Conversations with Clients - part 1

by Mama Mabel





Me:  The IRS is not accepting your tax return.  It looks like your son claimed himself on his own taxes so he can't be your dependent.

Client:  Did we claim him this year?

Me:  Yes, you said he was a student so we claimed him.

Client:  He was a student through May.

Me:  Right.  You told us that so we left him as your dependent but he already filed his taxes claiming himself so you don't get to claim him.

Client:  Will that take another $100 off our refund?

Me:  Unfortunately, it takes a lot more off than that.  You go from getting $700 back to $121 back on your federal return and then $280 from the state return.

Client:  So we get $126 and $298 back?

Me:  No.  $121 and $280.

Client:  So we don't get nothing back?

Me:  You get $121 and $280.

Client:  We have to pay you from the $126 so we only get the $298 back.  Can we claim him for a partial year since he was student until May?

Me:  No.  It's an all or nothing thing and he already claimed himself.

Client:  I thought you could do a partial year.

Me:  You can't.

Client:  But he was a student for part of the year.  Can't we claim him for part of it?

Me:  No. 

Client:  Paying off that credit card didn't help much.

Me:  Paying off credit cards doesn't affect your taxes.

Client:  We won't get anything back next year will we?

Me:  I don't know.  It depends on what you pay in.

Client:  But if we make less, we get more back right?

Me:  It depends on how much you pay in.

Client:  Well, okay.

At this point, the client finally decided I wasn't going to be any help and got off the phone.  She'd also decided that she didn't need to pay us until her bigger state return came in since the federal amount is so small.  That will be another conversation for another day.