I think my accountant is FOS. Help me find out for sure

Factual Questions
1

My accountant is some whiny kid who seems to think that his clients are dumb. At least that’s the way I’ve felt I’ve been treated.

Or maybe it’s all in my head. I dunno.

I am still waiting for my full refund from 2000!! I actually received the initial refund but it had to be amended to account for the Hope Tax cred. (I am in school).

Anyway, what I was to believe happened was this: My initial refund didn’t come for many months after the expected date. Eventually it was determined that it was directly deposited in someone else’s account because of a mix-up of SS numbers on the forms.
I remember the first conversation I had with my accountant when it was late. He explained that someone else accidentally put my SS# on their form, and then, before I could even get a word in, launched into a bunch of “It wasn’t my fault, I didn’t do it” -type statements.

So I told him it was OK, and that I fully trust him to deal with it. When it finally came, I paid him his fee of about $100. He then said he was going to work on the amended return.

Bush’s $300 tax rebate had however not come. So I asked him about it and he again did his “It’s not my fault, we got it in on time so you should get it” -thing. I said “OK” and assured him again that I have complete confidence in him.

He told me he wanted and additional $125 for the amendment and all the extra work he’s had to do to resolve the various problems that have seemed to have arisen with this return. I reluctantly told him that would be fine and I’d give it to him when the amended return came in.

Oh, I forgot to mention the part of the story in question. More recently, when I finally received the initial return, I asked him again “so how did this mixup happen with the SS#'s”. He claimed (get this) that apparently someone else of my same name (not a common name by a longshot) has a SS# that differs from mine by a single digit, and accidentally put my SS# instead of his own".

Any probability experts out there? :rolleyes:

So, even more recently, he told me he wants his $125 payment by the middle of Sept. whether or not I receive the amended return.

But if it was his own error that cost me the $300 rebate (which incidentally it has already been decided by the gov’t that I shant receive), and he actually lied about it, than I certainly don’t want to pay him any more money. In fact I think it might be funny when he asks for it next month do say:

“What? you mean you haven’t received it yet? That’s strange. Oh! You know what happened? I accidentally lost your address, and when I looked it up in the phone book I must have accidentally sent it to another person of your same name in Wyoming”.

But the GQ, finally, is how do I find out what really happened for sure? Is there an office I can go to, or a number I can call? My local phone book lists the numbers of a few offices (IRS, NYS Dept. of taxation and Finance, County Dept. of Assessment).
The latter sounds like it might be the right one, but I figured I would come here first, rather than sit on hold for an hour before finding out I’m in the wrong place.

Thanks in advance.

2

I would get a different accountant, and see if these problems miraculously stop cropping up.

3

Call the IRS - 1-800-829-4477 - They can tell you where your refund check is. They can probably tell you what caused the other problem too.

Your rebate check was determined by your 2000 tax return. If your taxable income was very low in 2000 then you might not have received a rebate check. However, there was another chance to get the money when you filed your 2001 return if you were eligible based on your 2001 income.

Your accountant can’t control when you get your refund and he shouldn’t have to wait to get his payment until you get your refund. His fees sound rather reasonable (even on the low side). If he messes up your SSN, then he should fix the problem with out an extra charge. If it isn’t is fault (the IRS isn’t perfect!) then you should pay him extra to straighten it out for you. It is only fair.

4

I had an accountant that used to be good, but then started moving further away from me, started having health problems, and started hiring idiots to work in her office. She started waiting until the last minute and three angry phone calls from me before I ever got any information from her, and I eventually switched to another person which should be your FIRST course of action.

Odds are the new person can sort out the disaster for you and problem trace back the problem or at least tell you how to do it yourself. I suspect this person didn’t know what they were doing and is one of the ex-H&R Block people only trained to handle the most routine returns. The story about the mixed up names and SSN sounds very suspicious to me.

5

I have a great tax accountant (and I should know, I’m a CPA myself! But I’m not a tax expert, so…) and this type of thing has never once happened to me. Granted, I pay more than $100, but still…

I’d ditch your whiny kid tax accountant pronto. You’re paying him money to keep things straight. And now you’re paying him MORE money to straighten out errors that originated in his office? Sounds like he’s got a gambling problem and you’re covering his losses, baby!

