I'm calling it a day early -------- really early

[IRonMaN]

I open up my e-mail this morning and see one from a client for a return that was done a couple of weeks ago.  Oh, by the way, we have another dependent this year.  Yesterday, I opened up an envelope for a new client.  A long time client asks if we can do his son's return this year.  No problem, but when I open up the envelope there are some tax documents for the son and on the bottom of the pile, there is a W-2 for someone else.  Call up the client and he tells me, oh yeah, the son got married last year and that is his wife's W-2.  Ok, no problem, I got the return done and it is waiting for assembly.  Get a call this morning, the son that we didn't know got married also had a baby last year that we didn't know about☹️

This is why I prefer working with retired clients.  You just have to watch the obituaries to make sure they didn't die between the time they dropped off their stuff and when the return is ready.

[BobKamman]

Help your clients turn their children into adults by cutting the apron strings.  Tell them they need to come to the office because you need to meet them in person to make sure they know the basics of being a tax client.  

Advice I haven't always followed, but should have.  

[IRonMaN]

"Advice I haven't always followed, but should have"

Do as I say, not as I do 😀

[IRonMaN]

As a side note, the son doesn't live in the area but dad does.  Good clients, good people ----- sometimes you just have to smile 😁

[rbynaker]

Wait until you find out that the kid built a server farm in his garage for mining cryptocurrency.

[abctax55]

It has been the year of the 'bizarre' for my office; sounds like it's nationwide.

[IRonMaN]

"It has been the year of the 'bizarre' for my office; sounds like it's nationwide"

I didn't think I was special.  At least I was hoping I wasn't special.  I hate riding that little school bus all by myself.

[BobKamman]

The newspapers today have a front-page story about the 21-year-old son of good people.  Sometimes the apple falls far from the tree, so don't rely too much on the parents being good people.  Get to know your clients.  

[IRonMaN]

He is a young deputy sheriff that hasn't been there long enough to pick up bad behavior so I am pretty confident he is still among the good people.

[BobKamman]

Is that anything like a Cyber Transport Systems Specialist?

[BobKamman]

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@IRonMaN wrote:

This is why I prefer working with retired clients.  You just have to watch the obituaries to make sure they didn't die between the time they dropped off their stuff and when the return is ready.

A long-time client didn't come back this year, after calling January 31 to ask us to send our extended checklist.  I checked the obituaries, and she died February 15.  I had three elderly widows die this year, all of them at age 96  Another, though, lasted to 99, just a few months short of her birthday.  

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[taxes96786]

This client needs to pay for each original, superseded and/or amended return you ended up preparing. This is why I send each of my clients a detailed quesrionaire each year and don't accept any documents until the have compiled everything needed.

[IRonMaN]

"A long-time client didn't come back this year, after calling January 31 to ask us to send our extended checklist.  I checked the obituaries, and she died February 15.  I had three elderly widows die this year, all of them at age 96  Another, though, lasted to 99, just a few months short of her birthday"

I had an aunt that for the last few years said she didn't want to live to be 100.  She passed away in November, 51 days short of her 100th birthday.  Sadly for us, she got her wish.

[rcooley25]

How does someone have a grandchild and not know about it?

[IRonMaN]

They know it, they just don't think.