“Shouldn’t that ice cream carton go in the freezer?” my wife Jeannine asks. “Jim, you left it on the refrigerator’s top shelf.”
“Sorry, honey,” I reply. ”It has been a tough tax season.”
As a Certified Public Accountant, I’ve been preparing taxes for years. There’s a lot to manage, though, including working 60-hour weeks this time of year.
In the old days, I used to do many more straightforward tax returns. Now if someone’s income is low, they don’t need to file a tax return.
Software programs such as TurboTax gobbled up the more straightforward tax returns, so now I prepare the more complicated tax returns with self-employment income, rental properties, income from brokerages accounts and those making estimated tax payments.
Some people think it must be tedious sorting through tons of 1099 forms, W2s and other source documents for entry into our tax software program. There is, however, no substitute for scrupulous accuracy.
It’s exciting, like walking a tightrope, because due to time constraints, you have maybe an hour to find the relevant information to enter into the tax program. You also must tick mark the documents to verify that you did not rush and input interest of $102.59 as $10,259.
A mistake that can be fixed, but any client you reprocess a return for usually doesn’t come back the next year.
I also have to be careful using the right social security numbers because an error might require dozens of letters corresponding with a minimally staffed IRS to resolve.
Some tax clients bring their tax information in suitcases, shoe boxes and footlockers. Others communicate in bizarre ways: scribble marks and hieroglyphics that only they can understand.
It’s up to me to decipher the encryption of a client’s mind to understand exactly what they are trying to communicate. And every paper has to be evaluated. The problem is that many documents aren’t needed or remotely relevant. So again, we have to achieve near perfection, or something like it.
The smart ones throw everything into a shoe box and write a few exceptions on a sheet of paper. You see, after preparing thousands of returns, I am experienced with eagle eyes to grab the relevant numbers and slap them properly into a well-constructed tax return.
I used to have more face-to-face meetings with clients wanting me to prepare their tax returns. Now, most clients mail or email their tax documents or drop them off at the office.
I once had a full-time receptionist answering the phone, but no more because most clients email or text as their preferred form of communication, especially with millennials. So while I’m a people person, I’m more of a technician. I sit at a desk and crunch numbers.
Lunch is usually wolfed down at my desk doing a tax return. Also now there is pressure to respond to client email promptly. Two hours is considered too long, but remember I’m still spending my days with people who walk in without an appointment, taking telephone calls and working on tax returns. Again, respond quickly -- or risk losing the client next year.
A day usually starts at 8:30 a.m. and runs to 7:30 p.m. or longer. I work both Saturday and Sunday to get tax returns done. I’m usually more productive on the weekends because there are fewer interruptions.
Every year some stressed-out Bradenton tax preparer gets sick or is hospitalized during tax season. Naturally, the conditions under which we live each year as a professional to make a living are challenging. Every irregular heartbeat or throbbing eye makes me something of a hypochondriac.
When April 15 arrives each year, I say, “Hallelujah, God, thank you for letting me live another tax season.”
The good news is that most tax returns run from $200 to $400 for about an hour’s work. The bad news is that aside from a few dozen extensions, the gravy train only lasts for about three months.
The rest of the year, most CPAs aren’t nearly as busy. Many don’t work on Wednesday. Others leave at noon on Friday. And some of my CPA friends work about 30 hours a week — or less — the rest of the year. Some years, I’ll take a three-week vacation to an exotic location, such as Iceland or Israel. Being a CPA does have its benefits.
My wife is called a tax-season widow. When I put in all those hours at the office, Jeannine, who still works full-time as a teacher, ends up doing most of the housework and cooking. She is a good sport and spends more time at the gym and hanging out with friends and her family.
Most nights though, Jeannine usually ends up with a tired accountant who is snoring on the couch, fast asleep, while watching Netflix.
Yes, I’m a much-better husband after tax season. There’s more time for family activities and escorting Jeannine to school functions. I’m much more attentive.
Sure, I work a lot of overtime, but I love the adrenalin fix and helping other people.
Jim Germer is a CPA and financial adviser at Cetera Financial Specialists, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC, located at 100 Third Ave. W., Suite 130, in Bradenton. Call (941) 746-5600 or email jim.germer@ceterafs.com.
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