2023 Income tax Season

[rcooley25]

To all of my fellow tax preparers I am letting it be known that contray  to what I was saying  a few weeks ago that I am not going to hang in there for one more tax season. The year of 2023 is my last one. I will be 80years old by the time next tax season is over and the way this business seems to drain me more each year I am afraid i I try one more season next year at this time I will be pushing up flowers. We have had some tough problems to work thru the last few years along with a few laughs and I am going to miss chatting  with all of you.  For a retirement present if you would like to send me one I will give you my address and you can mail me a case of Fireball.

[IRonMaN]

I hope you have a long and relaxing retirement.  But for what it’s worth, you can still stop and say hi from time to time whether or not you are still working.

[sjrcpa]

Congratulations!

Will you be needing Fireball so much in retirement? 

[IRonMaN · Accepted solution]

When he cuts himself, he bleeds Fireball so it’s kind of a medical necessity for him to have plenty of it on hand.

[rbynaker]

Hopefully this will be a fairly mild tax season.  The energy credit stuff changes for 2023 but not too much else (yet).  There were a lot of fairly complex provisions in Build-Back-Better that will drive me into early retirement if they ever get passed.

Enjoy life after tax season!

[rcooley25]

I just might do that. After all some one has to keep you guys straight.

[rcooley25]

I will be needing Firew Ball more than ever.

[BobKamman]

When my clients ask for my advice on whether it's time for them to retire, I ask how they are feeling.  If they tell me they are feeling fine, I tell them it's time to retire so they can enjoy life before they start feeling bad.  If they tell me they are feeling bad, I tell them it's because they keep working when really it's time for them to retire.  

[George4Tacks]

If it ain't FUN, don't do it. 

I will be 79 this year and only use Fireball occasionally, When things get tough, I go out in the yard, listen to the birds, pull a few weeds and smell the roses (or the Dracunulus vulgaris if it is in bloom) The clients are like family. It is nice to keep up with their missteps as well as being able to share mine. 

[Hillenburg]

The best advice I've received is don't retire from something, retire to something.  eg. strip club bouncer, Wagner enlistee, U.S Congressman, anything easier that tax preperation.

[Hillenburg]

preparation

[qbteachmt]

It's good to go out on your own terms. When my father ended up in a care facility for a physical issue, we noticed he also had become demented but was hiding it. I pulled the plug on his tax practice. During a family visit, I gave him an update that I was winding it down and he was now retired. The next nurse that entered the room, he turned to her and announced, "Hey, guess what? I'm Retired!"

I can't ship a case of Fireball. Sorry. Next thunderstorm you have, I'll try to send an actual fireball.

[Greta]

I too will be 79 next tax season. But I kinda like doing taxes, it's like a board game (pass Go, collect $200) or like playing bridge. Simply know the rules of the tax game. I taught college 30 yrs, prepared taxes for 40 yrs, and realized I enjoyed my clients far more than the students or academic (so-called) colleagues. So outside of tax season, I'll end up playing computer scrabble.

[PATAX]

@rcooley25 Good luck in retirement Brother Cooley. We will miss you.

[Accountant-Man]

Sell it! Make a few dollars.

[Greta]

Can anyone share an experience of selling a tax preparation business?

[George4Tacks]

I have done it twice. The second one went smoothly, I foreclosed on the first and went back into the business for another 20 years. 

Look for a brokerage firm that specializes in selling tax businesses in your area. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=tax+practice+sale

https://www.google.com/search?q=accounting+practice+sales

 Try to get an all cash deal, but you will likely get a percentage of gross sales for some number of years. That way the buyer has some assurance the clients will come to them, rather than shopping for a new preparer. 

[Camp1040]

@rcooley25  Enjoy a long and stress free retirement. I'm 73 and available all year but I don't work all year and I can pick and choose the clients I want to work with. However I have to question my judgement quite often since I have been choosing some real PITA clients. 80 sounds like a nice round number to put the practice behind you!! Wishing you much fun in retirement.

[Accountant-Man]

Greta, after over one year of meeting with several local CPAs who I knew, I went with https://accountingpracticesales.com/.

"Bradley Holmes" <bradley@apsholmesgroup.com>. He's in Texas, so he missed a few things about South Jersey etc, but it worked.

Brad narrowed down the responses to seven, I called and spoke with four of them.  One was geographically undesirable (as were the other three I did not speak with). One was too light on experience, one was good (MBA and an educator, too), but too light on staffing.

The third(my original first choice) is a lot like me but with much more CFO experience, which I don't have. He hired two of my employees, needing both. Almost all of his employees work remotely.

I had over 500 1040s and about 80 of the rest, including 48 1041s. Very little bookkeeping, but the need could be used to create more business. The only work I had to do was prep the 1041s, meet with some clients and the new guy, and act as a courier with the files.

It worked out pretty well, and much better than the others would have.