tax

tax pro’s slammed with sloppy software and federal sequestration

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will this be remembered as another “tax season from hell?”
join the survey; get the updates.

busy season barometer

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the last time tax professionals slogged through a tax season from hell, it was 2008, the financial world was crashing into a million little pieces, and 1 in 4 accountants was reporting disastrous operations.

before that, long-timers might recall 1995, when the irs deployed a filing fraud crackdown that delayed millions of refunds.

more tax season research: tax pro’s turn negative on busy season | busy season outlook 2013 | top tax season trends, issues and opportunities

this year, with the irs opening the filing gates not until march 4, could 2013 become another one for the record books?

in the latest update to the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer, topline findings include:

  • the number of practitioners reporting a worse season this year, as compared to last year at the same time, is surging month to month.
  • the top 15 issues causing concern, led by irs operations and software and technology problems
  • verbatim reports from practitioners around the nation, including one who is seeing a 20% fee decline in his practice.
  • how practitioners are responding to clients’ lack of understanding, including resorting to discounts.

nine ways to create well-behaved tax clients [pro member exclusive]

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help them to do what you want.

ed mendlowitz

by ed mendlowitz
adapted from the 2013 tax season opportunity guide

providing instructions of what a client needs to do must be clear enough so that the client doesn’t call you to find out what to do.

sometimes taking an extra minute to lay out what the client should do can eliminate that call or indecisive moment a client might feel.

the object of the instructions is to have the client do what you want them to do. read more →

online tax prep goes green for the environment

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newvisioncpagroup.com

chicago cpa jody padar helps clients calculate their carbon footprint.

jody padar, new vision cpa group
jody padar, new vision cpa group

in a sign of things to come as consumers turn to socially responsible shopping, one of the profession’s leading changemakers, chicago cpa jody padar, is launching the world’s first online tax return service that helps clients save money on their taxes while showing them how to reduce their carbon footprint and earn green perks.

branded ecotaxfile.com, the service “gives consumers and small businesses a level of confidence in their tax returns that can only come from working with a full-time accounting professional,” says jody padar, cpa, mst, operations director for ecotaxfile.com and one of accounting today’s 100 most influential people in accounting as an advocate for forward-thinking cpas. she practices out of her new vision cpa group in arlington heights, ill.

available for tax filers in the u.s. and canada, ecotaxfile.com offers real-time, personalized consulting from professional tax accountants and provides individuals and small businesses with tools and specific recommendations for cutting their carbon consumption along with special offers and deals for less carbon-intensive activities.

ecotaxfile.com

“we provide direct access to full-time cpas and tax professionals who can help eliminate the stress of tax filing while finding every possible way to maximize your refund or reduce your tax payment,” padar says.

“it’s simple: when you file your taxes with us, we’ll also calculate your carbon footprint,” says ecotaxfile.com founder brad cran. “we then identify areas where you can reduce your impact to live cleaner and save even more money.”

read more →

tax pro’s turn negative on busy season

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washington brinksmanship spells big crunch for preparers. join the survey; get the updates.

source: 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 / join the survey; get the updates

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

with tax season 2013 delayed by last-minute code changes, staffing problems and software glitches, the mood of the profession is turning markedly sour.

“irs delays will cause confusion and errors, and many upset clients,” says charles postal at santos postal, a five-partner firm in rockville, md. “more extensions will depress cash flow.”

at the same, postal adds, “clients will have more tax needs, but the struggling economy will depress their ability and desire to pay for services.”

in order to battle the business pressures, postal’s firm is “pushing back on fees, using standardized billing by product rather than hours, and adding on charges for technology, audit and tax notice insurance.”

read more →

accountants chop prices for schedule c’s

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but most other rates are increasing.

in another sign that the profession is pushing through at least some price increases in a highly fee-pressured environment, a new survey reports that professional tax preparers this year will be charging an average of $246, up 6%, for a typical 1040 with a schedule a and a state return. still, the survey finds price pressure for schedule c’s.

the survey shows pricing for the bread-and-butter forms delivered by local independent tax professionals, including:

  • form 1040 schedule c (business)
  • form 1065 (partnership)
  • form 1120 (corporation)
  • form 1120s (s corporation)
  • form 1041 (fiduciary)
  • form 990 (tax exempt)
  • form 940 (federal unemployment)
  • schedule d (gains and losses)
  • schedule e (rental), and
  • schedule f (farm)

the survey also breaks down pricing patterns by region, and adds data on client payment options.

read more →

nine healthy things to do during tax season

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how to be at your best through april 15th.

tax season can be a marathon. everyone has their own tips and tricks, habits and techniques for staying sane and healthy. here are 10 from 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 contributor ed mendlowitz:

  1. eat lunch out of your office.
  2. go for a 15 minute walk in middle of afternoon instead of eating a snack.
  3. take off either march 17 or 18. read more →

survey results: busy season outlook 2013

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what accountants talk about when they talk about busy season 2013

mergers, tech and the economy create a volatile mix in forecasting filing season.

by rick telberg
join the survey; get the updates.

washington gridlock, last-minute tax changes and continuing economic uncertainty are undermining tax professionals’ outlook for the 2013 filing season, according to new 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 survey results.

the new survey results shed light on:

  1. the changing mood of the profession and it’s leading competitors and decision-makers,
  2. the effects of mergers and new technologies,
  3. the chief operational, competitive and economic concerns,
  4. expectations for key financial metrics, including revenues, profits and number of clients, and
  5. the strategies firms are implementing to cope with the issues and opportunities.

despite political gridlock and economic uncertainty, practitioners are trending increasingly confident about how well their firms will perform this season. most are looking at advances in total revenue, net profit, number of clients, number on extension, revenue per client, and profit per client.

for example: read more →

the real election day winners? accountants

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what the election means for busy season:  join the survey, get the answers.

by rick telberg 

the re-election of president obama may sweep away a few uncertainties in tax and economic policies that have been stymieing business decision-making. but it also sets the stage for a very busy busy-season, complete with last-minute changes in code and forms.

and i’d be surprised if the partisan gridlock in congress suddenly loosens. read more →

three political questions that cloud the tax planning outlook

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 we’re accountants, not fortune-tellers.

special to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

rothstein kass, the new york cpa firm, is advising clients that “looming ahead are many potential changes” with the possible demise of the bush-era tax cuts.  in addition, several other bills are muddying the forecast.

“even the world’s best soothsayer could not predict with accuracy what will happen between now and the end of the 2012 tax year with respect to the tax law,” richard bloom, national leader of trusts and estates, and neil tendler are teling clients in a bulletin.

for example: read more →