Whew! Tax season is finally over. This one came at full force with the new tax law, new staff and bringing on new clients. The IRS shutdown didn’t help. The big wave was the release of the final regulations in February on the major tax law passed in December 2017. Our tax software was updating almost every day. We are finally coming up for air.
Cleanup is just starting. We have more returns on extension than I ever recall. In addition to needing more time to complete the returns I have one issue that is keeping me up at night.
The calculation of the health care subsidies slammed a few clients real hard this year with a $34,000 liability. This is part of the tax return. They received the full health care subsidy throughout the year and then found out that they made too much money and didn’t qualify. Due to market conditions the health care premiums had increased sharply – more than double, the last time I ran into this the payback was $12,000 for a couple, now its $34,000. I am still looking for a way to reduce this.
Government is putting more and more responsibilities on us. I accept the fact that we need to calculate each return accurately and within the law, however as a tax preparer we have other duties as well. We finalize the health care subsidies for each year. We sign a form verifying that the children you claim are really your children. We can be penalized if your tax liability is understated by 25%. And if I lie on your return – I can lose my CPA license.
This is my reality and I deal with it. Now that the storm is over it is time for cleanup. To start I hung out in Arizona with my boys for a week at the end of April. I soaked up the sun, babysat my grand dogs Scooby-Doo and Shadow and helped them move to their new place.
Now that I am back home I can slow down, smell the flowers and watch my spring garden bloom. Then go back to work and finish those returns.
