Government at its finest

[PATAX]

Received an email about a 1 hour course on how to prepare form W-4. Unbelievable. They made a simple form into a monstrosity.

[Camp1040]

I tell clients if you can prepare the new W-4 and you have more than one job, kids, a spouse, you can prepare your own tax return!

[Strongsilence-CPA]

More clients don't know what to do.  It takes more time. I'm not sure the best advice to give about withholding. Lately, I've been giving clients a tax rate and telling them to call the employer/IRA custodian/pension plan and see if they have an easier way to change it.

It is deflating.

We are trying to help the government.

[Just-Lisa-Now- · Accepted solution]

why would it be such a terrible thing to just let us choose a % to withhold?

[Strongsilence-CPA]

Have you tried the IRS W-4 calculator?

[PATAX]

@Strongsilence-CPA no I haven't tried that yet. Usually I tell clients to discuss it with the payroll department where they work and let them take care of it. I don't like to get involved with that. I tell the clients they have to increase the withholding or pay estimates.

[GodFather]

It requires a course, for sure.  Surprised it's only an hour long.  

[PATAX]

@GodFather 👍Give them a couple of more years and it will be a two day seminar.😉

[BobKamman]

I struggled through one the other day.  I figured out that the new one is logical.  The problem is that we have been doing it so illogically for so long, it's difficult to reprogram our synapses.  

[PATAX]

@BobKamman 👍🖖we can call the new one the Spock W-4.

[IRonMaN]

So I'm curious.  Did you sign up for the course?😀

[PATAX]

@IRonMaN Nope. If my memory serves me right, it was an H&R Block course, unless my thick pop bottles were mistaken (I delete emails real fast).