Still Have not Heard From My Tax Preparer

debodun

debodun

SF VIP
Location
way upstate in New York, USA
I brought my tax forms to my tax preparer in February. When it got to be the first week in April and I still had not heard anything form him, which is unusual, I paid him a visit at his home office. He said that since I was due a refund, there was virtually no deadline for me to file - that is only for people that OWE money and that he automatically files for an extension for all his clients. Then I brought up why he was so late this year when other years he has never gone beyond mid-March completing my tax forms. All he said was, "Some years are like that." which really didn't answer the question.

It is now coming up on the deadline for the extension and I still have not received my completed tax forms to sign and return to hi for filing. I sent him another email, but so far have not received a reply. I really would like to get this settled. What would you do in this situation?
 

I would go over there, demand my documents back, and take them to another (reputable) tax preparer, like H&R Block, for instance. Park your butt in his office until he finds and returns your documents.

That guy can ignore your e-mails until hell freezes over.

If you can't reach him or find him, or if the documents are lost or destroyed, you'd better start reconstructing your documents and take them to another preparer.
 
The first thing is...I would Never go back to him....other than One More trip, face to face....to see what his problem is. Second, I would call the IRS directly, and see what my options are. If he is a member of the local Chamber of Commerce, or Better Business Bureau, I would file a complaint with them.

Unless your tax situation is Very complex, you might find it worthwhile to do your own taxes via a CD from H&R Block, Turbotax, etc. If you have all your paperwork, and are at all skilled with your computer, you can do your taxes in an hour or so, for $50, or less....and have your refund within 2 or 3 weeks.
 

When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.
But when you procrastinate and don't heed the advice given several months back, it's not likely anything posted now will help.
 
Deb, can't believe you've let this go so far and it's still up in the air, didn't you follow through on any advice we gave when you first posted about this? It's completely unacceptable for a tax preparer to treat a client or do business like this, but you don't seem to have taken any action all this time to make sure your taxes were filed efficiently and timely. I could never have ignored this for so long.
 
Butterfly said:
I would go over there, demand my documents back, and take them to another (reputable) tax preparer, like H&R Block, for instance. Park your butt in his office until he finds and returns your documents.

That guy can ignore your e-mails until hell freezes over.

If you can't reach him or find him, or if the documents are lost or destroyed, you'd better start reconstructing your documents and take them to another preparer.
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Knight said:
When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.
But when you procrastinate and don't heed the advice given several months back, it's not likely anything posted now will help.
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Great advice I’d take heed to.
Butterfly used to work in a law office and knows what she is talking about and Knight is clearly on the ball.
I missed Seabreezes comment but she’s spot on.
 
Thanks for the reminder- I need to finish by 2017 AZ and Hawaii state taxes. I swear I will do it tomorrow.:cool:
 
SeaBreeze said:
Deb, can't believe you've let this go so far and it's still up in the air, didn't you follow through on any advice we gave when you first posted about this? It's completely unacceptable for a tax preparer to treat a client or do business like this, but you don't seem to have taken any action all this time to make sure your taxes were filed efficiently and timely. I could never have ignored this for so long.
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:clap:
 
applecruncher said:
:clap:
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What the heck, Deb!!!!! Why have you let this go this far???Why do you post stuff like this if you don't really want advice??? Get yourself in his office, park your butt and demand your tax papers. Then get to the closest tax service and take care of business. You must not really care about your affairs to have waited this long.
 
Deb,I can't believe you are still waiting for this guy to do your taxes
Get over there right,demand he give you your tax forms and take them to real tax experts,NOW!!!!
This guy should be investigated and have his license revolked.Its obvious he doesn't know what the hell he's doing Sue
 
I do not want to annoy him while he still has my tax statements. He has all my bank and other confidential info and could empty out my bank accounts if he gets miffed with me. He said I have virtually all the time in the world to file and that he did file for an extension. It's just that I would like my refund and to get things settled. I did find this form online, but I am not sure if what happened. I could get in more trouble making accusations when I am not sure if what he did IS misconduct.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f14157.pdf
 
debodun said:
I do not want to annoy him while he still has my tax statements. He has all my bank and other confidential info and could empty out my bank accounts if he gets miffed with me. He said I have virtually all the time in the world to file and that he did file for an extension. It's just that I would like my refund and to get things settled. I did find this form online, but I am not sure if what happened. I could get in more trouble making accusations when I am not sure if what he did IS misconduct.https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f14157.pdf
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You might want to place some Priority on resolving this matter....and NUTS to "annoying" him. Oct. 15th...just a few days away...appears to be the last day to file extended returns, without having to jump through some IRS hoops.

https://ptmoney.com/last-day-to-file-taxes-calendar/

Go over to his place, get all your paperwork, and find someone else to get your taxes done....Real Soon.
 
