Probate, Estate Planning, & Income Tax

@LoganGrafTax The typical firm for sale is around $300K in annual rev., 1,000ish returns, some bookkeeping, net profit below $80K, and everything is face to face and paper. These firms are decades behind in tech. and fees.

“I know some of you are triggered right now and are going to post in the comments section how it’s unreasonable for me to be charging that much. It’s weird how I get negativity from other tax pros on my pricing.” I predicted this in the video 😤

@LoganGrafTax Let your market decide if your rates are too high or too low. Our industry as a whole is charging way too little. There are dozens of firms for sale right now that have a sub $200 avg. prep. fee.

@BlakeTOliver AI is a launch pad tool for the professional. Quickly gathers information and then it is upon the pro. to review what it provides for relevancy and accuracy. Definitely not very useful for the lay person or as an end product.

AI isn't killing accounting jobs like everyone predicted. A new Stanford study shows something way more interesting is happening. Accountants using AI are supporting more clients AND getting better results.

We have our first look at the DRAFT Form 1040 instructions for the 2025 tax year. A nice summary here of "What's New" #TaxTwitter

@KurtSupeCPA Very often when the tie that binds passes away all of the buried years of contempt boils to the surface. It is easy to blame the estate planning, but it seems to me that the relationships were damaged long ago.

Client's mom died with a $1.2M house and a will: "Split everything equally among my 3 children." Two years later, the siblings don't speak. What went wrong: One daughter lived there caring for mom for 5 years. Wanted to keep the house. The other two: "We want our $400K now." Forced sale. Sold for $980K. After fees: Each got $300K instead of $400K. The caregiving daughter lost her home AND $100K. Nobody won. Family destroyed. A proper estate plan could have: Let the daughter buy out siblings over time Allowed waiting for a better market Set clear terms BEFORE mom died "Equal" isn't always "fair." Basic wills don't account for family dynamics.

@sweatystartup For every dollar you borrowed for your student loans, you are going to need to make $3, after income tax and interest, in order to pay it off. With that, go into a field/ profession that you can scale. Side hustle it first, then start your own company.

I'm talking to a class of 300 students in about an hour. What is one thing you wish somebody would have told you before you graduated?

@sweatystartup Very little.

I'm 70 hours in to a 72 hour fast. What should I eat to break the fast?

@MichiganMattCPA All direct hire.

@LTWLAW Are you using an offshore agency or direct hire?

Anyone on #taxtwitter bought a traditional 1 owner tax firm and tried staffing it with offshore labor and 1 on-site secretary? The numbers work but the unknown variable is how many clients would leave.

@bsuecannon April through July we send numerous reminders that all documents available need to be provided by August 1st or we will likely not be able to prepare your returns before the deadline. Makes an enormous difference.

If you hate your life right now because you’re working this weekend on tax returns, because clients waited until the last minute to give you their tax docs (I have been there), I can help you. You can schedule your tax prep and work the hours you want to work. If you don’t want to work weekends anymore, you don’t have to. You can smooth out your workload and work regular hours year round. Or, if you want time off in the summer, you can schedule your work to accommodate that. If you want to work more early in the year, you can front load your calendar from Jan-Apr, but you’ll still have control of that workload and not work more hours than you want to. Want to enjoy spring break with your kids or grandkids? You can do that. And guess what? When you schedule tax prep, clients will have a specific delivery date, and the status checks will stop. My firm has successfully done this for 3 years now. I can help you implement this process, and I’ll walk you through it, step by step. Tech? You can use calendly, but there are some kinks. That’s why I partnered with a software developer to create SchedulEase, software developer specifically for this purpose. You’ll save so much time using SchedulEase, it will pay for itself. And, if you subscribe to SchedulEase, your membership in our community, Take Your Life Back, Tax Pro! is free. In the community, tax pros are sharing how they’re scheduling tax prep, and we’re working through issues and concerns together. Pricing is based on number of clients, not users - posted on website. Not sure about tech yet, but you want to start scheduling tax prep? The community is $30/month. This is the time to start communicating with clients about your upcoming change, so join us in Take Your Life Back, Tax Pro! and let me help you get started. 😃 web.schedulease.net tylb.circle.so/home

@CPAJeff At a conf. this week. Talking to a head of a large firm doing $240M annually in accounting. Won't touch a return for under $3,500.

This is in CA. A bit away from the bustle of LA but not exactly rural. #TaxTwitter

@SadieMaeCPA We have a Aug. 1 deadline for all tax info. other than what you are waiting on from a third party. Makes the 9-15 and 10-15 deadlines very uneventful.

Just had a client drop of his 2024 info today, and when I told him it was cutting it close because it’s October 1st and I’m leaving for vacation October 10th he looked at me dead in the face and told me that was bad planning. No sir, you bringing your info in Oct 1-after our deadline, is bad planning.

Incredible news in the SBA world! In FY 2025, the SBA guaranteed 84,400 business loans, fueling $44.8 billion to entrepreneurs across the country. We need to take a moment and pause to take a look at this number… $44,800,000,000.00 This breaks down to approximately 77,600 7(a) loans worth $37 billion and 6,750 504 loans worth 7.8 billion. To put in another way… Every single week, more than 1,600 small businesses secured financing to help them take their operations to the next level. These aren’t just record breaking numbers… They’re also a sign that small business optimism is alive and well.

@LoganGrafTax $6-$9K. Would likely ask for a multi-year commitment depending on those depreciation schedules as well.

Trying to prove a point to a client. How much would you charge for a partnership tax return with 30 rental properties?

The IRS has officially announced that paper tax refund checks for individual taxpayers will be phased out beginning on September 30, 2025. Payments are next in line—but there is some breathing room. forbes.com/sites/kellyphi…

@mountainwesttax There are no accountants to fill these roles in the US. All this will do is cause accounting fees to increase and/or push more of the process into automation and AI. For every 1 qualified candidate we find in the US there are 20 abroad. #taxtwitter

oh, to be a fly on the wall in the boardrooms of Top 100 CPA firms this week

@AccountingToday There are no accountants to fill these roles in the US. All this will do is cause accounting fees to increase and/or push more of the process into automation and AI. For every 1 qualified candidate we find in the US there are 20 abroad. #taxtwitter

The accounting profession is closely watching the recent introduction of the Halting International Relocation of Employment, or HIRE, Act in the U.S. Senate. This proposed legislation could fundamentally reshape how CPA firms approach international outsourcing. bit.ly/3V9oYiz #accounting #outsourcing

@RepMTG An exclusion to some degree on second homes would be useful too. Many vacation properties sitting unused waiting for the stepped-up basis at death. IE. 10+ years of ownership or after 72 years of age, $500,000 exclusion.

Median age of first-time homebuyers is now 38 years old. Outrageous. My No Tax on Home Sales Act ends the federal capital gains tax on selling your primary residence. More homes on the market. More Americans are able to buy. 🏠

@LoganGrafTax ChatGPT is wrong often. A simple example is asking it for specific dollar amounts for credits, deductions, adjustments, etc. for specific years or ranges of years.

Had a first today... Client brought ChatGPT to our tax consult… and used it to fact-check me in real time. Welcome to the future of advisory.

@CPATaxTeam Slim pickings this year. So many charging under $200 on avg. for face to face all paper preparation. Oddly enough many also had huge software expenses.

3 firm listings sent to me this week. All with over 75% tax services. But they "have great cash flow to owner"! Yeah, because the owner is cranking out tax returns with no staff!