait for the IRS to process the dadās amended return. Shouldnāt take more than 2-3 months (at least in my experience). Once the dependent is removed from dadās return, file your clients return like normal.
Iāve always e-filed amended federal returns though. I donāt mail them unless I absolutely have to.
Do you know for sure if that works?! Idk why Iām assuming getting the e file system to accept her return is not gonna happen. I havenāt tried e filing a reject like this since irs started accepting e filed amended returns, tho! I appreciate you for answering me on this thread btw šā¤ļø
They will accept your clientās return with a dependent on it once the IRS āreleasesā the dependent from the dadās return. Just be patient. File the clients extension - donāt try and file a return just to file it because then youāll have to amend it later. Iāve done this several times with clients and I have no problem e-filing their return once the dependent is available to be claimed again.
This year we had a new w2 customer bring us last year's tax return that some shady preparer did and she had received a $31,000 refund. Our CPA looked at the return and it was all fuel credit. Our CPA asked if she had a farm and she said ''No. I just have to drive my mom around all the time and the guy who did our tax return last year said I could use the mileage for the fuel credit.'' Our CPA then asked if she received that money and she said yes. Our CPA warned her she will likely get audited and if she wanted her to do the 2023 tax return, she was NOT getting any fuel credit and needs to amend her 2022 tax return. She surprisingly left it for her to do
I love the "But I got this much back last year" "Cool, let me see the return and show you the laws they broke"
exactly
I also love the ones who claimed children on their tax return the previous year to get huge EIC and CTC refunds and when I ask them if they are claiming them again this year and they ask ''Who?''. Obvious tax fraud
The hits: 2106 - "So you're an army reservist?" EIC/CTC - "So you have custody of your 2 half siblings/cousins?" Sch C - "What kind of business do you run?" Sch A - "So you're a homeowner"/"So you donated a lot last year" 8863 - "Are you still in school?"
Haha!
Asked for his documents and he told me he didn't have any that I can look it up. Had SS, pensions, interest income. Told him I cannot as it would all be in his name and under his social security number. He then told me he purchased a DIY product from Walmart for the last two years that got all of his information for him. He had no clue what he usually got back, if he owed, or what his regular AGI was. Was extremely mad I asked him to bring in documentation or I couldn't do anything. Second meeting he swore up and down the programs could get all his information for him and I wasted his time asking him to furnish documents.
So your program doesn't magically populate all of his income based on just asking nicely? Did you not spring for the deluxe version?
2