I would say you should do one of two things, based on the fact you say that you are a student. Your returns probably aren’t that complicated - you could easily do them yourself in the future. Then you’d know how much to expect back and wouldn’t have to screw around with stuff like this. You’d also save the preparation fees.

  1. take all your records and go to a new tax accountant. Tax filing deadline has passed, so the guys in an HR Block type place will be the regulars (they hire seasonally to help with the influx of returns in April). They should figure out what’s going on and probably not charge you too much. They might just do it cheap to get your business next year, too (hint: now is not the time to talk about wanting to do your own taxes…). Ask them how much it will cost, maximum, before they get started.

  2. Or, just take your returns down to the IRS and get some help. The guys that work the help lines there are frequently volunteers (I think I’m right about that) and are nice. I mean, if you aren’t worried about getting audited, I’d start there. AND, if you are uncertain about the filings, they will help you correct them and you can refile with no penalty (since it sounds like you expect refunds anyway). Don’t worry, you should get all the money due to you back from the IRS, I mean, the government won’t say, dude, you gave us the wrong bank account so go suck an egg. Mistakes happen, hell, the IRS just junked a billion dollar accounting system because it didn’t work - they should know all about mistakes.

Good luck. Those are just some helpful suggestions, you gotta make the decision on your own. But from what you say, I wouldn’t trust your guy…

6

$300 rebate?? That has nothing to do with your accountant; it was sent directly to taxpayers. If you weren’t eligible, you didn’t get it; if you were eligible, it was sent without any application or communication from you.

If there’s some other payment you were due, or if the amount of your rebate was nil because you pay relatively little tax, you need to specify.

Is your refund a refund of ALL taxes withheld, because you are a student, and not making enough to pay taxes (after the Hope credit)? If that’s the case you were not eligible for a rebate (which, IIRC, was actually a pre-emptive refund of your 2001 withholding).
Again, you need to specify, although your accountant’s BS about the Bush rebate makes him sounds pretty incompetent.

7

I have been a full-time student for the passed 2 years and so I haven’t filed.

Of course, if it is the fault of the IRS. But his explanation of what did happen seems to me to be so improbable it is bordering on the impossible. I just want to find out what really happened. You don’t agree that if it was his fault and if he did lie about it, that he shouldn’t be entitled to to a fee?

I think he should have to pay me the 300 out of his own pocket!!

Of course I will be using someone else for all future tax concerns, but first I must finish with this one, which means he and I still need each other.

8

Powers, that’s what I want to do. I am just unsure of where to go or what office to go to. Do I do this over the phone or just walk in?

The gov’t did seem to do just that, though not quite with the words “go suck an egg”. From the Taxpayer Advocate Service:

Nametag, yes it does have to do with my accountant. The $300 rebate could not be sent until my return was resolved. If it was the accountant’s fault that it was delayed until after 12/31/01 than it is his fault that I cannot receive the $300.

Just to clarify a few things, yes I was most certainly entitled to it. I have only been a student for the passed 2 years. In 2000 I made about $30,000.

9

Negative, my mom’s current station is supervising a group of phone tax help people at the IRS they are full time paid employees who are kept trained on the latest tax issues, specialized questions that they can’t answer can be referred to other departments that can. Also they don’t go running out to audit unless they think something shady and worth their time is afoot, they would probably be far more interested in your accountant than you for audit purposes. Charging you for tax work that never happened will DEFINITELY perk their ears up, since most likely your accountant is doing this to many clients.

10

Smells very fishy to me. I’d be on his case and never return.

11

Moe, the rebate checks were advances on 2001 tax refunds (which would otherwise be unnaturally inflated due to the tax cut). The 2000 return is only significant when it is used to calculate your probable 2001 tax.

You state that you “have only been a student for the past two years”; do you mean 2001/2002, or did you mean the two years prior ro 2001 (i.e., 1998-1999)? If you were a student in 2001 and paid no taxes (and had none withheld) in 2001, you are not eligible for the tax rebate.

