With less than two weeks to go until the tax filing deadline, some people (myself included) are starting to think, "Oh, right! My tax return! I should really get on that." Yes! You and I should! Personally, I just file an extension and forget about it for another month or so. For those people who don't see this as an option, they'll spend the next few days stuffing receipts into a shoebox and either running to Brass Taxes or their CPA, sweating and out of breath, asking for the impossible and making idiotic statements. It's the cost of doing tax business.
Thankfully, our favorite Tax Girl, Kelly Phillips Erb, ran down a number of things that many of you tax jockeys are hearing this month that may cause you to consider waterboarding your clients:
11. I’m really busy this week so I’ll stop by on the 17th to do my taxes.
10. I owe more than I did last year. What did you do wrong?
9. I took my girlfriend to Vegas when I was on business so can we say she was working and claim her, too?
8. My ex and I have a divorce agreement about who gets to claim the kids but a lawyer wrote it and I can’t understand it. Can you figure it out?
7. I had surgery in December but didn’t pay for it until January. But I could really use the deduction now. Can we just say I paid it in December?
6. I have a really short tax question.
5. I can’t find my receipts but I can give you a pretty good guess.
4. I forgot my Schedule K/Form 1099-DIV/fill-in-the-blank. Can I fax or email it over later?
3. But I don’t want to file an extension…
2. I want to meet and discuss next year’s taxes. Can we do it on Thursday?
1. Wow, my taxes are so steep, I can’t afford to pay you now.
These are quite good, however, we know that this isn't an all-inclusive list, so we invite you to share the most ridiculous thing your clients are uttering in your direction. We know you're probably pressed for time but think of this as a sort of scream therapy. Don't be shy. It'll make you feel better.
Eleven Things Your Tax Pro Doesn’t Want to Hear From You This Month [KPE/Forbes]
Whether this marks the end of your tax season for 2010 or is just a pit stop on the way to October 15th, it’s certainly a day that gets marked on the calendar of many a tax sage.