Hey ya'll...

its that time of year...tax time! I gave it a shot and tried doing them on my own...and just discovered I was too far in the weeds! I had a million and a half questions, but decided it is likely to sit down with a accountant and figure it all out with them (deductions that are allowed, etc...). Given this...I have tentatively set a appointment with H&R block for next Saturday, so that gives me a week...I was wondering for those of you who have been doing this for a while that you have filed in the past...have you filed with H&R block? Do you have a recommendation if H&R block isn't good?

Thanks for your advice!

Call back to H&R Block and ask for an experienced preparer, preferably one with five or more years experience. You don't want to end up with a preparer with limited experience. Those preparers not only gain experience with each year but they take training each year for as long as they're with the company.

I suggest that you not only ask for an experienced preparer, but one who has a lot of experience with Schedule C sole proprietor, home-based business taxes.

As a tax preparer myself, the above two posters gave you excellent advice. I've been through training at H&R Block to get necessary hours for California when I was there and the program was barely adequate to learn to do basic returns. So you definitely do not want anyone with less than 3 years experience -- 10 is better!

Let me echo the above advice - be sure to ask for an EXPERIENCED tax preparer. Don't assume that because a preparer works for ANY tax service it means they are experienced.

I work for a state agency, and we distributed W2s. On Wednesday, one of the Security Officers called me to tell me H&R Block said his W2 was wrong and I needed to fix it immediately. His tax preparer had completed his taxes and his refund was $1800 less than it has been in past years (same income, deductions, withholding, etc). His tax preparer told him the reason was a large amount of money shown in one box on the W2 marked DD. As state employees, our medical/dental, a small amount of life and other stuff is paid, and employees can purchase additional for their families. The total of all these insurance amounts is reported as "DD" on our W2s and is Nontaxable. The examiner had included it as taxable income, tremendously lowering Carl's refund. When Carl questioned it, the examiner's response was that the W2 was wrong. When I turned to the back of the W2, and Carl and I read it together, it clearly said "DD - "Cost of employer-sponsored health coverage. The amount reported with code DD is not taxable."

Carl told me he is headed back to H&R Block to ask for a different examiner. I'm sure I'll hear the next installment of the story next week.

Isn't there an H&R Block tax return shop out there right now ? I know there is a quick audit, I have done several of those already, but this one pays big $

How in the he*& are you supposed to get your taxes done as a shopper and it not be a reveal shop (and a quick one at that)?

@Boutique wrote:

Isn't there an H&R Block tax return shop out there right now ? I know there is a quick audit, I have done several of those already, but this one pays big $

How in the he*& are you supposed to get your taxes done as a shopper and it not be a reveal shop (and a quick one at that)?

Boutique, I am scheduled to do one of the H&R Block shops this week, and the more I think about it, the more nervous I am getting. I keep thinking that when they see the 1099's from the MSC's, including the one conducting the shops, it will be a dead giveaway. I've already had to reschedule because on the original due date I still hadn't received my 1099. I'm hoping it arrives soon so I can get this over with.

I thought you didn't need your 1099s, just your income and deductible expenses for the Schedule C.

I always wonder who they get to do those tax return shops (which are really usually refund loan shops...). Last ones I saw explicitally said no schedule c filers. So you need someone who is either a brand new virgin shopper at the start of the calendar year or someone experienced who took a full year off. Or maybe someone who works for a handful of companies, none of which have shopper or shopping in their names, and has zero expenses, perhaps walks to every shop. Last year I had 32 different companies with earnings from $12 to $7000. I think I had 6 or 7 1099's and the rest were under $600. Sure, that's not going to raise a tax preparer who knows they got shopped eyebrows...

I do my own taxes, using H&R Block software. My expenses are almost exclusively mileage. I don't print anything unless I go to Kinkos and those expenses are less than $15 a year. (I have an ipad mini so I can pull up documents on the go...) I'm pretty comfortable doing them myself.

You don't have to present a 1099 to a tax preparer. All you have to present is your total income and expenses. The 1099 is not filed with the W2 and the tax preparer does not need a copy for any purpose. Tax preparers love for you to present the 1099s because they will enter them individually into the return and charge you a fee for every one of them.

One of the few things I remember from my accounting class back in the mid-1970's was the professor saying that tax returns prepared by H&R Block have a statistically higher chance of being audited. I don't recall where he got the information, and it is very dated, but I found it interesting.

Whoa! In case anyone missed it, *do not ever take a 1099 from a mystery shop company to a tax preparation shop.*

You are a Business Consultant, or Merchandiser, or an Auditor (you're paid to check pricing accuracy) but you are not a Mystery Shopper when you go do that tax return shop.

You go in with your Income as one figure, your "reimbursed expenses" as another figure, your other expenses are "office equipment" (your spy recorder and other tools of the trade, as well as computer, printer, scanner and anything else you use that is common office equipment) and "office supplies" (paper, toner). You bring in your vehicle expenses and mileage total -- do not show them the log of where you went!

Don't expect them to do your math for you. Add up each category yourself and bring them the total.

