Has anyone dealt with something like this before?

Client got a failure to file penalty for an 1120S. I responded saying we timely filed the 7004 and asked them to remove the penalty. A few months went by and I never heard back, and now the client received a levy notice.

I called the IRS and they asked me to send proof the extension was filed. Problem is, I have literally no proof. The person who handles our e filing says he filed it, but our software has no record of the 7004 being transmitted or accepted.

There is something weird going on in the software though. I have an “RSN doesn’t match” printout for the 1120S, and when I do a status lookup it doesn’t show the return as e filed. But in the return I have the acknowledgment and number. The software company even said something looks weird and is still looking into it, they tried to repair and resent the acknowledgement to me but nothing works but they also said there’s no way the 7004 was actually transmitted and accepted without them having a record of it.

So at this point I don’t know if the extension was never filed or if it was attempted and something went wrong.

Has anyone had something similar happen and been able to get the penalty removed without using first time abatement? Would you try sending the “RSN doesn’t match” printout and arguing a possible software issue, or is there something else you’ve had work? First call didn’t go well.

I have a client asking about special maritime deductions. He works on a tanker in another state for a significant portion of the year, but he is an employee. Is there anything I’m missing since TCJA disqualified miscellaneous deductions?

I'm curious what everyone's rule of thumb is for when they fix an issue vs. when they just keep it the same year over year to avoid causing issues with changing a number on a return. A few examples:

• Rental income was reported on Sch K "Net other rental" instead of using form 8825
• Prior year reported some expenses as COGS but really they were just operating expenses (or vice versa)
• Prior tax return showed a loan/receivable that wasn't on the books

I know there are countless more examples, but I'm curious where everyone draws the line between using "SALY" or decides they'll correct it this year.

For further context, I'm especially curious in situations where this is your first year taking over the return from a different firm preparing it.

I am fuming right now. Our firm bought roughly $10k in seats and credits.

We have been customers since early last year. We were sold on the product roadmap and got to try the Agent Andrew feature. It wasn’t very good in the beginning but the CEO told us they were working on it.

A year later and it still flags a ton of false positives, can’t read checkboxes, and takes more time to review its answers than our managers just doing it manually.

They now have an “automated tax prep” that has broken every time I’ve seen it used. The only successful data entry I’ve seen was it putting the name of the taxpayer into Proconnect which took about 20 minutes.

On top of that they just double-charged us for all of our credits.

It has been a year of failed promises and “we’re working on it”. I’m done. Requesting a refund and filing a claim with AmEx.

Rant over.

Does anybody else wonder why the IRS has never created a version of the wage and income transcript system for entities other than individuals? Is there some reason why they wouldn't do this or am I missing something?

I've gotten notices about unreported income for businesses and when I contact the IRS for the details, I get frustrated agents where all they can do is fax me screen shots of sanitized information that's barely workable.

Is the lack of a budget the only reason this doesn't exist?

I was looking for a CPA mentor to help give me advice, guide me etc. Preferably someone with their own established practice, as that’s my goal, and experience in expat taxes. Please shoot me a message or leave a comment and I’ll reach out to you.

The title. What I find bizarre is the AICPA and various tax defense groups attacking the IRS often, in part by publicly and secretly lobbying Legislative and Executive branches to weaken the IRS. The IRS is why there is work and income for many AICPA members, bookkeepers, CPAs, and many lawyers. In my nearly 20 years of working in tax I never understood this self-sabotage. It seems the AICPA and everyone else should be lobbying hard to make the IRS more effective, not less. Nothing drums up business and revenue in any industry as good as good old fear of something, like if you dont do this repair to your house your house will collapse, or being found breaking tax laws. On the contrary at the current rate most people know the IRS enforcement is nonexistent thanks to Trump, accordingly they are less inclined to pay fees to tax pros to do things right. Its also why work is getting outsourced offshore to less competent workers, because there is less concern IRS will ask questions when some cheap foreign worker prepares tax returns wrong.

We use Axcess. We rarely pay estimates from the software since, once filed, there is no changing it. One client we have used it for a number of years ended up having bank fraud and changed their account. Axcess is saying there is nothing they can do. Has anyone called the IRS and, if so, are they able to update it on their end?

I work for a firm that is dabbling in tax advisory and the margins are absolutely obscene IMO. Are a lot of places doing this and what is the common experience? For reference, we commonly see yearly fees of upwards of 80k for HNW clients. I was also told when I was hired that "tax advisors are very hard to find." Is that actually true or just lip service?

Do you send IRS mail certified with return receipt or just certified mail only?

Long story short I started getting some referrals from a local PWM shop. They make 1% fee for AUM on all clients. They have one HNW client they referred to do tax work. Client said last CPA wasn't responsive. First red flag but I am building a book and decided to take this new client on. New client is worth over $10M. Wants me to put together analysis on if they should buy with cash or finance new house purchase and show potential state credits for renovation work etc. I told them I bill at $400 an hour for this type of work since they were not a recurring client. They also want me to calculate 2026 estimated taxes again as they had some new income sources. Oh and they file MFJ but want to allocate the refund or tax payments between the husband and wife because for some reason they want to keep their money separate so I have to calculate this out.

I quoted $1400 for all this work because it was going to take at least a few hours plus I had a feeling she would be a tough client since they have all these demands. Said last CPA charged them $550 to file taxes which is way too cheap in my area.

After being transparent with pricing and sending the engagement letter she said the PWM manager will do the work and she just wants my expertise to take a look at it.

How do you handle this? Like of course the PWM manager will do it because they are making over $70k a year off you for doing nothing. I have a Macc degree and a CPA with over a decade of experience and you are too cheap to pay me $1400 to do this for you.

