Hurricane Ida! Help me Dan B Wan, You’re my only HOPE!

For those tax practitioners that are still dealing with Hurricane Ida IRS tax extension. You must read this!

1) If you are in an area that is subject to the Hurricane Ida extension, I give you this word of warning now. DON’T LET YOUR CLIENTS CONTROL YOU! Don’t let their emergency be your emergency.

While you were afforded more time and it does take the pressure off of the 9/15 and 10/15 deadlines, it just creates a new one and just extends the tax season that much more.

When your clients find out they have more time, many of them will just drag their feet without any concern for you and your time.

Please do yourself a favor now and send an email, text and letter to your clients. Give them a hard deadline of say 12/10 to get their stuff to you. Just let them know that there will be a rush charge (I usually say $500) if it is received after that date AND that you cannot guarantee that it will get done if received after that date.

Let them know that with the holidays approaching, you will be taking some time off to spend with family as you always do right before the next tax season.

Trust me, I have been there done that. Back in 2004, the central Florida area was hit with 3 hurricanes (Charlie, Frances and Jean). The IRS extended the deadline to 12/30/2004 that year. That was the worst holiday season I have ever had. I never worked that much at that time of the year and vowed to never do that again.

So, for your sake, please take control of your practice and clients now. If you have already done something like this already, let me know what you have done.

2) For those of you that handle IRS Representation cases. Read this.

This was announced by an organization of which I am a member. You could always do 5 clients but 30 transcripts is the new part.

“Effective Nov. 15, tax practitioners will be able to order up to 30 Transcript Delivery System transcripts per client through the Practitioner Priority Service (PPS) or toll-free lines for most transcript types. This is an increase from the previous 10 transcripts per client limit. On the PPS, practitioners can order transcripts for up to five clients per call.”… Continue reading

Getting Things Done! This is an integral part of your practice.

What have you accomplished this week so far to grow your firm or move everything forward? Do you have any of the following on your list and where do you stand with them?
• Hiring or firing a client
• Hiring or firing an employee
• Writing your first (or next) book
• Created your marketing calendar
• Setup your internal systems in a written form (either paper or some online service/software
• Looked at leveraging some new software to create a workflow or efficiency in some process that bogs down your office
• Setup engagement letters for next year
• Purchased your tax software for 2021 tax returns
This is the audience participation part. Let me know where you stand. I know it is difficult sometimes. I am a CPA and a tax firm owner.

I want to help you, if I can, as I know one is the loneliest number, especially for a tax pro. You do not need to remain on your own island.… Continue reading

I can’t pay my tax bill: Are there any options for me at this late date?

It’s October. My favorite time of the year. The holidays are coming fast and will be here before you know it. The cooler weather should be here soon. Plus, October is the month that I first met my wife, now a long, long time ago (but she still looks as beautiful as the day I met her).

October is also the last month of the official tax filing season. The extension for individuals expired Oct. 15. Of course, many people who finish their tax returns at this time of the year owe money. Yes, that sucks for them. It sucks even more when they do not have the money to pay that tax bill.

This can happen for many reasons. I will give you a few examples of how people get into this pickle:

  • They changed employers and their new Form W-4 did not have enough federal withholding taken out.
  • They could have changed employers and now they work for someone who pays them on a 1099-NEC as an independent contractor (this is a whole separate issue on whether this is appropriate or not). Therefore, there is usually not any federal withholding paid into the IRS.
  • Business could have been doing well before and now it is not when the tax is coming due.
  • They are selling a property with a large taxable gain, but not getting any cash out at the sale.

So, what is a person (or business) to do? Well, fortunately there are many options to choose from; however, please note that the options can only apply if your facts and circumstances allow for it.

Most people will fit into the bucket that allows them to fully pay their tax, penalties and interest over a payment plan. This is typically paid over 72 months. Depending on the dollar amount you owe, you may not have to provide any forms or documents to set this up.

It may be that you can pay some payment but not the full payment that allows to pay it in full. The IRS can allow you to enter into a partial payment plan. If this is the case, the IRS is going to need Form 433-A for individuals or 433-B for businesses along with A LOT of documentation. They are going to vet and confirm the information you provide, so please be honest.

If you do not have any (or much) equity in assets and you do … Continue reading