tax practice

busy season 2018: how good can it get?

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join the survey. get the results.

more work, more clients, more fees, more profits. so who’s complaining?

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

despite beginning in chaos and uncertainty with the biggest tax-law change in three decades, busy season 2018 may go down as a banner year in the books for the tax profession – one of the best ever, according to the annual 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer.

scroggs

kathy j. scroggs, of scroggs & associates in montecito, calif., says, “my team is working like a well-tuned grand piano.”

almost half of all cpas report a busy season better than last year, with more work and higher profits. additionally, two-thirds cite gains in revenue and in the number of clients.

one tax practitioner, reporting a “much better year,” is riding a wave of shifting clientele. “i’m having more people coming in to prepare and use e-file, more than last year,” he tells 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间, “especially new business owners opening llcs.”

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percentages don’t tell whole irs filing story

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chart of irs filing data for the week ending march 23, 2018tax pros slightly behind last year’s pace, but still hold the edge in sheer numbers.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

by many measures, this tax season is slightly ahead of 2017’s pace.

more on tax season: professionals losing the battle on e-filings to diyers | survey: new tax law roils busy season | david bergstein on tax season | tax accountants fill the breach of a failing irs | new tax law roils busy season 2018 | beware the ez way out  | when clients face ‘unreal’ irs audits
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the irs had received 85.7 million individual income tax returns by the week ending march 23, the latest data available. that’s up 0.5 percent from the same period last year.
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irs in retreat from communities

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disappearing brick-and-mortar offices undermine voluntary compliance, raising irs costs.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

in case you haven’t noticed, the internal revenue service has been retreating from local communities.

special report – fixing the irs: irs #fails at online services spell problems for professionals | tax accountants fill the breach of a failing irs | beware the ez way out | can the irs improve its phone service? | when clients face ‘unreal’ irs audits | irs warns about private debt collectors for tax season 2018  | underfunded irs swamped with problems | irs in retreat from communities | military personnel face new battles at home: the irs | as new economy surges, irs falls further behind | is the irs winning the battle against identity theft? | irs mulls raising fees to cover budget shortfalls  |

more at taxtrendlines.com

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today it has outreach offices in only 33 states and the district of columbia. private sector tax preparers are about as close to the irs as most taxpayers can get.

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military personnel face new battles at home: the irs

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tax professionals have a special duty to help. 

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

“thank you for your service” isn’t enough.

special report – fixing the irs: irs #fails at online services spell problems for professionals | tax accountants fill the breach of a failing irs | beware the ez way out | can the irs improve its phone service? | when clients face ‘unreal’ irs audits | irs warns about private debt collectors for tax season 2018  | underfunded irs swamped with problems | irs in retreat from communities | military personnel face new battles at home: the irs | as new economy surges, irs falls further behind | is the irs winning the battle against identity theft? | irs mulls raising fees to cover budget shortfalls  |

more at taxtrendlines.com

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active duty service members have plenty to worry about. in addition to the mres, ieds, and rpgs, there’s the irs. like all american workers, military personnel, including those in combat zones, have to pay taxes, but calculating what they owe can be as complicated as patrolling the streets of mosul. a good tax preparer might be able to help these 2.1 million active duty, reserve, and national guard, but it takes a little extra training.

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as new economy surges, irs falls further behind

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irs caught unprepared for the tectonic shift in the income-tax landscape.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

the gig economy is big and getting bigger. it’s service providers are making real money, but they’re often as lost as an uber driver with a dead phone.

special report – fixing the irs: irs #fails at online services spell problems for professionals | tax accountants fill the breach of a failing irs | beware the ez way out | can the irs improve its phone service? | when clients face ‘unreal’ irs audits | irs warns about private debt collectors for tax season 2018  | underfunded irs swamped with problems | irs in retreat from communities | military personnel face new battles at home: the irs | as new economy surges, irs falls further behind | is the irs winning the battle against identity theft? | irs mulls raising fees to cover budget shortfalls  |

more at taxtrendlines.com

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the gig economy, also known as the sharing economy, is that market of “collaborative consumption” typified by uber, lyft, airbnb, etsy, taskrabbit, and many others. such services are typically coordinated by a website that links customers with service providers, yielding a good deal all around: somebody gets a cut-rate service, and somebody gets the flexibility of part-time self-employment.

but that latter somebody might need somebody else to advise them on tax compliance. read more →

is the irs winning the battle against identity theft?

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it’s hard to tell.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

the good news: identity theft is down.

special report – fixing the irs: irs #fails at online services spell problems for professionals | tax accountants fill the breach of a failing irs | beware the ez way out | can the irs improve its phone service? | when clients face ‘unreal’ irs audits | irs warns about private debt collectors for tax season 2018  | underfunded irs swamped with problems | irs in retreat from communities | military personnel face new battles at home: the irs | as new economy surges, irs falls further behind | is the irs winning the battle against identity theft? | irs mulls raising fees to cover budget shortfalls  |

more at taxtrendlines.com

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the bad news: there’s a lot of identity theft.

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training cutbacks at irs hurt everybody

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what you get for $87 per employee.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

what could be more frustrating than calling the internal revenue service 14 times before finally getting through to an agent—and then the agent tries to answer your question by reading a script that doesn’t answer the question?

special report – fixing the irs: irs #fails at online services spell problems for professionals | tax accountants fill the breach of a failing irs | beware the ez way out | can the irs improve its phone service? | when clients face ‘unreal’ irs audits | irs warns about private debt collectors for tax season 2018  | underfunded irs swamped with problems | irs in retreat from communities | military personnel face new battles at home: the irs | as new economy surges, irs falls further behind | is the irs winning the battle against identity theft? | irs mulls raising fees to cover budget shortfalls  |

more at taxtrendlines.com

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

taxpayer frustration with irs incompetence can serve to the advantage of tax practitioners, who by default become the only source of good information.

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10-step sec. 199a deduction checklist for tax practitioners

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step 1: tell clients of new complexity – and your extra work.

by stephen nelson

wow. this sec. 199a deduction… a big deal, right? lots of opportunity for taxpayers. lots of complexity for their tax advisors. and basically, no time to first learn and then apply the new law.

given this, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 suggested i share our firm’s checklist for handling sec. 199a deduction work for clients this tax season.

don’t worry, i’ll make this quick. you and i both have tax returns to prepare, review and sign. read more →