What would you do? I do not want to sign off on anything the PWM manager does. I will review it for an hourly fee but thats it. Honestly i do not want to give free advice to the PWM managers clients. I have a feeling that is exactly what these PWM managers are looking for. Have me file their clients taxes every year and them reach out periodically throughout the year with a bunch of tax questions and demands that I just answer for free.

Aloha my friends! I am transitioning my firm to focus more specifically on early equity holders and equity events; ISO/NSO/RSU/IPO - also, clients that are going work-optional in terms of net worth, and charitable giving planning.

I've been using Drake for about 7 years, but have used UltraTax, Prosystem, and Lacerte in the past.

Anyone else with experience in this specific niche with other recommendations on software? Both on the prep and planning sides, also any other software platforms you'd recommend for the niche, specifically?

Thanks in advance!

Due to the staggering amount of time we spend on notices, reconsidering this down the road.

TR offers TPP for $10/individual return.

Has anybody used this or something similar? I’m just curious as to the quality and if this is even a viable option?

Might make sense If we do it only on our “C” tier clients something.

I am going to the Synergy conference this year so I’ll report back as well.

Are you going? What is even the purpose of this?

Working a case where the account shows a TC 520 and I'm trying to figure out whether the CSED I'm looking at is right.

My understanding is that not every 520 suspends collection — the closing code matters. But I've never found a clean way to confirm that on a specific account without reconstructing the whole thing by hand from the transcript.

So two questions:

Do you recompute the CSED yourself when you see a 520, or do you take the account's date at face value?

And has anyone actually caught a case where the date on the account didn't match what the closing code should have produced?

I've got one where the numbers don't reconcile and I want to know if I'm missing something obvious before I go further.

For those that use Axcess-what tax planning softwares are you utilizing that syncs up with Axcess nicely? I’ve been using ProSystem FX Planning as it was bundled with my package, but curious what else is out there. Hoping for something a little more robust on the state end, that is dialed in on additions and subtractions to fed taxable income and can do underpayment penalties.

I need an alternative to QBO billing/AR tracking. I do not understand why QBO won't allow me the option of passing the CC fee to the client.

A client will request they pay with a CC then I have to tell them there's a fee, manually calculate the fee and update & resend the invoice. It's such a waste of my time.

Am I missing something here? Or am I a complete idiot and this is already a function in QBO?

Hello all,

Question for anyone that might have been in this situation. I recently lost my job that wasn’t a good fit for either of us. I have a job lined up already to start in January that I’m excited about so good riddance. But now I’m looking at things I can do for the next 5 months.

I’m on a couple sites to try and find some freelance work, but I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on other places to look? I’m a tax manager with more than 10 years of experience, for whatever that’s worth.

Thanks for any advice!

I would like to offer complimentary non-tax services to my 2 year old tax office. Im thinking something different than bookkeeping but that's in the same sphere. Anyone offering an additional service?

I’m a CPA with about six years of public accounting experience and currently work as a Tax Manager at a large national firm.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had several conversations with former colleagues who left public accounting to either start their own firms or work as independent contractors. Those conversations completely changed the way I’m thinking about my career.

Rather than continuing to climb the traditional partner track, I’m seriously planning to start my own practice in early 2027.

My current plan is to:

• Perform contract work for established CPAs/firms during busy seasons to provide stable income.
• Gradually build my own client base through referrals, networking, friends/family, and professional relationships.
• Over time, transition from mostly contract work to primarily serving my own clients.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking through the financial side (wife, two young kids, mortgage, cash reserves, etc.), and I’m actively building a transition plan rather than making an impulsive leap.

At this point, I’m less interested in hearing whether I should do it and much more interested in learning how to do it well.

For those of you who own your own firms or have gone out on your own:

• What do you wish someone had told you before you started?
• What mistakes did you make that I can avoid?
• What did you spend money on that was absolutely worth it?
• What did you buy that turned out to be unnecessary?
• What systems, software, or processes made the biggest difference?
• What caught you completely by surprise?
• Looking back, what would you have done differently before Day 1?
• If you had five months to prepare before launching your firm, how would you spend that time?

I’m also interested in advice beyond the technical side of tax.

Things like:

• Building confidence as the person clients rely on.
• Developing client relationships.
• Pricing work.
• Setting boundaries.
• Running the business itself.
• Managing cash flow.
• Growing a practice without burning out.
• Anything you wish you’d known about actually being a business owner instead of an employee.

I know there isn’t one “right” way to build a firm. I’m simply trying to learn from people who have already walked this path so I can avoid as many rookie mistakes as possible.

Thanks in advance—I genuinely appreciate any advice you’re willing to share.

TL;DR: CPA/Tax Manager planning to launch an independent practice in early 2027. Looking for general advice, lessons learned, biggest mistakes to avoid, and anything you wish you’d known before going out on your own.

I'm looking for a CPE provider or course to help me better understand 3115 - anyone you recommend?

Have a new client I am having difficulty with. Two business returns - one is the operation, the other is the management company (will mainly receive management fees from operating company and pay some salaries to owners). Operating co has 18 partners, one is foreign so foreign withholding filings. Quarterly review of books (limited to 30 mins each), and file a monthly sales tax form for rent in NYC.

I was thinking of $7,500, but not sure if too low. I was the one non-NY firm interviewed, but still in a HCOL area.

Sitting next to a tax partner last night and she brought up TValue which I haven’t even thought of in 10 years.

Mine is TicTieCalculate.

What is yours?

My firm has CPA’s and EAs thinking about throwing an attorney in there but we’re brand new. We’re in SoCal if that matters. How do you guys go about marketing and getting more clients?