Send Chocolate...

...it's going to be a crazy tax year and I'm going to need lots of the good stuff. Tax season is just a few weeks away for my business and it's already shaping up to be a stressful 3.5 months.

This is my time to get all office stuff done. Stuff like the client newsletter, documents for the client packets printed and some packets made up, archive last year's sig forms, order office supplies, test the software, hire a receptionist and set my ads. Oh, and clean the office. But I am still doing tax returns. Hopefully, by the time I open next Monday, I will have 9 returns completed. I don't want to be doing past year returns between 941s, W-2s, 1099MISCs and the early 2009 returns. With any luck, all those forms will be done by the time we can electronically file on the 15th.

Then it really will get stressful. I have made changes in office procedures that will have to be explained to the clients, several times for some. The biggest change is dropping Refund Loans. I expect some serious cussing and carrying on from a couple clients. Then there are all the consent documents and engagement letter to be explained and signed.

But the major stresses have been provided by Congress and the Administration. Tax changes are part of the job but this is the craziest year I remember since the big reform of 1986 went into effect in 1988.  The Making Work Pay credit is sure to hurt taxpayers who will vent, loudly. Right now, we don't know what info Social Security will give us about the $250 they sent out. From experience, I am sure most clients won't remember what they received especially since most received the money by direct deposit. I'll have to explain to new homeowners that they will have a long wait for their Homebuyer's Credit since we can't e-file that form and we now need documentation of the purchase. Then there is the education credit/deduction confusion, clients wanting to know about Roth IRA conversions and changes in the documentation for Energy Credits. Tax planning for next year will have to be put on hold until Congress gets back to work on the tax extenders and the estate tax.

Then there are the stresses of running a tax business. We have licensing of preparers, the new e-file mandates, the introduction of Modernized e-file, and the RAL issues. While many of these changes might not directly affect me, I'll have to cope with the problems and possibilities they create.

Yeah, this will definitely be a major chocolate season.