Tax appointments during covid-19?

[SusanOP]

Question:  the firm I work for is still having lots of people come in for tax appointments, in spite of the "social distancing" suggestion by the CDC.  The office isn't even close to what I would consider sanitary under normal circumstances, much less for flu season or worse.  The owner of the practice thinks all of this is overblown and it's business as usual.  I have literally never seen him wash his hands before touching anything, even when he has a cold, so the spread of germs is highly likely.

What are you folks doing?  Have you stopped clients from coming to your office, or are you working on extra sanitation measures?  The owner of the firm has about 6-10 appointments a day coming in, six days a week, so this is a fair amount of traffic through the office.

Please, keep it nice with the answers!

Thanks!

[IRonMaN]

I get your concerns, but we can't live in a bubble for the rest of lives either.  I'm not going to start wearing a hazmat suit and spray every piece of paper that comes into the office with disinfectant.  If you are overly concerned, follow the advice of the experts - wash your hands, don't touch your face and keep your distance from other folks.  Who knows, we might be some of those folks that already has it that doesn't show symptoms and are spreading it to others.  We survived 9/11, Y2K, and the end of the Mayan calendar and we will survive this too ------------- hang in there.

[garman22]

I have also not panicked, I am business as usual. I do clean my desk more often than I have in other seasons. I do use sanitizer often and wash my hands several times a day. I am in my early 50's and while I dont want to catch it....it would just knock me down and I'll get back up again. IF I contract it, I will go with drop offs or emails at that point. 

Thats about it for me. 

[qbteachmt]

"The owner of the practice thinks all of this is overblown and it's business as usual. I have literally never seen him wash his hands before touching anything, even when he has a cold, so the spread of germs is highly likely."

Then nothing is a problem for him. You, on the other hand, need to take control for your own sake, for your own risk. Don't expect to change the office environment when the supposed Leader should be doing so.

I saw a good comment: Why is all of this hand washing and other protective guidance considered New? You were supposed to be doing things like this all along.

[BobKamman]

I am not doing that many appointments -- much of my work is drop-off and mail-in -- but I share your concerns and my kids (ages 37 and 38) are telling me to tell my OCD clients to go away and come back this summer.  They are concerned about my health; I am concerned about my office assistant, who like me is in the over-60 "high risk" group.  She deals with six to eight visitors a day, including the FedEx delivery person who uses one of those hand-held devices requiring a signature with a finger.  If she asked me to shut down, I would.  

Two weeks ago this was a "hoax."  Today, many of us realize that everyone will get sick and 1% will die -- including younger victims.  Containment is not going to prevent any infections or deaths, it is just going to spread them out so not everyone goes to the doctor or hospital at the same time.  

I won't be surprised if Block and the other mass preparers (not that Mass is being offered in many places right now) announce in the next few days that they are closing down.  I think they must be exerting pressure on IRS to announce a blanket extension to June 15, and that will be forthcoming in the same haphazard way that everything else has been conducted.  

Meanwhile, you are between a deadly virus and a hard place.  If you can find a better job, do it.  If you can't, we can still pray for you at home.  Consider "worked for a jerk" for your headstone.  

[qbteachmt]

"Two weeks ago this was a "hoax." "

As I stated, what makes people consider this handwashing and other protective measures are New? The first week in Feb, we were at a restaurant where I returned to the table and asked my spouse, "Should I be concerned that the server is coughing, behind the counter?" I am in my 6th week recovering from Atypical (Walking) Pneumonia. This has nothing to do with Covid-19. It has to do with every day life.

[BobKamman]

Handwashing is not new.  Shutting down the economy is new, and we are not the leaders.  Don't be oblivious to the rest of the world.  How many people need to die before you admit it's a crisis?  Maybe only one, if it's family.  

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

My sister in law is in Italy, I texted her yesterday to see how it was going...this was her response:

Hi Lisa, things are rough! We are confined to our home...it already been 10 days and it's just getting worse by the day! I have never experienced anything like this in my life and don't know when we'll see the light! Please if you can just stay home.... it's the only way to stop this, everyone just needs to stay home! Love to all

[Greta]

I'm 75 and many of our clients are elderly. I've called several to drop off their tax stuff instead of coming in, but those with businesses generally need my hands-on guidance, excuse the pun. If we listen to medical experts, this is serious, and we just might need to shut down along with restaurants etc, hoping for an IRS  deadline extension.

[IRonMaN]

If you are 75, I would tell everyone you will extend their returns and hunker down until the smoke clears.

[BobKamman]

On the other hand, if you are 78 you might want to run for President.  Or if only 73, you might already be there.  

[beckynguyentx]

We still take in clients, but  not many appointments. We offer to do over phone/emails/ virtual meeting app (like Bluejeans, Zoom meeting) then request Esignature more than usual.  We also have cleaning staffs (from landlord provided) coming to sanitize our door knobs, table... However, Tax professionals like us need to take more vitamins C, zinc.. to increase our immune system, use hand sanitized frequently.  "Protect yourself, protect others."

[BobKamman]

In a blog post today, Noah McGraw (J.D., E.A.) reminds us of what its own manual instructs IRS to do in times like these. He writes:

Per IRM 25.16.1.1 3(a), “The objectives of the Disaster Program Office are to: a. ensure eligible taxpayers receive the appropriate level of federal tax relief when they are impacted by a federally declared disaster,” and “c. timely and effectively communicate IRS disaster relief decisions to external and internal customers.”

In consideration of the level of escalation experienced over the past week, now is the time for the Service to follow the guideline and provide taxpayers with relief on this latest disaster affecting the country.

The Service should invoke IRC Section 7508A (“Authority to postpone certain deadlines by reason of Presidentially declared disaster or terroristic or military actions”) for tax returns and liabilities at least until such time that the Coronavirus could be considered by relevant health experts to be “past the peak” of the outbreak. An additional 90 days beyond this peak would be even more helpful to those businesses who are facing extreme drops in demand for their services as individuals self-quarantine across the country.

https://procedurallytaxing.com/irs-must-implement-measures-in-support-of-small-businesses-through-co...

[Garipo]

I heard somewhere that people take medical mushrooms to strengthen their immunity. Has anyone had a similar experience?

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

Sounds legit, was that from TikTok or Youtube?

[IRonMaN]

I heard somewhere that horse dewormer works wonders on COVID patients too.  There’s lots of advice on the internet.  Some good, some bad, and some just bat 💩 crazy. For my personal health, if Dr Fauci tells me to start consuming those things, I’m in.  If not, I’ll just chalk it up to more urban myths and go wash my hands and put my mask back on.