Do not be chatty with the guy. If he asks what you do, tell him "Business Consultant" and if he asks what that consists of be vague or lie through your teeth. The details have nothing to do with your tax return. "I help businesses set up displays" or "I do random price checks at Wal Mart so they don't get fined by the government". Don't say it's fun or exciting, yawn and say, "It's not very exciting but it helps pay the bills." If they want to get chatty and say, "How'd you get started doing that? My sister needs a job" say, "Sorry, I was lucky to find people who would pay me to do this and I'm not going to help you give me competition" and smile.

Be ready for this when you go it. Some people are just naturally nosy and naturally chatty. Cut them off at the pass but be nice about it. So rehearse your answers before you go in as far as what you might say if some Chatty Cathy wants to know all about your business.


And... there's another way to do this shop even if you don't qualify for it: Do the return without the Schedule C at all, then amend it to add it later. If you are close to break even on the Schedule C, it's not going to affect the bottom line much. So you could do a shop and leave off the Schedule C, then after they file it and the refund has processed, immediately amend it to add the Schedule C and either pay whatever extra tax it produces or get another refund. Just try to get the amendment in by April 15 so all the taxes are paid on time.

dspeakes, there are two MS companies out there who do tax preparation shops. One of them did not state that you could not state you were a mystery shopper and that you were not allowed to bring MS company 1099s to the shop in the brief description of the shop prior to a shopper accepting the assignment (no access to full guidelines before accepting it to double check this), so I emailed them and asked them about it...they wrote back that it was fine to say I was a shopper and to bring MS 1099s. Maybe the person who responded didn't know what they were talking about, but since I did not expect to get a $300 refund (that was a requirement stated in the description) I did not end up accepting the shop.

I've seen three MSCs with the shops now. Fees ranged from $25 to maybe $80. Make sure you look for the highest paying in your area.

Thanks for all of the advice and suggestions! The guidelines for this particular MSC didn't say anything about not taking 1099's to do the shop, but if they're not necessary then I would feel less conspicuous leaving them home. One would think that the scheduler would have mentioned that when I emailed that I needed to reschedule because their 1099 hadn't arrived yet. If they don't show up tomorrow I'll have to reschedule again!
I have been hanging around the forum, reading and learning for awhile, and really want to say thanks to all for your wisdom and a few laughs.

Don't count on the scheduler to know anything about IRS rules!!!

I suppose.... if you said you were a mystery shopper they might assume you were *not* shopping them (or maybe they don't even know they will get shopped) or you wouldn't have admitted it.

I wouldn't take the chance. the 1099's are not needed anyway (they're really for the benefit of the IRS, not the recipient) so why wait for them? And there is no IRS category for "mystery shopper" so you would have to pick one of the other categories anyway. It's not like you're lying to the IRS and there is no law against telling fibs to your tax preparer as long as they don't affect the outcome.

Example: if someone who was a prostitute came to me and said she provided "personal services" that's all i need to know for the tax return. If I got chatty and asked, "What kind of personal services?" she is perfectly in her rights to lie and say she does secretarial work for a businessman or to say she's a dog walker or massage therapist. As long as she reports her illegally obtained income, she has no obligation to tell me how she got it.

So don't stress over what fibs you tell the tax preparer so you don't blow your cover. Just have your numbers straight.

Totally agree since it was a scheduler who told me I didn't need to report income from MSCs unless I had earned enough to generate a 1099. She was genuinely surprised when I explained the reality of IC taxes.

@walesmaven wrote:

Don't count on the scheduler to know anything about IRS rules!!!

I'm really learning a lot from you guys! I have one more question (for now!). I have heard different "facts", so I will ask people who are in this and know best. Am I required to report reimbursements? I realize that some reimbursements are actual gain to me, like groceries and such, but some are things that I don't want or need, and wouldn't buy in "real life". I usually give those things away to charity or anyone who needs them, so I hate to think I still have to pay income tax on them. Please help!

I report gross income (all money sent to me by MSC's) and then report business expenses which include items I purchase and am reimbursed for. That way, everything is reported. The IRS might question something, but it has been reported. In general, the law says that you don't owe taxes on reimbursed amounts regardless of the value to you. When I travel for the company I work for full time, they pay for my food. I do not owe taxes on that, despite the fact that I have benefited from eating it (there are actually additional guidelines for food, but the general idea is correct). Same thing if company guidelines allow me to use the hotel phone to call my family. Not taxable. In the case of expense reports I file, I don't report the reimbursed amounts anywhere on my income tax return. For purposes of mystery shops, I use the process I described in the first sentence.

Thanks again to all! I always gain so much knowledge on this forum. I consider this my "Forum of Mentors" and think all new shoppers should read it daily, kinda like a "Mystery Shopper's Bible"!

I have been Mystery Shopping for almost one year, and have learned a lot through trial and error, and by reading this forum. I'm thinking I might change my username though, so just in case I ever feel the need to complain about a MSC, they won't just immediately know who I am. I also need to come up with a great sig line. Ive seen some great ones on here, like LisaSTL, dspeaks, and Walesmaven, among others!

I have been at this a month and am still learning. I have done over 20 shops now and am starting to feel more comfortable. Not making much yet but loving it. I want to thank all of you for your help. I may not post much but re
ad and soak up everything you all have to say. It has really helped. Thank you.

I have had the same CPA prepare my taxes for 25 years. He has all my info and understands my taxes better than I do. Nothing against HR Block, but I am not chancing taxes calculated incorrectly to someone that is new to me. I will about any others, but not tax prepare. I would do the loan shop part if separated out.