Discussion:Another stimulus question
From TaxAlmanac
Discussion Forum Index --> Tax Questions --> Another stimulus question
| 16 May 2008 | |
| This rebate is going to drive me crazy!
Client gets letter dated May 12 saying stiumuls will be coming May 9. No deposit so he calls me.
Thoughts? Thanks. | |
| 16 May 2008 | |
| Tell the client your rate is $___/hour. Ask him how many hours he would like you to spend chasing down his $300 stimulus payment. | |
| May 17, 2008 | |
| Or maybe he was one of 15,000 people who had their stimulus payments sent to the wrong accounts. | |
| 17 May 2008 | |
| I agree with UltraTax. His earned income is only $1,500. It needs to be about $1,500 higher to qualify for the rebate. | |
| May 17, 2008 | |
| I see where you're getting the $1,500, but we really don't have all of the facts here. Agreed, however, that if the only earned income is the W2 and Sched. C, then there would be no rebate. (I hope the IRS isn't sending out a bunch of letters to people who actually aren't going to get the rebate.) | |
Taxestaxes (talk|edits) said: | 17 May 2008 |
| I can tell you that this has been a nightmare for me and I will probably loose a lot of clients over this, because as aJdug. refers to charging for the hour, I have noted that and my clients get furious that I wont help them over this rebate.......They expect me to help for free!!!! Anyway, I have several people who I told wouldnt qualify and they are getting the min. $300 anyway. For instance, once couple, both retired, only draw a pension (1099r), according to IRS doesn not qualify, yet they got the $600. They call me, worried to death over this - Hey if you got it, its yours!!! Then I have tons of others who thought because they had a w2, over $3000 (most made around $20,000) they would get $600. Well, guess what, they have 2-3 kids, so no tax liability, they only get $300. Then I get the 20 calls about when will they get their rebate, they thought because they choose Rapid refund Direct deposit, the rebate would be too.....I can honestly say this has been more of a pain than its worth. I think I would gladly have given up my rebate just to not go thru what I have been thru these past several weeks!!!! | |
| 19 May 2008 | |
| This is why I turned off the stimulus related paragraphs in our software (ProSystem) so that there would be nothing from us going to the client that said anything about the stimulus. If they call, I give them the 800# and wish them luck. I do assure them that there will be a reconciliation on the 2008 return. So, if you get shorted now, you will get it later. | |
| May 19, 2008 | |
| I have clients arguing with me now. Yesterday, an email from a client who says that this is NOT an advance payment for 08 according to IRS' site and another CPA he knows, and that he'll get correcting payment in July. Geez. | |
| 19 May 2008 | |
| I have been pretty much doing what nole has been doing. I tell the client I sympathize with them, but this whole stimulus thing is a pain in the neck and I have actually purposefully ignored it. That if they want informtation it would be on the irs website, the local news and they can call the IRS. | |
| 19 May 2008 | |
| 94Nole - Great idea and wish I had gone that route.
Bean, Thanks for the link. According to the IRS website client should have received $300 on the 9th. I still do not think he should be getting the check according to my understanding of how this is all supposed to work. Time will tell and I will report back with any info. | |
| 20 May 2008 | |
| Just received a call from the client and he did get a $300 deposit on the 9th but just did not find it the first time he looked.
Go figure. Now he wants to know if they can make him pay it back. I told him maybe. Who knows? | |
| 20 May 2008 | |
| The statute requires us to follow the EIC defnition of earned income. The EIC statute suggests that SE lossses are not taken into account in determining earned income, but the EIC regulations require us to reduce earned income by SE losses. Thus, there is a conflict between the statute and the regulations.
Apparently, the IRS computers are not reducing earned income by SE losses. I would advise the client to keep the rebate. I don't believe that the IRS will ever get this straightened out. | |
| 20 May 2008 | |
| And how many clients will actually remember 1) if they got the rebate, and 2) how much they got, come next tax season???? Remember the first year of the child tax credit when the IRS sent out advance payments? What a pain to track those down, and we will do it all over again reconciling these next year. | |