He can’t empty your bank accounts.
Your paranoia is getting the best of you.
Get livid with the man, threaten him if you have to :laugh: and get your stuff. He was in the wrong. You aren’t.
The only thing you did that’s questionable is you let it slide. You can wrap this up Deb. I have faith in you.
 
Deb -- you don't want to ANNOY HIM??? Good Lord, stand up for yourself and get your stuff back!!

How in the world is he going to empty your bank accounts?? That's just silly. In the first place, if he's been doing your taxes for years, he's probably got your account number in his files, as does anyone to whom you have EVER written a check. In the second place, if this worries you so much, close your current bank accounts and open new ones. In the third place, if you are going to be so paranoid about your financial documents, learn to do your own taxes.

You're letting this guy walk all over you because you are afraid to confront him. Just get it over with -- take someone with you if you are so afraid of him. You should be a hell of a lot more afraid of the IRS than you are of some random cut-rate tax preparer.

This is the kind of thing that happens when you always try to hire the cheapest person to do stuff for you.
 
Butterfly said:
I would go over there, demand my documents back, and take them to another (reputable) tax preparer, like H&R Block, for instance.
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I don't know what they are like today but back in the 1990's I worked for H&R Block part time for a couple of seasons and they were basically a loan sharking operation charging people exorbitant fees for "Rapid Refunds" AKA "Refund Anticipation Loans". I hated it, but needed to take on a second job to get out of debt incured due to a nasty divorce. So I sucked it up for a while. But finally I got to the point where I was trying to talk customers out of getting ripped off by them. Eventually the manager of the store I was at came to me and told me my services were no longer required. When she did relief washed over me like a warm summer breeze. That was the happiest day of my H&R Block experiance.
 
Trade said:
I don't know what they are like today but back in the 1990's I worked for H&R Block part time for a couple of seasons and they were basically a loan sharking operation charging people exorbitant fees for "Rapid Refunds" AKA "Refund Anticipation Loans". I hated it, but needed to take on a second job to get out of debt incured due to a nasty divorce. So I sucked it up for a while. But finally I got to the point where I was trying to talk customers out of getting ripped off by them. Eventually the manager of the store I was at came to me and told me my services were no longer required. When she did relief washed over me like a warm summer breeze. That was the happiest day of my H&R Block experiance.
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My experience with them has been very different, and I don't know anyone here who has had any complaints about them. However, I did not start using them until the late 90s or maybe even into the 2000s. I'm sure there are differences in different parts of the country, also.

My point was, and is, there are many different people and entities who may offer to prepare your tax return, but it is imperative that a person uses one who is authorized by the IRS to do so and who has a PTIN (a number issued by the IRS) and that he/she/it signs your return using said number. Also, you need to know that only preparers with certain credentials can represent you before the IRS if there is a problem with your return and/or may be liable to you if they make an error which costs you money.

Tax preparation, particularly if you have a complicated return (and IMHO even if you have a simple one) is not an area in which you want to use a cut-rate service or try to pinch pennies.

To paraphrase what someone on this board said about trust preparation, if you think good professional tax preparation is expensive, wait until you see what sloppy or bad preparation will cost you.
 
Unanswered emails and phone calls. Two visits to his home office were unproductive (nobody answered the door, or who I assume is his wife said he wasn't home and didn't know when he'd b back).
 
Lucky you that the IRS is so forgiving when people like you haven't submitted their tax form. You could paste & copy all the times you complained about your tax preparer not responding to your emails. I'm sure the IRS will not penalize you if you owe, because you will have a record here of what you were trying to do.

Whatever you do DON"T copy & paste the advice given by many to go get your info and have a reputable tax preparer fill out your tax forms in a timely manner.
 
I can take SOME comfort in this excerpt I found on an H&R Block Web page:

If you missed the tax deadline but are due a refund there is no penalty. The government is happy to hold on to your money, interest-free, for a bit longer. In fact, you have up to three years from the filing deadline to complete a return and get that refund.
 
debodun said:
Unanswered emails and phone calls. Two visits to his home office were unproductive (nobody answered the door, or who I assume is his wife said he wasn't home and didn't know when he'd b back).
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I think this has been mentioned before, but I would run to the BBB and report him. Where I live one of the local news stations has a Investigative reporter, who takes on cases like yours. People being ripped off by local contractors, or getting insufficient or very poor service. Very often there are positive results. A recent story on bad practices at a local nursing home now has the NY Attorney General involved.
 

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