If you paid taxes (or had taxes withheld) in 2001, but were unable to receive the rebate due to your 2000 tax situation, the proper measure would have been to note this on your 2001 return so as to receive a larger refund (there was a line added to the 2002 1040 for this purpose). If you’ve already filed your 2001 return, you may be able to file an amended return (form 1040X).

I am not a tax professional, however, and YMMV.

12

Sailor, it just got fishier.

I called the IRS and spoke to someone who was very helpful. But things got even more complex. Here’s what I learned:

My original return was received and processed on time. However my accountant made a huge error in reporting my withholdings (a few thousand too much), so he went ahead and amended it a few months later. This he did not tell me, and he continued to hide this fact from me throughout all of my dealings with him.

Consequently, my return was delayed until after the new year and I therefore was not entitled to receive the rebate.

Nametag, to answer your question, yes I have only been a student for the passed 2 years. I worked in 2000 through August, earned about 30,000 and then began school in September of that year. I did not earn on the books in 2001 and so did not file. So theoretically I would not be entitled to the rebate because as you say it was an advance based on projected earnings of 2001. But in actuality, isn’t it true that if my accountant didn’t make that error and amend the return when he did then I would have received it? Even if he simply waited till the following year? (though he certainly wanted to fix his mistake ASAP). Surely the fed gov wouldn’t have asked me to return it when they noticed no earnings from me in 2001?

This actually clears up a few things. I now remember back to when I personally called the caseworker handling the situation (long before the amended return requesting the HOPE credit - remember there are 2 completely different amended returns, the first of which I knew nothing about) and she kept mentioning the amended return I filed. I told her that I didn’t know what she was talking about, and that I had intended to file an amended return, but at this point I was just interested in my initial return.

When I confronted the accountant he just played dumb: “Amended return? But we didn’t amend it yet. Nevermind, I’ll take care of it. Just when you speak to her don’t even mention the amended return. I don’t want to confuse the situation until we get the initial return resolved”.

That little snake.

The caseworker did however, mention something about a mixup of SS#'s and that the reason why I haven’t received my return yet was that it was actually directly deposited in someone else’s account. I told her I didn’t even indicate that I wanted direct deposit nor did I even provide any bank account info.

:confused:

So I am still very confused. When I spoke to the man today he gave me some info, but said someone will call me in the next few days about the status of my most recent amended return.

And well, to be honest I’m not quite sure if there is still a GQ in here somewhere. This may now be more IMHO, but what should I do? Should I pay him now that I have proof that he out and out lied?

and BTW, the initial fee was $150, not 100, bringing the total for his crappy service up to $275.

13

I’d love to know how he filed an amended return signed by you.

Can you get a copy from the IRS of all your stuff and check out your signatures? You can check the social security numbers as well, and whether there was direct deposit to not-your-account on your forms also.

On the rebate, I agree with Nametag. You might’ve even been required to file just so you could return the rebate.

And how badly did this fellow mess up your NY State income tax (I assume he did those too)?

But, look on the bright side. You’re not in jail, under garnishment, or out thousands of dollars. Suing him for malpractice isn’t worth it; you could pay him, enclose a letter about all this, and file a complaint with the BBB and with any accounting societies (is he a CPA) he belongs to (try aicpa.org?)

AmbushBug
[sub]my dad’s a tax specialist CPA[/sub]

14

At the AICPA site, you can search a public file which has peer reviewed assessments of the member organisations
I browsed at random and found one or two accountants which you wouldn’t touch with a bargepole.
It might be worth a look to see if your guy is listed.
Is there an equivalent of an accountant’s ombudsman, or some other state official you could at least threaten to complain to?

15

I love this place, I’m always learning something new! Thanks for clearing that up drachillix!

AmbushBug’s comment about the signed return is a good one. Dude, I really think you should consider going to another accountant. Anyway, look at it this way, when it is all “corrected” by your accountant do you really want to put your signature at the bottom stating that everything is correct? I mean, doesn’t sound like anything has been done correctly!

(still, I sympathize with you about not wanting to spend more money on something that you’ve probably already spent too much money on…)