Every tax season brings its own craziness — in no small part because of clients' notions about taxes.
We polled tax preparers about their clients' biggest misconceptions this year, and the responses ranged from the understandable to the far off, from the nuances of returns to the work lives of preparers.
"'The rich don't pay taxes.' 'Cash is not reportable as income.' 'The IRS has bigger fish to fry,'" said Morris Armstrong, an Enrolled Agent and registered investment advisor at Armstrong Financial Strategies, in Cheshire, Connecticut.
"You'll get a big refund when you buy an electric car," said Larry Pon, a CPA in Redwood City, California.
Robert Seltzer, a CPA at Seltzer Business Management, in Los Angeles, said that he's had to tell many clients, "'No, you need to pay your expected balance due by April 15. The government is not giving you an interest-free loan.'"
"They don't seem to have a sense of humor about the tax they owe," added Scott Kadrlik, a CPA and managing partner at Meuwissen, Flygare, Kadrlik & Associates, in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
Here are more misconceptions, myths and just plain wrong ideas from clients from the season just past.